Sunday, July 13, 2014

Mattel Raquelle Found in Philly

If you seek the Barbie Style Raquelle, she is being sold in Philadelphia. I saw her in the South Philly Target. I almost bought her. Almost. Then I remembered how I am NOT buying stuff until I have reduced my current collection. So even though she was only $19.99, I left her there.

Her outfit is the cutest from this collection. The jeans seem a bit looser than I thought they would be. (Good, she can actually shimmy into them.) I love the colors - faded black, vivid black, pepper red, and natural leopard print. They look like pieces a real person might wear together. Comfy, off the shoulder pullover, contrasting vest, skinny jeans, ankle boots, and an animal print scarf.

Mattel Barbie Style Raquelle in box
Mattel Barbie Style Raquelle

In this store, there were six blond Barbies and two Teresas to the one Raquelle doll. I don't know if there were more Raquelles available before I got there, but I think that she might have a smaller run. Why? 'cause she is wearing something kicky but natural colored. A quick "cheat" to help you find her among the others - if you encounter a batch of them - look for the yellow-black leopard print on the sides of the box front, especially, the left side.

Mattel Barbie Style Raquelle box back
Box back to Barbie Style Raquelle

Here is the back of the box where you can see the other dolls in this series. Also, they are shown on the side of the box.

Box side showing 4 Mattel Barbie Style 2014 fashion dolls
Two Barbies, one Raquelle, and one Teresa. No Nikki here. Sigh.


Another reason I probably did not buy this doll is that I am still waiting to find the snarky-faced Raquelle. I understand that she is not to every one's taste, but I like that her mouth has that wry twist. The expression on this doll's face is too pretty-pretty to borrow a phrase from Tyra Banks of America's Next Top Model and other fame. Come to think of it, the one I want is on sale at a few places. I ought to get her soon ... as soon as I sell some things ....

Oh my, back to that. Sigh.

17 comments:

Muff said...

I saw her one time at Walmart but never came across her again. She's like a wild wildebeest. I still couldn't pay that price so I left her alone and haven't seen her since.

The second wave of the style dolls is out and they only have articulated arms. I was like, "Really, Mattel?" *sigh*

Georgia Girl said...

I finally bought her a couple of weeks ago. I love anything animal print. The Nikki "Barbie Style" doll is on the Mattel.com website. She is lovely, but I will wait for her to hit the stores to save on shipping.

Phyllis said...

I have seen this Raquelle out and about, but doubt that they will be available for long. I did purchase her a while ago.

Like Muff, I saw the new wave of the Style dolls today. I think they are actually the 3rd wave. I managed to find a wave 2 Nikki on Mattel.com and ordered her. The Wave 3 dolls are a huge disappointment. Not only do they not have articulated knees, their fashions are way below the standard set by the first 2 waves. Shame on Mattel. What are they thinking?

D7ana said...

Hi Muff, Georgia Girl, and Phyllis!

Thanks for your comments.

@Muff - about the wave of Barbie Style dolls lacking articulated knees - "Really, Mattel?" is right. "When will they ever learn ..."

@Georgia Girl - congrats on getting her. I loved the scarf and the rest of her outfit, but not quite so much ;-) Then again, I feel guilty 'cause of my doll hoarding ways, ha ha.

So there is a Nikki Barbie Style. Seems mean not to have had her in the group. I'll look for her there, but like you, I prefer to get them in person. To save on shipping and to get the best screening ;-)

@Phyllis - congrats on getting her. I agree with you: I doubt that she will be out for long and available widely. Sigh. 'cause she has a nice outfit AND articulation.

I think I have seen the Wave 3 dolls with the stick - I mean, straight legs. Sigh. Tsk, tsk Mattel.

Anderson's All-Purpose said...

Wait, the articulation is going again?! Sigh... And I actually saw this Raquelle, but passed on her since I'm waiting for Midge - not sure what wave she's in, but seems to be 2nd or 3rd. If she's going to be unarticulated I'm not so sure anymore.

BlackKitty said...

