Barbie Fashionista 221's Hair

Redressed Barbie Fashionista #221

After redressing Barbie Fashionista #221, I noticed her hair was uneven. I ordered two of these dolls in 2024, and both dolls' hair needed cutting and shaping because it looked like a hot mess! It looked much better after the first haircut, but I didn't shape it properly. 

Barbie Fashionista #221's first haircut is shown above.

I wanted to add length (which, of course, is impossible once hair is cut) and even the ends. To achieve the desired look, I used some of my saved hair clippings and shed hair to felt into the doll's hair instead of rooting the hair into the doll's vinyl head.

I used my hair and a felting needle to lengthen Barbie Fashionista #221's hair.

My hair felting process is poking (felting) small tufts of hair throughout the doll's hair until the desired fullness and evenness are achieved.

The hair felting results are shown below, along with a final before-and-after photo. 

The hair shaped up nicely after I used my hair to felt into the doll's existing hair and trimmed the ends.

The hair looks much better now, well-rounded and even.

The before-and-after photo confirms the aesthetic improvement.

Related Post

Redressing Fashionista Barbies #221 and #240
__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and may not be used elsewhere without the author's permission.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published. To contact me directly, use the About page link, which is also visible in Web View mode; find and use the email link.

Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum (VBDM) for over 1000 curated installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind Black dolls, and now featuring profiles of Black-doll collectors, artists, and other Black-doll contributors. 

Contact the curator through the VBDM contact page to have your Black-doll collector or artist profile featured on the museum website for up to 30 days.

Redressing Fashionista Barbies 221 and 240

Fashion doll skirts, tops, and shoes

When I ordered two plaid skirts, tops, and slingback shoes to fit Barbie-sized dolls, I had no idea who would wear them. I just wanted the plaid skirts, and of course, I needed tops to go with them. Slingback fashion doll shoes in a variety of colors, including red, are always needed. 

Barbie Fashionista 221, a playline doll that pays homage to the first Black Barbie, wears her original clothing and shoes. I added the stud earrings, which are 3/4-inch map pins.

Because the skirts require slim-bodied dolls, I chose Barbie Fashionista 221 to wear the red plaid skirt.

Barbie 221 wears her original gold choker and red strappy shoes with the new red top and plaid skirt. She accessorizes with an off-white eelskin handbag from a MiniBrands fashion capsule.

Posing

The top and skirt fit her slim body well.

Barbie Fashionista 240 wears her original shades, dress, and shoes (that never matched the dress). 

Instead of storing 221's sparkly red dress, I tried it on Barbie Fashionista 240, and although she has a curvier body than 221, she wears it well, as illustrated next. 

She wears the new red slingbacks with 221's dress and accessorizes with gold hoop earrings and MiniBrands items: a gold and red choker, red velvet tam, and a matching handbag. The MiniBrands tam is held on her head with a 3/4-inch red map pin. (I use these for stud earrings, too.)

The tam has "Mini" stamped in gold on the front rim. I was going to paint it red, but I opted for something different after both dolls posed together in the next two photos.

Barbie Fashionista 221 and 240 pose together.

And here, they are in a close-up photo.

Barbie Fashionista 240 models her new ensemble with the tam turned backwards to conceal the lettering, and she looks so chic in her original shades.

Redressing a doll is almost like getting a new one, but better than that, it allows me to enjoy the dolls that are already here.

__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and may not be used elsewhere without the author's permission.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published. To contact me directly, use the About page link, which is also visible in Web View mode; find and use the email link.

Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum (VBDM) for over 1000 curated installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind Black dolls, and now featuring profiles of Black-doll collectors, artists, and other Black-doll contributors. 

Contact the curator through the VBDM contact page to have your Black-doll collector or artist profile featured on the museum website for up to 30 days.

An Artist's Profile: Priyah Bhagat

Mixed media doll artist, Priyah Bhagat

The 4th in the When Did You Fall in Love With Black Dolls? series, mixed media doll artist Priyah Bhagat shares her doll maker's profile with the Virtual Black Doll Museum. Follow the link to read the full interview.

https://virtualblackdollmuseum.com/2026/11/07/an-artists-profile-priyah-bhagat/ 

Call for Submissions: If you are a doll collector or doll artist who chiefly collects or makes Black dolls and would like your profile included in this monthly series, please contact the curator at virtualblackdollmuseum@gmail.com for participation details.

__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and may not be used elsewhere without the author's permission.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published. To contact me directly, use the About page link, which is also visible in Web View mode; find and use the email link.

Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum (VBDM) for over 1000 curated installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind Black dolls, and now featuring profiles of Black-doll collectors, artists, and other Black-doll contributors. 

Contact the curator through the VBDM contact page to have your Black-doll collector or artist profile featured on the museum website for up to 30 days.