Espari: A New Journey Girl?

Barnes and Nobles "Espari" Kayumi vs The Journey Girls

I was at Barnes and Noble today and was surprised to find what at first glance looked like a Journey Girl in their toy section.  When I got closer, I saw that there were four dolls all resembling a Journey Girl.  Espari is made by the Lotus company exclusively for Barnes and Noble.  There are four girls in the line; Kayumi (Meredith), Marnie (Chavonne), Lily Ria (Kyla), and Annalyn (Kelsey).  There are also three sets of clothing that range in cost from $19.95 to $29.95.  The dolls are all priced at a hefty $59.99.  With a 30% off coupon, that comes in my e-mail every once in awhile, I was able to buy Kayumi for around $42.00: pretty comparable to the Journey Girls.

Kayumi doll from Barnes and Noble

I like the back of the box.  Pretty!

Upon looking at her I was surprised at how much she looked like Meredith.  There seemed to be something a little different between my London Meredith, my new sculpt Meredith and Kayumi, but I couldn't really put my finger on it.  After all the box she comes in is identical to the case that Mikaella arrives in.  Kayumi looks to have the same proportions as Meredith does.  She even has the same 1/2 vinyl breast plate that Meredith has.  So my hope was that she was a higher quality Journey Girl doll. Well….let's find out if that is the case!

There are tape circles that must be cut to open the box

Cut here to get the box open.

Cut the tape or the clear rubber bands where there is a red circle.  The blue circle
 is around twists that can be untwisted

Cut or unhook the clear rubber band to get Kayumi loose.

The twists stay on Kayumi's ankles, untwist them again and take them off.
The cardboard has I fasteners that need to be cut so that her dress comes off.

Cut the I fastener holding Kayumi's dress to the cardboard

One more I fastener to cut.

Kayumi comes dressed in a pink dress with layered, ruffles of tulle.  She has pink sparkly healed shoes on and a gold purse.  Like Meredith, Kayumi is blond with bright blue eyes.  Kayumi's hair is even pulled back in exactly the same way as Meredith's.

Kayumi out of her box.

The first thing I noticed when I bought her was that her eyes look a little different than Meredith's.  I looked at 5 different dolls, at two different stores and every single one of the Kayumi dolls had crossed eyes.  I thought this was the best of them.  I have seen this in the Journey girls also, but not as bad as in these dolls.  I will say that the three other types of dolls did not seem to have an issue with their eyes.

Kayumi kind of has crossed eyes.

After getting Kayumi out of her package I noted that the back of her dress was not closed.  It had velcro at the waist, but was open from there down.  My first thought was, "Wow, that is poor design."  Then I realized the taffeta was a skirt.

Kayumi's dress is open in the back.  It can be taken off completely for a different style of dress.

By undoing the velcro you get a whole new dress.  The underneath dress is knee length and is satin. The taffeta collar also unties and can be removed.  Kayumi comes with underwear also.

As I stood Kayumi for photos I noted that she stands pretty well.  The second thing I noticed is that her one leg joint was different from her other one.  The left leg joint you can see the ball socket inside.  This makes the left leg just a bit longer.  Her joints are tight.  Her neck joint barely moves.  It is very difficult to tilt her head; turning it is okay.  Her shoulder joints are also hard.  They seem to have a small amount more flexibility than do the Journey Girls, but not drastically more.

The leg joint is actually popping out from the body.

Kayumi must be modeled off of Mikaella and the new Meredith as far as her sitting goes.  If you want to read me complain about how horrible the leg joints are read my review of Meredith.  Suffice it to say…these are worse!!!  There is no way to get Kayumi to sit without propping her up on her arms or against something.  Once you get to a point the leg joint actually just turns the leg, making it look like Kayumi fell and broke her hip.  What is the deal with the bad leg joints?  Not good! That's all I'm going to say.

Kayumi can not sit on her own without her hands propping her up.

Kayumi compared to Meredith's ability to sit.

New sculpt Meredith, Kayumi, and old Meredith sitting not so lady like.

Kayumi's torso is similar to the new Meredith's.  Very firm, it's the same size (10 inches around compared to 9 3/4 of the old Meredith).  The Vinyl seems to be of good quality, or at least on par with the Journey Girls.  Kayumi had no staining on any parts of her body.

The three girls and their different body types.

The whole doll is similar to Meredith (both versions) but not really exactly the same.  Take her face for instance.  The eyes are a little bigger and set lower on the face than either of the Meredith's.  Her lips are painted wider, but they are also open, compared to closed on Meredith.

Kayumi has bigger eyes and a little smile

Meredith's eyes are wider apart and she has a little longer nose

Meredith has thicker eyebrows and closed lips.

Looking from the side, her neck is not as long, her jaw line is different and the bridge of her nose goes deeper into her face.  From this angle it is apparent that the aces are definitely different.

Kayumi from the side.

Meredith's new sculpt.

Original Meredith.

