I was fortunate enough to grow up with different AA dolls back in the 80s. As much as this may surprise many, while I did grow up in Communist Romania, there were several AA dolls created by Romanian companies. Things changed after the 1989 revolution and the fall of the communist party and we started to get fewer and fewer AA dolls until there were about none left on the market. Only with the start of the Fashionistas Barbie dolls in 2009 I started seeing AA dolls, but we still did not get other lines. We never got the So in Style dolls, most fashion dolls were just blonde so there was a lack of diversity that made me quite sad.
This is one of the reasons I am so excited everytime I see dolls that represent different skintones and features that the basic Barbie dolls. I am always on the hunt for them and this is how I got to find out about The Fresh Dolls. I think I first saw them via Debbie from Black Doll Enthusiast and I fell in love right away. Cute girls, truly fresh designs, and the boys… Oh. My. GOD! Amazing!! I hope and pray they will be soon available in Europe because a lot of my fellow Romanian collectors have asked about them.
Some time ago I was approached by them and was offered a part of their collection. No, this not a sponsored post so don’t worry. I have promised you I will always reveal if something is sponsored or affiliated. This is not the case.
Anyway, here I am, during a break from motherhood, enjoying my beautiful Mia doll. From the start she was my fave. I am beyond crazy about curly hair. So you can imagine she was the first one I unboxed. I am usually an NRFB collector, but these dolls are coming out! They are too gorgeous and I want to play with them.
From what I have read online Gabrielle, the last on featured in the picture from the back of the box, is the rarest one of all. She was some kind of exclusive and she has become very rare. You can check out all the bios of the girls on the OFFICIAL website.
Now let’s talk about the doll. She is 12′, articulated, but her body is different from that of other fashion dolls. Her thighs are stronger, and her hands are much better proportioned IMO that other dolls. She poses a lot like the early Fashionistas dolls, and I think this is a plus for people that do not like exposed articulated joints like the MTM bodies.
I have used a chair I got as a gift at IDC (still crying because IDC is canceled…) and put her in a quite extreme position.
Joints and hand details.
The single doll retails at $7,99 and trust me you are getting a great articulated doll for this deal! To be very, very honest, a way betetr deal than Barbie that does not have an articulated body for this price.
Next time I am planning on reviewing the fashion sets and using Mia again as my model. You can tell I like her a lot, don’t you? 
So please let me know what you think of her and if you are planning on adding a Fresh Doll in your collection.
12 Comments
I’m not crazy about the Fresh dolls. I do prefer barbie dolls, because they have a wide range of different face molds. If you look closely, the fresh dolls all have the same face mold, just different skin tones and makeup. I’m not trying to hate on the fresh dolls, I’m just giving my honest opinion. Also, if the fresh dolls are supposed to represent all girls, shouldn’t they make some Asian dolls, or Biracial, or Indian? I would love to see more diversity and different face molds. So I think I’ll stick to Barbie dolls. To be honest, i don’t care about articulation . I love the barbie fashionistas because they all have different looks and shapes and sizes. And I hate it when people say that the original blond blue eyed barbie is boring and basic. That’s offensive to someone out there with blond hair and blue eyes. Not hating, just stating.
I don’t think blonde and blue eyed Barbie dolls are boring and basic. I have lots of 80s and 90s “basic” Barbie dolls in my collection and I love them to pieces. I don’t even hate the Millie mold. I just said that I wished that more types of dolls were available in my country. Now we get a lof of Fashionistas, but we missed on a lot of great dolls.
Yes, I understand you completely. So you didn’t get So In style dolls?
So sorry for the late reply. No SIS, not Prettie dolls, not a lot of AA dolls. Only when the Fashionistas were released in 2009 we started getting diverse dolls.
Yes, I understand you completely. So you mean you missed out on dolls like So In Style?
Say “Yes” to the Fresh dolls! I have a huge doll collection and my collection spans from Barbie to Fashion Royalty to Action Figures and many, many brands in between! This does include the Fresh Dolls. The first 3 I got were Mia, Jacqueline and Indigo. After getting them, I decided I really liked them and ordered more, so I now also have Lynette, Gabriella and Tamra too. I also have all of their fashion packs except the swim suit pack. I was so excited to see the upcoming release of the guys and have pre-ordered all of them. Aren’t they awesome? So what do I think of the Fresh dolls. I always like to see new lines that speak to diversity (I own Mixis and Prettie Girls too). I loved the Mixis because they brought identifiable Mixed Race dolls to the forefront. Each doll (Rosa, Opal – both versions and Emerald) had their own facemold. Their clothes were awesome and very well made and they even sold patterns to make your own clothes. I had seen promo photos of new dolls that were planned, but they never did and the company has completely disappeared from the market. Same with Prettie Girls, the brain child of the creator the So In Style Barbie line who branched out from Mattel and gave us 4 different skin tones and 3 ethnic groups – AA, Indian and Hispanic. These dolls had similar proportions to the Fresh doll line. I also had seen promo photos of future dolls from this line, but after merging with Tonner and producing a new 17 inch youth Prettie Girl line, they too have disappeared from the market. I am cautiously excited by the Fresh dolls especially with the new males to come in August. I also like that in response to feedback from doll enthusiasts, Dr. Lisa is adding wrist articulation for these dolls in addition to the current points of articulation. I do hope that Dr. Lisa and the World of EPI company are able to sustain growth and continue to bring us these dolls.
But don’t you think Fresh dolls have the same face mold, just different skin tones and makeup?
Yes, they do, but I don’t see that as a problem. I think you are able to use the same facemold on a doll, but with different makeup, hair and skintones, they become more unique. This has been the standard for many dolls.
Good point. I just really love a wide range of face molds in my doll collection is all. I love the Barbie Summer mold, and the Lea mold, and don’t get me started on the Skipper face! I also love how barbie has different body types. I’m very tall, so I love the tall barbies. I think it would be cool if the fresh dolls had different body types. And more diversity. Overall, as you can probably tell, Fresh dolls are not my thing, but I’m happy that you like them. Everyone has there own thing, and that’s what makes us different. I do have a question though: If you had to pick, between Barbies or Fresh dolls, which one would you pick.
The two things I like abut Fresh doll are skin tone and hair, very stunning. But they got short neck, boring make up, stiff facial expression and clothes. But with that price, I understand why many people find them fine, because they are articulated dolls.
I totally agree with you, HANH NGUYEN. Very well said.
I think the Fresh Dolls are OK. Every once in awhile we get a black or minority doll line like Kenya Fashion Madness or Prettie Girlz that doesn’t last very long. To me, this is just another one of those. My mom got me one as a gift when they were clearancing them out (the one with braids, although Mia was her favorite) and I bought one of the fashions before hand. I’m more excited about the male dolls in the Fresh line. I hope they make more available.