When times are uncertain, people become more careful with their money. I can certainly see that in the book market, and it’s also evident in the doll resale market. My birthday money, earmarked for dolls, has gone a little further this year than expected – and I was able to add one of my grail girls to my collection.

First up, that doll. She’s Tonner’s Sydney Chase Mover & Shaker from 2003.

She is just soooooo pretty.

At left is the official image of her. Even though it’s small, you can see that her lips are pale. IRL, this doll has red lipstick.

In one of the doll forums, a long-time collector explained that the make-up choices were transposed in production between two Sydney Chase dolls being made at the same time. Sheer Glamour (above right in her official image) was supposed to have the red lipstick: instead the actual doll has the paler make-up.

Here’s my girl. I love that red lipstick so much. It’s hard to imagine her with a paler choice.

Some of these older dolls get marks on their bodies from the clothes, particularly if they have been left in their boxes for over 20 years. Mover & Shaker is one said to get those marks – thanks to the black suit – but I bought a NRFB one all the same. She does have some marks on her shoulders, so I’ll have to look into removing them when I change her clothes. For the moment, though, we’re both happy that she’s here, just the way she is.

I also finally identified a Barbie doll that I’ve seen in the past and liked a lot. It’s tough to hunt down a doll if you don’t know the name or serial number, but the universe moved for me and I found both her name and a NRFB doll at a good price. She’s 1 Modern Circle Barbie and that’s her official pic at right.

I just love the orange hue of her hair. It’s lovely and silky, too.

She’s from 2003 – clearly a year I should have been buying dolls! – and is almost the twin of Silkstone Lingerie #6, also from 2003. Here they are together.

This new girl has a different body sculpt than I’ve seen before. She’s articulated, but the pins in the elbows are visible with this sculpt. Also, her hands are very flat – but she can hold her phone, thanks to a knob on the back of the phone and a hole in her hand. The flip-phone is a lot like the one we used to have, and that makes me smile. Here she is unpacked:

She has a laptop, too, but I’d put it inside the briefcase before taking this pic. It’s a great thick one, similar to a Compaq monster that the mister used to sling around before laptops got thinner, lighter and cheaper.

One thing about buying dolls is that there are little tips and tricks to be learned from their garments – for example, the “zipper” on her briefcase is a line of silver trim with a teeny tiny tab sewn at the end. Ha. I like that the older dolls don’t have velcro fastening on their clothes, but that turquoise top could use a third snap.

She came, strangely enough, with two left shoes instead of one left and one right. I have a lot of those black slingbacks – I bought a bag of 50 pair once upon a time – so I can make it right.

As is so often the case with Mattel dolls, I like the style of her clothes but am less fond of the fabrics they’re made from. I’m going to start on my plan of replicating the girls’ clothes in fabrics I do like, and reproducing this long coat will be my first project.

This girl also will be my first hip repair. Her legs are so loose that she can’t stand up, but there’s nothing fancy about the joint – it’s just a piece of 1/4″ black elastic holding her legs in place. It’s sewn into a loop at each end, which is looped around the eyelet in the hip. I can (and will) easily replace that. I won’t be able to sew both ends, but one knot should be fine.

The third girl on her way who arrived last week is the second BFMC Silkstone from last year, the blonde. I thought she was too expensive at the time – actually, it was the conversion to $CAD that I didn’t find compelling – but Mattel put her on sale this past month for 30% off, so I indulged. They also released the third BFMC Silkstone but I chose this one instead.

I was quite impressed with this girl when I unpacked her – the dress is quite lovely and more full than expected. The pink underskirt is actually a separate ruffled slip, and the pink velvet stole is attached to the dress. Of course, I undressed her and took down her hair, which was crunchy with some fixative. (I’ll wash it out.) I still have to decide what to do about her necklace. It doesn’t have a clasp – I’ll have to open a link to take it off, then it probably won’t go back on easily. Hmm. I’ll have a rummage in my jewelry findings and see if I have a clasp that can be put to work.

I had originally thought that she would be very similar to Best in Black, the other blonde articulated Silkstone in my collection, but she has a much paler skin tone and her make-up is very different. She’s quite elegant and I’m glad I got her.

Now I have even more girls who need new clothes!