What Girl(s) Have I Added This Time? (EDITED 7/4/20)

Greetings Barbie Lovers!

Have I got the post for you. Just wait for it. :)

First, my sweet Aunt lost her battle with cancer at the end of March. And she LOVED this doll she called "The Pink Lady."

 

I don't know where she got it but she always loved this doll. Unfortunately I have no place for it and I would hate for it to be stored away. So I told my mom to find someone who would love her and I would take some nice photographs of her to remember it by. 

She had a pretty sizeable inheritance that she willed to my brother and I through my mother as custodian. While the money is still in probate and we don't have it yet, my mom wanted to tell me how to use some of the money. She said she wanted me to buy something where I could tell everyone "This is from my sweet Aunt. She got this for me." I honestly couldn't think of anything. And usually when I get money for me, it goes to either the husband or the boys, just how us mom's are! But she said that this is for me and me only and if I needed a 'loan' to buy something substantial, she would loan it to me until her money was liquid again. 

I thought, and thought some more and of course, dolls popped up in my mind (because why wouldn't they!) And because dolls are and have always been a huge part of my life, I wanted to get something that I wouldn't otherwise have gotten because of funds. We are a single income family so I need to be careful when making doll purchases so I chose something that would be treasured for many years to come.

What?!?! Oh yes I did!

I was glad that this came in the original box from Mattel. I was hoping it would. And I'm glad it did because it still came in the tissue wrap to protect the box. If only all dolls could come this way!
 

Have you taken a look at the Star Wars x Barbie dolls? They are absolutely STUNNING. I took a solid good look at the dolls on the Mattel website and I will tell you that they are even more stunning in person than in the photographs. I was taken aback at how gorgeous this Princess Leia doll was. 

The box is a most peculiar shape. Kind of a weird pentagon.
 

The transparent band slides off the top to reveal some concept art and the full beauty of this doll. And while you can take her out of the box for some boxed but deboxed photos, I have read reviews where people had trouble getting them out. So we are just going to take pictures in the box. (And please excuse the background. It's in the bedroom, the perfect place to take pictures with absolutely no sunlight to glare off the plastic.)
 

So who designed this doll? None other than the master of Barbie Haute Couture, Robert Best! And you know that anything that comes from him is going to be GOOD. He wanted to design dolls based on the original concept art from Star Wars and give them a high fashion twist. Job well done for sure!

This Princess Leia Barbie comes with the iconic two buns hair style. And oh dear, how I wish I could take her out and fix that hair sticking out of her right bun! Necklace is very space age and she has neutral makeup and stars in her eyes.
 

 

You can see that around the buns there are braids and hair nets to keep it all in place. Great way to protect the style. 

  

But her head is still stuck to the box with hang tags. Please Mattel, if this is a collectors doll, we don't want to mess up her hair by the hang tags in her head! STAP please. 

 

Check out these SHOES! Gladiator type closed toe heels and I love how they positioned the dress so we could get a great look at those. Love!
 

The dress looks like a crepe material and has a belt that matches the necklace. 
 

  
She has bracelets on both wrists and a purse with the Galactic Empire Rebel Alliance symbol on it.
 

Her sleeves are long to the floor and the dress is fully lined. Such a beautiful touch that adds a lot of body and elegance to the dress. 
 

She comes with a doll stand that has the Star Wars Logo on the side. 
 

The left inside of the box has the Princess Leia concept art
 

The other side has the Barbie concept art
 

On the side of the box is an iconic Princess Leia quote "Someone has to save our skins." There is another sentence after this one that says "Into the garbage chute fly boy" said to Han Solo after him and Luke are there to rescue her. 
 

EDIT: I have also found an interview with designer Robert Best where he talks about the making of this doll!


Inspired by original concept art from Star Wars: A New Hope, the Star Wars™ X Barbie® Collection puts a high-fashion twist on iconic characters! In this exclusive interview, Robert Best talks about his love for Star Wars, design challenges, and shares his experience in bringing this new collection to life.
 
What was particularly exciting or unique about this collaboration for you?
The unique aspects of this come from the collaboration of two unique icons that truly stand alone. Barbie and Star Wars are cultural phenomena like no others and so it’s exciting to bring these two worlds together. I also think it might be an unexpected collaboration and I love that.

With the Leia-inspired doll, how did you approach the task of designing a look that’s fresh, yet honors the original, since the movie costume and hairstyle are so indelibly iconic?
With the look inspired by Princess Leia, I knew that keeping the signature elements would be important and the challenge was making them different enough where it didn’t feel like a costume or a strict recreation. I also wanted to make sure Leia's confidence shined through. I took the hairstyle (that might be one of the most recognizable of all time) and added braids and volume as well as lowering the placement. For the gown I really wanted to amp up the glamour but still keep it relatively clean & simple. We created a stunning white gown with dramatic cape-like sleeves, highlighted with the silver corset belt, necklace and cuffs adding a cool touch of shine and texture.

What do you think fans of Star Wars and Barbie will be most excited about?
As a fan of both myself – my hope is that fans will share the excitement and joy that I had when creating these dolls from this unique and amazing collaboration. For me personally – this was definitely a dream collaboration and I hope that comes through to the fans.


I believe that this is a gold label collector doll with no more than 20,000 worldwide. 

The back of the sleeve reads "The Star Wars x Barbie collaboration is an homage to Star Wars: A New Hope. This eponymous collection, inspired by the film's original concept art, re-imagines iconic characters through a distinctive Barbie high-fashion filter. 

High fashion indeed!
 

Here is the picture of Princess Leia from the Mattel website. 

barbie.mattel.com

And as I said at the beginning, she is more stunning than any photograph could ever portray.

And that's all for this time! Have you seen any of the other Star Wars x Barbie dolls? Have them or want to get them? Let me know in the comments!

Next post coming up soon. Until then!