u/DueBarracuda4564

She’s a businesswoman who loves to party. Boardroom during the day. Disco all night long. 

Dear Peasants: 

• Are you seated? No? Too bad. There’s only standing room available.
• If you see her cutting in line for the club, don’t bother complaining. She owns the club. And the building. And the whole damn town. 
• She owns 51% of this company!
• Don’t serve her burnt champagne. 
• She prefers Petrossian Beluga caviar. No Ossetra please. 
• She loves to dance.

 

Doll details:

• Head: Mbili sculpt (2016 Fashionista #25)
• Body: Wheelchair fashionista 
• Clothes and accessories: Barbie Basics YouCreate Kits (1 to 3).
• Shoes: Steffi Love (where do you even find white or normal coloured Barbie heels anymore? I just want some sexy pumps that fit/ don’t keep falling off)

 

About this post: 

• I got this used Mbili doll yesterday. She came nude and it was initially difficult to identify who she was (subsequently found to be a Fashionista per fashiondollz.de)
• I don’t like any of the YouCreate clothes but I’m trying not to waste them. So I’m creating scenarios and characters where they would be applicable. 
• I’ve said it before - these aren’t neutrals basics if basics implies wardrobe staples. These clothes are quite extra in their design. 
• I really didn’t like her original hairstyle. Short with tight curls in an updo. It’s so unflattering when they give dolls this hairstyle. 
• I LOVE her eyes and general face painting.
• This was the first time I ever bought used dolls (I bought a few in a lot yesterday) so there was a lot of work to be done as they were quite messy. There was also a lot of head glue. I feel like a real collector now. 
• I’m quite a novice when it comes to hair. I normally just style my doll hair with my fingers. But for this doll I had to comb the hair quite a bit and apply heat (with the risk of burning the hair). I would have preferred to have left some curls but it was a struggle (since the hair was so short) to go from an updo to wearing the hair down.

Request: 

• If anyone can identify this Mbili please let me know. EDIT: 2016 Fashionista # 25.
• How do you paint doll shoes? As in what would be best to paint them with such that the paint doesn’t come off? I have so many pink heels that don’t go with any outfit.

Details:

Head: 2024 Holiday Barbie. Body: Tennis player. Bodysuit: One of the 2026 YouCreate Kits. Most of the bling: 2026 YouCreate Kits. Handbag: Temu. Shoes: Steffi Love. Ankle Bracelets: Cheap earrings from an unknown jewellery store.

Dear Peasants:

Have several seats. While you were busy laughing at her pixelation, Millie was laughing all the way to the bank.

She ain‘t rich. She RICH RICH. She got that MATTEL money. She’s currently lounging at a billionaire’s resort somewhere in Italy. At the pool with a full face of makeup. She’s not getting into the water.

BTW - that billionaire’s resort I mentioned? She’s the billionaire in question.

Are you gagged? Good.
Please shut the door politely on your way out.

About this post:

- Obviously the above scenario was made in jest but I thought it would be cool to create a character for her as if she was a real model for a corporation.

- This Millie was on sale so I grabbed her but I was at a loss as to how to style her. Her makeup is so… specific… normal clothes don’t look good on her. And that smile… why so much teeth?

- So I imagined a rich bitch archetype. However I don’t like the word “bitch” due to the misogynistic implications - therefore I went with the current title of this post.

- I never thought I would use the bodysuit in those kits but the bodysuit and the bling really worked for the character I created.

Limitations:

- The swimsuit attire exposes how ugly the MTM body can be, especially in the crotch area. The joints are just so hyper visible. This might be mitigated by using pantyhose (but I don‘t have any that would be appropriate for her current look.

- The clothing and bling would actually look much better on a darker skin tone. I might try it out on one of my darker dolls at a later stage.

- I have not styled her hair but more voluminous hair would work better with the character.

Head - Barbie 65th Anniversary Brooklyn. Body and Clothes - Copy Parker Supermodel doll from Temu

I often mention that I’m not a fan of this sculpt (due to the seemingly forced/ tight smile) BUT she looks cute in this look. Ok, more than cute. She is SERVING. I tried for an off-the-shoulder look so as to show off that snatched waist. 

