Sunday, December 29, 2013

"Ahoy Patience" by Wilde Imagination

Patience is a new 14" hard plastic and vinyl child doll from Wilde Imagination.  Patience is sweet and upbeat compared to Wilde Imagination's more established characters like the elegantly melancholy Ellowyne Wilde and the fashionably creepy Evangeline Ghastly.

The debut Patience doll, Garden Patience, was a gorgeous little redhead with bright green eyes and an amazing, romantic dress.  When this doll was announced, I was so wrapped up in other things that I missed the beginning of pre-orders.  I want to kick myself now, because this gorgeous little doll sold out in a flash.  Unwilling to pay the high secondary market prices for Garden Patience, I had to be, ah, patient and wait for the new dolls to arrive.  I was thrilled when a trio of Patience dolls was released for pre-order before Christmas.  All of these newer dolls are still available on the Wilde Imagination site, and so I figured that this could be a good time for a review.

The Patience dolls are limited to 300 pieces each and cost over $150.  The available dolls are called "Wonderland Patience" (an Alice in Wonderland doll, $169), "Tokyo Patience" (a lovely brown-eyed Japanese girl, $199) and "Ahoy Patience," the doll whose platinum blonde bob and sailor dress tempted me the most:

Tonner's Ahoy Patience
"Ahoy Patience" by Wilde Imagination, $169.
Like other Wilde Imagination and Tonner dolls (remember that Wilde Imagination is one of Robert Tonner's companies...), Patience comes in a long, thin cardboard box.  This box has a pink lid and is decorated with flowers and butterflies.  It's a very pretty box:


The name, "Patience," is printed in raised, metallic gold lettering:



The top of the box lifts off to reveal a white interior and a tissue-covered doll.  

This was my first glimpse of Patience, peeking tentatively out of her enclosure:



The first thing I noticed about Patience is that her eyes move--on their own.  I read the description of this doll on the Wilde Imagination site, and it says she has, "eyes that move from side to side as she contemplates her next adventure."  I assumed that she had eyes that could be moved--like a Pullip doll's eyes.  But these eyes are weighted at the back so that they move all by themselves whenever the doll's head moves:


This feature makes Patience seem alive--her eyes track me if I move her head around in just the right way.  It's pretty neat...and a little unnerving.  I'll show you the eyes in more detail later, but another thing about the eye mechanism that struck me right away is that each eye moves independently, and so the eyes can become epically wonky if the head is positioned in just the wrong way:

Patience the insect?

Patience comes with a metal waist grip stand.  I probably won't even get this accessory out of the box because I don't like this kind of stand, and the doll has great balance on her own.


Patience also comes with a separately-packaged wide-brimmed sailor beret and a pair of simple imitation leather shoes.  

The hat is navy blue and trimmed in red plaid:


The hat is solidly stitched, fully lined, and accented with a white satin ribbon. 


The hat can be secured to the doll's head with a thin, clear rubber cord:


The shoes are dark cobalt blue and have elastic straps across the top:

Very practical shoes.

Patience herself is wearing a multi-piece sailor outfit accented with red and white stripes and red plaid.  Her platinum hair is styled in a short bob and is protected with a white hair net:



The hat frames her face beautifully and the transparent cord grips snugly and unobtrusively under her chin:



Patience comes with her arms wrapped in clear plastic.  This must be for protection against the red dye in the sleeves of the dress:


With her arms unwrapped, Patience has good arm mobility, and is even able to touch her face in certain positions:


I was very quickly smitten with this doll's charming face, but her eyes do slip into strange positions quite frequently.  To put it in technical terms, she suffers from strabismus.  This is when the eyes are not properly aligned with one another.  

During my photo shoot, often the slightest adjustment in body position would send her eyes careening off in opposite directions:

Focus, Patience!  Focus!

Let's look more closely at that eye mechanism.  Patience's eyes are usually aligned nicely and are both glancing off to one side or the other:


When her head is tipped to one side, both eyes will look in the opposite direction:


If she looks up, or is laying on her back, her eyes will be reasonably straight, although it is difficult to get both eyes to face forwards when the doll is in most normal upright positions.

