My Elsa fandom takes me to weird places...

Postponed the yard sale ‘til tomorrow. First off, it was 40 degrees at 7am, secondly, most of the larger stuff we needed to sell, Beloved Hubby has either given away or wants to wait to sell later, when we know what place we’re moving to. That makes our yard sale 90% toys and a few books, so I doubt we’ll make much anyway. Third, my ILs were still asleep at 11am, so it’s not like I was cheating them out of the opportunity.

And after this upsy-downsy week, when I finally got a few bucks in my hot little hands, I went nutz. Treated Dearest Son to Chinese takeout for lunch, and hit the Family Dollar in the strip. Saw the uniquely gowned ‘princess’ Midnight Magic dolls and thought about snagging one, but I really don’t wanna start with MH prom dresses right now. Saw the mini MMs – so cute ! – and poked at the Creepateria MHs in stock. Ended up buying socks for my guys (I try to buy a pack every month), a tire gauge for Emmy-car, and yes, I bought a doll. You know, when the cheep knockoff looks better and yes, prettier, than the $50. MSRP licensed one, there’s a real problem. This lovely pseudo- Disney Princess & Me Elsa is also from Family Dollar, and yes, she was only ten bucks. 

They’d evidently just reset the toy gondolas for the upcoming holidays, as she was in one of two full display boxes. There were two ‘Cinderella’ dolls, one ‘Mermaid’, one ‘Sleeping Beauty’, two of a yellow-gowned ‘Beauty’, one ‘Frog Princess’, and this ‘Snow Queen’.  Not that they’re really given names, all the boxes are identical, and merely read ‘Princess’. I was idly considering the ‘Frog Princess’ for her dress (I think they all have the same face) when I saw this cutie behind her. I couldn’t resist. At ten bucks, she was certainly in my budget, and even if her clothes and shoes didn’t fit the licensed DP&M  girls, I rather liked her. Heckuva lot better than the ‘real’ one, truth be told. The licensed one still makes me shiver, and not because of the ‘ice’ themes.

This Elsa is a bit smaller than her inspirations, as well as noticeably lighter, but she’s not weak, too thin blow-mold, either. She may be hollow, but she’s more stable and thicker than yer average Dollar Tree Barbie clone. Her clothes and shoes fit Aurora, even if it’s a bit of a stretch. Skirts are maybe a half-inch shy of the ankles, but even in photos, it’s hard to tell. She’s  close enough to fit the clothes I’ve made for the others just fine. The licensed Elsa dress is better put together, but this one is charming in its own way, too. Instead of the ‘train’ overlay starting under her arms and going to the back, this one is attached at the bust, from just past center front to the side seams, a much more evocative use of delicate, more expensive fabric. Fabric is a bit stretchy, which is probably most of why it fits the larger DP&M girls.

Her joints are nearly the same, she just lacks the tilting torso (admirably reviewed and photographed by The Toybox Philosopher) and fully rolling head joint – Elsa’s strictly a side-to-side kinda girl. And she has the same regrettably wide seated stance of her ‘sisters’. Her feet are a bit smaller, too, but she fills up the shoes I made – and some of the ones I’ve made fit Elsa better than they fit anyone else.

Her hairstyle is simple, but somehow captures most of movie-Elsa’s look. A bit of feathery bang on one side, and a braid down the back, but that and the dress is about all you need to see to know who’s being copied. As with most non-licensed dolls, she’s sparsely rooted, but from what I’ve seen, some of the DP&Ms are, too.

It’s her face that really makes the difference. Whoever did the sculpt made a pleasant, happy face that pulls a smile from me each time I see it. And her makeup and eye colors are spot-on for movie-Elsa – someone did his/her homework. I find it odd that her ears are pierced, but she came with no jewelry at all. Odd that a line of dolls merely called Princess don’t have any crowns or tiaras at all. Ah, well – I’ve got lots of materials to make my own, Midwood Brands, LLC. is doing me a favor by inspiring me to fill a blank canvas.

I think I knew, before I even had her out of the store, I’d be keeping this pretty Elsa. I think you knew that halfway through this entry ! Now, the big question is… do I go back for any of the others later ?