American Girl Mini Caroline

Back in 2015, I started my American Girl doll collection.  One of the first mini dolls I bought, was this tiny little Caroline.  I've had these photos of her on my computer for ages and a post sitting in draft form for just as long, so here we go.  Getting things done!  Whoo hoo! :)

This Caroline was from the "older style" mini dolls that came with a rounder face and cloth body. 

Caroline has since been retired, but I always really liked her long, curly blonde hair and striking aqua colored eyes. 

These mini dolls stand at about 6 inches tall, making them tiny compared to their 18-inch counterparts. Despite their small size, I really think American Girl did such a great job in replicating their outfits.  (Look at that embroidery on her dress!)

Here's what her body looks like underneath and she's an exact mini-version of the regular doll. I love miniatures of miniatures, so I really appreciate this detail!

Caroline's hair is a little unruly and "Hermoine"ish, but I'm sure it can be fixed.  To be honest, as these dolls still get routinely played with by my 6 year old, it's still pointless to "fix" her hair up. :)

Here's just a few fun photos I took of her when I was out and about on a walk.
Taking photos of dolls always makes me love them even more!

She's cutie and a keeper for sure.
I know a lot of you collect the 18 inch playscale line, but do you also collect any of the mini-dolls?
There are still a few on my list I hope to add some day such as Rebecca and Addy (old versions), and Nanea, Gabriella, Kirsten, and Molly (new ones.)
Their just so cute and easy to store!

Hoping to catch up on all of your posts as well.  Even though I haven't been quite as active on here, I am still very much into dolls and collecting.  I have so much to share, but sometimes struggle with organizing what I want to do first. :)

Otherwise, hope you're all doing well and "see you" in the next post!

xoxo Farrah 

Ibtihaj Mohammad Barbie Collector Doll 2018

Today I will be reviewing the newly released Barbie "Shero" called Ibtihaj Mohammad. 
Since 2015, Mattel has been creating different Barbie versions of women who have "broken boundries" and acted as inspiration or role models for other women.

Here's a photo of some (not all) that are in the line-up this year.

 Photo credit:  Mattel

Here are the first 3 that were already released:

Photo credit: Mattel

I would still like to add these to my collection at some point, but for now, I'm thankful to have Ibtihaj!

This doll was designed by Kelley Lindberg and is a Black Label collector doll. 
She retails at $30.99 and can be found on www.barbiemattel.com or Amazon (that's where I got mine..free shipping!)

Ibtihaj, for those that don't know is a saber fencer on the US Women's fencing team. She is the first Muslim-American fencing champion to wear a hijab (a traditional head scarf).

DISCLAIMER:
Whether or not you agree with the practice of hijab is not the point of this review.
There is A LOT of controversy over this doll and I don't want to get into it as this is strictly just a review of the doll itself as a collector and not about whether or not the practice of hijab is right or wrong (speaking from a feminist point of view). 

The athlete herself, has praised this doll and what it means to her.
Here's a Youtube clip of her seeing the doll for the first time.

Out of her box, she comes with a stand, fencing mask, saber, 1 white glove and a certificate of authenticity.

She's a gorgeous doll. 

Her face is very pretty, but mine has slightly wonky eyes.  I think some black paint to touch up and even out her pupils might help.  Other than that, she has a very nice face sculpt and a big, bright smile.
To align with the significance of wearing a real hijab, there is no visible hair on this doll.
To add to that, the only other visible areas of her body, besides her face, are her hands.

Here's a photo of the real Ibtihaj for comparison.

Photo credit: ABC News 

Side profile of Ibtihaj. 

I think they stayed pretty true to her uniform judging by photos I've seen.  

She has one small pocket (for her glove?) 

        Also, here's a look at her Nike sneakers (sponsered?).  Sneak peak..she has ankle articulation!   

        

Her fencing mask is made of hard, non-flexible plastic.  The detail of the metal grate is very nice.  It is secured in the back by a strip of elastic.

Her jacket is on backwards for these photos with the red background. 

Whoops. :)
Here you can also get a better idea of the fabric of the jacket.  It's a creamier color than the stark white of the hijab and pants.

Go Team USA! 

Under her jacket she is wearing a top and pants.  The pants and socks are connected, which I actually like because the socks stay up better this way. Also, it's not as easy to lose them!

WARNING: DOLL NUDITY BELOW (...well, coming up)

Underneath everything, she is wearing a plain white leotard. 

Yup, she has hair. 

The hijab is tied to the front of her hair (you can remove it if desired) and the front of her hair appears to be pulled straight back into this bun.  

She is on a Curvy Collector body. 

Man, I was really hoping for a Curvy Made to Move body!! 

Her knees bend to a 90 degree angle. 

Her arms are pretty good, but elbows only bend to a little over 90 degrees. 

Hip articulation is "meh", (but I've seen worse, so not complaining.)

Luckily, she's not on the gymnastic team.

If you wanted to switch her to a Made to Move Barbie, she closely matches the Soccer AA one.  I don't have the pink-haired curvy MTM one, but I would guess that she probably matches her pretty well.

Here's Soccer AA MTM in Ibtihaj's fencing uniform. 

She's swimming in it a little, but not too bad!

Fun to pose.  

Now we're back to Ibtihaj.

I was able to get her into a few cool fencing poses so her articulation isn't too bad (and it's better than nothing!) 

No Photoshop.  This doll is standing by itself, kids! 

We are so happy to have this beautiful doll to add to our collection. 
Thanks for reading through this review and I hope you're all doing well. :)

What have you added to your collection that you're excited about this month?

xo Farrah