A Mannequin for Barbie

* COOL PRODUCT ALERT *

Barbie: "Be A Real Fashion Designer"

I bought this set for my daughter at Toys R Us a few days ago.  You get 5 dresses inside with embellishments to decorate them for $24.99.  I was very happily surprised to find a mannequin hidden inside!  If you look carefully at the pictures you will see the girl playing with it.

As the reviews note, stickers, gems and ribbon don't stick too well with the "peel back off" type adhesive.  We ended up using our own fabric glue and sewing, too.  It was a good springboard for the beginning to learn to sew lessons.  The five dresses we got were slightly different.  They are actually pretty as they are delivered, but there is some criticism of the quality.  I think that the fabrics were chosen with the functionality of the stickers in mind. We used some of our own ribbons, etc.

But for me the real find was the mannequin!  My daughter gets to keep the dresses.  I get the mannequin.

 And the stand comes apart at the bottom for easier dressing.  I really like that feature.  Even slim skirts can be easily taken off and on.  No more stabbing Barbie's with pins.  It's a happy day for Barbies at our house.

And seated with the yellow ribbon belt, is the doll in the dress that is my daughter's very first design!  Cut and sewn entirely by herself, at 8 years old.  Let the play begin!