Black Doll Collecting

Thursday, January 9, 2025

XianXian Fashion Supermodel Miya

European Fashion Supermodel with African American complexion by XianXian

In a post about dolls I received or purchased for myself for Christmas, I shared photos of a XianXian (pronounced she-ann she-ann) fashion doll that arrived the day after Christmas. In that post, I promised to share more pictures of the fashion doll. This is that post.

Miya arrived from China in a plastic mailer, only protected by bubble wrap. There is at least one scratch underneath the breastplate and some surface discolorations on the side of one leg (possibly machine-generated or sealant-generated), but the worst flaw is the bend in the doll's lower right leg. After finding shoes that fit the doll's larger-than-Barbie's-feet but smaller than most recent Integrity Toys' dolls' feet, I took the following photos of Miya.

The Flaws and the Feet

The upper part of the leg is rigid plastic while the lower leg below the knee joint is soft vinyl, similar to 1980s-1990s Barbies' full legs. The ankle area of the right leg is bent inward as illustrated in this photo.

Miya's right leg bend is also visible in this photo. I've tried manually bending it into the correct position to no avail.

This photo illustrates the ill fit of the shoes I found. The length is good, but the doll's arch is above the insole, which is not a major problem.

A foot length comparison between Miya and Barbie Fashionista #156 illustrates Miya's longer foot length and higher arch.

Another possible machine-generated flaw and manufacturer's poor quality control is a small plastic protrusion on the side of the left hand. I have since snipped most of this off with a toenail clipper. The rest requires sanding smooth.

Articulation

Miya has the usual five points of articulation plus the extra articulation described below.

Miya has the usual five points of articulation with additional articulation under the breasts, at the waist, elbows, wrists, and knees. The elbow and knee joints were a bit stiff until I gingerly manipulated these areas.

Clothes

I dressed Miya in a two-piece vest-style top and a pencil skirt.

I placed pearl map pins with short stems into the pre-pierced earlobes.

(This doll reminds me of the late singer/actress Barbara McNair seen in the inserted photo.)

Pretty much feeling great about herself despite the flaws, Miya struck this pose.

Comparisons

A height comparison with the now-redressed Barbie Fashionista 156 illustrates only a slight difference.

Compared to Fashionista Barbie #180 which uses the Tall Barbie body there remains only a slight height difference.

Miya appears to be a full inch taller than BMR1959 curvy-bodied Barbie.

These three divas—Miya, Midnight Orchid YaYa (by JHD), and Slay All Day Keeki Adaeze (by Integrity Toys)—are about the same 12-1/2-inch height.

Miya has unpainted stiletto fingernails. The two other dolls in this comparison photo, Keeki and YaYa, have painted stiletto fingernails.

Confession

While I was disappointed by Miya's flaws, after watching a XianXian YouTube video review by Elastic Planet 21 and seeing the other two dolls in actual online photos, I ordered one more XianXian supermodel from a different seller whose shop link is provided in the video description. (The other doll will arrive soon.)

Elastic Planet 21's Review

Related Links

Christmas 2024 Dolls

Barbara McNair

Slay All Day Keeki Adazea

Midnight Orchid Yaya

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Black Doll Enthusiast

I am a Black-doll enthusiast, doll historian, freelance writer, author of The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls; Black Dolls: A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion; and The Doll Blogs: When Dolls Speak, I Listen.

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Tuesday, January 7, 2025

She's That Girl Reign, the Last 2024 Entry

She's That Girl Reign is the last Doll Inventory Excel spreadsheet entry for 2024

She's That Girl Reign, a Christmas gift from a friend, is the last entry in my 2024 Excel Doll Inventory Worksheet. The entry documents the doll's details including the manufacturer's marks and a photo of the doll. Additional photos of Reign taken after Christmas are included with captions below.

Reign is presented in a colorful box with the doll's name on the front.

The back of the box describes Reign and includes the names of three other dolls in the She's That Girl collection: Nova, Quinn, and Sage.

"Reign is a fashion-forward creator who knows how to slay! With her infectious energy and eye for detail, this confident queen is always serving looks while inspiring her besties to embrace their inner style icon. As Reign always says, confidence is the ultimate accessory!"

Reign remains attached to the box liner in this photo and in the next.

Reign wears oval-shaped gold-tone earrings. Oversized eyes are her stand-out feature, which seems to be the trend for dolls made for children.

Reign's accessories were enclosed in a zip-top bag.

Yellow sunglasses, a gold-tone chain necklace, two bracelets, and two gold-tone hair ornaments were in the zip-top bag.

Reign's separate trifold room environment backdrop is an additional accessory designed for photo taking or imaginative play.

I like Reign better with her eyeglasses on—they conceal her oversized eyes.

She's That Girl Reign posed for one final photo wearing her original clothes. Her jewelry and hair accessories remained sealed.

Overall Assessment:

Reign is part of a multicultural doll line
Reign is well-made.
The clothing is well-made and includes underwear. (Too often doll makers do not add panties, even when the doll wears a dress or skirt. Why?)
Reign is the popular 18-inch doll height.
Reign has beautiful, natural textured hair styled in locs.
Reign has a beautiful skin tone that complements her auburn locs and vice versa.
The added accessories and backdrop make her a fun doll.
There are only two hair ornaments. A few more would have been nice.
Based on website reviews, parents say their children love this doll.
Made for children, Reign is suitable for any doll lover.
Reign was a gift but the price point is competitive and is less than the original 18-inch doll lines.
Reign should be able to wear most 18-inch doll clothes and shoes.*

*To see if the last bulleted statement is true, before publishing this post, Reign tried on dresses and shoes made for 18-inch dolls to check the fit.

An animal-print dress designed for 18-inch dolls fits Reign well. She wore it first with her original socks and shoes.

After Reign's original shoes were removed, I discovered her socks are knee-length. She tried on gold Mary Janes.

She struck a cute pose to show off the gold Mary Janes and added her sunglasses to this look.

Next, Reign tried on a pair of gold flats with bow accents. (Brown shoes or lighter socks with the gold shoes would have worked better, in my opinion, but we were just checking fits.)