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| Barbie Style Grace |
Mattel's So In Style doll line was discontinued after the release of the 2014 Prom dolls. Mattel kept the Grace, friend-of-Barbie, character, but dropped the So In Style brand. After seeing one of the three non-SIS Grace dolls used as the doll for Blue, the youngest character on the Oprah Winfrey Network series, Queen Sugar, it was a no-brainer that the collector in me needed the doll.
The name, Grace, is not printed on the doll's box; however, the doll uses the Grace head sculpt and complexion, is described as Grace in the Barbie community and is listed as Barbie Style Grace on Amazon. On Queen Sugar, Blue calls her Kenya.
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| Grace's jewelry consists of clear hoop earrings and a faux multistrand silver necklace. |
The doll's hair on the show initially appeared blonde to me. Set lighting possibly attributed to this illusion. Grace's true hair color is reddish brown with highlights. Her eyelashes are rooted and her eyes are green.
Grace's fashionable outfit includes a pullover gray sweater with attached mock black and white polka dot shirt, purple skirt with sheer blue floral-print overlay, beige strappy high-heel sandals that match her designer-style handbag, and an extra pair of pink flats.
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| Feet are designed to wear flats or heels. |
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| Illustrated are her tan-trimmed, beige designer-style hand bag and the skirt's overlay of sheer blue floral-print fabric. |
I have not deboxed Grace to test her 100+ poses, as indicated on the back of the box. For now, I will have to take Mattel's word for this claim.
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| Grace and the other Barbie Style dolls are shown on the back of the box. |
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A reader of my previous post about Blue's doll asked: "but why is he carrying the doll?" I answered, "Maybe she is a substitute for his mother, or maybe he just likes her."
DuVernay answers the reader's question in the article, A Black Boy and a Barbie Named Kenya: Why Ava DuVernay's 'Queen Sugar' Goes Where Many Black Stories Won't.
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Episode 4 of Queen Sugar airs tonight at 10 Eastern 9 Central. Check your local listings. My DVR is set!
dbg
Check out my eBay listings here.
I purchased that doll as a body donor! I didn't realize Sugar Queen has started! I 'll have to catch it on demand. I was disappointed to see the end of the So In Style line and the fact that at the end it was limited to just the medium complexion dolls. Well we ever get again a dark or a very dark complexion doll with articulation? I haven't see the SIS in the discount stores like I did with the first line. I don't think they were produced in the numbers that they were In the past. Congrats on getting her.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ms. Leo for the congrats.
DeleteI think the trend is dark skin dolls will be few and far between, which is sad. I would love to see more articulation too. I think Mattel is focused on decreasing production costs. Since articulation drives up the cost of making bodies, we probably won't see this feature in many dolls.
Thanks for the post on the new AA Ken Fashionista. I look forward to adding him to my collection. There again, though, no articulation. At least he has a new pleasing face.
dbg
Thanks for sharing your pictures of this pretty doll and linking to the article. It was interesting to read how a writer subtly tries to start a discussion in her audience.
ReplyDeleteShe's a brilliant writer (Ava DuVernay). Adding in a bit of controversy to the show's scripts without shocking, over-dramatized themes is a better way to interest viewers. This week's episode touched on excessive unjust sentences of AA males which funds the for-profit American penal system.
Deletedbg
That is great that you were able to still find her. I think I purchased her. I will have to go into the doll room and see. I wish I knew why Mattel decided to discontinue the SIS doll line. They were popular and most people loved them. It makes me appreciate all of mine especially Chandra.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we will ever understand why Mattel does what it does. I miss the SIS line and I know its host of fans miss it too. Chandra was also my favorite, but she was not always included in each SIS collection.
Deletedbg
She has been in my Amazon watch list for a while. Like Ms. Leo she was going to be a body donor (still might be). It said to see the S.I.S line discontinued, I think it was really successful.
ReplyDeleteI miss the SIS dolls, really miss them.
Deletedbg
I have this Grace, too and now she's my OOAK Shefali.. I love especially her strappy heeled sandals - they work well with most of my ensembles!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I have seen Shefali. I know she is beautiful!
Deletedbg