That right eye is wandering off...
Laying flat on the table.
I have no idea how I got this shot.
If her face points down, she is likely to have divergent strabismus (or be wall-eyed):

No one's sneaking up on me now!
And occasionally, in rare situations that I don't completely understand, she'll get convergent strabismus (or be cross-eyed):

Wait...are there two of you??
When she's overcome by these fits of strabismus, all it takes is a tap on her head or a small change in position, and both eyes will be back on the same page again:


This doll has dark blue inset eyes framed with black painted and applied lashes.  Her eyelids do not open and close, but are fixed in place.  Her eyebrows are delicately drawn in medium brown:


The iris is opaque and not very three dimensional.  It has a central raised gear-shaped area surrounded by a painted navy blue rim.


If you look at the eye from an angle, you can see that there is some depth to the pupil.  It appears that the pupil is actually a hole cut into the surrounding blue iris.  This is a neat detail and is anatomically accurate, since our pupils are dark holes surrounded by the colorful muscles of the iris.


Look into my eyes...
Patience has bright red full lips and a delicate nose:


She wears a short platinum blonde wig with bangs.  This wig has a lot of styling product around the doll's face, where the hair is shaped into two thick upturned curls.  


At the back of the doll's head, the hair is free of styling gel, and this area is extremely prone to static flyaways.  


The difference in the behavior of the hair from front to back is a little frustrating to manage: the front can't be brushed, and the back can be brushed, but it's best to have a way to tame the static afterwards.

The wig is not impressively thick and a good amount of netted wig cap is visible if the hair is lifted up.  The hair is soft, but not silky or shiny.  


The hair feels nice to the touch, but has very limited movement--partly because of the short length, and partly because of the stiff areas around the doll's face.

 

I have always had a special fondness for sailor dresses, thanks in part to a special sailor girl in my life. This dress has a nice balance of traditional elements and quirky extras.  The clean blue and white lines of the main dress are satisfyingly nautical, and clearly demonstrate the Royal Navy roots of this style.  The striped sleeves and stockings add a Raggedy Ann quality to the ensemble, and the red and blue plaid trim contributes a unique Scottish twist.



The dress closes down the back with metal snaps.


The sleeves and plaid underskirt are all attached to the main body of the dress.


This dress has wonderful details, including puffed sleeves, a completely lined bodice, and tiny little red buttons sewn carefully onto the high waistline.




The plaid underskirt is attached to the waistline of the dress via a shiny white slip.  This allows the blue skirt to move freely and creates a nice layered effect.


The underskirt is stitched like a kilt, with intricate pleats that are sewn together at the top of the skirt:


Under the dress, Patience wears blue pantaloons and knitted red and white striped tights:



The pantaloons have an elastic waist and are trimmed at the knees with white satin ribbon:



The tights also have an elastic waist, and are worn over another pair of sheer beige stockings that protect the doll's legs from the red dye.



I was so excited to see the design of Patience's highly articulated hard plastic body.  She has 16 jointed regions, and her elbows are double-jointed, so I could argue that she has a total of 18 points of articulation. 

*Update: Nealie pointed out in the comments section that this is the same body as the Tonner 12" Harry Potter dolls.  I was able to find some undressed pictures of Hermione on eBay to confirm this.  The hands (and maybe feet?) are different, but the bodies look otherwise identical!  Thank you so much for the excellent tip, Nealie!  This means Patience can share clothes with the Harry Potter crowd!


Her head is fully posable, with both rotational and up-down movement.  Her shoulders and wrists are simple hinge joints, but her elbows have a separate peanut segment, giving her great flexibility in this area:  



She can flex her elbow joint well past 90 degrees, revealing a funny little wedge section on the back of her elbow that gives her arm a smooth profile when it is fully extended.


Patience has elegant hands with long, slender fingers:


The torso joint allows some side-to-side movement, but not any front-to-back mobility.


