Sunday, September 22, 2013

Cutie Pops Hattitude Doll, "Dakota"

This is the second in a series of three short reviews that will look at the new Cutie Pop lines.  You can find the first review here: Crown Cuties Crystalina.

The next group of dolls I will look at are the Hattitude basic dolls.  These dolls are wearing animal hats and have a single ponytail in back, rather than the two side ponytails that all other current Cuties wear.  These dolls come with fewer accessories that the Crown Cuties or the Fashion Pup dolls, but they only cost $9.99.

There are three Hattitude characters to choose from, Sydney (red and orange hair), Bianca (black and white hair) and Dakota (brown and yellow hair).  I originally wanted to review Sydney because of her red hair, but she was the hardest to find in the stores.  I was happy to find Dakota, though, because I think her brown fuzzy bear hat is the best of the bunch, and she has nice brown eyes:

Cutie Pops Hattitude "Dakota."
While the Crown Cuties are clearly appealing to the same audience as many of the princess-themed dolls on the shelves right now (La Dee Da Fairytale Dance, Ever After High, Fairy Tale High...), the Hattitude dolls are more in the Kawaii fashion niche (see Kawaii Crush).  These dolls have the popular animal hats, and are also decorated with "pops" that have Kawaii-style themes like smiling clouds and animal faces.

Dakota's box is very similar to Crystalina's box, but it is about half the size and only has one separately attached accessory (the ponytail):


The back of the box has a fairly simple design.  There isn't a complicated hairstyling procedure to describe like there was with the Crown Cuties, so the box simply displays the other dolls in this series.  I think Sydney looks bad in her picture:


Her lips look like they've had collagen injections, and the brown edges to her eyes give her a buggy, raccoon stare.  I wouldn't have bought her based on that picture, but I did eventually find her in a store, and she looks better in real life:


 Sydney's hat is supposed to be a koala bear and she has a blue koala pop to match:


Back to Dakota--she is attached to a blue cardboard backdrop that slides out of the main box.  She is arranged with her legs crossed and her hand in the air (that pose reminds me of another doll line...), demonstrating the small pockets in the sides of the hat:

Excuse me, could I go use the bathroom?

There are raised cardboard circles advertising Dakota's features:  


The box claims that her single ponytail gives her "two great looks." I guess that's true if you only use the ponytail and ignore the hat, but with the hat, I count four possible looks for this doll: 
1. With hat, without ponytail
2. With hat, with ponytail
3. Without hat, without ponytail
4. Without hat, with ponytail

In any case, it's far fewer looks than Crystalina's "endless" options, and not a very impressive list for a Cutie Pop.

The box also features Dakota's removable pop decorations.  She has three pops--one of them is a brown bear (a teddy bear) that matches the style of her hat.



Dakota also has a yellow anime bear decal on the front of her dress:


It was easier to de-box Dakota than it was to de-box Crystalina.  There are a few plastic ties holding the hat in place, but not as many as were in Crystalina's dress.  There's also only one accessory to remove.  Here's the wreckage:


And here's everything that was in the box--Dakota and her ponytail:


As soon as I removed Dakota from that backdrop, I got an unpleasant surprise.  The hat is not a full hat.  It's a strange half-hat, held to the top of the doll's head with a small clear plastic attachment:

Half-baked hat.
The plastic attachment is removable (thank goodness), and leaves behind a transparent rubber loop:


The small plastic thing is actually just the base piece from a normal ponytail, but it's molded in clear plastic and doesn't have any hair attached.  You could still attach a Cutie Pops bow to it, though:


Dakota doesn't come with her own bow, but if she did, this little plastic piece would add two more possible looks:  
5. With hat, with bow
6. Without hat, with bow

Here's Dakota modeling one of these options with Candi's bow.  I think the clear plastic attachment makes it look like the bow is floating:

A magical levitating bow!
I am sure there are creative people who will find more neat uses for the extra ponytail base (you could make your own ponytail, or maybe a hat?).  It seems like an odd packaging choice, though.  Why not just package the doll with her ponytail in place?

