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leia131Good evening, everyone! Come and see Frankie's shiny new clothes!
Full disclosure: This is not the first, or even the second, MH Deluxe Fashion Pack that I've bought. It's just the first one I'm reviewing, for a variety of laziness and camera issue related reasons. I'll get to the other two (Operetta's and Robecca's) eventually.
So. What makes these fashion packs deluxe, I hear you asking, instead of just fashionable? Well, let's take a look at what's in the box and find out!
Here is everything Frankie's set comes with: Two complete outfits (one dress, and one skirt and shirt combo), a jacket, earrings, a necklace, a belt, a purse, and one pair of shoes. Compared to the other Frankie fashion pack I own, this one seems to be deluxe because it comes with a second outfit, jacket, and jewelry. I'm totally all right with that, since my ghouls desperately need more earrings.
Here you can see the first minor issue with this set: Both the jacket and the skirt of the dress are quite wrinkled in the back from the way they were packaged. I'm hoping that these wrinkles will relax with time and wear, because I've never ironed anything in my life and I don't want to start with tiny doll clothes made out of God only knows what type of fabric. Plus, the silver half of the jacket is a different material than the black half. This is cool texturally, but would worry me iron-ally.
For once, I managed to get a close up of the accessories that came out halfway decent! The earrings are awesome; I love the color, and they are stitched up little hearts sewn crookedly to the posts. It looks like Frankie made them herself, and that's just adorable.
The necklace shaped like a tie is what sold me on this set, to be perfectly honest, because how freaking cool is that? I kind of wish I had one. It also fits into Frankie's schoolgirl theme.
The belt is meh. It's silver, it has a nut detail on the front, whatever.
At this point, I called in the models.
Here is Gloom Beach Frankie wearing the first outfit. The skirt is her usual red and blue plaid, with tiny black nuts in every other square. It also has shiny silver accents that I quite like. The purse handle is nut shaped, and the bag part looks like it was sewn together out of two different materials. Have I ever mentioned that Mattel is EXCELLENT both at detail, and at sticking to a theme? Frankie's thing, if you recall, is electricity, hardware, and sewing, because that's what she's made of. (Also schoolgirl and/or plaid.) And yet, despite this being her theme in every single doll, I don't feel like I've seen this before, and I'm charmed by all the details.
Here is a closer (yet blurry, sorry) picture of the shoes. Despite my abiding love for MH shoes, these don't wow me. They're just sort of clunky and plain, though the mismatched-ness and color scheme are both very Frankie. It also looks a little like Mattel tacked the lightning bolts on as an afterthought, to make them belong more blatantly to Frankie.
Showing off her accessories. Here you can see the tiny details on the earrings a bit better.
Also, I found when I put the tie necklace on that the chain part curves upwards slightly at the ends. This wouldn't normally be an issue, but since Frankie has neck bolts right where the chain hits, this causes the necklace to sort of hover over her chest rather than lay flat. I have to wonder if all the necklaces are curved like this, or just mine, because it seems odd for Mattel to have designed it this way on purpose. It's a Frankie fashion pack, why would you give her a necklace that she, specifically, has trouble wearing?
Here is basic Frankie modelling the other outfit. (Note that the shoes she's wearing aren't part of the deluxe fashion pack, but rather came from I <3 Fashion Frankie. I put them on her 1. because she looked silly barefoot, and 2. to demonstrate how well this fashion pack works with her other clothes. Looks like it was MADE to go with those shoes, seriously.)
This outfit is separates (which pleases my redressing heart) and I also put the belt on her. The shirt is the same beautiful color as the earrings, and covered in a detail that I'm sure is supposed to be uneven stitching, but which looks like clothespins on a line to me. :)
The skirt is a shiny silver material with a black nut design, and has a one shoulder suspender attached. (It's also my favorite clothing piece in this set.) The stitch design of the suspender is cute, but that thing drove me INSANE when I was dressing her. It's like, half an inch too long, so it gapes in the back unless you pull the skirt down lower... But if you do that, then her shirt pops out of the skirt and looks weird, because I'm pretty sure it was designed to go under the high-waisted skirt. It wasn't a tight fit to get it on her, could they not have made it slightly shorter?