Patience has ball jointed hips, but the shape of her bottom limits the range of motion.  She cannot do full splits in either direction.


This is a split!  Really, it is!
In contrast, she has excellent knee movement, thanks to another unique-looking joint.  The knee is essentially just a hinge joint, but it has a knee cap piece that conceals most of the hinge when the leg is bent, and an angled cut that looks great when the leg is completely straight.



The knee cap piece not only conceals the hinge joint, but is a nice approximation of the knee bone, or patella.


The back of the leg is this doll's least attractive area (is this anyone's most attractive area?) since the piece that conceals the hinge doesn't look as anatomically natural on the back side of the knee.



Patience has a well-concealed extra area of articulation at the top of her thighs.  This joint allows her lower legs to rotate through a complete 360 degrees.  


So, she can turn her knees outward:

First position...
She can do a little jig...

Thirteenth position...
Or...she could hold a book or something with her feet, if she really wanted to.

One hundred and fifty second position.
...or basic yoga.
Speaking of feet, Patience has lovely feet, too.  The delineation of each of her toes is quite beautiful and not something that I often see on a doll.  It almost looks like all of her toes are completely separate:

I wish my feet looked like that.
All of this impressive articulation gives Patience some great posing options.  She can walk, run and march with ease:

I learned this at the Naval Academy.
What sets Patience apart from the crowd, though, is the many different, natural ways that she can sit and kneel:








I wanted to compare Patience's body to a few of my Tonner dolls.  For some reason, I assumed that she would have a body similar to the Ellowyne Wilde body, which is the same body used on Tonner's Disney Rapunzel doll.  In this picture, Rapunzel is on the left and Tonner's 16" fashion doll Cami is on the right:


In fact, Rapunzel is quite a bit larger and taller than Patience.  Patience also has more childlike proportions throughout her body:


I am particularly struck by how clean and subtle Patience's knee joints are in comparison to Rapunzel's thick (crooked), visible hinges:


The two dolls have similar torso articulation, but the torso shapes are very different.  Clothes sharing is not an option with these two.


Here's Patience next to one of my older Tonner Alice in Wonderland dolls, "Afternoon Visit."  Alice has the same body as Tonner's Marley and Agnes Dreary:

And Emily's worried about the static in my hair??
I think I was inspired to compare Alice to Patience because I have Alice dressed in the Boating Party outfit, which is very nautical:

We're kinda like twins, except her head is tiny and her hair is alive.
These two are almost the same size through the torso.  Patience, being the more slender of the two, can wear Alice's clothes, but Alice can't quite get Patience's dress snapped up in back--it's very close, but the snaps look strained.

Alice's sailor dress suits Patience perfectly.


Again, Tonner 12" Harry Potter child dolls have the same body as Patience and can share clothes with her.

Patience's large head and movable eyes remind me of a Pullip doll.  Her size and high level of articulation remind me of my Zapf Cinderella.  Here are these two dolls next to Patience:

Zapf Little Cinderella, Patience, Pullip (Shinku Rozen Maiden).
As you can see, compared to Patience, Pullip is much smaller, daintier (and more fragile!).  Cinderella, while depicting a child of a similar age, is thicker and blockier.  Clothes sharing is not an option with these dolls.  Patience can wear Cinderella's clothes, but they are quite baggy.

Last, here is Patience with some play dolls--Liv Hayden on the right and Moxie Teenz Melrose on the left.  While Melrose is about the same height at Patience, she is a completely different scale.  Hayden is also dwarfed by Patience's impressive size and enormous head.

Moxie Teenz Melrose, Patience, Liv Hayden.
Eileen suggested in the comments that Hearts 4 Hearts clothing might fit Patience, and while I only have Lauryce's dress to try, it fits pretty well.  I can't be sure that other clothes in the Hearts 4 Hearts line will work as nicely, though, since these dolls have fairly different proportions:



This doll is a joy to photograph.  Her brightly colored outfit and exaggerated features love the camera, and her movable eyes make her seem like she's posing coyly for every shot...with a few eye positioning mishaps, of course...