I ordered a Copy Parker doll from Temu and it was delivered with a Copy Parker head that was packed separately from a fully dressed “supermodel” body. So, I just had to pop Brooklyn’s head onto the body. The clothes are nice but the body itself is not great. 

The body LOOKS amazing - and the proportions are insane. Super tall, snatched waist and long legs. Nails, and an easy to use neck peg. The minor skin colour difference doesn’t bother me, especially when the doll is fully dressed. The joints are much more attractive than MTM bodies. 

However, the body is cheap (reflective of its price) and very hollow and light. With Brooklyn’s full head of hair, she is top heavy and keeps falling over from the saddle stand. MTM bodies, while not amazing, are of much better quality than these fake Temu supermodel bodies. In addition, the limited mobility of the neck annoys me. She cannot look down properly. In terms of aesthetics, her feet are absolutely tiny and I find the legs too thin.

Possible fixes. 

• I want to learn how to inject something (plastic? Resin? Silicone?) into the hollow legs to give it some weight. However, the cost might be prohibitive. More research is needed. 
• There has got to be some way I can fix the neck peg. Again, more research is needed.

 

I’m not sure how comfortable I am to have such an expensive head on such a cheap body but it will do for now, especially since she looks great. If I can add some weight to the body, at least it will FEEL more premium and will therefore be more suitable as a permanent body for her. 

Head: Caspia (played by Nathalie Sorrell) from Little Mermaid 7 Sisters Ultimate Edition; Body: Tennis Player; Everything Else: Deluxe Style Wave 1 Taya sculpt

I did this rebody 2 days ago. Coincidentally, that same evening, browsing through eBay I saw her for sale at US$75 (customised like I’ve done). I’m not sure if that cost is justified (and it’s double or triple that if I had to ship to my country and pay import charges and shipping costs) BUT it might be due to the rarity of the sculpt - it‘s just too expensive for me personally.

I saw another listing selling her mermaid version for EUR44 (excluding shipping and import charges).

Her hair is Saran and is quite lovely. Her face is pixelated but done well - not nearly as bad as the actual Deluxe Style dolls.

I think she actually did cost me quite a bit. Since I’m only 8 months into my collecting journey - I look back at my poor financial decisions while I was still learning about dolls - I actually had to import both the 7 sisters mermaid pack and the tennis player to my country - but yeah - that unnecessary expense was a mistake of a rookie collector. I wouldn’t do something like that again (I hope).

(When I bought the pack last year I never knew rebodying dolls was even a possibility - I was supposed to gift her to my goddaughter but stole it for myself when I learnt about rebodying dolls).

Still - I’m glad to have her as she’s very pretty.

Her styling is temporary. Her hairstyle is giving me 80s vibes and I want to see her in some chilled denim styles.

Head: Karl from Barbie Basics 2025 

Everything else: Barbie 65th Anniversary 

The right head can elevate a dress that was initially perceived to be cheap and boring. 

Karl is giving 90s supermodel a la Karen Mulder. She’s STUNNING. Now THIS is a worthy anniversary doll. In my opinion it’s on par with some of the greats of the past (including that Lara anniversary doll) - albeit a more modern iteration. 

If this was the 65th Anniversary Barbie I think it would have flown off the shelves. Looking at it now, one can see how the blue eyeshadow and red lipstick on Millie/ Brooklyn just didn’t work with the dress (although my understanding is that it was an homage to the original doll). And this is besides the fact that for this particular design, the Karl sculpt is superior to both Millie and Brooklyn. 

So, as per usual, Mattel has the design elements there but we need to mix and match our dolls to get an acceptable level of taste. Because taste is sorely missing right now at Mattel. 

Side note: 

I know I’ve taken too many pics. But can you blame me? 

Side side note: 

There are issues with the neck peg. I need to trim it with my Dremel device but I can’t find it anywhere. These Barbie basics have quite small neck holes so model muse neck pegs need trimming. However, do not trim them if you intend to use a playline head as the neck hole is generally larger. 

