Fashion Dolls 101

With Geoffrey the Giraffe at the Bellevue TRU in 2015 It has been all over the news, so I am sure this post is not breaking news to anyone. However, I could not let the Toys R Us (TRU) chain shut its doors forever without a small homage of my own. See update at end of post about the possibility of some TRU stores reopening! Toys R Us was established on June 1957, in Washington, D.C. I have fond memories of going into the huge toy store as a little girl when we lived in D.C. There was nothing else like it. Later as Toys R Us moved across the country we finally got one in Nashville and a few years later, a store opened in Bellevue, TN, where I became a frequent guest. A writer for several fashion doll magazines including Barbie Bazaar and Millers Fashion Doll Magazine, I was often in the store taking photos of new dolls and buying them for more formal photo shoots for my articles. After print media doll magazines closed their doors, I still wrote doll articles for Examiner,...

Sadly, the Toys R Us chain of big-box toy stores is closing across the nation. The only perk in this sorry chain of events is the fact that toys and dolls are 50 - 70 % off in the few stores that are still in the process of closing. This means the handful of Minecraft toys that are left are now 60% or more off the original price. So head in today to say goodby to a pop culture retail icon as it closes its doors, and rescue a Minecraft Sheep, Ghast or a Creeper while you are there. Related:  Winter Fun with Minecraft Figures Minecraft Dolls & Action Figures Minecraft Secrets:Totally Awesome Builds Book Review   Minecraft PvP Servers group on Facebook Ask me how you can doll yourself up with amazing clinical skincare products and start your way to clearer, healthier skin today! Join me on  Facebook  or email skin_and_health@yahoo.com  for more info! I would love to help you have the best skin of your life!!

First of all, this is not the smallest Barbie in the world unless they mean "currently on the market!" Smaller Barbies have been produces for Hallmark ornaments as well as a Barbie doll Skipper once owned, to name a couple. However, these little "World's Smallest Barbie" miniatures are cute and they might very well be the smallest Barbies on the market right now at about 3" tall. The little retro fashion dolls made by Super Impulse Toys come with tiny sunglasses. I only saw two--the original 1959 Barbie doll and the 1971 Malibu Barbie.  These were for sale at Toys R Us for $4.99.  They are also available on Amazon .The little cuties are definitely worth a look! Thank you for reading and thank you for sharing the link to this article with others. This article and photos are copyrighted and not available to reprint or republish.   Join me on Facebook  for more doll collecting fun!  Ask me how you can doll yourself up with amazing clinical skincar...

Toys 'R' Us announces the 2013 Holiday Hot Toy List Toys "R" Us has just announced their 2013 Holiday Hot Toy List, so if the young one in your home has not told you what he or she wants, the chances are good it's on this definitive list. Read more: Toys 'R' Us announces the 2013 Holiday Hot Toy List - Nashville Doll Collecting Examiner Ask me how you can doll yourself up with amazing clinical skincare products and start your way to clearer, healthier skin today! Join me on  Facebook  or email skin_and_health@yahoo.com  for more info! I would love to help you have the best skin of your life!!

Moxie Teenz wigs on clearance at Toys R Us The cute and colorful interchangeable Moxie Teenz dolls wigs have gone on clearance at Toys R Us. Regularly $4.99, these wigs are now only $2.98 each.  Read more at: Moxie Teenz wigs on clearance at Toys R Us - Nashville Doll Collecting Examiner Ask me how you can doll yourself up with amazing clinical skincare products and start your way to clearer, healthier skin today! Join me on  Facebook  or email skin_and_health@yahoo.com  for more info! I would love to help you have the best skin of your life!!

Hayley - Shooting Star of the Fashion Doll World       Hayley, a Gene clone, appeared on shelves briefly in 1998 © 1998 by Kathryn E. Darden      On the horizon of the doll collecting world, visible for a brief time, a small, bright star that quickly disappeared... was it Haley's comet? No, just Hayley.      During the first couple of weeks of November 1998, doll collectors who haunt the aisles of toy stores noticed a new girl on the shelves of a few select Toys ìRî Us stores. A few inches taller than Barbie, manufactured by the Soft Luv company, Hayley came in eight different outfits with three distinct facial styles. Those of us who are Gene aficionados immediately recognized the similarities.  For those of you who have not been paying attention, Gene was created in 1991 by Mel Odom, an award-winning New York artist and illustrator. Ashton-Drake, an affiliate of The Bradford Exchange, began marketing the Gene...