Bottom line?  Initially, Patience seemed to me like a Pullip or Blythe imitator, probably because many things about her are reminiscent of those dolls.  She has a large head, big movable eyes, cartoonish features and a very flexible body.  However, several things about this doll make her refreshingly different.

First of all, her articulated body has reasonably normal proportions for a young child.  Aside from her huge head, she is fairly realistic--not ultra-skinny or exaggeratedly curvy.  Her hands and feet are especially pretty with an unusual amount of molded detail.  Also, her joints are solid and sturdy without being chunky or unsightly.  She poses beautifully and I never once felt like I was going to break her.  She balances extremely well and has little or no need for a stand.

Also, this doll is an atypical size.  She is larger and more solid than a Pullip, but is still smaller than many other Tonner and Wilde Imagination dolls.  This puts her in a bit of a bind for clothes sharing, but I did find that she is able to wear some clothes that are made for the Tonner child dolls like Marley Wentworth, Agnes Dreary, and the first Alice and Wonderland.  It's a shame that Patience can't share her clothing with more dolls because she has a fun, creatively-designed outfit that is made with a great deal of care and attention to detail.  I love Patience's quirky nautical dress and outrageously large hat.

The most strikingly unique thing about this doll, though, is her eye mechanism.  Each eye appears to be individually weighted so that it will move back and forth as the doll is repositioned.  I have never seen a doll with this feature, and it adds a startling amount of personality.  When I first opened Patience's box and pulled back the tissue paper, I must have bumped the edge of the box or something, because Patience shifted and her eyes tipped up to stare at me.  It was an unnerving, unexpected moment that instantly gave Patience more presence and character than most of the dolls I have owned.

This is not a perfect doll.  Her hair has crispy, gel-caked sections mixed with loose, static-prone areas, making the wig difficult to brush or style.  The wig is also a bit on the thin side.  Another issue is that the price of these dolls seems high, but many of the Tonner and Wilde Imagination prices take my breath away these days.  With so few complaints about quality, perhaps the price is justified.  While I don't regret what I paid, I'd have been happier if she cost closer to $100 than $200.  

Patience's most glaring "flaw" is that her eyes can go wandering off into different directions, leaving her with some pretty silly expressions.  The thing is, when I think back on photo sessions with my own young children, I am hard pressed to recall a single event that didn't involve a few crossed eyes, pulled faces or fits of giggles.  So for me, anyway, Patience's unruly eyes just end up adding to her youthful charm.  This technicolor caricature is a surprising mix of elegance, innocence and downright goofiness...and she has completely won me over.


63 comments:

  1. Hi Emily,
    I love your review of Pacience, she is sooooooo cute! I just started reading TBP a little while ago and I love every thing about it! I have an idea for a post that you might like to write: you could show us your whole doll collection, you may have to do it in parts (play dolls, fashion dolls) but I think that people would love to see your huge collection! (Just an idea)
    ~Trinity~

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    1. Hi Trinity (I love your profile name...), that's a good idea! I would love to share my dolls, but need to get the displays in order first. Of course, I have been saying that for a while now, but it's definitely going to be one of my New Year's resolutions! :)

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    2. What a super cutie! Something about her eyes does make her seem more alive. I love all your reviews and always look forward to a new one being posted. If you have reviewed a doll line I feel much better about buying! I know you are always thorough and you are always entertaining! Patience is one of my favorite dolls you have reviewed. She is just so unique! (My favorite one out of all of them is also Ahoy Patience, those sailor dresses just get me every time! Too cute!) She's out of my price range, but I'm so glad you shared her. The neatness of her eye movement to her adorable well made outfit, well articulated body, and cute hair. She just made me smile, but your reviews tend to make me smile every time! Thank you Emily!

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  2. She's lovely! It's too bad about the lack of eye mechanisms, but overall she looks like a gorgeous doll. Thanks so much for sharing this review!

