Review of Journey Girl Callie 2013 Paris Edition With 2012 Winter Edition Dana Accessory Pack

PRODUCT
DETAILS
Doll size:  18 inches
(46 cm)
Age recommendation:
6+ (not recommended
for children under 3 
due to choking hazard)
Put out by:  Geoffrey,
LLC (subsidiary of Toys
R Us)
Year:  2013
Made in China
UPC:  803516056543
Price:  If you can find it
 at Toys R Us, $32.99.  However, these dolls can
 go high due to scarcity (particularly Meredith)
Hair Color:  Black
Eye Color:  Brown, long eyelashes, eyes don't
close
Movement:  Classic baby doll--head turns side to side, arms move front and back (not up
and down like flapping wings), elbows don't bend, legs move
back and forth, don't bend at knees, don't bend at ankles.
Type of doll:  Vinyl head, chest plate, arms, legs...but it
 has a soft cloth lower torso.
What box contains:  1 eighteen inch doll that is dressed
 in a short sleeved magenta stretch knit top with black bow on
 left side, a black bow in her hair, black arm warmers, black
 stretch knit pants with white polka dots, and pink shoes with
 black stripe.
Doll biography:  Callie likes to learn the latest dance moves
 and teach them to her friends.
Written on back of box:  Welcome to Paris! Best friends 
Chavonne, Kyla, Meredith, Kelsey, Dana, and Callie 
have just landed in Paris, the City of Light, and they are
 ready for adventure.  The Paris agenda includes: touring
 the Eiffel Tower, shopping on the famous Avenue des
 Champs-Elysees, and taking a scenic cruise along Seine
 River.  Along the way, they will stop at charming 
sidewalk cafes and visit the city's grand monuments and
 museums.  Their Paris journey is just the beginning, but
 their friendship will last forever.  Take a Journey Girl on
 your next trip and share the adventure!

Callie has the
 honor of being the
 cheapest Journey
 Girl I have ever
 bought.  I couldn't
 believe my good 
luck when I found 
her on Toysrus.com.
Not only was she 
available for ship to
 home (almost
 unheard of), she was
 only $27.99! 
Normally, at Toys R 
Us, they are $32.99. 
 Paris Edition Kelsey 
was also available for
 home shipping and
at the same discount
 price, but I already
had a Kelsey.  I
expected Toys R Us to cancel the order.  Toys R Us is a great store in many ways, but
 they do seem to have a problem keeping track of their
 inventory--at least online.  Of course, they are a large chain, 
so I suppose this is understandable--particularly over the
 holidays.  However, on ebay, their feedback has been lowered primarily from complaints of customers who claimed that they
advertised an item that they didn't have, which resulted
in a cancellation when the customer tried to buy it.

I was suffering from a horrible depression the day the doll
arrived, and so I didn't feel the enthusiasm I normally did.
The doll herself was better looking than I had expected.
However, the outfit, which had looked so cute online, was
rather disappointing.  Since Callie is a dancer, I suppose
it was appropriate.  However, it was rather ordinary looking.
Even when dolls are dressed in every day clothes, we usually
expect some style.  I may dress in a spaghetti stained t-shirt
and men's boxers, but I expect my dolls to dress better, even
if the clothes are casual.  There should be something sparkly
or a cute design on the t-shirt.  I think the polka-dotted pants
were the main offenders.  I'm not opposed to polka-dots, but
you can't put them on everything--and they don't look good
on everyone.  I just felt that Callie would have more style.
I'm also rather surprised, since these are the Paris edition
dolls, that their clothes are more plainer.  Wouldn't you
think if these girls were going to Paris, their outfits would
have more pizzazz?

The doll was harder to get out of the box.  The ties that
 secure her feet were tucked under, so I wound up having to
cut them.

This plastic piece is found in the back of all Journey Girl boxes.  You cannot remove it,
 so don't try.

