So In Style Dolls - Ethnicity Counts

By Abbey Dale

There is probably not a single American girl out there that does not know who Barbie is. Well, after years of the same old friends, Barbie now has some new ones to hang with. The designers over at Mattel have once again created something exciting and new, the So In Style Dolls! An amazing new trio of young fashion conscience ladies named Trichelle, Grace and Kara are the new members of the Mattel and Barbie family.

These three lovely young ladies do not only live for fashion, but they contribute to society by being smart and grounded. They act as mentors to another new trio of girls, their little sisters named Kianna, Janessa and Courtney, by encouraging them in the arts and sciences.

The So In Style product line consists of the three older sisters, a threesome of friends that are always thinking about fashion, fun and friendship. Every doll has their own great sense of style and fabulous personality and relects their own varied skin hue. The S.I.S. line dolls have little sister buddies who have their own interests they pursue like science, drill team, music, and mathematics. The big sisters role is to encourage the young sisters, therefore, in a sense becoming their mentors. This mentoring is also meant to encourage the young ladies of the world today to also become an inspiration and role model for others.

As well as the So In Style big sister/little sister dolls, S.I.S. gives young ladies the opportunity to play with hair that uses the technologically advanced Aqua curl system. This allows the girls to straighten, curl and style the doll's hair again and again with just one little spritz of water along with the use of the styling tools.

So In Style products are found at huge retail shops across the country and at BarbieCollector.com for varied prices. Ranging from the S.I.S. Doll Pair (The big/little sister) for $19.99, the S.I.S. Stylin' Hair Doll from $24.99 and the S.I.S. Little Sister Doll package from $29.99, you can see that at these prices the dolls might not fly off the shelf in this economy.

However, if the standard blue-eyed Barbie is not the message you want to send to your child, then an S.I.S. doll might be just the thing. Interestingly enough, the So In Style Barbie's do retain some of the more annoying features that "Nordic" Barbie has like the cinched waist and the never ending chicken legs. Another annoyance for mother's might be the fact that while at least one of the S.I.S. dolls has curly hair, the rest do not and most even have light hair. Mattel should have thought that one through a bit more because while many Black women wear weaves that make their hair straight, it is not the texture of their normal hair and they do struggle with it more so than other ethnicity's.

Everyone understands that the previous "ethnic" Barbies were really just a very tanned version of the regular one. Mattel's and S.I.S. designer, Stacy McBride-Irby, coveted a new doll that could be a role model to her own children. They and other children like them were her sole reason for creating the So In Style Barbie. Like all mothers, Stacy wanted her children to play with dolls that were reflective of the culture they are growing up in. - 31376

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