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Ongoing Stories

Monday, August 12, 2019

Kyla's Japan Release

Kyla's Tokyo T-shirt Outfit


Kyla is dressed in a long sleeve t-shirt and jean's with Japan inspired iron-ons. Her black plastic boots have a soft velvety coating. A cute red heart shaped purse is also included. The doll isn't any different than the Australian Kyla released a few years ago.


Kyla's long sleeve black shirt is nice and heavy. This shirt is one of the most well made shirts released by Journey Girls. Like many of the shirts released recently, there is a liner to prevent color transfer.


Unlike many of the Journey Girls t-shirts, this one has Velcro all the way down the back! Making it extremely easy to get the t-shirt on.


In the middle of the shirt a "Tokyo" iron on adorns the shirt. A coy, cute anime kitty, a rising sun heart, three flowers, and a traditional shrine surround the word Tokyo. There are two white stripes on each sleeve just above the elbow. This is a wonderful tourist style shirt.


Kyla‘s jeans have the same iron-ons as her shirts. There’s a Koi, an oriental fan, a heart with a rising sun design in it, a daisy, a cute little kitty and a shrine.


The jeans are light blue denim with small cuffs at the bottom of the legs. Like all of the Journey Girls jeans fake pockets are sewn in, and are not usable. There is some elastic in the waistline to make it easy for the jeans to slip on and off.


Kyla‘s boots are not new, as far as design, but do you have an outer coating that makes them different than the normal plastic ones that we have seen in the past.


These boots are black and have a soft texture to the outside almost like velvet. They are the same short calf boots that we’ve seen in years past with a slit all the way up the back of the boot.


As I have mentioned in past reviews, I personally don't love the slit in the boot, mostly because it makes photographing from the back challenging.


A cute heart shaped purse with fringes dangling from the edges comes with Kyla. It reminds me of more of a western style purse, but is very cute.


The fabric is a nice soft leather. It does have Velcro on the inside top so that you can close the purse and it will stay closed. A long strap makes it possible to hang the purse from her shoulders.


The doll itself is very similar to the last couple of years. The design is the same, the joints seem to be the same and the vinyl still seems to be the same. Two things that are a little bit different are her hair and the cloth body. Her hair seems to be a little bit more frizzy. It can still be managed with water and a brush, but with very little play the hair becomes tangled and messy again.


Kyla’s hair has a little bit of a wave to it and because of that it tangles even more. The cloth body has the same exact design as in years past but does seem to be made out of a different material. It is heavier, has a different feel to it (much more like an OG doll's body), and the stitching is much straighter.


In years past you could actually see the stitching coming apart in some of the areas. One thing that is still disappointingly the same is the joints. After receiving Ilee I was hoping that her joints were going to be the standard for the new dolls.


Unfortunately most of the new dolls have extremely ridged joints, making the arms or head click as it is turned. Such a disappointment since Ilee has so much smoother joints.



All ratings are out of 10

Value 7 – I'm not sure if Kyla is a 6 or a 7 for value. Here's why. Kyla's outfit is great and has a lot of potential for use with other outfits. The doll is the weak point though. Kyla's hair is not great. Don't misunderstand, she has good hair, but it's not great. It will get tangled with normal play, but it is a high enough quality that it can be untangles with water and patience. Her joints are just horrible. Her right arm is downright difficult for me to move. Not only is it difficult, but I am worried that it will break off (a real possibility). Probably more of a 6 or lower, but in years past I have found that each doll's joints can be different. There may be 4 different Kyla's, all of them with different feeling joints. Some of them may be more like Ilee's joints...hopefully.

Fitment 9 – Everything fits well, but the shirt and jeans are tight. That isn't a big deal with the shirt as it has Velcro all the way down the back. However, since the jeans have to be moved down Kyla's legs, they have a difficult time moving at times, especially over her heals.

Versatility 10 – There are lots of good options for mixing and matching with other outfits. The jeans would go great with a plain top. The t-shirt will work with a skirt or shorts. And of course the boots and purse go with almost anything.

Cuteness 9 – This is one of those outfits that make me happy, kind of like Dana's monkey shirt. It is cute and fun, and does a great job of capturing that tourist feeling. The colors of the iron-ons work well with each other and with the accessories.

Overall 8 – Really the only thing that brings Kyla down is her joints. If I was rating just the outfit, it would be a 9. I am not sure that all Kyla dolls have the same joint issue, but my guess is that more have the issue than don't Kyla is still worth buying, especially if you don't have her at all. If you already have a Kyla doll, the new outfit is worth picking her up for. Right now you can purchase her through Amazon. Eventually she should be available through Toys R Us online.