Grace Kelly-a lovely Barbie-Throwback Thursday

Oh Grace...so beautiful, so timeless.

Grace Kelly was an American Hollywood actress born in 1929 who really made her mark on the film industry in the 1950s.  She married a prince, became a princess and had a very interesting life.   

She also has one of the most gorgeous faces I have ever seen.  

    Image source here

When I realized they made a Barbie version of her, I knew I needed to have her!

To Catch A Thief -Grace Kelly

Here is Grace Kelly.  Isn't she gorgeous?  The first time I saw her, it was actually randomly on Amazon.  I was looking through my endless wish list and somehow stumbled upon her. 

Her Amazon price was STEEP, though, and having not completely realized the over-inflation that can sometimes be Amazon, I kind of figured I wouldn't really be getting her any time soon.  

She originally sold for about $35, I believe. 

Then I found her on Ebay, used (display only and came with her stand) for about $30 so I said "Heck!  Ok!"and she arrived a few days later.  

The first thing I noticed was, of course, her beautiful, unique face.  When it comes to dolls, the face is 1st for me, then the hair, and then the articulation.  She has a unique face mold that I have never seen on a Barbie before, and I really thought she bore a good resemblance to the real Grace Kelly.  

Not exact, but good enough.

As you can see here, she came dressed in a gorgeous, flowing two-toned blue gown.  This is definitely something I could picture myself wearing.  The fabric drapes beautifully around her and is accompanied by a long, elegant, light blue sash.  I think it is a stunning dress and works beautifully with her blonde hair and blue eyes. 

Underneath the chiffon is a form-fitting slip made of silk.  The overall stitching and look of this gown is very nice, but would've looked a little nicer if the ends were hemmed. 

Just needs a little tiny iron.  

The shoes were a little boring, but the gown covers them up, so I guess that's ok. :}

They are fairly easy to get on and off. 

Grace also comes with a simple light blue clutch.  It doesn't open unfortunately, but I'm sure if you were a seamstress, you could fiddle with it to make it more fun.  My seamstress skills are pretty rustic at the moment, so I was happy to leave the clutch alone and keep it strapped to her hand. 

Grace's hair is pulled back into a tight chignon/bun style, and there doesn't appear to be very much hair, so I was not interested in messing with this style.  

Her dress also snaps shut with one little button clasp.  I will have to say that this did pop open from time to time.  The sash is also attached to her shoulder by a small bit of sticky stuff, and once I peeled it off, I noticed that it slipped off her shoulder quite often (dang!)

Grace's profile.  

As you can see, the hair is a little messy from the side.  If you look closely, you can see tiny silvery highlights throughout the golden strands and I thought this was a really nice touch to tie in the blue hues of her dress. 

 I really like her profile.  She has cute, detailed ears, a nice, sculpted jaw, great cheekbones and a gorgeous, prominent nose. 

Image source here

As you can see, Grace's prototype is a bit more elaborate then the doll I received.  She looks fierce!

You've probably noticed already that this doll has pretty limited articulation.  This was definitely a bit of a big old bummer.  She only bends at the neck, shoulders and hips.  Transferring her head to a better body might be an option I'll explore down the line, as I feel like photographing her would be a lot more fun if I could pose her in more realistic ways. 

Here is an example of Grace's articulation.  Womp, womp.  Pretty bad. Display only!

She's also noticeably much thinner then the Barbie's I am used to.  Look at those thighs!  

What thighs?

Sitting, she's not much better.  This is as far as she can bend.  Looks painful!

Abs of steel.

Here she is compared to another Barbie we have.  Teresa? Nicki?  I am not sure who she is...we rescued her from a garage sale.  I was surprised to see that she couldn't sit very well either!

Grace has some swagger in her step.  You can also note the different hip set up here. 

Other Barbie clothes fit, which just amplified the play-factor a bit :)

This lovely face is what lured me into buying her.  I love the actual shape of her face, especially her shallow forehead and wide cheekbones.  I think her face paint is remarkably well done.  Her eyebrows are slightly asymmetrical, which gives her a bit of sas and I adore the smokey-neutral tones of her makeup.  The lips are nicely sculpted and a lovely rose pink. 

The face.  This was the selling point for me, for sure.  Teresa (?) looks very cartoon-ish next to Grace's more realistic features.  

Grace's face wins by a landslide! 

Lay off the Valium, Babs..

;)

If you haven't already guessed, I adore this doll.  Besides the limited articulation, I think she is a stunner and I look forward to finding more beautiful clothing to dress her up in. 

There are a few other Grace Kelly dolls in the Barbie collection, which you can see here.

This one is my favorite!  She is called "Rear Window" Grace.  Loooove her. 

Image found here

Same shoes, but in black, lol. 

Thanks for stopping by, you lovely group, you.  I hope you enjoyed my review of "To Catch A Thief" Grace Kelly Barbie and I'll leave you now with a few more photos of this lovely lady.   

Image found here

Have a good night, everyone (I know I say this in all of my posts, but I always end up posting them late at night, haha) :}

I am sooo happy tomorrow is Friday!