First New Doll of the Year

... is Fashionistas Ken 6 Color Blocked Cool.

Ken Fashionistas No. 6 Color Blocked Cool, Photo by Jason Cooper

I found him in the Rittenhouse Target. It is like a mini Target. They have a small doll section roughly one-quarter of their regular doll aisles. The doll offerings included Barbie Fashionistas and Career dolls and a few Disney selections from Frozen and Moana. Alas, the online sales did not appear in this store - but I think prices at any stores in Center City get marked up because of the location. Shrug. Still, this store could be good as a "ship-to-store" option.

Had I intended this Ken to be my first doll of the year? No. He happened to be in Target when I was. He seemed hidden behind the other Kens. I didn't see Hip Hop Hoodie or any of the other 2017 dolls I'd considered who might have outranked him. However, he was on my Want List. Here's why

• He has a new male face
• He's cute
• He wears a decent male outfit

New guy [face] in town. Mattel produces fewer male dolls so it's fun to nab the ones that they do make. As much as I like some face sculpts, I like variety, too. Having a new male face is like having a new character.

Cutie status. I like his nose. It looks "Roman." I like the slight jut of his chin. Someone said he reminded her of Mario Lopez from Extra. I could see a slight resemblance, but this Ken does not have as strong an ethnic look. I don't have any other dolls named "Mario" though so that's his name in my doll world.

Decent male outfit. Confession: I do not like pink for my guys. Usually. So when I saw this outfit has a black and gray tee and distressed burgundy "jeans" with tan construction boots, I was hopeful. Seeing that the shirt and the pants were separate cinched the sale. The tee has a nice jersey feel with a velcro closure in the back. While the pants are as skinny as they can be, they are made from a cotton cloth that works for play scale jeans. They also have a velcro closure in the back. The plastic molded boots have a slit in the back to allow them to be easily put on or pulled off. Sigh. The boots look best from the front or the side.

I asked my brother to take the photo here with his cell phone. Jaye, I understand what you mean about camera phones. Some phones' cameras anyway. Fuzzy photos. This was the best photo; the ones from the cell phone I have were fuzzier. I wanted to have at least one photo for this post.

So welcome, Mario, to East Philadelphia. 

Who is your first doll of 2017?