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    1. Thank you, N! In the end, I actually think the eye mechanism is neat, but it might not be to everyone's taste because of the way the eyes can move independently. It can get pretty silly! :D

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  3. Thanks for this post! I'm waiting for my own Patience to arrive (the Wonderland one) and reading this helped my lack of patience. (Sorry, couldn't help myself). Now I'm even more excited, LOVE the articulation and the feet.
    Also have to say Ahoy Patience looks a LOT nicer in your pictures than in the company pictures.

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    1. Hi Rachael, ooooh! That Alice Patience is wonderful! I almost bought her instead of Ahoy--it was a close race between the three dolls. All of them are interesting in their own way and are probably fantastic in person. I am so excited to see what is next with this line. Hope you love your Patience when she finally arrives! :)

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  4. Hey Emily loved your review ( she is so cute! ) just wondering who has better knee articulation Liv or Patience?
    THX for the review.

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    1. Good question! I love Liv's double jointed knee articulation. It's fantastic and looks great. Liv's only shortcoming in the leg area is that she can't rotate her legs below the hip, so she can't sit with her legs tucked off to one side the way Patience can. So...my roundabout answer is that Liv has a better knee joint, but Patience has better overall leg articulation.

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  5. I can't stop laughing everytime she looses her focus and her eyes starts to get all wonky. That made my day! :D Another amazing review Emily!

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    1. Thank you, Toy Town! She makes me giggle, too. ;D

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  6. Wow, those eyes are AWESOME! She is very pretty, but I have learned to stick to AG :) Would mind taking a picture of her and Keira, I'd love to see the size difference. The eye color is also fantastic. I like the style of her wig, despite the crunchy curls :)

    Have you seen the pictures of GOTY 2014? She does not look like a doll you would love (plus, she's $120 instead of $110), but the prototype #61 does. There are pictures of both on my blog, if you want to look. Sorry this comment was all over the place!

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    1. Hi Juliet, I have seen Isabelle, but I visited your blog to see #61 for the first time. I agree with you that Isabelle is a disappointment. She looks a lot like Saige! I wish they'd used a different face mold or ethnicity for this year's GOTY. #61 is very appealing--LOVE her eyes and hair! I wish there was a redhead with a different face mold, but #61 is pretty great as she is. I hope she's available the next time I go to an American Girl store so that I can get a closer look. Thank you for the awesome information! :)

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  7. I was thinking the same - she seems like a normal child: making faces while out of "Patience" with the photo session. I wish I could even consider getting one. :)

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    1. Yes, exactly! It's neat to hear that you had the same reaction. Those expressions give her a wonderful, silly personality!

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  8. I loved the red head that came out first but I have had so many quality control issues with Tonner/Wilde that I am loathe to buy any more overpriced dolls from them :(
    They have great customer service, don't get me wrong, but I have had too many dolls with wonky eyes, bad paint and stains on the faces :( I know I am not the only one but people get very angry if you say anything bad about a Tonner/Wilde doll. Most are ok with dolls with issues, but I am not, especially at that price.
    I LOVE your blog and eagerly await new entries, as I have read all of them (some more than once)

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    1. Oh, I hear you. I stopped buying my beloved Cami dolls after the third or fourth one arrived with wonky inset eyes, bad hair, or smudges/asymmetries in the face paint. I also felt like I was getting increasingly lightweight dolls with more and more shortcuts in the outfits. You're right that the lovely people at Tonner go above and beyond to make things right, but if a replacement doll has a whole new set of issues, the problem isn't solved. And the prices are through the roof.
      However, Patience manages to avoid all of these issues--maybe I got lucky? She feels heavy and high-quality, her joints are sturdy and well-designed, and her outfit is amazing. My only lukewarm feelings are with the wig, and it doesn't bother me much at all--especially for a display doll.
      I also have a new Tonner doll to review, and am very interested to see how her quality compares to some of the last Cami dolls I bought. We shall see!
      Thank you for your nice words about the blog--that means a lot to me! :D

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  9. Hey emily am i the only one who thinks patience & the tonner alice bodies are VERY similar? Excellent as always.