The regular ponytail fits through the rubber loop on the hat and attaches to the doll's head with a heart-shaped peg.  The loop feature on the hat is frustrating, though, because the loop is too small for the base of the ponytail to easily slide through.  I would just jam the ponytail down over the loop any which way (this method makes the ponytail attachment less secure) or simply push the loop to the side and not use it at all.  It's way too fiddly.


I am left feeling lukewarm about the "hat" design as a whole.  I would so much rather have a full hat with a single hole in the top to accommodate the ponytail. 

I think Dakota looks great from the front:


But from the back or the side, the strange combination of half-hat, painted hair, and long ponytail is a bit too disjointed for my taste:

Behind the scenes.
She looks like she's unfinished or something--a prop that isn't meant to be viewed from all angles.


I mean, from the front she looks cozy and adorable:


And from the back...it looks like she's wearing a party mask, or being swallowed by a fuzzy monster with tentacle arms:


I'll stick with the adorable front view:


The hat is held on by that clear rubber loop that attaches to the ponytail, and also by a rubbery strap that fits behind the doll's head:



The hat is lined and made out of great fabrics.  I especially like the light brown fur that frames Dakota's face and makes the fuzzy ears.  I also like the small blue bow on the right ear:


The sides of the hat have black felt claws and little pockets:


Here's Dakota without her hat.  I really like the look of the single ponytail:


I am not quite as excited about the stripes in Dakota's bangs.  This pattern is not continued in the back of her hair, and so I find that it looks out-of-place, and perpetuates the unfinished appearance that this doll has when she's viewed from the back.

The stripes don't match her ponytail.
If the yellow stripes are meant to be stripes (to match her dress?), then I guess they look how they're supposed to look.  However, if they're meant to be more natural-looking highlights, then they're nowhere near as nicely done as Crystalina's highlights.


The detachable ponytail is very thick and soft.  It more than lives up to the great reputation of Cutie Pops hair.  It has a pretty mix of natural brown colors, although the colors don't match the painted hair very well:



The plastic base of the ponytail has an attachment site for a bow:


The pops from Dakota's dress don't fit directly onto the ponytail base, which is why I feel like Dakota should have come with her own bow.  Otherwise, there's nowhere to put the pops except in the dress, which limits the customization fun of this doll.


With the help of a borrowed bow, the pops can be used in Dakota's hair:




So, again, if Dakota came with her own bow for her pops, she'd have still more possible looks:
7. With hat, with hair, with bow, with pop
8. With hat, with hair, with bow, no pop
9. With hat, no hair, with bow, with pop
10. Without hat, with hair, with bow, with pop
11. Without hat, with hair, with bow, no pop
12. Without hat, no hair, with bow, with pop

Did I miss any combinations?  My point is, if Dakota had come with her own bow, the options for styling her hair would increase from four to at least twelve.  The power of one little bow.


I like how the Cutie Pops all have subtle heart-shaped blush patches on their cheeks:


Like Crystalina, Dakota's brown eyes are much more naturally colored than previous Cutie Pop eyes.   She doesn't have large shapes or rainbow colors in her irises.  She also has very simply-painted blue heart eyelashes.  


Underneath the eye pops, Dakota has blue eyes, not brown.  Huh.  


The lips on this doll seem more full than the lips on my other Cutie Pop dolls.  Look at the upper lip in particular:


Dakota's face mold is the same as the older Cutie Pops, it's just that more of the lip area is painted.


I really like Dakota's head for the most part.  The single ponytail is great, and her eyes are fabulous.  I am tempted to paint over the yellow stripes in her bangs...or at least try to tone them down to a more natural light brown color to match her ponytail.

Dakota is wearing a simple orange and white striped jersey knit dress with royal blue sleeves.  She has a yellow bear iron-on at the top of her dress, and three plastic pops on her skirt:



The pops are definitely Kawaii style:




I think all Cutie Pops have cardboard tacked under their skirt to support the pops.



Here's the dress with the pops and the cardboard removed.  


I love the simple style of this dress.  It is basically a tee shirt cut, but it has a neat diagonal seam across the front of the skirt.  It closes with velcro in the back:


Dakota is wearing long blue boots.  These are the first Cutie Pop boots I have ever seen, and they look nice.  However, what stole my attention away from the boots was the fact that this doll's knee articulation is even worse than Crystalina's.  She can't bend her right knee at all, but what's worse is that her knee won't straighten fully, either. It's stuck in the middle, making the legs irreparably crooked.

