Kelsey's New Face
Last year when the new face molds were released, I was so glad that Journey Girls kept Kelsey with the old face sculpt. I am disappointed to say that they have now changed Kelsey over to the new face mold. She is still very cute, but her old face mold was so endearing and beautiful. Her face is now more round and her eyes look further apart.
Her super light complection, bright green eyes, and auburn hair are still the same. Her body is the newer body style which means her cloth body is stuffed well, the stitching is very straight on her torso, she has the clicky shoulder joints, and the more angled joints at her hips. Apperently there has been an improvement with the vinyl also (for all the dolls, not just Kelsey), but it’s nothing that you can really see.
A few notes about the box; gone are the photos on the sides
and on the back with the “real” Journey Girls.
Instead there is a spot on the bottom back of the box that has phrases
about the girl in different languages.
In Kelsey’s case words like “explorer”, “punctual”, and “smart” are on her box. A little paragraph about Kelsey is also there. It is kind of neat to know about the girls.
In Kelsey’s case words like “explorer”, “punctual”, and “smart” are on her box. A little paragraph about Kelsey is also there. It is kind of neat to know about the girls.
On to Kelsey’s outfit.
Let’s start with her jacket, a beautiful, heavy, blue cotton cordarouy,
with two “pockets” and silver “button” embellishments.
The jacket has an inside mesh layer that helps the jacket slide onto Kelsey’s arm more easily. There is no way to close the jacket, but it looks wonderful open. The jacket is made really well, except the cuffs at the ends of the sleeves, they do not always stay cuffed and the inside fabric sticks out at times.
The pockets are not really pockets, just flaps. The button embellishments are a nice addition to the jacket.
Take the jacket off and Kelsey has on an elbow length navy blue stripped t-shirt. The t-sirth is similar to many other Journey Girl t-shirts. There is a white crew cut collar around the neckline.
Velcro runs down the back of the shirt 3/4 of the way. It would be preferable to have it run all the way down, but this is okay.
The bottom 1/4 is open, which is better than having it sewn together, which would make you pull the shirt up over Kelsey's body, instead of just pulling it on her arms, which is the way you can do it the way it is made now.
The skirt is a simple light cotton with pleats around the waist that help the skirt flow. There is no elastic around the waistband, but there is Velcro to keep the skirt snug on Kelsey. The flower pattern is very similar to the one on Mikaella's New York meet top.
There are bunches of roses in whites, pinks and reds, along with a few tiny blue flowers. Somewhat busy, the pattern works great with the plain striped shirt.
Kelsey has a great shoulder purse for New York. The long pink leather strap hangs off her shoulder and down to just below the tip of her fingers.
Nothing new in design of the actual purse, but it does have a velcro closing flap, which is nice. Just a note; the purse come with the shoulder strap folded up. This creates creases in it, making it difficult for the purse to hang correctly on Kelsey's shoulder. Hopefully that goes away with play.
Lastly, Kelsey comes with the good old Journey Girls plastic flats...this time with tassels! It's nice that Toys R Us tried to spruce the shoes up, but let's just get some new shoes....PLEASE! Enough said. Cute with the outfit, need a new design!
The jacket has an inside mesh layer that helps the jacket slide onto Kelsey’s arm more easily. There is no way to close the jacket, but it looks wonderful open. The jacket is made really well, except the cuffs at the ends of the sleeves, they do not always stay cuffed and the inside fabric sticks out at times.
The pockets are not really pockets, just flaps. The button embellishments are a nice addition to the jacket.
Take the jacket off and Kelsey has on an elbow length navy blue stripped t-shirt. The t-sirth is similar to many other Journey Girl t-shirts. There is a white crew cut collar around the neckline.
Velcro runs down the back of the shirt 3/4 of the way. It would be preferable to have it run all the way down, but this is okay.
The bottom 1/4 is open, which is better than having it sewn together, which would make you pull the shirt up over Kelsey's body, instead of just pulling it on her arms, which is the way you can do it the way it is made now.
The skirt is a simple light cotton with pleats around the waist that help the skirt flow. There is no elastic around the waistband, but there is Velcro to keep the skirt snug on Kelsey. The flower pattern is very similar to the one on Mikaella's New York meet top.
There are bunches of roses in whites, pinks and reds, along with a few tiny blue flowers. Somewhat busy, the pattern works great with the plain striped shirt.
Kelsey has a great shoulder purse for New York. The long pink leather strap hangs off her shoulder and down to just below the tip of her fingers.
Nothing new in design of the actual purse, but it does have a velcro closing flap, which is nice. Just a note; the purse come with the shoulder strap folded up. This creates creases in it, making it difficult for the purse to hang correctly on Kelsey's shoulder. Hopefully that goes away with play.
Lastly, Kelsey comes with the good old Journey Girls plastic flats...this time with tassels! It's nice that Toys R Us tried to spruce the shoes up, but let's just get some new shoes....PLEASE! Enough said. Cute with the outfit, need a new design!
Results
All ratings are out of 10
Poseability - 5 - Very sad that Kelsey received the "upgrade" to her body and joints. Although there are some nice qualities to the newer body style, they are far outweighed by the ever present leg sprawl and balance issues caused by the new leg joints. I do think that the new joints are more durable...or hope that they are.