This doll is around the top of my wishlist! Oh, why do dolls always show up in wrong places?

The grandmommy said...

I am with you. I like the snarky one too. I think she has character and would work well in a story.

Buffy said...

This one was missing from the shelf when I picked up the other three. Not a problem. The heads are too big and the expressions too goofy for me to want them for anything but their bodies. But I am like you and can't help loving the expression on the snarky one.

D7ana said...

Hi Anderson's All-Purpose, BlackKitty, The grandmommy, and Roville!

@Anderson's All-Purpose - alas, yes, the latest dolls have stick - er, straight stick legs.

@BlackKitty - I hope she reaches your area soon ;-)

@The grandmommy - Yes, the snarky one for me, too. I'll check to see when you get her. Be fun to see how you interpret her ;-)

@Robin - oh, yes, the bodies will be good for other heads. I need to get that snarky one while she is on sale. So I better do some selling soon.

Yay for the snarky Raquelle!

Jewell said...

I guess she's finally popping up in more stores. I finally saw this Raquelle two weeks ago in a Target near the airport. They only had one of her, but I didn't get her. Atlanta area stores are full of snarky-faced Raquelle. I bought mine off Amazon about a month ago. She was $8.50 plus tx with free shipping because I'm a Prime member. I know her smirk isn't everyone's taste, but I like it.

Cindi Mortensen said...

I found two of these at Walmart a few weeks ago, so I got them both! LOL. One stayed in Moreville, the other went to Morristown. :-)

Vanessa said...

No articulated legs on Wave 3? What a joke? I will pay $20 for full articulated and a great outfit. I will not pay $20 for partial articulation. Just when I thought Mattel was making progress.

I love my new Racquelle. She was a gift to me, but I would have paid the $20 gladly. She's the only one that is going for close to $60 on Amazon.

D7ana said...

Hi Jewell, Cindi Mortensen, and Vanessa!

@Jewell - I need to become a Prime member ;-) I like that smirky-faced Raquelle, too.

@Cindi - good catches and even better landings! Glad you saw them and got them.

@Vanessa - Mattel can be "two steps forward, two steps back." Darn, darn, darn. To think I coulda got her and resold her for 3x. Nah, I probably wouldn't have stuck to that. And I'd probably cave in and debox her for the outfit or the body ;-)

Katri said...

Just wanted to say that I'm definitely with you. I think the snarky one is great. I already have one Raquelle, but I'd like to buy snarky faced too. But really, the style dolls don't have articulated legs anymore?

D7ana said...

Hi Katri and thanks for stopping here. Maybe the snarky one is the other Raquelle making an expression? She's favored by many of us.

Alas, the last Fashionista dolls lost the bendable knees. The Barbie Style dolls DO have articulated legs.

Troy said...

The Style dolls are great! I like how they are meant to mix and match the fashions.

It took a while to find the first wave Raquelle for retail, but I did succeed eventually. The others were rather easy to find. What I've noticed is that they seem to start out West (which does make sense), and then they find their way to those of us on the East coast. In the meantime, people on Amazon and eBay charge way over retail price for them. So glad I wasn't over-eager.

The second wave dolls are nice, and I'm glad that they included Midge and Nikki. Why did they include two Barbies but no Teresa or Summer? And wouldn't it be great to include Skipper, Stacie, and Chelsea with the articulation? The only other thing I would say about Wave 2 is that the lashes are WAY too long. I'm almost tempted to cut them.

I almost picked up the Wave 3 dolls, but then I noticed the "incomplete" articulation. Like other posters here, that was a big disappointment. They did that before with a recent line of Fashionistas (no elbow/wrist/knee articulation), which I bought but then felt disappointed with. I resolved to stop buying new dolls that weren't articulated. Posing is part of the fun.

D7ana said...

Hi Troy! Yay, another East Coast pal. I like how the Style Barbie and friends are articulated. Pity about some of the other dolls losing articulation.

I still would get the doll if I liked her or his face enough and then re-body them. That happened with the StarDolls.