The boots are to cover my legs, don't you see?
The boots are not as nice when you look at them up close.  They're made out of a bendable plastic and have gaping long slits in back to make it possible to get them on and off.  They're still hard to get on and off.


They have white painted laces and Converse-style soles:


The paint isn't very carefully applied, especially at the top:



Dakota has the same body other Cutie Pops.  Her legs are really bad, though.  These dolls are meant to be slightly pigeon-toed, but Dakota takes that to a whole new level.  This is as straight as I can get her feet:


This is a more typical leg position for her:


I finally got Dakota's right leg to bend...a little.  I might try to straighten her lower legs out with hot water, just because it's impossible to get her to stand in a natural way as she is right now.  Seeing this problem three times in a row (Magenta, Crystalina and now Dakota) is really starting to get on my nerves.  I can understand a few glitches in leg articulation here and there, but every single doll?  That's a big problem.

Let me go back to focusing on Dakota's good attributes--like her soft hair and her cute face:


Even though Dakota only has a single ponytail, this ponytail is interchangeable with other Cutie Pops' hair.  Here she is wearing one of Candi's curly ponytails:


Candi can also wear Dakota's hair:


Speaking of Candi, one of the reasons why I was so excited about Dakota's nice brown eyes is that Candi's kaleidoscope eyes have been driving me crazy.  They're so over-the-top with their rainbow irises and glittery lollipop reflections, that I find it difficult to relate to Candi when she's wearing these eyes.  

Even with the gaping holes, I prefer Candi with her eye pops removed and her plain brown irises showing: 


Look at how much better she looks with Dakota's normal eyes.  The new eyes transform her from space cadet to coy cutie:

  
She can actually look at the camera now!


Here's Candi modeling with her new eyes.  Trying out some mismatched ponytails: 


And back in her normal hair:



As a bit of an aside, I find it fascinating when certain themes crop up in several different toy lines all at the same time.  For example, I have noticed a lot of animal hats in the aisles lately.  Not only do the Kawaii Crush miniatures have little rubbery animal hats, but the My Life As Madame Alexander line has released cute little animal hats that can be purchased for $3.88 at Walmart.  I love these hats and the price is great.  The hats I chose fit My American Girl Keira (I wish they came down more in back and on the sides, though):



The hats also fit some of my slim 18"girls, although the stuffed panda head looks quite large on Carpatina Erin:

Panda helmet!

And here's my favorite My Life As hat:  

An owl.

Hattitude Dakota, Kawaii Crush Katy Cat Meow Meow, and
Carpatina Erin modeling My Life As owl hat.
Here are a few more pictures of Dakota with some of her (twelve!) possible looks:




Here are some pictures of Dakota wearing Candi's close-eyed pops.  I think the rainbow stripes go well with her dress and hair:





Bottom line?  I expected to like the Hattitude dolls best out of the new fall Cutie Pops.  The hats look cozy and fun, the pop decorations are cute, the price is great, and the plain eyes are a dream come true.  The only things I felt wary about when I bought Dakota were the single ponytail hairstyle and the funny-looking striped bangs.  Unfortunately, these details ended up being the least of my concerns.

The animal hat, meant to be the main attraction of this line, is only a half-hat.  It frames the doll's face beautifully and looks great from the front (and in the box).  However, the hat actually stops abruptly at the top of the doll's head and has to be held in place with two cheap, meddlesome bands.  The clear loop on the very top of the hat is especially frustrating, and I'll probably resort to cutting it off at some point.  I don't understand why this doll wasn't given a full hat with a single hole in the top to accommodate the ponytail.  This hat feels like a cop-out and gives the doll a misleading two-dimensional facade.


The Cutie Pops knee articulation is starting to alarm me.  I have had three bad experiences in a row.  I rarely see a brand of doll with a pervasive error this glaring.  The knee joints simply don't seem to work half of the time, and even if you can eventually get the knees to bend without breaking them, the legs remain stiff, warped and unsightly.  It's a mess.

