Modern Era Addy

Modern Era Addy was released in June 2026, following an initial announcement in February 2026.

Another June 2026 arrival, Modern Era Addy, was ordered from Amazon after quantities returned to that site. My Excel Doll Inventory entry for Addy is shared below along with additional photos of the doll.

Addy is fully documented under the 2026 tab of my Excel Doll Inventory workbook as illustrated above, with the text from the Description and Other cells copied below.

Description: 14-inch vinyl, two-strand twist hairstyle with painted-on baby hair, brown inset eyes with painted upper eyelashes, open mouth with two painted upper teeth; wears a modernized version of Addy's pink-and-white striped dress, white panties, white socks, and pink T-straps. Accessories are a faux cowrie shell necklace, gold hoop earrings, and her original straw bonnet is refashioned as a drawstring purse. 

Other: Modern Era Addy was announced by Mattel in February 2026. The doll's production was delayed due to the original "tobacco plantation" interior box design controversy, which placed the doll back on the Durham, North Carolina plantation after she originally fled enslavement to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mattel redesigned the box, replacing the tobacco field reference with a shrub of purple blooming flowers.

Addy's maroon box is book-shaped.

The original Addy illustration by  Melodye Benson Rosales is on the back of the box with descriptions of the Modern Era collection and Modern Era Addy.

The box text reads:

The Modern Era Collection opens up a new chapter on beloved historical characters with a fresh take on their original fashions. 

Addy

Addy's 1864 pink-and-white striped dress and blue-patterned bow combine into a patchwork outfit, with her straw bonnet becoming a woven bag. Her tucked braid is reimagined into modern twists with a half-up ponytail. She wears golden hoop earrings and a necklace with a faux cowrie shell—a reminder of her strength, heritage, and love of family.

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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.
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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 Spam comments will not be published.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

Happy National Doll Day 2026

National Doll Day is celebrated annually on the first Sunday in August.

✨ Happy National Doll Day! ✨ 

National Doll Day is celebrated annually on the first Sunday in August. Today is all about celebrating the special place dolls hold in our lives, across cultures and generations! Created in 2011 by blogger Lanetta Sprott (Scott) to honor friendship, connection, and childhood joy, National Doll Day recognizes dolls not just as cherished playthings, but as powerful tools for imagination, storytelling, identity, and cultural heritage. ​

Dolls hold our early memories, inspire creativity, and allow us to see ourselves and each other in the stories we create. 

Today, we honor the beauty, diversity, and artistry of doll collecting! 💖 How are you celebrating today? Let me know in the comments below! 👇🏾 ​

#NationalDollDay #BlackDollCollectors #DollCommunity #RepresentationMatters #DollCollector #DiversityInToys

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

From Balloon to Tissue Paper Leotard

Red Ruffles Fashionista Barbie #11 wears a no-sew leotard, tutu, and ballet slippers.

In a 2016 Facebook doll group project, I created a balloon leotard for one of my Barbies (Red Ruffles Fashionista #11) using a video that had been floating around on Facebook as a guide. The rest of the group participants and I also made a tutu and ballet slippers for our dolls. My doll is shown in the first image (above) taken after completing the costume in 2016.

A recent photo of the costumed ballerina standing between two other dolls that share the Goddess head sculpt led to a recent discovery about the costume.

Recall that the costume was created some 10 years ago. Since 2022, my doll has been displayed like this in a vinyl over-the-door shoe pocket. When I retrieved the doll a few weeks ago along with other Barbies that share the Goddess head sculpt, I discovered that the top of her balloon leotard had ruptured. This was probably caused by the doll being inside the vinyl pocket, behind a bedroom door where it did not receive adequate ventilation. 

Close-up of the ruptured leotard

I decided that instead of using a balloon to create a replacement leotard, I would make one from tissue paper as illustrated in the following photos:

I had to peel and, in some areas, scratch off the balloon leotard, which was stuck to the doll's body.

I Saran-wrapped the area that the new leotard would cover, as illustrated in this photo and in the one immediately above it. For protection, her head was wrapped in plastic, too.

I used a papier-mache-like technique to create the tissue-paper leotard with both water-diluted and undiluted Mod Podged strips of pink tissue paper. The Mod Podge was applied with my finger or a wedge makeup sponge (mostly using my index finger).

The doll's body was completely covered with Mod Podged tissue paper and allowed to dry before additional layers were added.

After applying each layer of Mod Podged tissue paper, I stood the doll in a mug until the tissue paper dried, as illustrated in this picture and in the one immediately above it.

In this picture, the leotard has dried, and the excess exposed edges of Saran Wrap were trimmed with a combination of an X-Acto knife and scissors.

The previously used ribbon trim was tied around the top of the leotard, and the tutu was tied around the doll's waist.

She posed gracefully for two more photos. 

The leotard is permanently attached and will require cutting off if I ever want to redress her, but I have no plans to do that.

Even though the tissue paper leotard is more durable than the balloon, I plan to display her in an open area.

The final AI-led photo below placed this lovely doll in an elegant ballet performance scene. 

Solo performance

Related Link

Making a No-Sew Doll Leotard, Tutu, and Slippers

__________

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