Dana

Welcome Dana

There are a few things about Dana that I really like.  She is very unique in that she is the only Journey Girl with short hair, and she has glasses.  She also has a different face mold, that seems to be unique to her.  Her jawline seems to be stronger, making her face look wider, and her eyes look bigger.  Out of the six main Journey Girls Dolls, Dana and Chavonne's outfits are the most appealing to me.

Toys R Us describes Dana as a girl that "hates to leave home without one of her furry friends!  She's always sure to hit zoos, aquariums and natural animal habitats wherever she travels.  She loves volunteering at the local animal shelter where she feeds and plays with all the critters.  Outside of the shelter, she works hard at finding every animal a good home by putting up flyers and posting ads on the Internet.

Dana comes in a long sleeved grey shirt with a horse printed on the front, a soft white "lacy" shirt, a red belt with a bow on the front, checked black leggings, black boots, a "newsboy" style hat, and her glasses.  Dana looks very different with her glasses off.  Either way she is an adorable doll.

Dana came with a few issues.  Unlike Meredith and Kelsey, she has no issues with her joints.  Like Meredith she does have color transfer from her clothes, specifically her leggings.  The marks are not very dark, but they are noticeable.  They are also on both legs and in multiple spots on each leg.  I have read a few other reviews and this is apparently common issue with Dana's leggings.

Dana's leggings have some issues of there own.  The top of the leg gins are sewn well, no issues.  The bottom part of the leggings stop halfway up her calf.  They are not sewn at the ends and are very uneven.  So far there has been no issues with the ends fraying or the leggings getting a run in them.  Without high boots on the leggings ends are not covered and they look ridiculous.

Dana's short hair is one of her more unique features.  It's one of the reasons I like her so much.  But her hair is cut willy-nilly.  I trimmed her hair so that it is closer to straight across in the back.  The photo shows one end before I cut it.  Again, other reviews have found the same issue with their dolls.  It is a very easy fix, but it is still annoying, especially when the rest of the doll is so wonderful.

Like the other Journey Girls, Dana's arms go up and down, but not out to the side.  She sits with her legs out in a "V" rather than straight ahead.  She has a half vinyl, half cloth torso.  Her hair is rooted like the other girls, but because it is shorter it is not as thick.  In some places it is actually very thin.  You can actually see Dana's scalp and the roots more than with any of the other Journey Girls.

This is with Dana lying on her tummy.  I did not part her hair.  Because her hair is short I think it's easier to see the roots.

As I mentioned earlier, I love Dana's outfit.  I think it is the right amount of cute, functionality, and personality for her.  She looks like a girl that would go out and help every animal she could.   I love the skirt!  It is very easy to slide on (no velcro…yah!) and it is well made.  The belt can also double as a head band (although the outfit doesn't look as good that way).  I even love her leggings, even with all of their flaws.

The skirt has a nice cotton "slip" attached to the underneath.

Two things I should mention.  One is that the boots can be a bit of a pain in the butt to get on.  Because they are plastic and taller, they can stick on Dana's heals.  With a little wiggling they will slide on though.  Since they are plastic they have a long slit in the back to allow you to get Dana's feet in.  Once her feet are in there is no way to clasp the boot closed…leaving the slit open.  (You can see this in the photo where I talk about Dana's leggings)

The second thing is that Dana's glasses do not stay on well without her hat on.  They slide down to the tip of her nose.  So she is always glancing over the top of them.  If you keep her hat on, there is no problem, they will stay where they should.  If you take the hat off, the only way to get them to stay is keep the little clear plastic "rubber band" that wraps around Dana's head.  I couldn't figure out a good way to use this and keep her hair in a way that looked good…so Dana got contacts!

Results

All ratings are out of 10

Poseability - 7  - Out of the four dolls I have so far, Dana has the best joints.  Her arms and legs move
very smoothly, with no issues.  She has the same poseability restrictions that all of the Journey Girls have.  Her ability to move is on par with similar 18" dolls.

Quality - 6  - Well…my Dana has a few issues.  She has horribly cut hair, black dye spots on her legs, the leggings themselves are not great, the thickness of her hair, and the fact that her glasses don't stay on all factor into her score.  On the other hand, she has wonderfully solid joints, she is stuffed really well, and she looks so darn adorable in her outfit!  At the price point that she is I can understand some of theses issues, but I would be willing to pay just a little more (in the $50 range) for a better doll without the issues.    Still, in my opinion the Journey Girls have some of the best facial features and the vinyl they are made of is outstanding.

Adorableness - 8 - Dana is adorable!  I wish her glasses stayed on better, because she is super cute with them on.  Without her glasses, Dana looks like her eyes are bigger than the otherJourney Girls (they aren't..but they look it).   She looks just as adorable with or without her glasses.  Dana's "meet" outfit is great.  It compliments who she is well.

Compatibility - 6 - Dana can wear all of the same clothes that the other Journey Girls can (See my other reviews for a list of those brands that fit).  Other dolls glasses do not fit well on her.   Look for future reviews of the different outfits.

Overall Score - 7 - Dana has some issues, but nothing major enough for me not to like her.  I wish that
things fit a little better and that the care for quality assurance was better, but overall I am happy with Dana.  I think she has the most unique face of the Journey Girls, with her bright blue eyes, strong jawline, and cute little glasses. Her hair being short also adds to her individuality.  Dana will make a great addition to your collection of Journey Girls.