Kayumi's legs are shaped differently than the Journey Girls.  They are skinnier at the top and come out of the bottom of her body more then the side.  This may be what causes the issue with the sitting.

The different leg shapes of the girls.  Meredith (new), Kayumi, Meredith (old).

Her feet are slightly longer than the Journey Girls.  I think her toes are more pronounced.  Her fingers are not spread out as much and look more plastic than the Journey Girls.

Kayumi's feet are slightly different than the Journey Girls.

Meredith's hand

Kayumi's hand is not as defined. 

Her outfit does perfectly fit Meredith.  And this is a cute dress!  I like that the dress can convert to a less formal dress.  It makes it so that the outfit basically has accessories to use with other outfits.  Very neat!

Meredith wearing Kayumi's outfit

Kayumi has some great accessories with her outfit.

Results

All ratings are out of 10

Poseability - 4  - I won't rant about Kayumi's legs…just know that if you want a doll that can sit on her own, this one is not it.  The shoulder joints seem really good.  The neck is way too stiff and really can't tilt very well.

Quality - 6  - I was disappointed to find only one doll with eyes that seemed to look straight.  The eyes of a doll show the level craftsmanship and attention to detail more easily than any other part on the doll.  The difference between an American Girl doll and an Our Generation doll can easily be summed up in the way the eyes work for both.  I think Kayumi is still better than some of the other 18" dolls out there.  She's just not at the top.

Adorableness - 8 - Kayumi's face sculpt, though not as cute as old Meredith's, is much better than the new sculpt.  She really has an adorable face.  And her dress is awesome!  It is really frilly though.  I'm not sure if I like it more than Mikealla's, but it's not as nice as Jordanna's gown.  I do like that it is convertible.

Compatibility - 6 - The Espari dolls are thinner than an American Girl doll, so there are the same compatibility issues as the Journey Girls have.  Pants, skirts, and shirts are going to be big on her.  Shoes are wide, but fit lengthwise.  Some shoes from Springfield and Our Generation do not fit, because her feet are just a smidg longer.

Overall Score - 6 - I love Kayumi's face…but I can't get over the short falls of her body, especially the legs.  If she was less then $30, maybe I could forgive some of the issues, but she is twice that amount.  The Journey Girls go on sale for around $34…buy two London Meredith's (the old sculpt) you'll be very happy with them.  If you can get Kayumi for $42 or less, she is worth it if you like pink dresses (super cute!) or if she is just going to be displayed standing up.

Meredith, Kayumi, and Meredith.

New Journey Girl Meredith

Journey Girl Meredith Gets a Make-over

Toys R Us has released a new Meredith doll, just in time for the holidays.  Unlike the doll that was released at the beginning of this year for the London line, this Meredith doll is not just a re-dress.  She is a resculpt, much like Kyla was a few months ago.  Like Kyla, Meredith has the same issues and improvements.  So…is the new Meredith worth your hard earned $39.99…let’s find out!

Meredith in her box

New outfits for the girls

The box that Meredith comes in is no different than the other London boxes, except for the back, which has most of the girls in new outfits.  When I first saw Meredith, I really couldn’t tell that her face had changed that much.  Kyla’s resculpted face looks very different than her old face, more so than Meredith’s does (at least to me).  What is interesting is that it is obvious that both the new Meredith and new Kyla have the exact same face mold.  Meredith’s just doesn’t look as much different.

Let’s get Meredith out of her box!  I like to open the top of the box, but you can also open the bottom.  They open the same way.  There are a couple pieces of tape that will have to be peeled back or cut, so that the top flap can be opened.  

Cut the pieces of tape to open the box.  Sometimes there is tape at the bottom edge also.

Once that is done, pull the cardboard backing that Meredith is on out of the box.  On the back of the cardboard there are all sorts of things holding Meredith to the board.  Cut away the tape around the clear twists.  The clear rubberbands can be cut also.  

Cut the tape away from the areas circled in red.  Then cut or untwist the pieces holding Meredith to the cardboard.

Turn the cardboard backing around so that Meredith is looking at you.  Around Meredith’s neck is another clear rubberband.  Unhook the rubber band from the plastic hook at the back of Meredith’s neck, or carefully cut the rubber band.  Meredith should be free of the cardboard now…but not totally free.

Cut or pull the clear rubber band off of Meredith's neck.

The clear twists at the bottom of the box will stay on Meredith’s ankles as she is pulled out.  Untwist them and take the twists off her ankles. 

These just untwist off of Meredith's ankles.

Meredith’s striped sweater is held to her shirt by 4 clear “I” fasteners on the edges of her sweater.  Cut these to get Meredith’s sweater off.  Yeaaa!!! Meredith is free!

Cut the I fasteners, indicated here by the green circles, to get Meredith's stripped sweater off.

Meredith is wearing a cute black and white striped sweater with red edges and a red fabric flower.  There are also “pockets” sewn in to the sweater, which are just the red fabric sewn onto the sweater, not actual pockets.  Under that is a silver tank top that velcro’s up the back.  She is wearing comfortable blue with white polka dotted slacks.  Finally the outfit is rounded out with some red short heeled shoes.