My last criticism seems minor at first: Dakota doesn't come with her own hair bow.  This might be an insignificant detail with any other brand of doll, but the hair bows are a big deal to the Cutie Pops.  Not only do I enjoy having bows that match my Cutie Pops' outfits, but these seemingly simple accessories hide the large plastic ponytail bases and add a lot of customization opportunities.  The bows are the only way to attach the decorative pops to the doll's hair.  Without that option, the pops can only be re-arranged on the dress, which provides limited fun.  Furthermore, the clear ponytail base that is used as part of this doll's packaging offers an unexpected (unintentional?) new style involving just a hair bow and no ponytail...but only if you have a hair bow.  Sure, it's possible to share hair bows around between Cutie Pop dolls, but if this is your only Cutie Pop, or if you like having all of your Cuties dressed in hair bows, the omission of a bow with this doll could be disappointing.


Despite my apprehension about the single ponytail, I actually count this among my favorite of Dakota's features.  She looks great with this new hairstyle, and I'm glad that this variation has been added to the Cutie Pops mix.  On top of that, the quality of the ponytail is fantastic.  The hair is thick, silky, and has a beautiful mix of colors.  Another thing I love about Dakota is her dress.  The simple design is flattering and easy to play with, and the bright colors and fun pops make the whole outfit funky and eye-catching.  The teddy bear and rainbow pops, in particular, are wonderful.

I'll end by re-iterating how much I enjoy Dakota's eyes.  I am so happy to see that the newest Cutie Pops all have relatively normal eyes.  The dolls are so much more engaging with this style of eye.  The only problem with the eyes is that I don't have enough of them to go around.  Dakota's brown eyes bring my beloved Candi doll to life, but if Candi wears those eyes, Dakota is left with the vacant lollipop stare.  I hope Jada Toys releases some new accessory packs with more of these awesome eyes.

So, I am a little disappointed with this doll.  I don't dislike her--I mean, how could I dislike a doll that looks this cute from the front?   It's just that she isn't as great as I hoped she'd be.  In fact, it's probably because she looks so great in her box that I find her hidden flaws so disheartening.  Still, I'd have paid good money for Dakota's eyes and dress alone, so for ten bucks, I am content.

 

47 comments:

  1. I don't get the half hat, mabye it's a morphed hat/headband? Anyway, I think that these dolls are a bit too busy, however, I love the boots (even with the shoddy paint job.). Would you be able to try the boots on different dolls to compare please? ;)

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    1. Hi Anaiis! Are there dolls in particular you'd like to see?
      The paint on the boot laces might be easy to touch up--I haven't tried yet, but I am tempted. They do have a nice design!

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  2. Yanno... I gotta say, in spite of the incongruities with the hat, I actually prefer the Hatitude line to the Crown Cuties. I have a deep abiding love for Spirit Hoodies, so seeing a doll with one made me giggle so much. Also, I just think they're cute. I'd definitely have to go for the Koala one. Or get one and try to give the hat to an Abbey Bominable custom... hey... *gasp* ♫I-DEE-AAAA!♫

    Um, yeah. Anyway. I need to figure logistics of things out now but great review!

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    1. Thank you, AJ! I was sure you'd prefer Miss Bluest-of-blue Crystalina! I'd love to see what you do with the koala hat, though. I bet Abbey would like it (it's probably a little big for her, but I'm betting you have a cool plan for that...).

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    2. I like Crystalina, and I will probably get her eventually but yes! That koala hat, with the help of maybe a light bleaching to make it a little whiter fur, is going to become part of a winter set I want to make for Abbey!

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  3. I could never get into Cutie Pops at all, but Dakota is kinda cute! It must be the improved eyes.

    I've recently been bitten by the 18-inch doll bug - that's almost entirely your fault, by the way - and I've been reading and re-reading your posts about American Girl, Zwergnase Junior, Carpatina, etc. I'm pleased to see Erin again! I noticed you've mentioned "regift value" and rehoming dolls, so I was wondering: how many of the dolls you review do you actually keep? How do you decide which ones to hang onto?

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    1. That is a very good question, Bohemian! I don't think I have found an answer yet and subsequently, I have way too many dolls! I have a great "business model" wherein I review dolls and then immediately put them for sale on eBay for cheap (so I have money to buy more dolls...) but so far I haven't really put that plan into motion.

