It’s been a while since we had a day out shopping so we decided to go to Burnie on a Saturday morning. Naturally, as well as the clothes shopping, we needed to do we checked out Target and K Mart for dolls.

We rarely go to Target because it is further down the street from the other shops in the Burnie CBD but this time Naomi wanted a particular type of sock she’d bought there before so we went. However, we didn’t see any Barbie’s we particularly liked. A few Fashionistas, a few “I Can Be” dolls and I think there were a couple of Barbie Extras. No Ken dolls at all.

K Mart proved to be a bit better. We had to look for them, remember the days when you could see “The Pink Aisle” clear across the store, but they did have quite a few dolls. There were a lot of Barbie Extra Dolls. A lot of the collectors in the FB doll groups seem to really like these. I don’t particularly care for them but as Naomi said, the dolls they make now reflect the taste and fashions that people today like. Unfortunately, I prefer the more classic looks of earlier decades.

There were Fashionistas, only one Ken, Skipper Babysitter, a couple of Chelsea sets and a few others that I was not crazy about. I’m not a huge fan of the Milly face sculpt. I have a couple of them and that is enough. Dolls with coloured hair were rejected, you know how I feel about coloured hair. It is just not my thing. Then I spotted these basic Barbie’s going for $5 each. I thought that their faces were passably interesting so I decided to get them. Maybe I’ll keep them or maybe I’ll sell or donate them down the track if they don’t grow on me. At that price I can take the risk that I won’t like them. As you can see, they have basic bodies with straight arms and legs. They have flat feet so they will have a limited number of shoes they can wear. However, I’m hoping that their shoes will fit Gigi. Her tiny flat feet make it hard to match shoes to an outfit. One thing that I did like was that Mattel had dispensed with that annoying plastic they use to fasten dolls hair to the box. Instead, there was just a rubber band to keep it tidy. Much better. I hate taking those plastic things off them.

Then we went to look for the Anko dolls. I’ve mentioned the Anko dolls before, they are a K Mart house brand, made in China. We don’t really care for the adult dolls; the girls’ heads are too big for my taste and both boys and girls have round anime/Disney type eyes. However, the children are better and come with some cute playsets. Naomi bought a couple of these and they were only about $6.

We thought that the animals were very cute in this set.

This school playset was also very nice. Some of the accessories are a bit large for a child sized doll. That compass must be as long as the kid’s arm, but would work with larger dolls.

There were also some Anko fashions which were about $1.50 each so I bought a couple of passable ones. Again, if I am not crazy about them on my own dolls, I can use them for the fixer uppers. I think that is where most of my Fashionista outfits will end up going because I dislike how mismatched they are and how badly they fit standard size dolls. They are very “one size fits none.” These outfits were a nice fit and as well made as current Mattel playline fashions. The white sneakers pictured fit Gigi perfectly, such a relief as I am always losing her shoes.

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On Sunday we dropped in to the Wynyard Foreshore Market where I bought Judy and Lisa Littlechap recently. No sooner had we got to their stall than the young woman recognised me and asked if I were still interested in Dr John & Libby? Well, I didn’t want to break up the ideal nuclear family so of course I said yes. We had to go back to Goldie Street to get some cash out but she put them aside until I got back. Dr John has a slightly damaged nose and Libby has a split at the back of her neck which the seller showed me. It doesn’t notice under her hair. I will tidy her hair up and then think about clothes for them.

Both of them are naked so I will have to find them something to wear tomorrow. Libby might be able to borrow something from Patch if her hips are not too wide. Dr John is probably going to have to have something made. He is so tall. I did find the book with patterns for their outfits the other day so at least I can make something the right size

I thought that it would be interesting to compare the heights of the Littlechaps’ versus the modern-day Barbies. As you can see, they are not much taller than Libby.

All in all, it was a pretty good weekend for dolls. Naomi bought some vintage stuff too. An old kero heater and a couple of Tonka trucks she wants to send to a friend who enjoys fixing them up.

I’ll post some pictures of the reunited Littlechaps when I have made them decent.