Fashion Dolls 101

~   Hello Kitty Turns 50: Still No Mouth, But Plenty to Say ~ In a world where celebrities often make headlines for their outspoken antics, Hello Kitty has achieved a remarkable milestone by gracing the cover of TIME Magazine without uttering a single word. Celebrating her 50th anniversary, the iconic character has been honored with a special edition of TIME, highlighting her enduring influence on global culture. The Silent Icon’s Global Reign Since her debut in 1974 on a simple vinyl coin purse, Hello Kitty has become a ubiquitous presence, adorning over 50,000 products sold across 130 countries. Her image has generated an estimated $80 billion in revenue over her lifetime, making her one of the most successful marketing creations in history. Hello Kitty’s appeal lies in her simplicity and adaptability. Without a mouth, she serves as a blank canvas, allowing fans to project their emotions onto her expressionless face. This design choice has enabled her to transcend cultural and ...

Move over Elon Musk, Taylor Swift, and whoever else pretends to run the world—because Hello Kitty just landed the cover of Time Magazine for her 50th anniversary, and she didn’t even say a word to get there. That’s right. The iconic, mouthless feline from Japan has reached half a century of silently conquering the planet, one overpriced pencil case at a time, and let’s be honest—if silence is golden, Hello Kitty is basically Fort Knox. Who is Hello Kitty? For those who don’t know, Hello Kitty’s real name is Kitty White. She is an 8-year-old British girl who looks like a cat created by Sanrio in 1974. She's known for her red bow and not having a visible mouth. She’s five apples tall, weighs three apples, and has a twin sister—none of whom have aged a day since disco was cool. Botox? No. It’s just the power of kawaii. The Time Magazine Special Edition covers her global reign, why America loves her, plus her friends and family. She’s Not a Cat Though often mistaken for an anthropomorp...

 Put the glitter back into summer with these glamorous plush mermaids from Ty and Publix!  Two recent thrift store find nabbed me a cute pair of glittery mermaids. The first was Lorelei— a glittering sequin mermaid from Ty, similar to the Ty Girls. With reversible sequins, Lorelei’s scales change from pale pink to purple. Lorelei has lilac polyester hair and lavender eyes, and her tail is trimmed with purple tulle.  A couple of weeks later, I found this golden mermaid from Publix. She has blond yarn hair, turquoise eyes and a gold bikini top and gold scales. Her face is slightly more cartoonish than the Ty doll. And the Publix doll has more pronounced ears.  She was originally $10.99 at Publix.  I had noticed the cute Publix mermaids a few years ago when they first came out, but I passed on them at the time. Now I am the proud owner of one! The two plush mermaids display well together with their sparkle and colors and are the same size, so I am quite pleased wi...

  If you love Steve and Alex and can’t get enough of the Creeper and other monsters and critters, you will love the new Minecraft Pez Dispensers.  I saw dispenser figures of Steve, Alex, the Creeper, a pig, and Ender Dragon, and an Enderman.   Although they don’t exactly have outfits and aren’t exactly dolls, these candy dispensers are too cute not to mention.  Don’t laugh. Minecraft recently made the cover of Time magazine.  Related: Minecraft Figures Meet Frozen's Elsa and Anna Minecraft Figures Travel Through Oklahoma A Very Minecraft Christmas Barbie Pez Dispensers 

  L-R: 2024 Dollar Tree patriotic wizard hat gnome, 2025 top-hat patriotic gnome, 2025 patriotic wizard hat gnome With Flag Day, 4th of July and summer on the horizon, Michael’s and Dollar Tree have a parade of patriotic gnomes for shoppers to enjoy! At Michael’s these two 12” patriotic gnomes are sporting top hats: one with a blue hat with white stars, and one with a red and white striped hat with a blue band with white stars on it. The gnome with the blue hat has a red outfit and holds an American flag while the other gnome wears a blue outfit and holds a tinsel sparkler. They sell for $19.99. Dollar Tree also has a red, white and blue top-hat wearing patriotic gnome, as well as one wearing a red pointy wizard cap spangled with white and blue stars for $1.25 each.  The Michael’s gnomes are a little plusher, but the Dollar Tree gnomes are certainly a bargain. Either way, you can’t go wrong! Related: Faith of Our Fathers: Quotes from America’s Founding Fathers Notable Quotable...

These whimsical cloth bunnies have been bust decorating their Easter basket at the last minute on Easter Day!  The bunny on the left is from Dollar Tree, the purple rabbit is a Barbie plush animal, and the two cloth rabbits on the right were thrift store finds of unknown origins.  Happy Easter from these cute cloth bunnies. If you know anything about the two cloth rabbits on the right, please post them in the comments below.  Related: An Easter Invitation Easter 2025: Articles, Events, Poems & More A Collection of Easter Poetry Easter Gnomes Decorating Their Basket

The Easter gnomes from Dollar Tree have been busy getting ready for Easter by putting together their Easter baskets. All of these cloth-doll gnomes except for the one in the sequined cap in the foreground came from Dollar Tree.  So did the cloth bunny.  The gnome craze has brought new collectors into the world of doll collecting the past several years, so try incorporating a little “gnome sweet gnome” into your holiday decorating this year     Related: St. Patrick’s Day Gnomes vs. Leprechauns