Dreamhouse Midge

What happened?!

1) The local Value Village is gone. It was my main source for thrifted dolls, they always had more dolls at better prices than Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul. I will miss that place! Fortunately there are two Goodwills a few miles from home so I'm not in a thrifty wasteland, but things won't be the same without Value Village too.

2) Goodwill is still charging $3 for most dolls so I'm being very picky about what I buy there.

3) I'm going through an overwhelmed with stuff phase.

These three factors have contributed to the lack of updates. Thrift purchases are down and I haven't found much that's both new and exciting. Until I saw the new Midge.

Dreamhouse Midge

Dreamhouse Midge is wearing a Mattel Fashion Ave dress (2002)

Mattel has a new Dreamhouse line, featuring Barbie and friends. Check out the entire line here on Barbie Collector.

Back of the box. Barbie and her friends as cartoons (videos on the Dreamhouse site)

I think of them as a tamer version of the Generation Girls (1999) for a new crop of children. If you weren't around playline Barbie from the '90s and early 2000s, it might help to know some of them featured tattoos, ears with multiple piercings, and nose rings. Even Ken had an earring in 1993 -- so magical! This freaked out some parents so various dolls were recalled, there was media controversy (aka free advertising for Mattel), blah blah blah. It seems Mattel's itch to push the envelope (in an effort to appeal to tweens and teens who think "Barbie is for babies") has been satisfied with Monster High.

When did I last buy a new Mattel doll that wasn't branded Monster High? I'm not sure but it's been a long time. As soon as I saw this Dreamhouse Midge in a promo photo I knew I'd need her right away.

2013 Dreamhouse Midge -- Mattel promo photo

She was waiting for me at Target yesterday and I squealed on the inside like a little girl. I love Midge, and this doll with her Steffie face mold is simply beautiful. She has an articulated body, rooted eyelashes, and she comes with two outfits, one boring plastic bag, one pair of basic-but-cute shoes, and bad plastic jewelry. Not bad for $17. I will be over the moon when this line starts showing up at Goodwill, their articulated bodies are definitely worth $3!

Her first outfit looks a little strange to me, it's the opposite of matchy-matchy. Pink, dark blue, sparkly red? Polka dots and roses? Hmm, OK. The second outfit isn't much better but honestly I would've paid the asking price of $17 for this Midge in a swimsuit. I like her that much.

I immediately removed the necklace because it's gold plastic and awful.
The earrings will need to be cut off.

Her 2nd outfit is sweet and simple, with raw edges on the sleeves (cheap!)

Torso articulation! She holds all poses perfectly.

Much better. I miss the Fashion Ave line.
It was hit and miss, but oh! the hits!

Back of the box detail. Notice Barbie with a grayed-out vintage Midge? Cute!

Dreamhouse Midge meets vintage Midge. These dolls were manufactured ~50 years apart!
Where will Barbie and Midge be in another 50 years?

Vintage Midge is wearing Dreamhouse Midge's second outfit

I found vintage Midge at a Seattle doll show in 2001. Dreamhouse Midge's dress looks like it belongs on a vintage doll, especially with those sleeves.

meh, it's a plastic purse

Midge's cute shoes

I would've traded the plastic jewelry and purse for another pair of shoes, but that's a minor complaint.

I probably won't buy more Dreamhouse dolls until they hit 50% off, but I recommend the dolls at full price ($17) if you love one of the facemolds or like the outfits a certain doll offers. Check out the entire line here on Barbie Collector. Raquelle has a smirky grin that made me actually laugh when I saw it in person, I might buy her next.

LaDeeDa, it's a Target Sale

Quick note: LaDeeDa outfits are on clearance at my local Target for $4 (50% off). The LDD dolls are on sale as well, some are around 25% off and the original line is 50% off (same for the original Bratzillaz). I picked up this cute picnic dress because the clothes fit Monster High ghouls.