I previously rebodied an Enchanted Evening Millie onto Looks 24.

Now it’s time for a Deluxe Style Millie.

I think she looks even better.

I love how their side glances are in different directions.

Poor Symone looks so unimpressed with the clothes she‘s being forced to wear. I’ll definitely give her something more high fashion later and resyle the Millie’s as well.

With her makeup I suspected she would rock an eighties inspired look and I wasn’t wrong.

Sorry Millie but she’s doing the Totally Hair look much better than you. Minus the actual hair of course. To be fair though, Millie’s hair in the Totally hair inspired playline doll wasn’t a great homage to the original doll either.

Damn. Eighties suits Fryda so well. Imagine her on stage with an electric guitar or a synth machine. Fryda and the Rockers/ Holograms or something.

Doll details (including body used) can be found in my previous Fryda post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Barbie/comments/1uqly9p/and_the_slayage_continues/

Clothing details:

Totally hair inspired playline fashionista.

Additional information:

It was my first time piercing doll ears. I felt like I was hurting her. I used a thumb tack. The hole wasn’t big enough so had to use various devices including a mini screwdriver (for my glasses) to try to increase the hole. I was too lazy to look for my Dremel device.

Face: Fryda - Barbie Looks 12

Body: 2025 Barbie Basics Model 01 (Kit face sculpt)

Bodysuit: Bought at a flea market 

Everything else: 2026 Barbie Basics YouCreate Kit 003

Sometimes I can’t believe that I have this doll. She’s amazing. She was really done a disservice with her initial styling as Looks 12. 

The neutral bodysuit used in place of the horrible logo bodysuit is further proof that the clothes that came with the kit were just over designed. Dear Mattel If you wanna do BASIC NEUTRALS, do it properly. 

I think this is a nice summer look, but I also think that it transitions easily from day to night. 

Let’s pretend that her tousled her is a stylistic choice and not my being lazy…

I recently bought a 2016 Beach Barbie. It was REALLY old stock/ shop soiled but I was very interested in getting it. The till slip says Teresa but I’m not familiar with the sculpt. I only have 90s Teresa sculpts and I’m too lazy to do research - I’ve already packed her away for research and restyling later.

What really struck me though was the fun artwork. An anomaly in recent times of AI, this artwork just seems so much fun. It portrays the characters as fashionable and aspirational and it makes you want to learn more about who these characters are.

it seemed like a waste to throw the artwork away so I cut out what I could and covered it in contact paper to use as bookmarks for my niece. She‘s not particularly excited about them though 😅 but I think they are so cute.

These dolls were on special so I got a few of them for my four year old niece today.

She had some off-brand/ dupe versions - the quality was so terrible - balding - losing limbs etc. Mattel, despite their faults, tends to have doll bodies designed for rough play.

I would never have given these dolls a second thought if I didn’t have a niece - but tell me - what are they so ADORABLE?

I almost wanna keep them for myself - almost - but realistically I’m more of a fashion doll collector so I wouldn’t know what to do with them. I can admire them though before I gift them.

A bit more context

I need to time the gift/s. I get into trouble if I give her too many gifts/ dolls/toys - we are trying to teach her to value toys and not keep on searching for new stuff - I wish I could learn that lesson myself as a collector with a spending problem.

Fryda is wearing an outfit from the same seller as my Millie post.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Barbie/comments/1uoz2gt/bridal_millie/

All my comments regarding fit, quality etc apply here as well.

I couldn’t decide on a necklace colour so I tried a couple.

The last few pics have both Fryda and Millie. I really love these two.

I bought this dress at a flea market. It also came with a veil and a tiny bouquet of flowers. EDIT: It also came with a necklace which I forgot to include in most of the photos.

It is modelled by 2026 YouCreate Kit 003 Millie on a Tennis Player body.

Proportion issue

The seller sews her clothes based on the belly button body. This body has larger breasts and a smaller waist than the regular made to move body, but the dress still closes at the back. However, that is the reason for the minor fit issues on the torso.

