Steffie of the Day: City Shine Barbie Look - Gold Dress

The latest Bill Greening Steffie is really a cutie, and I'm relieved to see a new Steffie in Mattel's 2014 line-up--just barely, as she hasn't reached shelves on the west coast yet. She is for sale for $19.95 on Barbie Collector, or perhaps a little more from your favorite Barbie dealer. (I used my quarterly discount toward my purchase!)

She has rooted lashes, brown eyes, and the LA Tan skin tone. I think the combination is quite pretty with her hair. I can't wait to take her out of the box and restyle her.

Also, her dress is not quite as bad as I was expecting. I have to confess, glitter isn't really my thing, and this is a really glittery dress. The good news is that it doesn't look like the glitter will just flake off over everything--like that saying about glitter goes. And the structured style is pretty modern. It's better than lamé would have been, I think.

Her plastic jewelry isn't too bad, either--considering it's plastic. She uses a Model Muse body, of course--super slim, not very posable, etc.--but her skin tone looks very close to several Liv body donors, I think (just for you Frankensteins among my dear readers). I think she'd be a great candidate for a hybrid!

You can see a few more boxed photos on Flickr. I'll hopefully be taking her out of the box soon.

Answers with Bill and Linda

I loved this session! We got to submit questions on cards, and I was thrilled with how candid the designers got to be with us! I didn't personally ask any questions myself, but I think I will try to next time. Here are as many as I was able to write down:

• Does Mattel have plans to make the dolls easier to remove from their boxes? 

Basically, yes. Bill is a collector himself, so he understands that having hair sewn into the box really does damage the doll. So he is doing his best to remedy this issue as best he can. The sew strips have been eliminated, and most items are tacked in with as little as necessary. He realizes they still need work, but they are working on it.

• What was the inspiration behind the glamour wizard of oz collection?

The design team jokes about the wizard of oz line being an initiation for being a "real" designer at Mattel. As it was the 75th anniversary for Oz, they wanted to breath a little life into the collection. Linda loves how the Glam Witch came out.

• What's the deal with vintage repro?

With the prices of vintage having dropped so much, the need for vintage reproductions have really dropped as well, but they do have some in the works. Bill was very pleased with Skipper's sales, and of course has a brunette Skipper coming soon, plus Allan on the way, too. They also have additional vintage-inspired items planned as well, such as the Holiday Hostess line.

• How many dolls do you design per year, and are you sad when they don't all get produced?

The team is much, much smaller than it has been in years (Robert Best is the leader) with three designers working together now, and they make about 80-90 dolls per year. They joke among themselves about having a desk where "good dolls go to die," for those dolls that won't get produced. Bill was sad about a pivotal disco series that didn't get produced between Jazz Baby and Pop Life, and thinks he might bring them to auction one year.

• What was your first doll to be produced?

Bill's first doll was Cool Clips Barbie, which was produced and sold at FAO Schwarz.

• Which designers or celebrities would you like to work with or would you like to make as a celebrity doll?

Linda said, Chanel or Madonna, Jackie O. Bill said, Kylie Minogue! 

• With the Hunger Games dolls, why is Effie wearing that dress, and not one of the more fancy event dresses?

It turns out that Lionsgate had to license Effie's fashions from McQueen, as she is wearing McQueen fashions in the film. So to make these dolls would require a double license, which would require even more time. Dolls usually require at least one year to produce, and Mattel only had 6 months for these, as the film was in theaters very soon. So that's is why that dress was chosen!

Mattel sneaks from Bill Greening

One of the coolest parts of attending the GAW convention were the presentations by Bill Greening and Lynda Kyaw. They were invited guests, but the convention is not put on by Mattel. Bill went first. No cameras are allowed during the presentation, so I took notes, and I was able to take a few shots of some hot-off-the-press dolls, which will show up later. Above, you can see the back of the box of one, which belongs to the fall Red Carpet collection, part of the Barbie Look line,  which has replaced Barbie Basics. Four dolls are being offered, as you can see:

• A brunette in a red ball gown
• A raven in a stunning black mermaid gown
• A blonde in a blue mermaid dress
• A redhead in a long yellow Grecian inspired gown

He went on to treat us to additional sneaks to the 2015 Barbie Look line, starting with the inspiration for the City Lights collection for Barbie Look line. I am super excited about this metallic line. Photos of four dolls were sneaked from this line!

• In a short silver dress, we saw a sweet short-haired blonde
• The most exciting news of the season, it's a warm brown haired Steffie in a gold dress--the same fabric as Holiday Hostess Happy New Year Barbie, since Bill liked it so much. (I'm thrilled to see this doll!)
• Again, another absolute beauty, Mbili appears in a copper dress looking like a total diva! She is a very close second favorite in this collection.
• And to top it off--Aphrodite makes a raven appearance, in a black and silver dress

For 2014, vintage repro collectors will have a nice surprise with a new Double Date repro set. For about $100 retail, this set includes a painted red Allan, blonde flip Midge, painted blonde Ken and ash blonde swirl Barbie, with both couples dressed in reproductions of their original swimsuits. 

Now, for fantasy doll fans who are sad the constellation series of  designer dolls are finished, we've been introduced to the new series: Faraway Forest, which is inspired by The Hobbit and Game of Thrones. We saw a peek of the map, which included names such as Dark Forest, White Woods, Elf Village, Magic Lagoon, and others. The first to be produced (and this year) is Elf Village. We were treated to some amazing details, including the fairies sculpted into the heels of her shoes, reminding me of Alexander McQueen's angel wing shoes. Additionally, we saw a staff, some vines, a crown, and lots of other amazing detail. She uses the Goddess face with pointed years, auburn hair (I think). She wears a caped outfit.

The next doll, White Woods, is planned for 2015, and is also already in production.

Passport to Pink has arrived!

Passport to Pink, a gorgeous giftset designed by Bill Greening from the 2012 Barbie Convention, has finally arrived. I think she's adorable.

The set features a platinum American Model reproduction doll, dressed in a printed shell, pink suit and matching hat, pink scarf, white gloves, and pink spikes. The set also includes a second classic printed dress with a bow, white open-toe shoes, pink sunglasses, a white clutch and a camera.

Bill Greening exclusive

Passport Pink will be delivered to all convention attendees after convention--she's a gorgeous platinum American Girl reproduction in a soft pink suit, with a Japan style hat.

We received her as part of the London luncheon today, along with a gorgeous Barbie steamer trunk.