Review of Winter Edition Journey Girl Kelsey Tribal Sweater

After I got Dana, the next Journey Girl I had wanted was Kelsey.  I had thought there was a Kelsey that had been released in a green dress, but apparently I was wrong about that.  Journey Girls are often re-released in different outfits, aside from outfits being sold separately for the dolls.  You have to be careful and read product titles carefully.  Many times I've gotten excited, thinking a doll was being offered for $16.99, and it turns out it was only an outfit.  As for the green dress, I think what happened is that I had seen Kelsey next to a Meridia doll...or perhaps it is because I thought she should have been put in a green dress, which would have really shown up her eyes.

Supposedly Journey Girls are based on real girls.  They often show photographs on the boxes of the real girls that inspired the dolls, most who the dolls don't resemble.  Kelsey is apparently into extreme sports and dreams about backpacking through Costa Rica one day.

She is a gorgeous doll.  Like most Journey Girls, she is 18 inches tall.  She has long, auburn hair that is cut into layers.  Due to the way the hair is styled, she sometimes has bald spots in the front and the back of the head.  This isn't due to the rooted hair falling out. The hair is also prone to snarling, something which I hadn't noticed with my Dana doll.

The real Kelsey

She has these beautiful pale green eyes which are almost otherworldly.  She has long eyelashes.  Like the other Journey Girls, the eyes don't close and are forever vigil...which seems suitable for Kelsey.  My mom said to me, when I got her, that she was a pretty doll...but she looked like the sort of person that would hatchet you while you slept.  Mother can always be counted on to put such pleasant images in my head.  It is amazing I didn't have more nightmares about my toys when I was a child.  Perhaps she watches too much crime dramas like Deadly Women.

Notice the bald spot

Of course, my mom has a thing about red-heads...and she doesn't make an exception with auburns either.  She basically seems to believe that all red-heads are evil, and apparently this is a popular concept since it is joked about on South Park.

Kelsey's eyes really stand out next to her porcelain-looking skin.  The doll is vinyl, of course, but the skin is pale.  She is one red-head that is not blemished by freckles.

The outfit was not that impressive in the box.  Out of box, it was much more attractive.  She has a white t-shirt with short sleeves, but most of this is concealed by the tribal print sweater.  The sweater is really pretty once you see it out of the box.

  It has many designs and colors.  A mock-leather belt is tied in a bow around her waist...or maybe it is more accurate to call it a sash.  She carries a purse made of the same material and is the same light brown color.  She wears blue jeans.

What I really loved was the felt moccasin boots.  They wouldn't be practical really to a true adventurer (they'd get dirty, are not appropriate for wet weather, and really wouldn't keep your feet warm in the cold), but they are attractive.  Then again, Kelsey wouldn't be the first adventurer to wear impractical clothing.  Look at Lara Croft in the Tombraider series.  When she is trekking in the Himalayas, she wears a sleeveless sweater and shorts.  When she is in the steaming Amazon, she wears a leather jacket and pants.  Perhaps Kelsey modeled her fashion sense after Lara Croft.  Is she a Tombraider fan possibly?

Kelsey's purse

As mentioned before, Journey Girls have classic baby doll movements.  They actually have a soft, cloth lower torso.  Only the head, arms, chest plate, and legs are vinyl.  The head moves side to side.  I never actually tried to turn it all the way around like in an Exorcist movement.  I'll need to try that one day.  It would be particularly fitting with Kelsey.  I have to admit...sometimes she does truly look evil sitting on my shelf, and I don't have the prejudice against gingers like my mom.  She has been looking like she has been plotting something ever since I got my Jordana doll.

My favorite part of the outfit

The arms move up and down, but they don't bend at the elbows.  The legs move up and down, but they don't bend at the knees or ankles.  These dolls can stand up by themselves.  They can sit down (though not modestly--their legs spread wide open), but you often have to prop them with their hands or against something.


The recommended ages for this product are ages 6 and up. Journey Girls are the winner of the Best Toy Award from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio ™ Platinum.