      I have two main groups of dolls--the ones I buy for my collection, and the ones I buy strictly to review. The ones I buy to review should be easy to sell, but I can get pretty attached to some of them--making it hard to put them up for sale. Also, it seems like whenever I sell a doll, it's that exact doll that I suddenly wish I had for a comparison shot, or to answer a question about clothes sharing, etc. My goal was originally to keep one doll from each main category (one 18" normal doll, one 18" slim doll, etc.) but there's a lot of variety within those categories that's hard to sort out!

      It's tricky! I wish I could have a big real-life doll yard sale! :D

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    2. Ack! My comment had some lame spelling errors. They wouldn't let me edit it, so I decided to delete and try again.

      Thanks for asking this question, Bohemian! I've been wondering the same thing, myself. Man, how amazing would that doll yard sale be? I can just imagine all the loyal Toy Box Philosopher readers road tripping out to pour over the pre-reviewed dollies.

      I'm finding myself in a similar quandary with dolls. Admittedly, I have only started taking baby steps toward doll reviewing - and I haven't even hit my stride in that yet - but I am so interested in new dolls! I buy many out of curiosity, then end up getting attached. Or I give one away, then find that I need her dress or shoes for a newcomer. You know how Cinderella had a drawer of clothes for new mouse friends? Well I have that for dolls. When one comes to me through a thrift store, or I don't like her stock outfit, I'll redress her from the "welcome home" drawer.

      My problem with dolls is compounded by the fact that I'm really, really interested in doing customs. I'm a professional artist, so I have the right skill set and tools, but I haven't been able to make much time for it lately. It does keep me from clearing out those nude Monster High dolls, though. I really do need to start eBaying some of my surplus dollies. It's starting to become a storage issue.

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    3. Oh, Casey! I feel your pain. I have bins of "project dolls" that if I'm being honest with myself, I know will never get their day in the sun. Not to mention the antique "fixer-uppers" and the dolls from my childhood that need a good cleaning and a day at the salon. Sigh. I feel so lucky, though, to be surrounded by dolls. They make me happy. :)

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  4. I purchased Bianca about a month ago because of her cute hat. It was a bit disheartening that it was only half a hat but for $10 I will gladly buy another from the line. I like the Hattitude dolls the best out of the new line up. Great review as always.

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    1. I like the Crown Cuties the most, personally. By the way, have you checked out the Cutie Pops doll Starr? Dolls that share your name are very special, from what I've heard. I've never gotten to experience that bond though, since there aren't any Mimi dolls out there.

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    2. Mimi that doll is actually what drew me to the Cutie Pops originally. I love her hair style and the movie theme. Hopefully sometime soon you will find a doll that shares your name. If I see one I will let you know.

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    3. There's the upcoming "Mimi Mesmerize" from Novi Stars. A little more "out there" than Cutie Pops, but adorable in her own strange way.

      http://www.amazon.com/Novi-Stars-Super-Novas-Doll/dp/B00CBTL6T2/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1380003094&sr=8-12&keywords=Novi+stars

      She hasn't quite hit the shelves in the US yet. She should cost around $19.99 retail.

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    4. Thanks, Casey. Now I want her. But she's kind of expensive on Amazon, I think I'll wait until she's in stores.

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    5. Oh definitely. She's cute, but there's no way that $40 is the right price. Like you, I'm waiting till she hits stores. She shouldn't cost more than $20. Personally, I'm excited for this one because I grew up watching tons of The Twilight Zone. Her swirly eyes actually spin!

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  5. I think this is the first Cutie Pop I've actually considered buying. Wow she's cute, even with the flaws.

    Thanks for doing another awesome review :D

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    1. I feel the same way. Dakota is my favorite so far. If only they would fix the legs. I do agree that the half-hat is annoying, surely a whole hat would not drive the price up more than 1 dollar or two?

      Emily- Would you mind posting a picture of Keira in one of the My Life As hats? I really like them and would like to see how they look on an AG.
      Thank you!
      Juliet

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    2. Good idea, Juliet! I added some pictures of Keira just above my Carpatina pictures. The hats actually fit Keira better than I originally thought--maybe Erin stretched them out? ;) The hats are fabulous--and I love the price tag!

