Thoughts on this new doll?

[Siead]

i dunno, torn on this one.
i can see kids playing with it, because it's a doll. granted, kids may stop playing with it unless they start rolling out one hell of an accessory line. kids won't play with a doll that they can't at least change clothes on, and they won't fit regular doll clothes. barbie's appeal to kids is her versatility as a toy, that she can be anything. unless the lammily doll is able and willing to match that versatility they will be rapidly put aside for other toys. just releasing a doll won't be enough to make a market impact.
now if mattel gets behind this, it may help, but even they will keep the line limited until it proves to be a seller. i mean, even MH is still a fairly limited line, and it has one hell of a marketing campaign behind it.

from the look of their first run, i can see this line failing long term as a barbie competitor. she's being released in one set with a polo and shorts, and in the other in a sports bra and shorts. stuff that will appeal to the people who are buying it from the propaganda front, but girly-girl kid drawn normally to the barbie line would probably pass it over. if they want to lure people that would normally play with barbie, they at least need to mimic her a little. even a simple sundress would be better than what they chose.
i'm almost thinking they would be better marketing her not through mattell, but through American Girl. she looks like she would be an older version of their doll line, and the style does match theirs better.

[Anderson'sAllPurpose]

I can see a resemblance. Coupled with the fact he literally named the doll after himself it's kind of eyebrow raising.

You have no idea how much this freaking scares me. Good GOD. And yeah...."Lammily"...way to give your doll the most unattractive name ever. (I think it's a pun on his last name and "family", but...ughhhh. Is it so hard to name her Rachel, or Jane, or Elisabeth, or something nice and normal and ordinary since that's what we're pushing so freaking hard here? I don't recall my best friend Lammily.)

The mouth is a bit similar, but I can't see how he's "given the doll his own face". Probably he's just like most artists and the people he draw ends up looking a bit like him by default. I know i do it all the time.

But yeah, the name is pretty awful.

[MeltedCaramel]

i dunno, torn on this one.
i can see kids playing with it, because it's a doll. granted, kids may stop playing with it unless they start rolling out one hell of an accessory line. kids won't play with a doll that they can't at least change clothes on, and they won't fit regular doll clothes. barbie's appeal to kids is her versatility as a toy, that she can be anything. unless the lammily doll is able and willing to match that versatility they will be rapidly put aside for other toys. just releasing a doll won't be enough to make a market impact.
now if mattel gets behind this, it may help, but even they will keep the line limited until it proves to be a seller. i mean, even MH is still a fairly limited line, and it has one hell of a marketing campaign behind it.

from the look of their first run, i can see this line failing long term as a barbie competitor. she's being released in one set with a polo and shorts, and in the other in a sports bra and shorts. stuff that will appeal to the people who are buying it from the propaganda front, but girly-girl kid drawn normally to the barbie line would probably pass it over. if they want to lure people that would normally play with barbie, they at least need to mimic her a little. even a simple sundress would be better than what they chose.
i'm almost thinking they would be better marketing her not through mattell, but through American Girl. she looks like she would be an older version of their doll line, and the style does match theirs better.

Yeah, they totally need to hire you. Your post is the first one that has made me think about this doll in a different way. If she weren't marketed so heavily based on the propaganda I think she'd be a worthy addition to any child's toy chest, but like you mentioned, it's all about the accessories for little girls. I never gave a flying weasel's asshole what waist size my barbie had as I was busy flooding the bathroom while I played "aquarium barbie". What mattered was the strength of my imagination and the little plastic bits that Mattel provided for me to further that imagination.

[Siead]

exactly. lol.
some part of me thinks that if he did this as custom stuff it would work so much better. pick a hair colour, outfit, and accessories from a drop-down list. month or so later you get shipped a doll.

[MeltedCaramel]

exactly. lol.
some part of me thinks that if he did this as custom stuff it would work so much better. pick a hair colour, outfit, and accessories from a drop-down list. month or so later you get shipped a doll.

....Goddamnit. You could actually make me want this doll if you were involved in the project. I completely agree. Since the guy is pushing "average" so much (who the ever loving f**k wants to be average? I never grew up saying "I want to be mediocre at everything I do! Yay!"), he should also be pushing individuality. Not everyone wants a soccer themed doll or a workout(?) doll. Not everyone wants brown hair. (Part of me is seething because somehow brown hair is seen as average. I know I don't really fall into that demographic because my hair is like...a really dark chocolate brown...but it's still brown and that irritates the hell out of me that blonde is somehow seen as the pretty twit colour and brown is the average frump colour. Wtf.)

Edit: I'm cursing too much. Bad habit, sorry.

[SymphonicEnkelli]

On a slightly off topic note I think it's kind of sad that the only thing of note about Barbie to a lot of people (or at least a lot of media articles these days) Is the fact that she's unrealistically stylized. I think her message was positive enough, she was an astronaut, vet, and a doctor. She worked in the military and politics, even for NASCAR. She had a ton of Careers meant to inspire and open the minds of young girls to different worlds. When I was a kid that was the only message I got, not that I needed blonde hair and big boobs to be something in life.
Personally I liked Barbie because she had such an interesting life. I also wondered how on earth she found the time to put on makeup when she was so busy.

I just want to take a moment to comment on this. Warning: I'm a young college kid in a Women and Gender Studies Class, so brace yourself.