Quality

Real material, strong fabric and stitching with metal fasteners. I was scared to tear it when trying it on at the stall but the seller told me that she sews such that children can play with these dresses roughly.

Overall thoughts

How beautiful is Millie? Barbie Magic isn’t dead - we just have to find ways to recapture it since Mattel sure as hell isn’t providing it. They did provide this Millie though - and I’m grateful for that.

Am I tripping? Does one eye look smaller than the other?

I‘m scared to unbox her as I’ll return her if the wonk is real.

She’s so expensive so I didn’t expect to have this issue.

Please advise.

(I had to order her online as she’s not available where I live. I wish I could have just chosen her in store myself)

I still need to do a restyle but I wanted to share my latest rebody. 

Playline-modified Tori face sculpt

https://fashiondollz.de/1998-tori-face-gg/

2022 Dreamtopia Mermaid HGR07 rebodied onto an older yoga body. The skin colour is slightly tanner/ pinker than a normal Millie - I wish we had more bodies with this skin tone for repodying purposes. 

She is also the new black Bubble Sparkle Mermaid - I hope I can get my hands on that doll in the future. 

The Tori Birthday Wishes is a bit too expensive for me to import so this rebodied mermaid will have to do for now. Even though it’s playline I’m so impressed by her screening and hair. 

She’s very girl-next-door pretty which I don’t usually go for, but I can’t stop looking at her. 

2022 Dreamtopia mermaid HGR06 rebodied on a Brooklyn Great Horse Chase body. In the first few pics she wears a budget Barbie dress; in the remainder she wears a dress I bought at a flea market. 

Asha face: 

https://fashiondollz.de/1990-asha-face-aa/

Very nice soft hair, pixelated face but it still appears quite clear. 

I’ve never actually seen the made to move basketball player in my country - this version of Asha is good enough for me. In terms of rebodying, I prefer pointed toes for high heels but I’ll deal with it for now. 

She looks really girlish - young, fresh and cute. I’d like to experiment with makeup later when I’m more comfortable with repainting. 

Honestly, obsessed. I haven’t been this intrigued by a doll in a while. 

The standard version of the kit made them look so frumpy when in actuality they are so fierce. I bought this kit last as it’s the one I wanted the least but I love Fryda and Millie so much. In addition the pale skin is really doing it for me. 

Soundtrack:

Danceteria by Madonna

Doll details: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Barbie/comments/1uktp8k/1950s_fryda/

Clothing and shoes:

Fashionista 234 (on the box it says 216 but when you google her it’s 234). I think this is supposed to be a bubble skirt but the material is so plasticky I can’t raise it to style it like the pics for 234. It looks good on Fryda though. 

Additional thoughts:

It’s wild that in order to get a decent doll nowadays you have to source all components separately and customize the hell out of it. Yes, I know it’s supposed to be YouCreate but still. I feel like I’m doing Mattel’s job for them AND is hella expensive especially if you don’t live in the US.

For the final part of my photoshoot I wanted to show both dolls together. 

All details of the dolls can be found in my previous posts: 

Millie

https://www.reddit.com/r/Barbie/comments/1ukompu/fashion_fever_millie_edition/

Fryda 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Barbie/comments/1uktp8k/1950s_fryda/

I don’t know which one I prefer. Millie is a bombshell and her hair and serene facial expression are just perfect. 

Fryda’s eyes are so striking and her larger nose makes her look so realistic. It’s actually quite remarkable how lifelike she looks. 

I think in general Kit 003 has been the least popular of the three kits (we won’t talk about 004 and 005) but I think it’s underrated. These two faces are just fantastic. Everything else in the kit is a miss. It’s wild how Mattel can get the faces so right (except Olivia) and the clothing so wrong. 

This is a continuation of my previous 2026 YouCreate Kit 003 post located at: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Barbie/comments/1ukompu/fashion_fever_millie_edition/

Fryda is also rebodied onto the Tennis player.  

