Tuesday, April 14, 2026

A Cute Potato Head Doll

A new doll, a dress, and shoes


What the website described as a "potato head" doll is the newest addition to my collection. A clone or knock-off of Nine d'Onil's 9-inch Mia, this doll arrived wearing only black vinyl Mary Jane shoes, as illustrated in the first picture. I ordered and received the brown and tan dress and brown faux-leather T-strap shoes, illustrated above. 

Because she did not have socks, and dolls wearing closed-toe shoes without socks is one of my pet peeves, I made her a pair of socks using two fingers cut from a white cotton glove.

She models her white socks and brown faux-leather T-strap shoes.

The clip-on hair bow was included with the dress. The dress package also included a pair of black vinyl Mary Jane shoes.

These shoes were in the dress package. The doll also arrived wearing an identical pair.


I love the closely-rooted microbraided hair.

Before deciding to purchase this doll, I had placed several versions into my cart. Realizing I did not need all four or five dolls in my cart, the microbraided hair was the deciding factor for choosing this doll. 

My two branded Nines d'Onil dolls posed with the new girl in the final AI-generated photo.

They display well together in real life, too!

The middle Mia, shown above, now wears a pair of the black Mary Janes that were included in this order. Originally, she had bare feet.

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©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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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 Spam comments will not be published.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 for detailed installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind black dolls. http://virtualblackdollmuseum.com



Thursday, April 9, 2026

Learn Baby Learn Book Review


Learn, Baby, Learn the Shindana Toy Factory’s Legacy of Black Pride

By

Charlotte Watson Sherman

Illustrated by Esther J. Stimphat


My excitement about this book commenced when I learned of its publication by email from the author. The excitement increased after receiving my copy directly from the author, and it escalated even further after I viewed the front cover, which illustrates Black children enjoying Shindana’s dolls Kim in formal attire, Career Girl Wanda, and J.J., along with Slade Super Agent action figure.

After opening the hardcover and viewing the first three pages of colorful Shindana doll illustrations by Esther J. Stimphat, I was filled with joy to realize others, both familiar and unfamiliar with the company’s rich history, will rediscover or discover its legacy of Black pride and what prompted the founders to create this historic doll company—the first to mass-produce ethnically correct Black dolls.

Readers will discover the names of former businesses that operated in what became the Shindana Doll Factory. Sherman's poetic historical account of the people who migrated West from the South seeking better living conditions and what they found explains the conditions that led to the 1965 Watts Rising.

Learn, Baby, Learn: The Shindana Doll Factory’s Legacy of Black Pride tells the inspiring story of how a community’s despair sparked the creation of a company devoted to rebuilding hope—producing ethnically accurate dolls, action figures, and educational games that celebrated Black identity.

Hardcover and paperback versions are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and from other book sellers.

Visit the author's website www.charlottewatsonsherman.com.

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All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©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 for detailed installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind black dolls. http://virtualblackdollmuseum.com

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Elara Cover Girls

Mix and match fashion-doll clothes

I purchased new fashions for XianXian Supermodel Elara. In the next picture, the ladies model two of the three fashions. 

The contrast between their deep complexions and the bright colors of the clothing works well.

I love this look on them.  I'll use the extra fashion for another doll.

I wanted to create a 1960s mod-era look with matching Mondrian color-block dresses and fishnet stockings. 

Elara dolls wear a Mondrian color-block dress.


White fishnet stockings, white ankle boots, and wedge heels complement the dresses.

Because they both have supermodel magazine cover appeal, they are now cover girls.

They are indeed supermodels extraordinare!

Elara dolls look just as good in these off-the-rack clothes as in haute couture fashions. 

Sculpt Comparison

    
Before this post was published, another collector asked if I thought Elara and the above honey-skin-toned XianXian doll shared the same sculpt. My initial answer was no. After I took the above photo, my answer remained no. The head sculpts are similar; however, the lighter-complexioned doll's lips appear fuller, and her straight-forward eyes are set wider apart than Elara's. The head sculpt for the doll on the right is Gala, according to the XianXianToys website.

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__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©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 for detailed installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind black dolls. http://virtualblackdollmuseum.com