Anyway, long suspender aside, how cute is this look?
The belt is just kind of there. i wish it were a different color, even black, so it wouldn't blend in with the silver skirt so much. It also might have been cooler if the nut design went all the way around, instead of just being the two in the front. And it doesn't look good AT ALL with the other dress, trust me.
After a slight accessory switch, we had adventures in standing without stands!![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
invsagoth assured me that it was possible, and I was 50% successful in this photoshoot. :)
I was surprised and pleased that GB Frankie was able to stand on her own, given the thin heels of those shoes and her incredibly heavy head. Basic Frankie had no such luck today, but I'm 99% sure that that was because the shoes she's wearing have a weird lump of plastic on the bottom, and aren't flat. I'll give her another chance in different shoes at some point.
How incredibly fucking ADORABLE is GB Frankie, BTW?
Here's a shot of the jacket with the dress. It's got a very 80's collar, which is made of a more plastic-y material than the jacket itself. I like the jacket, but I'm not thrilled with how it pairs with this dress.
Let's see it with the two piece outfit:
Eh, it's not great with this outfit either; too much blue all in one place. (Though the shoes match both outfits well, which is nice. I actually think they look even better with this one than with the dress.) The jacket is cool, and it's got that dual color thing Frankie likes to rock, but I suspect it will look better with a different outfit than these two. (It actually seems to be a trend that the jackets that come with these deluxe fashion packs don't look super great with the outfits.)
Bottom line: While this wasn't my first choice in deluxe fashion wear, I'm really glad that I bought it. $11 (and that includes tax) is a great price for two full outfits, plus shoes and accessories. The details on this set are nice, the theme is definitely Frankie, and the color palette is simple in a good way. (There's black, white, silver, blue, and red. Very neutral.) If you're a Frankie fan (or even if you're not), I would definitely recommend this set; the minor flaws are strongly outweighed by the overall cuteness, detail, and quality. (Plus, you could totally cut that suspender off, or just let it hang down at her side. The skirt doesn't need it to stay up or anything.)
And here is today's song quote: Hold him, and squeeze him tight, and find out what you wanna know!
Full disclosure: This is not the first, or even the second, MH Deluxe Fashion Pack that I've bought. It's just the first one I'm reviewing, for a variety of laziness and camera issue related reasons. I'll get to the other two (Operetta's and Robecca's) eventually.
So. What makes these fashion packs deluxe, I hear you asking, instead of just fashionable? Well, let's take a look at what's in the box and find out!
Here is everything Frankie's set comes with: Two complete outfits (one dress, and one skirt and shirt combo), a jacket, earrings, a necklace, a belt, a purse, and one pair of shoes. Compared to the other Frankie fashion pack I own, this one seems to be deluxe because it comes with a second outfit, jacket, and jewelry. I'm totally all right with that, since my ghouls desperately need more earrings.
Here you can see the first minor issue with this set: Both the jacket and the skirt of the dress are quite wrinkled in the back from the way they were packaged. I'm hoping that these wrinkles will relax with time and wear, because I've never ironed anything in my life and I don't want to start with tiny doll clothes made out of God only knows what type of fabric. Plus, the silver half of the jacket is a different material than the black half. This is cool texturally, but would worry me iron-ally.
For once, I managed to get a close up of the accessories that came out halfway decent! The earrings are awesome; I love the color, and they are stitched up little hearts sewn crookedly to the posts. It looks like Frankie made them herself, and that's just adorable.
The necklace shaped like a tie is what sold me on this set, to be perfectly honest, because how freaking cool is that? I kind of wish I had one. It also fits into Frankie's schoolgirl theme.
The belt is meh. It's silver, it has a nut detail on the front, whatever.
At this point, I called in the models.
Here is Gloom Beach Frankie wearing the first outfit. The skirt is her usual red and blue plaid, with tiny black nuts in every other square. It also has shiny silver accents that I quite like. The purse handle is nut shaped, and the bag part looks like it was sewn together out of two different materials. Have I ever mentioned that Mattel is EXCELLENT both at detail, and at sticking to a theme? Frankie's thing, if you recall, is electricity, hardware, and sewing, because that's what she's made of. (Also schoolgirl and/or plaid.) And yet, despite this being her theme in every single doll, I don't feel like I've seen this before, and I'm charmed by all the details.
