Sparkle girlz Coupe & New Barbie Stuff

I had to make another Walmart run today, and I decided to check out the doll aisle. I was hoping to find the Sparke girlz pool Muff posted about, but it wasn’t in stock. In fact, this particular store (one of two within five miles of my house) looks to be behind schedule for stocking the new merchandise. There were white papers taped to all the toy shelves showing where things are going to be. There were even some price stickers already in place, but most of the actual merchandise was nowhere in sight. I saw a sign for Sparkle girlz fashions and boutique sets, but none of the actual items. One item they did have out on the shelves was the Sparkle girlz coupe. I have no interest in purchasing it, but thought some of you might enjoy seeing pictures of it. Yes, those are eyelashes on the car!

Now on to the new Barbie stuff that caught my eye. I first saw this new Barbie Careers Babysitter play set at a Toys R Us where some individual had removed the baby and high chair from the only box left on the shelf. I have recently spotted it in two Walmart stores. Surprisingly the Walmart price is the highest I’ve seen, even higher than TRU. Target is currently offering it at the lowest price ($25.99). I really want this play set, but I want it for much less than its current selling price, so I left it at the store. I’m hoping my patience will be rewarded with an AA set. So far, I have only seen the version pictured.

I spotted three new Barbie careers fashion packs. The older packs (nurse, ice skater, equestrian) are currently on clearance at all of my local stores. The new packs include an astronaut, an art teacher, and a life guard. The life guard set has some neat accessories, and I’ve added that one to my wish list.

I also noticed several new Mattel fashions in both individual and combo packs. There are lots of shiny dresses, some new formal wear options, and new combo packs. I purchased a rose gold formal dress for $5.97 and the combo pack below for $11.97.

Barbie loves Girl Scouts! The store I visited today only had the blonde and brunette versions, but I’ve seen the AA doll at Toys R Us. I love the cute little boxes of Girl Scout cookies. Apparently donning a GS uniform has landed Barbie in the middle of another controversy. Still, I think she's rather cute.

Taylor Gets a New Wardrobe (Sparkle girlz fashions)

So many doll enthusiasts have blogged recently about Funville's Sparke girlz fashions that I had to make my way to Walmart and check them out for myself. I was excited to see that my local store had several of the $1.97 fashions and a few varieties of the boutique sets. I purchased two of the single fashion packs and one boutique set. Because the Sparkle girlz dolls come in a box with a cone-shaped bottom, it was difficult to estimate their height. The fashions looked like they would be most appropriate for our teenage crowd, so I bought them with High School Musical Taylor and Gabriella in mind.

I probably could have taken better pictures if my one-year-old wasn't fed up by this point and ready to go. Here's a picture of the boutique set I purchased for $8.88. It came with 5 fashions, two purses, and 3 pairs of shoes. Mara and I split the clothes between Gabi and Taylor. I'd hoped the sparkly dress with the rose would work on one of my SIS dolls, but no such luck. There were three different sets at this price.

Here is another set that comes with 28 pieces. 

If I remember correctly, this one was priced between $14-$15.

Here are a few pics of the girls modeling their new digs.

Pros: The price is right. The quality is good for the price (generous velcro closures). The fashions are trendy and cute. There is a LOT of variety. We finally have wardrobe options for Skipper-size dolls.

Cons: Each fashion has eight or more tiny plastic fasteners holding it to the cardboard, making it a pain to remove from the packaging. The dresses all have "panties" sewn in to them that my six-year-old found frustrating as she tried to dress her doll by herself. I plan to snip them for her.

I am quite satisfied with my purchase, and will be checking for these at each Walmart I visit.

Target Exclusive Moxie Girlz Friends

I stopped by my local Target about a week ago with plans to pick up one of the marked down Barbie S.I.S. sister sets. Unfortunately, they were all gone. The whole Barbie section was pretty sad looking to tell you the truth, but I did find these cute little Target exclusive Moxie girlz friends dolls. There were four dolls to choose from. Here are pics of the two I bought and the two I left behind. I passed on the AA girl only because I don’t like her eye color. Her curly puffs are super cute. The red head is beyond adorable in person. I’m thinking she would be a perfect daughter for Midge. 

Cameo has already been renamed and placed in a family.

Their heads are over-sized but not annoyingly so. They are taller than the original Kelly/Tommy doll, but shorter than Chelsea and the So in Style kids. Below is a comparison photo. They can share clothes with the S.I.S. girls, but their feet are too narrow to share shoes. At $2.99, they are cheaper than Chelsea and her friends, but there are some trade-offs. For one thing, their clothes are not as well made. They are thin and cheap feeling. Also, the hair is not as nice and there’s quite a bit of scalp to be seen when you part it. Head movement is side to side and arms and legs move back and forth…that’s it. Still, I think they are great little additions to my collection of kids.