My problem with Lammlily relates to the above quote. The only reason she was made was to attack Barbie's proportion and make a doll that is supposed to emulate an "average" girl. First off, what is a an average girl? I know what they are stabbing at, but Lammily is not my body type, nor is she the body type of many girls out there. Me? I'm tall and skinny/scrawny. My sister is short and curvy. Lammlily is short and has a sporty body. That doesn't really fit either of us. So, she is still trying to promote an "ideal" body type which kinda muddles up purpose. Her message about being a "real girl" is not true and really kinda annoying for people like me who aren't "real" because we are thin, but moving on....

Now, tying this all into what Linainversetsg said: Lammily was solely created because of how she looked. She wasn't created to promote leadership or open-mindedness for girls, like Barbie was. In the end, all society cares about is how women look, whether they are too thin, too fat, too plain, too beautiful. It doesn't matter what these dolls are doing, like Barbie doing anything she wants, Monster High promoting being different, Ever After High, promoting control one's destiny (in a world where people just LOVE to tell girls what to do), no. All you hear is "She is too thin! She is so disproportionate! What is she teaching the girls!?!?!?" Um, that they can do anything and be who they want?

Furthermore, someone linked some information on the creator's inspiration, and he said that he read an article that said that a real Barbie would be cold and intimidating and men basically wouldn't want to date her. He wanted to create a doll who, if she was real, would be cute and inviting and dateable. Now, this may be me reading a little too much into things, but basically he created a doll that men won't be afraid. Barbie is tall and beautiful and does tons of things! Lammlily is plain (not that this is a bad thing, but just follow me), on the smaller side and does normal activities. It's just...it makes me little Feminist brain tick. He made a doll that wouldn't make men fear for their "manhood" (nothing against men, by the way).

I'm not at all against dolls of different shapes. It would be refreshing to have some diversity. I would love Mattel to make a line of dolls where you have tall girls, short girls, curvy girls, thin girls, some very fashionable, some sporty, some nerdy, and some just simply plain. I think that's what we need. Not onr doll made simply to say "No girls. You shouldn't want to be Barbie. You should be Lammlily, because her body type is more ideal than Barbie's body type."

I wish I knew how to make dolls. I would totally make a diverse line of dolls if I knew how! Anyone want to join me?

[MeltedCaramel]

SymphonicEnkelli....I love you. God. Just...EVERYTHING YOU WROTE. EVERYTHING. I am so tired of seeing the people who are involved in equality and gender studies saying that Barbie promotes an unhealthy image because she...uh...takes care of herself? (I just don't get all the hate. She loves makeup, okay, whoo, so do I, in fact I could probably drown Barbie in my makeup basket, and I look nothing like her and don't care.) I am SO HAPPY that someone pointed out the insidious flaws behind this doll that bother the ever loving hell out of me. I've been so hopped up about this topic that I can't calm myself down to make a rational argument, but I am totally with you on all of those points. I also raised my eyebrows (into my hairline) at the creators inspiration of a doll that was "inviting to men"...excuse me? I find that creepy on so many levels, I really do. I love guys in the hobby (<3), but a guy creating an "average doll" that is supposed to be some sort of emulation of what guys find easy to approach in real life just does NOT sit well with me. If you're going to get a real woman, you're going to get all of her, opinionated, meek, mild or wild, we aren't going to change for you. (Okay, so I also happen to belong to a family who would legit murder a guy if he so much as laid a finger on me, which helps. Although they'd have to beat me to the whole murdering thing because, while it's a whole other issue, male domination in a relationship is not okay if you're not into that lifestyle.)

I just find this doll disturbing. Take Siead's pointers and she becomes a doll who could reflect some of the brimming-to-overflowing imagination young children have, but as she is, she's just a giant social statement timebomb.

[Studio 126]

I kind of like how she looks. Very girl-next-door. It would be nice to have some more diversity in my choice of female bodies. (I do have a fair amount of such in my male bodies.)

As others have pointed out, she would have to meet some requirements before I would consider buying one:

Good articulation (w/ flat feet),
Accessible price-point &
A decent wardrobe. (I prefer active-wear, swimwear & lingerie.)

After those:

Racially diverse characters,
The ability to accommodate other brands of heads (and still look right)

If all they made was one character, I would have no reason to buy another one. If she can't pose well, I have no reason to buy the first one.*

(If the head swap thing worked out, I wouldn't ditch my present crew, but that body would be great for certain types of characters.)

*I tease my wife that she could never be a model. She is certainly pretty enough, but she can't sit still...

edit: If the designer really wants to play off of her average-ness, he should name her "Norma" or "Norma-Jean," if she favors denim.

[DollyKim]

@SymphonicEnkelli I might have to have some conversations with you later, I'm reading Female Masculinity right now for my writing and some character development etc.

Growing up I didn't have the money to get much of anything for my dolls which is why I started sewing for them. Aurora had to be towed in a shoe box by a Breyer with its paint rubbed off for a carriage. When you have one doll with long hair she's the girl and they short haired one is the boy. What they looked like never mattered to me, I was too busy playing. Until the customs I didn't go too crazy over hair and eye color, I usually bought a doll for her stuff or because it was a boy that didn't have that bland smiling Ken face, or he had knees.

Right now the things that drive my doll purchasing are-
Face mold- does the doll look like the character I need it to be, I'd always prefer buy then make and take the "lazy" road out.
Joints- I have minimums unless I'm in love with the face then I'll body swap, sometimes I'm buying just for the body
Works well with my others

[MagicalGirlMimi]

This is the most entertaining post I've ever made. x'D Thanks guys for your opinions and such!~