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    1. You're right! After reading your comment, I got both dolls out and held them side-by-side. They have very, very similar proportions and body styles! They're clearly different molds because the neckline and belly details are different, but they look related. I wish they were slightly more alike so that Alice could wear Patience's dress! The thing that really surprised me is that the FEET are incredibly similar! Patience has Alice's feet, but with deeper grooves between the toes. I never noticed that on my own--glad you commented!

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  10. OHMIGOSH she is amazing! Personally I like Tokyo Patience the best of the group, but that's just me! :) In truth I actually like her eye mechanism, It gives her... soo much more, Personality! I love it! She looks sooo cute! I love your pictures (and Patience's comments!)! <3 Thank you for this lovely (and funny!) review! ~~kitty ;)

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    1. Hi Kitty! That Tokyo girl is amazing--no doubt! I love her dark eyes. I think many collectors agree with you about her because I could have sworn that she was sold out a while ago...but now she's back. They must have sold a lot of her very quickly or something? In any case, these are very fun dolls and I am so glad that you agree about how the eyes give them a little extra charm! Thank you for your sweet comments about the post--that is so nice of you to say! Patience did all of the work--she was such a neat doll to review. :)

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  11. Hi Emily!

    Oh my goodness! I love this girl so much. She is so sweet, words can't describe. I even think Patience's wonky strabismus eyes are super quirky and endearing. What a cutie!

    I am seriously considering ordering Tokyo Patience in the next few days -- my mom said she'd be willing to buy her for me, as my birthday is coming up. Her dark hair and eyes and gorgeous outfit are capturing my heart. I know these dolls are limited...so I have to be fast, right? But the price is daunting...do you think these adorable girls are worth it? I'm just hoping she's not sold out too soon, because I was told to take a day or so to think it over!

    I think this is one of my favorite dolls I've seen you review. Thank you so much for introducing us to this line! Seeing these ultra-precious photos just made me so happy -- you're right, the camera does love her, and she seems to pose like a dream. I always feel relaxed and filled with childlike cheerfulness and wonder when visiting to your blog. Despite Patience's flaws, I think she's to be treasured. I think she'll make a charming, lovely addition to your dynamic collection. :)

    Since this is likely the last review we'll see from you before the new year, I just have to thank you again so much, Emily, for making me aware of the wonderful world of dolls this year. Your blog has been a great comfort to me over some very difficult months. You are so engaging and witty, I feel as if I'm being told stories by a friend when I read your blog, rather than just reading along. I just appreciate that you do this so much. It sounds cheesy, I know, but it's all true! I wish nothing but the best for you and your family (and your dolls, of course!) in the upcoming year! Take care and keep enjoying the holidays!

    -Lissy

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    1. Hi Lissy! Tokyo seems like a great doll--her wig looks nice, and that outfit! Wow. She would make an amazing birthday gift! I can see her being an adorable Snow White character, too, because of her coloring. The price is really high, though. She must be more expensive than the other Patience dolls because of her intricate outfit. I think there's a purple dress under that kimono! I don't regret paying $170 for my doll, mostly because she is so unique, but what I would recommend is just taking an hour or so to see what other dolls are available in that price range--there are a lot! Tokyo has been for sale since before Christmas, so I bet you have some time to decide (free shipping ends tomorrow, though). My husband always tells me to "sleep on" any big doll purchase decision, and I think this is smart. Sounds like you got similarly wise advice from your family.

      On the other hand, if you have a strong emotional reaction to Tokyo, it's SO hard to resist! That's what doll collecting is all about, I think, and no one knows better than you what doll will make you feel that special, priceless connection! Some safety nets are that Wilde Imagination will accept returns (for 30 days) if you don't like the doll in person, and this kind of doll tends to hold its value over time on the secondary market.

