Guest Blogger, K. Charles Introduces the so Cool, so Cute, so You, Double Dutch Dolls

Thanks to Debbie for offering me the great opportunity to introduce you all to the Double Dutch Dolls. I have had so much fun creating this line of dolls and books and I hope you will love them as much as I do. Okay, here goes.

The Story

Once upon a time there was a young girl (me) who loved to read. She would read anything and everything but her favorites were Sweet Valley High and anything Judy Blume. She always wished though that there were stories like those that featured girls like her. So, when she grew up she decided to write stories for multicultural little girls. From that the Double Dutch Dolls were born. The series is based on 14-year old African-American identical twins Kaila and Zaria and their four friends: Sascha (African-American), Alainna (Hispanic), Trinity (African-American/Caucasian), and Kadence (Caucasian/Latina). The stories are all about fashion, fun, gossip, peer pressure and all sorts of other girlie things.

The characters became so real to me. I could picture how they looked and how they dressed so I worked with a graphic designer to bring them to life. After hours, days, weeks and months of me describing every detail about the girls and him pulling it all together, the Double Dutch Dolls were really born. They were beautiful. At that moment, I thought, I have to bring these characters to real life. There are so many little girls out there who would love them, not just in the stories, but also as real life dolls who would become their forever friends.

Shown above: the actual doll colors for the entire Double Dutch Dolls doll line

Doll Details

The first two dolls based on the main characters Kaila and Zaria are currently available and retail for $69.97. Double Dutch Dolls are 18-inch, all-vinyl fashion dolls with pierced ears, a realistic child-like body and jointed limbs. They have extra joints in their elbows, knees and wrists so they can be posed in many natural looking positions. Since one of the key elements of the Double Dutch Dolls story line centers around fashion, I wanted the dolls to be poseable and thinner than 18” dolls like American Girl, Target’s Our Generation or Toys R Us Journey Girls, which have cloth bodies. The thicker cloth bodies don’t look as good in fashion outfits.

Double Dutch Dolls also have wigged rather than rooted hair, which is superior. Their wigged hair is machine sewn onto a fabric wig cap, glued onto the doll’s head and then cut and styled. Because of this, their wigged hair better retains its hairstyle more easily than rooted hair. All dolls come with pierced ears (earrings sold separately) and super cute fashion outfits.

Double Dutch Dolls, Kaila and Zaria

What’s Next

I am hard at work putting the finishing touches on the four other Double Dutch Dolls (Sacha, Alainna, Trinity and Kadence) and hope to release them soon. I have received such an outpouring of support from doll enthusiasts, moms, grandmothers, aunts, and daughters. And, I thank you all. I am very excited to share the Double Dutch Dolls with all of you and I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. You can log on to www.doubledutchdolls.com for more information, email me at info@doubledutchdolls.com, or visit and "like" the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DoubleDutchDolls.

K. Charles

K. Charles is the creator of the Double Dutch Dolls and author of the books written about them.

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I would like to thank Ms. Charles for sharing information about the "so Cool, so Cute, so You," Double Dutch Dolls and the books she has written.  With her permission, I have shared photos of my girls as well as a photo of the back of one of the doll's boxes.

Double Dutch Dolls Kaila and Zaria pose with the books, Double Dare and Double Trouble.

The jointed elbows and wrists can be better seen in this close-up of Kaila without her hoodie.  Their knees are also jointed. 

The back of the box provides additional details about the twins.

Addendum
Please note that my dolls' legs were stained black in areas from the dye used for the socks.  I was able to remove the stains with Oxy-10.  I also soaked the socks in hot water to remove most of the dye to prevent further seepage into the vinyl. As a precautionary measure, I wrapped their legs with Saran wrap before the socks were put back on.