Chavonne's Introduction and review

Chavonne's Introduction

When the Journey Girls Dolls were first introduced Chavonne was named Taryn.  From what I can tell that changed after the 1^st wave of dolls.  I have Chavonne from the Paris collection, mostly because I love her outfit (which ended up being the major disappointment with the doll).  

I bought her after I started this blog…so I can do an opening!  Boxes for the Journey girls are exactly the same on the outside.  Chavonne looks crammed in her box…maybe because of her awesome hair.

To open the box, you will have to cut two pieces of tape on the top.   There is a cardboard backing that Chavonne is attached to.  If you hold the box top up and pull on the cardboard backing, it should slide out.

Cut the tape (circled in red) to open Chavonne's box.

Chavonne is attached to the inner cardboard backing.  It is sturdy enough to pull on and get her out.

Once the backing is out it is easier to see where Chavonne is attached.  Chavonne had a few more attachment points then the other Journey Girls I have purchased.  She is still a lot easier than opening a Barbie doll.

The back is pretty empty of tie-downs.  The plastic twist-ties at the bottom are really the only major things you have to worry about.  There are also two plastic "I hooks" that you will have to cut.

Untwist the twist-ties to loosen Chavonne's legs.

The two "I hooks" are about a 1/3 of the way up from the bottom.  They are holding Chavonn'es dress to the backing.

The last thing you will have to do to free Chavonne is cut or take off the two clear rubber bands that are around her neck.  I chose to take them off rather then try to cut them…because I am not always steady with a scissors.  You have to stretch the ends to get them off the plastic hook.  The hardest part is getting your finger looped in there to get the rubber band off of the hook.

Take the plastic rubber bands off to free Chavonne.

I found it easier to go through the side to get to the rubber bands.

 Not too bad.  I thought the process was done…not so much.  There are lots of those "I hooks" hidden on Chavonne.  Here's where to find them.

There are two on her dress, near the edges.  These are the ones that where holding her dress to the backing.

There are two (one on each side) holding her lace shrug to her dress.  These are hard to see.  I noticed the one by the flower first…then found the one on the other side.

And then the last two are holding her headband to her head.  When I cut these I don't know where the other ends go.  I think they just go into her head. 

Once all of the "I hooks" are cut Chavonne is completely free!  And here is what she looks like once she is free of her box.

She has got on a really cute navy blue dress with three layered ruffles at the bottom.  She has an off white lace shrug with a red fabric flower for over her shoulders, a matching lace headband with a bow, and red shoes that match her flower.  I think this is one of the prettiest “meet” outfits of the Paris collection.  It also goes well with Chavonne’s character.

From Toys R Us, “Chavonne loves to be the center of attention!  Because she is a natural-born leader, she makes an outstanding Class President.  Chavonne comes from a family of really great musicians who have encouraged her to sing and play drums as long as she can remember.  In fact, there’s not an instrument she won’t rock out on!  The Other Journey Girls love to hear her perform with the school marching band.”

Chavonne’s face sculpt is a little different than the other Journey Girls.   It seems to me that her eyes are different, but I can’t quite tell.  She has got beautiful dark curly hair.  Her hair is cut a bit uneven.  My doll seems to be a little heavier on one side than the other, but with a little manipulation her hair looks more even.   I like the little bit of rose color in her cheeks.

Chavonne has the same flexibility in her joints as the other Journey Girls Dolls. Her legs and arms are perfect as far as the stiffness of the joints.   She stands well on her own.  My dolls head moves really well.  With my other Journey Girls Dolls their head movement has been tight (especially with Jodanna).  Chavonne’s head moves easily from side to side and she has a little more motion up and down than the other Journey Girls Dolls I have reviewed.  Her head is not loose…it just moves more freely.

                         

I said Chavonne stands well on her own…well that is not all the way true.  She stands well in anything other than her cute red shoes she comes with!  Unlike Kelsey, Jordanna, and Callie, Chavonne’s dress shoes are not flats.  They have a little heal on them that tips her forward.  Since the Journey Girl dolls have no articulation in their ankles, Chavonne has to bend at the hips.  This can make her look like she is arching backwards.  It’s not very bad on a hard flat surface.   On carpet I notice it more.

The big issue that I found with Chavonne is with her dress transferring color to the doll.  This has been an issue with three (Meredith, Dana, and Kelsey-although Kelsey’s may have been a vinyl issue, not dye transfer) of my Journey Girl Dolls.  Dark colors seem to be the biggest issue.  Both Dana and Chavonne have on dark colored pieces of clothing that transferred color.  Meredith transferred pink.  Chavonne’s marks are the worst of the bunch.  They are large and darker than on any of the other dolls.  All of the marks are on her upper breast plate and arms.  

Color transfer on the front of Chavonne's torso.

The worst marks are underneath her arms where her arms pressed against the dress.  I tried washing the marks off with baking soda, (which has worked to lighten the marks on the other girls) but it did nothing.  I have since put Chavonne in a different outfit to make sure that no more color transfer occurs.  I'm not exactly sure that the dress is the cause.  I soaked it for hours and no color come out.

Here you can see the color transfer on Chavonne's arms.  I can't make those into freckles!

Even though Chavonne’s dress transferred color to her body, I still love it!  The outfit is very cute.   The dress itself is very form fitting on the top to the point of being tight.  It does not hinder her flexibility though.  The sweater shrug is awesome and goes well with her headband.  I wish her shoes didn’t make her lean forward, but other than that her outfit is great!

Results

All ratings are out of 10

Poseability - 8 – Chavonne has the most flexibility and best joints of the Journey Girl Dolls that I have.  I have noticed that each Journey Girl Doll is very different though.  So one Chavonne will not be as flexible as another one.  As I have mentioned in some of my other reviews, I wish that the Journey Girls had more range in their joints and were able to move their arms up and down (out to the side) a little better.  The kids will not really notice this issue, since it doesn’t change the play value of the doll.  For those that are displaying their dolls, there will only be a few poses though.

Quality - 6 – The Journey Girl Dolls in general are made well.  At the price point they are in I think they are a steal.  The vinyl that they are made of is good.  The joints are made well.  Chavonne’s joints are awesome.  The clothes are high quality…except for the color transfer.  And that brings me to the real issue with Chavonne.  It is not okay that her clothes transfer the color as much as they did.  I have bought other outfits for the Journey Girls and I’m now leery of any dark colored or bright pink colored clothes.  Chavonne is not unique to having trouble with dyes or inks.  All vinyl dolls have some susceptibility to being marked permanently.  Chavonne as a doll would be rated a 9 for quality, factoring in the issues with her clothes brought her down to the 6.

Adorableness - 9 – I love the Journey Girls faces in general, but I really like Chavonne’s!  She has got very cute facial features.  Her rosy cheeks and pretty hazel eyes are beautiful.  I like her hair, even though it is a bit uneven.  It is still very cute.  Even with all of the color transfer issues, Chavonne’s outfit is adorable! 

Compatibility - 6 – There is no difference in the compatibility of Chavonne compared to the other Journey Girls. Other companies, such as American Girl and Our Generation, clothes fit, but are loose.  Dresses and coats fit better than pants, skirts and shirts.  The shoes fit great from either company.  And all of the accessories seem to fit.  I’ll have some reviews of other brands fitment in the future.  

  

Overall Score - 7 - Without the dye issue Chavonne is a 9.  However, she does have the dye issue and therefore is scored lower.  I am happy that most of the dye is not visible with most outfits, but it is still frustrating that it is there.  Chavonne is a very cute doll with great articulation in her joints.  I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a cute 18” doll.