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    3. Thanks for the added AG pics, Emily! I've actually got my first AG on the way to me so I'm on the lookout for cute outfits. I saw those hats in-store and loved the little owl one; looks like I'll have to pick one up.

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    4. Thank you Emily- Keira looks so cute!

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  6. Oh my gosh. I know what doll I'm not getting. I originally wanted to get Bianca because of her pretty eyes and cool hair and cute name, but now... Not so much. It seems like some dolls really are disappointing. Like the Liv Brites.

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    1. Oh, the Brites. Those really marked the beginning of the end of Liv. That was so sad. Cutie Pops make me feel much more optimistic, but there are definitely some kinks to be worked out!

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  7. I love animal hats! We just went to Disney World and after the Expedition Everest ride (which scared me to death), they had Yeti hats! I'll look for doll animal hats at Walmart!

    I agree she should come with a bow. And a full hat. She kind of looks like an unfinished project to me!

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    1. The Walmart animal hats are so great. I love that they're under $4. I can't remember what other varieties they had, but it was hard not to buy them all!

      Now I want a Yeti hat! How fun! :D

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  8. Man, the close of shots of the pops doomed me. I was hoping to skip Dakota but I just can't do it now. I already knew about their half-hats so that wasn't too shocking. I think I'm going to have my grandma try and finish one of them so its a full hat; I can't stand the half-done look. Your review of Crystalina has me set on buying her as well, so now I can only hope you review Dalia so Coletta won't tempt me! I'd like to be able to pass on at least one doll from all of these lines, haha.

    I also wanted to say something about leg issues. I know you have a horribly frustrating history of knee problems, but I wanted to say that as a Cutie Pops collector with 10 dolls so far I've only had one small instance of knee problems (which was fixed with careful bending until it loosened up). I got dolls from all over, from Amazon, locally, and even from the UK to get the exclusive pops. So I'd say you're very very unlucky rather than Cutie Pops legs always being that bad, especially since I haven't heard of anyone else having as many knee issues with them as you have.

    Though I will also say that if you haven't contacted Jada Toys about all of the leg issues you've had, you definitely should. Every time I've spoken with them (I've gotten dolls with two of the same side hair fall before twice) they've been wonderful. The first time it took two emails to get a reply, but that was right around Christmas so its not too surprising.

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    1. Hi Carissa, I am SO glad to read your comment! I want to give Jada Toys the benefit of the doubt here because I adore the Cutie Pops in general, but my experience was getting to the point where I felt like as a reviewer, I had to start taking the knee flaws seriously. :(

      I feel more optimistic about Coletta now--and I'm sorry it's Coletta! Ack! I have already started her photo shoot or I would have switched to Dalia. Dalia's dogs are definitely cuter, if that helps. ;)

      For some reason, I am not at all surprised to hear that Jada Toys is nice. They strike me as a great company, and I am delighted to hear that it's true! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences.

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  9. good review but I would have liked to see a picture of dakota with eyes closed

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    1. She doesn't come with close-eyed pops, but I can borrow someone else's closed eyes and get a pic for you! :)

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    2. I posted two pics for you towards the bottom of the page--a few pics before the bottom line. She looks great in Candi's closed eyes! Thank you so much for the suggestion. :)

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  10. I was really curious to see your opinion of this line, Emily. I have to admit that I was incredibly disappointed with the hats. I bought all three girls last week since I thought they were the cutest things ever, but once I realized that the hats weren't really hats I've been deliberating taking the unopened ones back to the store. I'm honestly still on the fence.

    I'm looking forward to seeing your review of Coletta since I haven't seen her in person yet.

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    1. Hi Holly,

      I would recommend opening just one (whichever is your favorite) and feeling the trim on the hat. For me, the coziness of the the hat from the front more than made up for the "headband" look in back. And I think the new, simpler eyes are a huge plus. Of course, it's up to you, but that was my experience with these dolls. Whatever the case, I agree that the company should have been more honest about the hat being a half-hat.