Quality - 8 - A great outfit. The jacket, especially, is made very well. That is not to say that the shirt or skirt are not made well, because they are, just that the jacket is a very nice material with good quality stitching. As mentioned earlier there is a little bit of trouble on the ends of the sleeve, but only when putting the jacket on, and only because of how Kelsey's finger stick out. This outfit doesn't get as high of marks, because of those darn shoes.
outfit
Adorableness - 7 - Very cute outfit. Like Mikaella's outfit, this one is just as cute without the jacket. It is a really good ensemble. I don't like Kelsey's new face mold. The old one is so much cuter. This one looks older, which is maybe what Toys R Us is trying to do. Wish she still had the old face mold.
Compatibility - 5 - An outfit that fits the Journey Girls well usually doesn't fit other dolls very well. This is very true in this case. Without an elastic waistband on the skirt it is difficult to use on other brands of dolls. Shoes are exclusive to Journey Girls (not much loss there). and the jacket and top are also tight.
Overall Score - 6 - If we were able to buy this as just an outfit the score would be higher. Since Kelsey gets the new face mold and the new body style, she just isn't as nice, in my opinion. She is probably made a little better, but not enough to make me want to get rid of her old face. Plus the new joints are just not my favorite, mostly for the leg sprawl. She is cute and she is a nice doll. She will stay in my collection, but I will be purchasing some of the Italy dolls, to make sure I always have a few with the older face mold.
AG Note: As mentioned in the compatibility note, this outfit is tight. It does fit Grace, but you will have to fight with it a little.
The shirt has to be stretched to close with the Velcro and then it leaves on opening in the back. You will have to squish the stuffing of your doll to get the skirt to close.
The jacket is extremely tight around Grace's upper arms and shoulders. She looses almost all of her movement in her arms.
And if you've read any of my reviews you know the shoes aren't even close to fitting. All of the being said, this outfit is super cute on Grace!
If you are thinking of getting Kelsey to share her outfit, wait until she is on sale. The outfit alone is not worth the money, especially if you are mostly hoping to have it on your AG doll.
Compatibility - 5 - An outfit that fits the Journey Girls well usually doesn't fit other dolls very well. This is very true in this case. Without an elastic waistband on the skirt it is difficult to use on other brands of dolls. Shoes are exclusive to Journey Girls (not much loss there). and the jacket and top are also tight.
Overall Score - 6 - If we were able to buy this as just an outfit the score would be higher. Since Kelsey gets the new face mold and the new body style, she just isn't as nice, in my opinion. She is probably made a little better, but not enough to make me want to get rid of her old face. Plus the new joints are just not my favorite, mostly for the leg sprawl. She is cute and she is a nice doll. She will stay in my collection, but I will be purchasing some of the Italy dolls, to make sure I always have a few with the older face mold.
AG Note: As mentioned in the compatibility note, this outfit is tight. It does fit Grace, but you will have to fight with it a little.
The shirt has to be stretched to close with the Velcro and then it leaves on opening in the back. You will have to squish the stuffing of your doll to get the skirt to close.
The jacket is extremely tight around Grace's upper arms and shoulders. She looses almost all of her movement in her arms.
And if you've read any of my reviews you know the shoes aren't even close to fitting. All of the being said, this outfit is super cute on Grace!
If you are thinking of getting Kelsey to share her outfit, wait until she is on sale. The outfit alone is not worth the money, especially if you are mostly hoping to have it on your AG doll.
9 comments:
How beautiful!!! I love all the details. Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada. :)
Hi, I just found your blog. I have to agree with you completely about the new JG looks. I'm so disappointed. Their faces have always been adorable, but the new faces just don't appeal to me like the old ones. I didn't even know the joints had been changed, so I appreciate finding out about that. I only have the older style dolls, and when I saw that they had changed face molds on some I didn't have, I went hunting online to find them in the old styles. It's a shame, because I find them to be such a nice alternative to the other popular 18" brand dolls. Hopefully there will be new changes that will be worth waiting for. In the meantime, I'm going to go read more of your blog!
I love her little outfit. I'm glad her coloring is still the same, but I am also with you about the face mold being not quite as "endearing" as before. I can understand why they wanted to try something new, but unfortunately, I think she's a little less appealing. Great review as always!
I love the outfit especially the skirt.
Thank You for this informative post.
Joan
This post is very helpful. Kelsey is a beauty. The outfit is adorable.
Marilyn
I always enjoy your posts. They give descriptions on the doll and outfit that are very helpful.
Marion
I always think Kelsey looks a little odd...because I expect her to have freckles! Your Kelsey will always be the true Kelsey in my eyes ;-) And I agree, the new face just doesn't have the same spark of personality.
I agree with everyone else! The new face mold especially does not suit Kelsey. It leaves me curious if they lost the rights to the sculpt or the mold literally broke so they can't make more.
I also agree that a Kelsey without freckles look odd...
My second generation Kelsey is still my favorite (the one who came in the hiking outfit). I wish they would make her twin brother into a doll. Maybe I will get a new Kelsey when she's on sale and convert her...(I think her twin has largely disappeared from JG "public" cannon but you can still find a reference here: http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=11986064)
She is super cute. I love her outfit on Grace.
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