Saturday, July 20, 2013

Ty Girlz clothes on Moxie Teenz

The Moxie Teenz are among my favorite playline dolls but their clothing options are limited due to their oddball 14" height. The line was cancelled after three years so they didn't have a chance to build up a large wardrobe. 

MGA released three waves of MT dolls, several wigs and accessory sets, and some fashion packs. How many outfits? I can't find a good source for detailed information about these dolls, apparently they weren't popular enough (please post a comment if you know of a website that shows all the available fashion packs). All I know is that my local TRU has had the same three MT outfits on sale for well over a year, but Google Images indicates there were some MT fashions released earlier that I didn't see in person.

This is how I display my Teenz:


My collection has all four dolls in the 1st wave (plus an extra Arizona from a thrift shop), no dolls from the 2nd wave, and two new dolls introduced in wave 3 (Gavin the boy and Leigh the redhead). Wave 3 dolls have rooted hair, don't buy them if you want to play with the MT wigs.

You can see how tall the 14" Teenz look compared to a Monster High doll on the far left and a Liv doll on the far right. Liv dolls make good little sisters to the Teenz, despite being manufactured by a different company. Both lines feature wigs, big heads, inset eyes, and articulated bodies.

Ty Girlz, the clothing donors

A sample of some of the Ty Girlz produced before their cancellation in 2012
You might think the Ty Girlz look kinda cute in this photo, but the dolls are so much worse in person. I don't mean to insult anyone who likes them, they're just not my taste at all.

Ty Girlz clothing is far from a guaranteed perfect fit on Moxie Teenz dolls. I think most of the TG pants are too small, but I haven't been able to try all of the styles available. Stick to skirts to be safe. If pants fit over the thighs they'll look like capris or clam diggers. Sleeves look short on the longer MT arms, but they can be rolled up to the elbow or left alone for a 3/4 length sleeve. Some shirts reveal the belly, which isn't always a bad look, especially on dolls with a flat stomach.

thrift store score
I've found several Ty Girlz at thrift shops, plus the one carded outfit shown above. At the usual $2 or $3 thrift price I don't mind picking up a doll just for her outfit, especially if it'll help the Teenz expand their wardrobe. (I'm not sure what their retail price was but the Ty Girlz are discontinued so it no longer matters, and I never saw them in regular stores anyway.) I don't buy every Ty doll I see because some of the clothes are boring or they don't look like they'd be a good fit for the Teenz.

Three Ty Girlz outfits on Moxie Teenz (shoes are MT). 
The Paris shirt seems appropriate for a doll named Bijou


The skirts look short, but compare them to this official Moxie Teenz skirt shown on the right (below):



Ty Girlz skirt on left, Moxie Teenz skirt on right
Above: the two Arizonas, both first wave but their lips are different shades of pink. After this photo I swapped their wigs, the casual straight style looked better with a more casual outfit. 

I also decided there were too many short skirts in the MT lineup on my shelf, so preppie Arizona is now wearing Bijou's original skinny jeans. I like this look even better:


Here's another Ty Girlz outfit modelled on Moxie Teen Leigh. As you can see, the jeans look like clam diggers:

Wanna go clamming?
TG jeans have velcro sides to ease in redressing the stuffed fabric bodies. This feature also helps slide the tight jeans over plastic MT thighs, but it was still quite a struggle putting the jeans on Leigh. The sides don't close completely on MT legs, so it's not a good fit. It looks OK from the front but I don't recommend you buy a TG outfit with jeans for your MT dolls, unless you really love the shirt. TG pants made from stretchier fabric would likely fit fine around MT thighs, but they'd still be short.


Most of the Ty shirts have Velcro down the back but this preppie shirt made things a little more difficult:


There's no opening in the front or back. I almost gave up and cut it down the back, I thought her arms were going to break! In hindsight I should've tried to put the shirt on starting at her feet, it looks like the neck opening would stretch over her hips.

Bottom line: It's worth taking a second look at Ty dolls in thrift shops if your Teenz need more clothes. Keep the limitations in mind (avoid pants and accept the sleeves will look 3/4 length if you don't roll them up) and you probably won't regret buying a Ty Girl for her clothes, especially at cheap thrift store prices.

10 comments:

  1. Hello from Spain: interesting collection. Lovely dolls. I like her outfits. Keep in touch

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  2. Moxie girl dolls made it to Australia but only a few Moxie Teenz seem to have (although for some reason a lot of their wigs did) so unfortunately I've only seen these dolls on blogs. However, Simplicity has a doll clothes pattern (no. 1955) which comes in 3 sizes and the L size is for 32cm dolls such as Moxies. This may be the Moxie girl size but my guess is they may not need much alteration to fit your teen girls and this could be another way to extend their wardrobe.

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  3. Thanks for sharing. I like when clothes from other lines can be used with different dolls.

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  4. I knew that TY outfit I saw tonight would fit my Moxie Teen! Thanks for your tip :) Found your blog through Google, searching for other thrifted doll blogs like mine (although it started as dollhouse miniatures)!

    Glad to have found you, and look forward to reading your blog!

    Rebecca

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  5. What a great tip. I wouldn't think the TY girlz outfits would fit MT by just looking and comparing. Unfortunately TY girlz weren't sold in The Netherlands so my 1st wave Tristen will be stuck in her stock outfit for the next few months/years or whatever. Luckily, her stock outfit looks great.

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  6. Have you considered the idea of just making your own dolls clothes? It would be a great way to make your dolls look fashionable without spending much. And you would have the fit you really want for your dolls.
    ShopAtOliviasDollCloset.com

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  7. are any of your dolls for sale?

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  8. are any of your dolls for sale?

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  9. Nice post! This is a very nice blog that I will definitively come back to more times this year! Thanks for informative post. Choice Fashion

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  10. God! I love the Moxies Teenz! I am obsessed!!! LOL I have the same ty girlz outfit that Leigh is wearing. I will have to decide which one of my dolls will.
    This is a great collection.
    And I love that !965 Barbie too! I have her and I haven't unboxed her. BAD! I should not leave dolls in boxes...

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