She is wearing a dress as described in my previous Flea Market post: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Barbie/comments/1tzcfpg/flea_market_doll_clothes/

Some thoughts on this Fryda

• I bought this kit for Millie but I was blown away by Fryda. I know a lot of people bought it for Fryda though but were blown away by Millie.
• I read another post saying that the overdrawn lips make it look like she has lip filler and it’s true. It’s less intense in real life than the pics though. 
• Fryda feels premium. The screening is gorgeous, especially the eyes. 
• She has a lot of hair gel. I just rinsed it in hot water (no shampoo or conditioner) and let it air dry. It held its shape quite well. 
• The hairstyle  kinda reminded me of the 1950s and I had a dress that seemed to fit. The makeup and shoes ground her in the modern day though, so she seems more 1950s inspired as opposed to a literal interpretation of that era. 
• I think the Looks Fryda is still my favourite though - I did a minor rebody and restyle at https://www.reddit.com/r/Barbie/comments/1u3u2kh/fryda_slaying_my_entire_existence/ 
• Still, this Fryda is breathtaking. She and Millie feel COLLECTOR when not in those horrible clothes that came with this kit.

 

In 2026 we got one of the most, if not the most beautiful Millie/s ever created. 

Barbie Basics YouCreate Kit 003 2026 rebodied on a Tennis Player body, wearing Barbie Glitz dress and generic doll shoes. 

Due to the head sizes I don’t think any of the dolls in Kit 003 look good on the curvy body that came in the kit. (Although a curvy doll photoshoot is forthcoming with another face). 

I hate the Barbie Glitz dresses but I wanted to see if Millie could capture that sparkly pink glam 2000s aesthetic. I think she pulls it off with the exception of the makeup. The makeup is too modern/ neutral for the 2000s, but it actually elevates the look such that the dress looks less cheap/ tacky. 

I had to import both the kit and the tennis player since both are not available in my country. It was very expensive for me but I think it’s worth it. Although - I’m essentially only using the heads and nothing else. Still - cheaper than buying the individual heads on eBay when you add shipping and import charges. I have a lot of guilt issues with spending - but that’s a topic for another post. 

Interestingly, this Millie became a grail doll for me after I actually obtained her - which is always a fortunate thing since holy grails don’t normally work that way. 

Update: Fryda from this kit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Barbie/comments/1uktp8k/comment/ouyoc4c/?screen_view_count=3

Additional thoughts:

• all the clothes in this kit are horrible. They detract from otherwise beautiful dolls, just as the BMR dolls were initially overlooked due to their tacky fashions. Who actually wears clothes like this in real life? 
• All the shoes in this kit are even worse.
• Fryda post pending
• Olivia looks insane. I don’t even know where to begin with her. 
• The YouCreate kits 001 to 003 are actually better than the individual Basics dolls, despite only receiving one body. This is due to the faces being peak (especially in Kit 001 with all the supermodels) 
• The neck peg on tennis player needs to be trimmed before these Basics heads can be rebodied effectively. I did not trim it though so right now the heads have limited mobility.

 

I came across these today for a discounted price.

I‘m a June fanatic but bought Millie as well - no regrets.

1. Saran hair but scalp not painted. Still it feels good quality.

2. No evidence of pixelation although June‘s eyes are a little wonky.

3. Millie’s hair is light brown/ dirty blonde. It’s so flattering. She reminds me of a playline version of the BMR Millie (with straight hair).

4. I had to smuggle them into the house as I have a compulsive doll shopping problem but that’s besides the point 😂

Of course I plan to rebody these. I would normally never have given them a chance in the past though because of the low quality bodies and painted swimsuits. However their face cards are something else. Compared to 2026 faces, these faces were such good quality. 2025/2026 beach dolls have pixelated faces and poly hair.

I can’t believe that we had such good stuff 7 years ago (6.5 years before I started collecting 😅). And I use the term “good” loosely. I’m sure I would have turned my nose up at these dolls in 2019 (if I was collecting then) but I’m glad I took a chance in 2026.