Doll Review: Barbie Fashionistas Petite "Sweet for Silver" (Kira)
Hi everyone!
I haven't been in the mood for writting during a couple of days due to a little dissappointment with a Barbie doll. Long story short, I bought one of the new Barbie Look dolls from Amazon when she got back to a "fair" price, but when I received her, she was wonky. I bought another one that didn't arrive on Saturday, as I expected, and I had to wait until Monday. The new doll doesn't look THAT wonky, but I can see her face is not simmetrical. Between the whole wonky situation and the delay in the second doll, I'm not as excited about her as I should be. I posted a pic of the wonky eyed one on Twitter and tagged Mattel, still no comment. Anyway, at least I have a replacement doll and the wrong one is going back to the Amazon warehouse.
Luckily, the doll in today's review is not wonky at all. Please everyone, welcome Barbie Fashionistas number 62 "Sweet for Silver", better know by some fans as Kira. Kira was Barbie's asian friend and she was featured in many Barbie lines back in the 80s and 90s. I'm not 100% sure, but I think that the name Kira appeared during the late 80s or early 90s, and previously Barbie asian friends had other names like Miko or Dana. However, at some point, Kira was pulled out of the Barbie line and many fans were waiting for her comeback. And here she is!
Even though all the Fashionistas boxes look the same, I like to show a pic of it. Her box has stars on the background and her number on the top right side. No need to show you the back.
Aaaand....here she is!
Kira has tanned skin, brown almond eyes, thick eyebrows and her lips are painted in a pinky nude tone. No need to mention that she uses the Kira headmold. She's pretty, but I feel like her eyes should be a little bit more together.
And yes, it's marked as 1980.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but all the Kira dolls that I remember used to have jet black hair or very dark brown hair. This one has light brunette/dark blonde hair. It's quite subtle, but it mixes several tones and it's quite pretty.
Her hair is styled into a high twisted braid. I liked when I saw it on the prototype, but I'm not crazy about it, so I'm probably going to restyle it. Also, it's a little bit messy on the back.
On top of her haid, she wears a light pink headband shaped like a pin up bandana.
Her outfit consist in a white sleeveless t-shirt with some black stiches around her neck and a silver skirt overalls. Don't ask me why the stripes of her overalls are tied with a rubber band.
Her overalls feel a little bit baggy and also I think that they should have some decorative stiches on the side.
Kira is wearing a pair of Doc Martin style boots with studs painted in a mint green color. The boots design is quite cool, but the color doesn't match the style.
One curious thing about this doll is that her shoes are flat shaped, but her feet are high heel shaped. Weird.
Also, I didn't mention it earlier, but when I opened the box her shoes weren't put in the right place. It looks like someone at Mattel was too lazy to push them a little bit.
Despite the stiff body, I'm really happy with my Kira doll. When I was a kid, I really wanted a Kira doll and I was a little bit obsessed with her. When I saw her on a Barbie magazine I would show her to my mum and tell her that she was gorgeous. I never got a Kira doll as a kid, and I'm happy to get this version now as an adult.
I think that Mattel made an smart move releasing this Kira doll. Many Barbie fans, specially adult collectors, were really looking foward for ther to do a comeback. Being such a beloved character, maybe they should have given her a more detailed doll, but being so popular she's probably going to sell well anyway. And hopefully, if she sells well we'll get an articulated version.
So what do you guys think about Kira? Did you have one as a kid?
M.C.
I haven't been in the mood for writting during a couple of days due to a little dissappointment with a Barbie doll. Long story short, I bought one of the new Barbie Look dolls from Amazon when she got back to a "fair" price, but when I received her, she was wonky. I bought another one that didn't arrive on Saturday, as I expected, and I had to wait until Monday. The new doll doesn't look THAT wonky, but I can see her face is not simmetrical. Between the whole wonky situation and the delay in the second doll, I'm not as excited about her as I should be. I posted a pic of the wonky eyed one on Twitter and tagged Mattel, still no comment. Anyway, at least I have a replacement doll and the wrong one is going back to the Amazon warehouse.
