Where the boys aren't

Boy dolls in general don't interest me, but I sometimes appreciate them in photos posted online. Out of all the dolls I own (er... a lot?*) only around a dozen of them are male, and all but four were purchased at thrift shops. I can think of four male dolls I've purchased new: Shave 'n Style Ken (the African American version, I neeeeded that headmold), Ken as Mulder in the X-Files gift set, Frank Sinatra, and James Dean. The latter two were found at Big Lots many years ago at deep discount. (It saddens me to report the local Big Lots no longer exists.)

This is why I was a little surprised by how much I wanted Jake to still be available at Ross Dress for Less. On Monday I returned to the store, a week after I found the Blythe dolls, to see if the toy shelves were restocked. They had several new dolls but there weren't any girls I wanted or didn't already have. I examined Making Waves Jake again, he's the boy Liv doll from SpinMaster's 2011 beach line -- which means a very basic outfit: tank top, shorts, sunglasses... and no shoes. I'd been thinking about him all week, wondering if he'd still be there, and for $5 my Liv girls would have a male friend to hang out with. Sold!

I also bought Ken's "Barbie Basics" accessory pack ($6, better than $7 like I had remembered -- funny how a dollar can make a difference. OH, IT'S A DOLLAR LESS THAN I THOUGHT? AWESOME! I crack myself up sometimes.) Anyway, I was thinking Jake could wear the youthful Converse sneakers. Poor kid needs shoes. The belts and black shirt are nice looking too. Turns out the Converse openings are too narrow for Jake (I'll try softening them in hot water before giving up) but two pairs of shoes in the set fit him nicely.

Daniela and Jake, Liv girl and Liv boy

Jake is wearing the Shave 'n Style Ken burgundy shirt and black Ken pants from an old Fashion Ave outfit. The watch, shoes, and belt are from Ken's Barbie Basics accessory pack.

He has inset blue eyes like the Liv girls but they're smaller, which was an interesting choice. SpinMaster probably reviewed various prototype boy dolls with different eye sizes (certainly digital images if not actual prototype dolls), it'd be fun to see the guys they rejected.

I see where I'm going to trim his hair

I like this Jake a lot but doubt I'll buy another, unless he's discounted and has a great outfit with shoes (no more beach dolls). A new character with a noticeably darker skin color would be welcome. Jake is a handsome guy and a great deal at $5 (thanks Ross!), even if he didn't come with shoes.

Two cute kids

One odd thing about the Converse in Ken's accessory pack: the eyelets are painted white but there are no shoelaces at all, neither painted or molded onto the shoe. Compare them to the running shoes with molded shoelaces from the same accessory pack:

look ma, no laces

It would probably look good to pierce the eyelets and lace up the Converse with white string. Has anyone tried that with success?

 *I've never actually counted but I know the real number would freak me out if I did.

"Why does she do this to our photos?"