The Evolution of Barbie - Barbie Fashionistas

Barbie has always been a part of my life and with each doll Mattel release they seem to evolve, the release of the new Fashionistas dolls has been another interesting development. With dolls of all shapes, sizes, skin colour, eye colour and hair now available, it has been interesting to see some of these dolls up close.

When my daughter examined them as we took them from the box she only saw the different clothes, she didn’t see the different skin colour or sizes, although she did comment on the slighty wider legs of Chambray chic, but it was more of a passing comment than criticism. It certainly makes you look at yourself and think about how the comments we make have an effect on how they see the world.

These dolls are a great addition to our collection and for me epitomise what Barbie has always been about, clothing and fashion. Yes I would have liked to have seen more practical clothing and styles but the new flatter feet mean new shoes that I would have loved for my Barbie as a young girl. I remember my mum making dresses and trousers out of old scraps of material and being able to dress my dolls up in the clothes of the time, these offer just that.

My daughter took to playing with them as she would any doll, making them talk to each other about random stuff from clothes to what they'd done that day. The clothes themselves are almost interchangeable with the slimmer fitting ones struggling to be done up at the back of Chambray Chic, but that didn't really matter as most of the time my daughter doesn't manage to do the clothes up properly anyway, the shoes on the tall and petit dolls don't interchange either but that is fine, you just need to remember whose shoes are who's.

The dolls stick with the signature facial style of the original Barbie so are recognisable, but all have their own look. I really love the curly hair on Crazy for Coral, it reminds me of a perm I had back in the day and I loved it then and even now, I would love curly hair, it is this imagination that Barbie sparks.

Barbie creating these dolls means that children get a chance to see from within their imaginations that everyone is different, that it is normal and there is nothing to be ashamed of. Playing with dolls that are different shapes, sizes and colours helps them to understand that in the real world people are all different and that this is normal.

My daughters favourite doll is Crazy for Coral, she loves the dress "because it's shiny and she likes the pattern". With such a huge selection to chose from I can't wait to see the rest, their are some more wonderful hair colours and clothes and my daughter has already chosen the ones she'd like next.

The new 2016 Barbie Fashionistas doll line includes four body types (the original, petite, curvy and tall) seven skin tones, 22 eye colours, 24 hairstyles and countless on trend fashions and accessories. The RRP is just £9.99 and they are available to order now from Amazon. Mattel have also released a great video all about The Evolution of Barbie, it is a great insight into the changes.

NB We were sent these dolls for the purpose of the review, all words an opinions are my own.