Meredith in her new outfit

If you have read my review on Kyla or Mikaella, some of this may be repetitive.  Meredith has the same body and face sculpt as the other “new” Journey Girls.  There are goods and bads about that.  Let’s start with the goods.  Meredith’s face sculpt is cute.  I personally like her old face sculpt better, but this new one is so similar that it still retains that cuteness.  To me she looks older by a few years.  Meredith’s hair is still very nice. 

Meredith's new face sculpt compared to her old one.

I like the feel of the Journey Girls hair, more than American Girls, but there are some challenges with it.  Since the hair is rooted it does pull out in little strands.  Also the hair does seem to get knots in it more easily than American Girl hair.  All of the vinyl is good quality.  It feels thinner, but I don’t think that it actually is.  Meredith’s joints are good, for the most part (more on that in a minute).  Meredith’s torso is stuffed better than past Journey Girls dolls.  She is still missing a butt, like all Journey Girls, nothing horrible though. 

Which means her arms don't go out to the side.

Meredith's shoulder joint movement is still the same. 

Now, the not so good.  Meredith’s arms still only go out 1/3 of the way straight out to the side.  The joints start off a little stiff, but loosen up to a reasonable resistance with in a few play times.  My main issue is that Meredith has to do the splits to sit.  When I bought the new Kyla doll I was not excited about the way that her legs splayed out.  Now that I have Meredith, the 3^rd doll of the new Journey Girls body style, I HATE the way the legs splay out.  

Meredith "sitting"

The Journey Girls have never been super ladylike in how they sat.  To be fair, American Girl dolls are not a huge amount better.  With the Journey Girls, I could always find a spot that they would sit that looked somewhat natural.  With the new Meredith doll she has to sit with her legs all the way out to the side, which makes her unstable as she sits.  

Old Meredith (right) does not spread her legs out as far to sit down as new Meredith does.

The other way to have her sit is to have her lean back on her hands.  Meredith’s legs aren’t as spread out…but now she can’t use her hands.  I hope that this is not the way the line is going.  What do you think?  Do any of you have a new Journey Girl?  Do the legs bother you?  Or is it just me?

Alright…enough of that!

At the bottom back of the breast plate "Geoffrey LLC"
is imprinted on all the new Journey Girls.

"Geoffrey LLC" is also still on the Journey Girls neck.

Meredith has a very versatile outfit.  Every single piece of her outfit can be used with other pieces of clothing.  The silver tank can be added to skirt for a fancier outfit.  The sweater can be used to warm any outfit up.  The pants are super cute!  I’m glad that Toys R Us gave Meredith something other than jeans.  I washed the outfit.  Some of the Journey Girl clothes will transfer color to the dolls vinyl.  Just to make sure I did not have that issue, I washed this outfit.  You probably don’t have to…but I think it is a good idea.

Meredith's new outfit.

Results

All ratings are out of 10

Poseability - 5  - I won't rant any more about Meredith's legs.  The rest of her is on par with other 18" dolls.  I have more trouble standing her up then with the old Journey Girls body style.  But that may just be my disdain for her leg joints that is clouding my perspective.  As I have mentioned before, I would love more movement in the shoulder joint.  Something that I don't talk about enough is the awesomeness of the neck joint.  I love that Meredith's head can tilt (like all Journey Girls)

Quality - 6  - I feel as though these new dolls are cheaper…not made as well.  That is a feeling more than observation, because there are actually some things on the new dolls that are better.  The joints in general don't seem to be loose.  There seems to be a little more consistence between dolls, as far as their quality.  The stitching and stuffing are much better.  The legs are a big issue.  I also feel that, even though cute, the face mold is not as pretty.

Adorableness - 7 - I don't like the new face sculpt as much on Meredith.  I'm not exactly sure why.  I think my issue with both Meredith and Kyla is that the new sculpt makes them look older.  All of that being said…Meredith is still a cutie!  In my opinion she still has the cutest face on any 18" doll out there.  I really like the vinyl breast plate also.  It gives so many more options for dressing than the all cloth body.

Compatibility - 6 - No difference in compatibility between the old sculpt and the new one.  Even with the difference in the leg joints I have not seen an issue.  Some tights are a little tighter, but not bad.  Clothing made for American Girl dolls are still big, especially around the waist.

Overall Score - 7 - Overall I like Meredith.  I like her new outfit.  I like the stitching on the cloth body. I like that her body is stuffed better than in older dolls.  I like her face.  Those pretty blue eyes are wonderful!  I have made it abundantly clear that I hate her leg joints.  I knew that her legs would be this way and still bought her, because she is still very cute.  I would say if you can get her on sale…buy her.  If you see an older  Meredith…get that one instead!

Both Journey Girl London Meredith's.  New sculpt (left) and old sculpt (right).