Here is a closer (yet blurry, sorry) picture of the shoes. Despite my abiding love for MH shoes, these don't wow me. They're just sort of clunky and plain, though the mismatched-ness and color scheme are both very Frankie. It also looks a little like Mattel tacked the lightning bolts on as an afterthought, to make them belong more blatantly to Frankie.
Showing off her accessories. Here you can see the tiny details on the earrings a bit better.
Also, I found when I put the tie necklace on that the chain part curves upwards slightly at the ends. This wouldn't normally be an issue, but since Frankie has neck bolts right where the chain hits, this causes the necklace to sort of hover over her chest rather than lay flat. I have to wonder if all the necklaces are curved like this, or just mine, because it seems odd for Mattel to have designed it this way on purpose. It's a Frankie fashion pack, why would you give her a necklace that she, specifically, has trouble wearing?
Here is basic Frankie modelling the other outfit. (Note that the shoes she's wearing aren't part of the deluxe fashion pack, but rather came from I <3 Fashion Frankie. I put them on her 1. because she looked silly barefoot, and 2. to demonstrate how well this fashion pack works with her other clothes. Looks like it was MADE to go with those shoes, seriously.)
This outfit is separates (which pleases my redressing heart) and I also put the belt on her. The shirt is the same beautiful color as the earrings, and covered in a detail that I'm sure is supposed to be uneven stitching, but which looks like clothespins on a line to me. :)
The skirt is a shiny silver material with a black nut design, and has a one shoulder suspender attached. (It's also my favorite clothing piece in this set.) The stitch design of the suspender is cute, but that thing drove me INSANE when I was dressing her. It's like, half an inch too long, so it gapes in the back unless you pull the skirt down lower... But if you do that, then her shirt pops out of the skirt and looks weird, because I'm pretty sure it was designed to go under the high-waisted skirt. It wasn't a tight fit to get it on her, could they not have made it slightly shorter?
Anyway, long suspender aside, how cute is this look?
The belt is just kind of there. i wish it were a different color, even black, so it wouldn't blend in with the silver skirt so much. It also might have been cooler if the nut design went all the way around, instead of just being the two in the front. And it doesn't look good AT ALL with the other dress, trust me.
After a slight accessory switch, we had adventures in standing without stands!
invsagoth assured me that it was possible, and I was 50% successful in this photoshoot. :)I was surprised and pleased that GB Frankie was able to stand on her own, given the thin heels of those shoes and her incredibly heavy head. Basic Frankie had no such luck today, but I'm 99% sure that that was because the shoes she's wearing have a weird lump of plastic on the bottom, and aren't flat. I'll give her another chance in different shoes at some point.
How incredibly fucking ADORABLE is GB Frankie, BTW?
Here's a shot of the jacket with the dress. It's got a very 80's collar, which is made of a more plastic-y material than the jacket itself. I like the jacket, but I'm not thrilled with how it pairs with this dress.
Let's see it with the two piece outfit:
Eh, it's not great with this outfit either; too much blue all in one place. (Though the shoes match both outfits well, which is nice. I actually think they look even better with this one than with the dress.) The jacket is cool, and it's got that dual color thing Frankie likes to rock, but I suspect it will look better with a different outfit than these two. (It actually seems to be a trend that the jackets that come with these deluxe fashion packs don't look super great with the outfits.)
Bottom line: While this wasn't my first choice in deluxe fashion wear, I'm really glad that I bought it. $11 (and that includes tax) is a great price for two full outfits, plus shoes and accessories. The details on this set are nice, the theme is definitely Frankie, and the color palette is simple in a good way. (There's black, white, silver, blue, and red. Very neutral.) If you're a Frankie fan (or even if you're not), I would definitely recommend this set; the minor flaws are strongly outweighed by the overall cuteness, detail, and quality. (Plus, you could totally cut that suspender off, or just let it hang down at her side. The skirt doesn't need it to stay up or anything.)
And here is today's song quote: Hold him, and squeeze him tight, and find out what you wanna know!
