I Am U - Sunjai Williams Doll and a Planned Pause

The I Am U Sunjai Williams doll and Sunja herself are featured in a promo photo.

When there is nothing of interest to watch on TV, I often stream old TV series. During the seasons that Bring It! aired (from 2014 to 2019), I watched this show intermittently. Coach Dianna and the DD4L (Dancing Dolls for Life) mothers never ceased to irritate me, but the dance students in their practices and competitions drew me in. I was supposed to be a majorette during my junior and senior years of high school, but my home school closed, and I was bussed to a predominantly white school, where my interest in participating in anything beyond my assigned coursework was nil. The school made it difficult for bussed students to maintain their former extracurricular status, and I didn't want to go through hoops for an activity that no longer interested me.

The Dancing Dolls on Bring It! were always eager to learn the new routines with hopes of winning each upcoming competition that was featured near the end of each episode. They were always pleasant and cordial with each other, but those mothers, Coach Dianna, and the opposing team coaches always brought drama. (I'm sure most of their shenanigans were production-driven as part of the show's "reality" plot.)

Designed by Stacey McBride-Irby, the I Am U Sunjai Williams doll is an 11-1/2-inch portrait of Sunjai Williams when she was one of Dianna Williams' Dancing Dolls majorettes on the Bring It! reality show. The elbows and knees are articulated.

I've recently begun watching old episodes of Bring It!, which inspired me to purchase the Sunjai Williams doll, designed by former Mattel Barbie designer Stacey McBride-Irby, who also designed the So In Style doll line for Mattel, among many other Barbies before her Mattel departure. The Sunjai doll was released in 2017.

The Sunjai Williams doll has long black rooted hair, brown pixelated eyes with white and glittery red eyeshadow, and an open smile with glittery red lipstick.

An animated image of Sunjai is featured on a side panel of the box.

 Dressed in a replica of one of the Dancing Dolls' uniforms, the doll wears a red sequined camisole, long red sequined pants trimmed at the waist and pant leg hems with silver lace and sequins. Silver sequins spiral down the left pant leg. A silver lace sequined choker attaches to the camisole. Red vinyl hightop sneakers complete the look. The package includes a photo card of Sunjai Williams.
 

A Sunjai Williams quiz is on the back of the box along with animated images of Sunjai and Stacey.

This doll is the first and only doll in Stacey's I Am U collection honoring culture and girls' uniqueness. It is the last doll I purchased in August of this year. Due to a recent unfortunate occurrence that gave me pause and time to think about the future of my collection, doll-buying will come to a much-needed pause. I'll spend more time organizing the collection, enjoying what I have, reconnecting with forgotten dolls, and continuing to rehome dolls that are no longer endearing and recently remembered dolls that were purchased in duplicate throughout the years.  

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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.
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The Connie Carters

Connie Carter #3 (the center doll) temporarily posed with two other redhead fashion dolls.

The redheaded "Connie Carter" (the center doll above) that arrived recently was purchased to display with two other redheads. Unfortunately, she doesn't display well with Demi Celia (on the left) and Studio XOXO! Basix Midnight Fire Fanah (on the right). 

The three Connies.

Connie #3 displays better with the two Connies that preceded her. I wanted them dressed in similar fashions. So I redressed the first two Connies, as shown next. 

They wear different colored, clingy spaghetti-strap dresses: light blue, gray, and tan.

They display much better together.

The white-haired doll looks like she could play the role of Storm (Ororo Monroe), described as one of the most powerful and iconic superheroes in the Marvel comics. Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp both played Storm in past X-Men movies. 

Another collector named his unbranded, maker-unnamed doll Connie Carter. I adopted that name from him. I love their gorgeous faces, dark lip color, articulation, and their low price, but I'm not very fond of the static-cling-prone nylon hair.

Related Post

Connie Carter

Redhead Fashion Dolls

Studio XOXO Basix Dolls

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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 for over 1000 curated installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind Black dolls. 

Contact the curator from the contact page of the VBDM to have your profile as a Black-doll collector or artist featured on the museum website.

Redhead Fashion Dolls

Two new redheads

I ordered two more redheaded fashion dolls in August because (doll collectors are always drumming up a reason to buy a doll), I thought they would display well together with another doll that arrived recently. 

The Demi Celia doll

The first doll is by Demi Celia. 

Spreadsheet Description: 11-1/2-inch multiarticulated fashion doll has long, straight, red-rooted nylon hair with a middle part; brown-painted eyes, a faint sprinkling of freckles, dark red lip color on a closed mouth; sold nude, two extra sets of hands were included, an extra set of feet, and a personalized (Demi Celia) translucent doll stand.

Demi Celia's personalized translucent doll stand, extra hands and feet are illustrated.

Demi Celia and a Barbie You Create kit doll that uses the Mermaid sculpt are in a side-by-side headshot.

This doll's sculpt is very similar to the Barbie Mermaid sculpt, but Demi Celia's face is more elongated.

I dressed Demi Celia in a tan knit, spaghetti-strap dress that she initially tried on with two different pairs of shoes.

I created the monochromatic look by pairing the tan dress with champagne-colored shoes.

Next, she tried on a white pair of high heels.

Because she would be twinning with the recently acquired redhead that wears black, I dressed Demi Celia in a black dress, too. 

Demi Celia poses with the doll that inspired her purchase, Studio XOXO! Basix Midnight Fire Fanah, and Demi changed shoes.

Demi and Fanah's hair color matches perfectly. In the above photo, they both accessorize with MiniBrands shoes and handbags.

An unbranded redhead fashion doll with bright-red hair was the 2nd purchase.

The second doll is an unbranded redhead that, except for hair color, is identical to the two "Connie Carter" dolls that arrived in June of this year. Several hair colors were available when I purchased the previous two dolls, but at the time, I didn't think I needed a redheaded version. Doll needs or wants do change. 

This doll is also an 11-1/2-inch, multiarticulated fashion doll with red rooted nylon hair, brown-painted eyes, and a closed mouth with dark red lip color.  Unfortunately, her vivid red hair clashes when she is posed with Demi Celia and Fanah.

Connie Carter #3

Except for its gray color, Connie Carter #3 was dressed in an identical gray knit spaghetti-strap dress and gray high-heeled shoes. 

The three redheads posed together.

Three dolls with darker red hair (Fab Fringe Fashionista Barbie, Barbie Basics Model 03, and Barbie Looks Model #7) had their picture updated. 

I redressed Fab Fringe Barbie and Barbie Basics Model 03, accessorized them with MinBrands Fashion pieces, and posed them with Tamika (Barbie Looks Model #7).

The darker redheads with variations of burgundy hair color are seen in a close-up.

The six sensational dolls posed for a final photo.

While my ultimate goal of displaying together a trio of recently acquired dolls with the same hair color was not achieved, I enjoyed the time spent choosing clothing, shoes, and accessories, which always harkens back to my childhood time playing with Barbies. 
__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and may not 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 over 1000 curated installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind Black dolls. 

Contact the curator from the contact page of the VBDM to have your profile as a Black-doll collector or artist featured on the museum website.