Two new girls moved in over the holidays and I finally remembered to show you them to you. The theory was that they would be the last additions for a while – but then the Barbie Basics 2025 happened. Oh, and Lacie Churchill, too. (!)

First up, a Silkstone Gift Set that I’ve admired for a while. This is A Model Life from 2003. That’s the gift set at the left, then the two promotional images from Mattel.

The doll comes with her lingerie, two pairs of shoes, a pantsuit with pink blouse and a coordinating black skirt, as well as a pair of pantihose and other accessories. I bought mine new in box (NRFB actually), so she’s precisely the way she originally shipped. That said, the materials used for these dolls don’t always age well. It’s pretty common to discover that hair elastics have crumbled to dust or that the tape has dried out. The skirt peeled a bit when I removed it from the box – it was taped in and the tape had dried to the pleather so that they bonded together forever. Also her hip joints are also a little looser than might be ideal, which is another thing that changes over time. Funny that I just saw a video demonstrating how to restring these dolls when that happens. (Who knew? Not me.) So, I don’t think I’ll buy more older dolls without being able to have a good look at them first.

On the other hand, this encourages me to try something I’ve been thinking about. When the last Silkstone girl arrived, I thought about replicating some of her clothes in better fabrics. The designs and the cut are usually interesting and a better fit than many of the patterns available for sale. So, the first job on that list will be replacing this little black skirt. It should be easily done. The “official” clothes from Mattel aren’t usually lined – this skirt isn’t – and tend to be serged together. I suspect my replacement skirt will be nicer. 🙂

Her hair looks like it’s full in the back in these photos, but actually, she has the (inevitable) ponytail and forehead curl. The elastic in her hair is holding but just barely. I’ll have a look at options one of these days when it needs replacing.

The other new girl who arrived is my first Poppy Parker. Her story is that she’s a girl from the Midwest who moves to New York in the 1960’s to become a model, so all of PP’s wardrobe is 60’s-inspired. She’s made by Integrity Toys, and often has amazing accessories. This one is a little simpler in that regard. She’s called It’s My Party and is from 2024, also NRFB – at least until she arrived here. This is the fourth doll from the At Home collection, which celebrated Poppy’s 15th anniversary. At right is one of the promo images.

Here’s a blog post featuring all four of the dolls in that collection with lots of pictures.

I have one other doll from Integrity Toys, my Jade Feelin’ Extra, and expected some similarities between these two. Jade has beautifully made clothes – that baseball jacket is exquisite, embroidered, lined, and with a working zipper – and also fun accessories, like her purse and shoes. She has a second pair of hands in a different pose as well as jewellery.

Poppy is similar. She has the same body type, or very close to it, with a lot of articulation. She also has a second set of hands, painted to look like she’s wearing short gloves. I don’t love the joint at the ankle on the PP’s with interchangeable feet, so I’m glad that this one only has high-heeled feet.

I’ve also gotten some new storage for the girls and their gear, which tidies things up considerably and also has let me get a bit more organized. (Nowhere to go but up with that situation.) This is a shelving unit from Ikea called Kallax. We are changing out the knobs with an upgrade from Lee Valley. I love the seagrass baskets (also from Ikea) – they look great and smell wonderful.

The mister is still installing the pair of doors at either end of the middle row, but the drawers are full of teensy supplies, all neatly sorted. Those are all my books for the girls at the top left and their shoes at the top right. The red binder has my knitting patterns for the girls. I’ve put their stands in one of the baskets which is a great solution. That box of patterns will go into another basket, then maybe projects-in-progress (now in a box off to the right) in another. The fourth will probably have fabric stash. It certainly is making things feel neater, even though it’s still in progress. The girls will stay in their carriers and their clothes will remain in wardrobes. I have to figure out what to do with the 16″ girls since they don’t fit in these cubbies and it’s hard to find boxes tall enough for them. One step at a time!