      Since I have to clean up the house for a New Year celebration (always an epic job...), I think you might be right that this is the last review for 2013! Thank you so much for your thoughtful, inspiring comments. I always love to hear your insights and your intelligent, cheerful, kindhearted perspective. I am glad the blog has been a comfort to you, and I hope 2014 will bring good health and answered dreams!

      ...let us know if you get Tokyo! ;D

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    2. Hi again, Lissy! I just read Nealie Jean's comment, below, about the wig quality of Garden Patience. Good info. to have on board as you make your decision!

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  12. http://mycutelittlepeople.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/new-look-of-my-monster-high-frankie/

    Hi Emily
    Really she is so pretty, thanks for another nice blog..
    Recently I have started my blogs, pls take a look

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    1. Hi Sharmistha! I love the name of your blog! :D Wordpress blogs are so pretty. And--you reviewed Hayden! I am so glad you like her. Such a shame that these dolls have been discontinued. :(
      It will be fun to see what dolls you review from India!

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  13. Since she is about the same size, do the Hearts 4 Hearts Girls clothes or Oz China Girl clothes fit?

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    1. Ooh! Good idea with the Hearts 4 Hearts. Those big heads always make me forget how small the body is! China Girl is probably too big, but I'll go check both right now.

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    2. Hi again, Eileen. China Girl's dress is too big. Great instinct about the Hearts 4 Hearts clothes, though! I only have Lauryce's outfit, but it's a pretty decent fit--just a little baggy. Patience's dress won't fit Lauryce, though. I might add in a few pictures. Thank you for the idea!

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  14. Hi Emily,
    I got the original Patience and have found that the clothing from the Little Miss Matched dolls are pretty good on her. The Hearts 4 Hearts clothing is too big, but I only tried the nightgown so maybe that is supposed to be billowy. Based on other blogs, I learned that Patience is supposed to be using the 12" Harry Potter (Hermione) body sculpt, but I can't confirm that as I never had one. The red wig was unfortunately very poor quality with short hairs sticking out at strange angles in the midst of the long hair. The wig was easy to remove however and I put a better one on. Just took a couple photos to show how she looks with the new wig and next to LMM and Maudlynne. http://www.flickr.com/photos/21844291@N07/11648158445/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/21844291@N07/11648583544/

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    1. I love your pictures, Nealie! I was really curious about how Patience compared to Maudlynne and Little MissMatched. Thank you so much for sharing that link! It's sad that the red wig on Garden Patience was of poor quality! Darn it--that doll looks SO perfect in her pictures. But with the new wig you chose she looks fantastic! I adore the shorter style on her. She reminds me a lot of a Pullip doll in the second picture. It's great that these dolls can be easily customized, but a $170 doll should come with a good wig. Grumble. :/

      I don't have a 12" Harry Potter doll, either, although I saw a dressed Ron at FAO Schwarz. I'll do some investigating to see if I can figure out if the two bodies are the same. That would make the Harry Potter dolls much more appealing to me! I love the design of Patience's body.

      Thank you for the great tip on clothing--I actually just got some MissMatched clothes on clearance at Toy R Us, so this is perfect! :D

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    2. You are right! Patience has the same body as the 12" Harry Potter crew! Good call. I have updated the review with this information--and updated my wish list to include one of the mini Potter dolls! :D

      Many thanks!

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  15. Fabulous review! She is a beautiful doll.

    Just before Christmas I was in the thrift store and a gorgeous, well articulated, doll caught my eye. She was clean and dressed in a green dress that matched her eyes. Her hair needed a good brushing, but not much more than that. She had big green expressive eyes that just called to me and a fabulous price. While I really wanted to take her home I went one step better and posed her so that she was sitting nicely on the shelf one hand on her knee and the other waving - hoping she'd catch the attention of a little girl or a mom. I went back again the day after Christmas and she was no longer there. I'm so hoping that she found a great home. :-D

    Of course, now I am checking your back posts to see if I can figure out what kind she was. I don't know if her ankles were jointed as she had on boots. Definitely knees, hips, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and neck. Thank you again for sharing your views and knowledge with us.

