Recently, a Kickstarter hit the web for a new doll line called Curvy Girls Dolls. The concept for Curvy Girls Dolls came about when mother Bridget (now CFO of the brand) was looking for dolls that emulated her interracial family. During her search to find a doll that looked like her, she realized that no company was mass producing plus size fashion dolls. Graphic designer and artist Joleen was brought in (eventually becoming CEO of the brand) and Curvy Girls Dolls was born– sort of. Technically, right now Curvy Girls Dolls is still just a concept, waiting to be produced with the help of doll lovers like you and me.
When the Kickstarter looked like it wasn’t going to work out, only reaching $40,640 of the $250,000 goal, the two doll designers decided to pull the campaign and move it to Patreon saying, “These dolls deserve to exist. These dolls NEED to exist. Despite the negativity we received this past few weeks, the overwhelming positivity that you have shown us has stuck with us and is keeping us going. This is not the end – We’re just moving on to our backup plans.”
What are Curvy Girls Dolls? From the Kickstarter, “Curvy Girls Dolls (CGD) help children learn and develop through play. Children use doll play as an outlet for emotions, to explore scenarios that they may encounter, and have control over situations. CGD aims to create dolls children play with that are as diverse as the people in their lives. With their dolls, CGD aspires to celebrate people of all sizes and promote body positivity, but it’s not just about that. While CGD acknowledges that body positivity is important to introduce at a young age since children absorb so much of their surroundings including negative self-images that can last a lifetime, they are diverse in more ways: personalities, identities, neurotype, careers, and style/accessories.”
These 1/6 scale 11″ plus size (U.S. Size 18/20 proportions) fashion dolls have a plastic body, vinyl head, rooted Saran hair and fully removable and interchangeable clothing & accessories. They are fully articulated with joints at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles that allow her to wear heels or flats. They, of course, have full head movement. There are four dolls set for the first series, assuming they get funded, Quinn, Aliah (pronounced Uh-lie-uh), Keiko (pronounced Key-ko), and Alex. These dolls are diverse in skintone and look. To get the line off the ground, the dolls will be offered on the same stock body. The plan is, however, to offer different plus sized body types down the line.
Now, the look of these dolls, specifically their body type, is polarizing. Some say plus sized dolls are just as harmful to children as unrealistically skinny one. Others say that this heavier set body type is a blessing to the doll world. It’s a tough thing to gauge, because in the end, everyone should be the weight that is healthy for their own unique body, whether it’s a size 0 or 20. But when it comes to dolls people get really angsty over body proportions. I’ve personally never seen a doll and thought, ‘oh, I want to look like her when I grow up’. Barbie’s unrealistic proportions never bothered me and those who do put a lot of worry into that sort of thing most definitely have more going on fueling their thoughts on body image. When I look for dolls, I just go for the ones I think are pretty, which usually depends on the face mold/paint– who cares about proportions? It’s a doll, plaything, toy.
Curvy Girls Dolls got some flack online for their plus size body type, but also got a lot of love. If I’m being truly honestly, I, personally, don’t love the body type, but I appreciate it. I’m sure some kids and collectors will love it for being different or out of the ordinary. I like the attention to detail they put into articulation and naked, the torso doesn’t look too bad (though I might add nipples to the breasts, if we’re going for realism).
I think the Curvy Girls Dolls creators would benefit from showing these dolls with different outfits. I don’t think the red dress does much to show off the body. Something that hugged Curvy Girls Dolls curves might have been a better choice on their prototype. But that’s just me and my taste.
If you’d like to support Curvy Girl Dolls, visit them on Patreon, or follow them on Facebook and Instagram. I’ll be keeping up with their progress and if they do hit the market, you’ll for sure see them here on the blog/YouTube Channel. What are your thoughts on Curvy Girls Dolls? Let us know in the comment area.
AdvertisementsJuly 8, 2019. Tags: Review. Uncategorized.