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  11. So sorry to hear about another case of Gumby Knee on one of your Cutie Pops. I have Bianca from this line and her knees are fine. While I was surprised by the half-hat, strangely I wasn't all that disappointed. I bought these dolls mainly to harvest the pops, dress, hat, and normal-looking eyes. When I tried Bianca's hat on my Pullip Pere Noel, it was instant love. Happily, my Pullip had a hairstyle that would have been squished by a full hat, so in my case the half-hat turned out to be a plus. It was initially a shock, though, and I can see how it would be a frustration to those who bought the doll just to have the doll.

    Personally, I bought the whole line to get inexpensive bear hats for my Pullips, normal eyes for my other Cuties, and a couple cute pops and dresses in the bargain. Bianca has managed to charm her way onto my shelf, though, wearing borrowed bows from Wave 2 Candi. I tied the null pop onto the bottom of a braid and added a second bow. I actually love the null pop for giving me a few extra style options. I especially like that it lets me give my doll a 'short' hairstyle with a bow, which is my signature look.

    I sort of look at this line as fashion packs with dolls attached. For the sake of the child who might get a Hattitude doll as her *only* Cutie Pop, though, I wish they had included a bow. (And while we're at it: a pair of closed eyes.) And they should have given some indication that the hat was more like a plush headband with a scarf attached, just for honesty's sake.

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    1. I like your phrase "null pop!" That's a good description! I knew there would be people out there doing clever things with that doohickey! I should have figured one of them would be you. :)

      You have a nice perspective, too, that these dolls are a good deal if you have several Cutie Pops already and are just seeking extra pops, eyes and clothes. The Hattitude hair would be more useful if there were other Cutie Pops with that single ponytail style...which I hope there are some day!

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  12. This is a great review. She is adorable from the front. The half hat is troubling. And the feet...I just don't like doll manufacturers creating pigeon toed dolls. It's not a pose girls should be encouraged to make. I have one of the smaller Cutie Pops - beach themed. I love her orange hair and palm tree and hibiscus flower pops.

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    1. Thank you, Melody! I love that little orange-haired Cutie Pop. She's super-cute and makes me think of mango smoothies.
      I see your point about the pigeon toes. It's not a great pose for confident young girls, nor is it a good pose for doll stability!

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  13. the half hat seems annoying, and then all the problems that come after you open the box, i mean from Crystalina with her limitless hair styles to Dakota's 2 hair style thing is just annoying, and the feet thing that has happened to pretty much all the dolls you have gotten, wow.

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    1. Yes--you're absolutely right. Coming straight from my experience with Crystalina made Dakota's limited styling much more obvious! Also, having two knee problems in a row made it much more frustrating. The good news is that I've already started posing Coletta, and while her right knee was stuck, it's nowhere near as bad as the others. So that's something. :)

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  14. thanks for the extra photos and thank you for answering our and comments, we're glad the day

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  15. Too bad they dont sell cutie pops in my country :'( but the 13 wishes monster high dolls(at least the half of them)are already to the toy stores :) i will buy Twyla at Christmas...also, great review :-)...

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  16. I'm going to be a rebel here and say these dolls creep me out. I think they would be fun for a young child though. I just can't see buying one for my collection. Great reviews on all of the Cutie Pops dolls - I enjoy reading your blog.

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    1. Hi Fritzcharming (love that screen name.) I think it's great that you're sharing your honest opinion. These dolls creeped me out at first, and I still don't like many of them with their stock "open" eyes. I think a lot of people are put off by them initially. I've gradually warmed to them over the period of about a year. I find it soothing to brush their hair, organize all the pops, and choose a new style. But that may just be my OCD finding a new outlet. I think the main thing that this line has to offer is a lot of play value and styling choices, but I can totally units and why they might creep you out. Thanks for contributing to the dialogue! We need all kinds of opinions to keep things interesting.

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    2. And by "I can totally units," I meant "I can totally understand." (Thanks, Auto Correct.)

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  17. Omg the owl hat is so cute! I have too

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  18. This girl is very cute and I am loving her autumnal colourings but the hat is a huge disappointment for me. If it had been a full hat then it would have been worth getting the doll just to pinch the hat for my Blythe :) I'm not too keen on the crazy stripe pattern in the fringe either but the eyes are certainly an improvement on the earlier Cutie Pops. Candi looks amazing with the new eyes. I love the name Hattitude. Looking forward to your next Cutie Pops review. x

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  19. Hello! When will you make the third review?

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