Even though all the Fashionistas boxes look the same, I like to show a pic of it. Her box has stars on the background and her number on the top right side. No need to show you the back.
Aaaand....here she is!
Kira has tanned skin, brown almond eyes, thick eyebrows and her lips are painted in a pinky nude tone. No need to mention that she uses the Kira headmold. She's pretty, but I feel like her eyes should be a little bit more together.
And yes, it's marked as 1980.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but all the Kira dolls that I remember used to have jet black hair or very dark brown hair. This one has light brunette/dark blonde hair. It's quite subtle, but it mixes several tones and it's quite pretty.
Her hair is styled into a high twisted braid. I liked when I saw it on the prototype, but I'm not crazy about it, so I'm probably going to restyle it. Also, it's a little bit messy on the back.
On top of her haid, she wears a light pink headband shaped like a pin up bandana.
Her outfit consist in a white sleeveless t-shirt with some black stiches around her neck and a silver skirt overalls. Don't ask me why the stripes of her overalls are tied with a rubber band.
Her overalls feel a little bit baggy and also I think that they should have some decorative stiches on the side.
Kira is wearing a pair of Doc Martin style boots with studs painted in a mint green color. The boots design is quite cool, but the color doesn't match the style.
One curious thing about this doll is that her shoes are flat shaped, but her feet are high heel shaped. Weird.
Also, I didn't mention it earlier, but when I opened the box her shoes weren't put in the right place. It looks like someone at Mattel was too lazy to push them a little bit.
Despite the stiff body, I'm really happy with my Kira doll. When I was a kid, I really wanted a Kira doll and I was a little bit obsessed with her. When I saw her on a Barbie magazine I would show her to my mum and tell her that she was gorgeous. I never got a Kira doll as a kid, and I'm happy to get this version now as an adult.
I think that Mattel made an smart move releasing this Kira doll. Many Barbie fans, specially adult collectors, were really looking foward for ther to do a comeback. Being such a beloved character, maybe they should have given her a more detailed doll, but being so popular she's probably going to sell well anyway. And hopefully, if she sells well we'll get an articulated version.
So what do you guys think about Kira? Did you have one as a kid?
M.C.
No, I did not have a Kira as a kid cuz, well, I am old! I did get some for my daughter and, of course, when I started buying dolls as an adult. May of hers have now been cleaned up and/or rebodied and are now a part of my vast collection (heheheh). The first return of the Kira face mold in recent years was the Mutya Barbie in 2015 by Carlyle Nuera. She definitely has more makeup that this version and she is stunning. However, I do like the understated more natural looking makeup on this doll as she is supposed to be a young girl and I like this look better than overly done makeup.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha, Phyllis, I don't think you're old!
DeleteI totally forgot to mention the Mutya Barbie! I wasn't collecting Barbies back then, only Monster High, and she was more than I wanted to expend on a single doll. Today I would have bought her. This one looks more natural because she's wearing casual clothes, while the Mutya was wearing gala clothes.
Which Kira dolls did your daughter have?
I like how they updated the old Kira sculpt with the modern faceup. I never cared for Kira, but this one is cute. I recognize the shoes too, I was planning to buy the same ones in a different colour but they ran out of stock before I placed my order. And for good reason, apparently! Are they fake flats? I once mangled the whole heel of a pair of boots before I realized they were moulded for arched feet.
ReplyDeleteHello Black Kitty! They seem to have a little wedge inside to fit the arched feet. At least it's better than the flat tennis shoes one of my Barbies had that made her look like she was walking on her tiptoes.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
She's very pretty. What I think is too bad is how it's not easy to find many of these dolls in local stores where you could, at least, see if the doll corresponds to the promo pix. And yes, flat shoes are often adjusted for high heel feet. Like that, our girls can have their heels and their sneakers or boots!!! Enjoy your new doll!!!
ReplyDeleteHello April! I do agree with you, lately it's so hard to find dolls in stores. They have like two and quite old ones! I thought that she would have flat feet and... suprise. But it's ok to be able to wear flats and heels.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!