The trick to releasing the doll is to cut the rubber bands around the neck.  You have to be
careful if the doll is wearing a necklace (like Jordana)

I've noticed some changes with the Paris edition dolls.  One, 
they are changing the names of some of the dolls and the 
pictures of the real girls the dolls are supposedly based on--or
they are supposed to be two different girls.  The African-
American doll used to be called Taryn, and now she is called
Chavonne.  The Hispanic doll used to be called Alana, but
now she is called Kyla.  Two different girls?  Or name change?

There are changes in quality too.  Though these dolls are still
beautiful and well made, I did notice they were made a little
more cheaply.  The vinyl is softer.  Though this makes the
doll more cuddly, it also gets indentations more easily.  The
ties that had went around Callie's ankles left marks in the skin.
It is also not uncommon to find odd "bruise" color marks on
the skin.  What causes this, I don't know.  Perhaps it is from
the clothes rubbing against the skin, or it is something the
dolls pick up at the factory.  My Dana had marks so dark
she looked like an abuse victim.  Callie's shoes were also a
softer plastic and more bendy.  You can really see the
difference when you compare them to the shoes of the 
Winter Edition dolls.

My camcorder didn't pick it up well, but the black circle shows the indent marks

There may actually be a reason why the dolls are dressed more

plainly in the Paris editions if they are trying to make them

cheaper.  Or maybe they are trying to get people to buy the

accessory packs that normally cost $16.99.  The hair, though,

in the Paris Edition dolls is much thicker, so they are not as

prone to showing bald spots like they used to (which was

usually due to styling of the hair rather than it falling out).  It is

also a little dryer, like they are using less gel.  Journey Girl hair

had been prone to snarling in the older dolls, so maybe they are

trying to prevent that.  Callie's hair seemed coarser, not as silky

as my Paris Meredith's hair was.

I decided that Callie's outfit needed some sprucing up.  I

decided to open up the accessory pack I had gotten with my

Meredith doll.  This accessory pack was meant for Dana.  It

had been released in 2012 for the Winter Edition Journey Girls.

This was when Kyla was known as Alana and Chavonne was

known as Taryn.  The UPC for this accessory pack is

803516000294.  It contained a checkered black & white beret,

a pearl necklace, black gloves with red bows, a checkered

black & white purse with a red bow, and black shoes with a

red stripe.  The shoes were the exact same shoes the Winter

Edition Dana wears, and I was surprised they gave her the

same kind of shoes.

Callie after I spruced up her outfit with an accessory pack.

First, I took off the

black bow Callie had

in her hair.  I had to

cut the plastic ties on

each side that secured

it to her head.  I then

put it around her waist

like a belt. I wasn't

sure if the accessory

pack would match,

since Dana's colors are

black and red, and

Callie's colors are black

and magenta.  The

gloves didn't seem like

they would fit at all,

they seemed too small.

However, they were able

to stretch.  It was

difficult to get the fingers

through the finger holes,

though.  The necklace

was in an eight shape.

I was tempted to cut it

when I realized that

would be a bad idea.  It was also super stretchy, so I was able to 

put it around her head.  I wasn't sure about the pearls until I put

the beret on her and gave her the purse.  I also put her in the

black shoes, and my Springfield Abby doll inherited Callie's

shoes (which were a tight fit, but she has shoes). Oh, yes! A

definite improvement with Callie's outfit!  This is how you take ordinary and make it ooh-la-la!

When I first was introduced to the Journey Girls, I noticed how much they reminded me of the smaller Heart for Hearts dolls.  Callie looked like my Hearts for Hearts Tipi from Laos.  She

 could have been her big sister, I thought.

Journey Girl Callie (right) looks similar enough that she could be the
big sister to Hearts for Hearts Tipi from Laos (left)

What I am really looking forward to is making some of the

 cultural clothing sewing patterns put out by McCalls.  They

 have a Geisha outfit and a traditional Chinese outfit which I

 think Callie will look superb in.