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    1. Oh, Melody! What a perfect, wonderful, generous Christmas moment! I see a whole magical story weaving around your experience! I really hope the doll is in the loving hands of a special child. I bet she is!

      Of course now I am also desperately curious about what kind of doll she was! Did she have an oversized head? Inset eyes? Tell us more, tell us more!! ;D

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  16. (I think my comment posted in the wrong place, terribly sorry, this commenting system on blogger is quite time consuming haha!)

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  17. I laughed through this review, the thing with her eyes is hilarious! :D
    She is a lovely doll nonetheless!

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  18. The wonky eye mechanism reminds me of Ideal's Giggles, from the 1960's. Her head tilts from side to side and the eyes are supposed to go along with it, and she giggles, when her arms are squeezed together. Unfortunately,their eyes often end up crossed or going different directions. I don't know if they did this when they were new, but it seems to be a common flaw now.

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  20. I was so tempted to get a Pullip for Christmas this year, but decided against it, due to the price/fragility combo. Now I'm even happier I passed on getting one. I think whenever I do splurge on a more expensive doll, I'd like one of these. She's absolutely adorable! Flexible and unique, but with a charming familiarity in her face that makes her really appealing. Thank you for introducing me to this lovely little doll! <3

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  21. I've been debating on getting Tokyo Patience for awhile now, but I'm iffy on the eye mechanism. Have you seen the Tonner Dé ja vous line yet? I'm tempted to buy one instead of Patience but I can't decide.
    Oh and you might want to check the clearence sale at your local Toys R Us, the one here had Moxie Teenz and Liv dolls for $2.
    Thanks again for another great review.

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  22. Ah, Emily! I was just looking at Ahoy Patience a couple of days ago. I really hope she lasts until my next payday--I really wanted her a few days ago and I want her even more now after seeing your wonderful review! Though she has a juvenile body, she reads a little older to me. I'd love to get her into some 20s style dresses; I think she'd look beautiful in them.

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  23. Hi Emily,

    Great review! All of the Patience dolls I've seen are adorable but the price immediately is what would stop me from getting one. I think if I were going to get a Wilde Imagination doll, I would get either an Ellowyne Wilde or her friend Prudence. Again, the price is what's stopping me on one of those too. It wouldn't be that bad if one could buy one doll and a few affordable outfits ($40 or under) for them, but the outfits alone are usually $90+. If they ever do release outfits for Patience, they probably will be way too expensive for me. I'll stick to American Girl and My Twinn 18" dolls for my more expensive dolls because I can find non-AG clothing that is pretty affordable (and cuter than most AG outfits).

    Speaking of My Twinn, I did end up ordering an 18" custom of myself when I was around 8 or 9 years old for Christmas. I'm really happy with how mine turned out. I consider myself very lucky based on some of the reviews I've read. They stuck to the preferences I listed when ordering the doll. The only thing that wasn't ideal was that I have low eyebrows and deep-set eyes and the doll doesn't have those. From what I've seen of other My Twinn dolls, I don't think I've seen one with lower eyebrows or if I have, the rest of the face wasn't similar to mine. If they had painted them lower on the forehead, it would've looked weird. I think they picked a good face mold and they did get the shape and size of the eyebrows right.

    Also, after seeing your review of Annie and how horrible her hair looked in pigtails, I got the idea to see what happened if I ordered mine with pigtails. I don't think her hair looks as good in pigtails in the back as an AG doll does, but like AG dolls, she does have those short hairs in the back that prevent the wig cap from being exposed when in pigtails. Also, I noticed my fair-skinned doll seems to have her vinyl match her cloth body better than Annie's does, which makes me wonder if they use the same colored cloth body for both skin tones.

    Sorry for the long post. I wanted to let you know about how Kristen turned out but wasn't sure if you'd see it if I left it on Annie's review. I'm very detail-oriented. That's probably why I was good in my science class ;-)

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    1. *science classes. I took multiple biology and chemistry classes.

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  24. Another great doll review. Patience has a lovely body, but I could never own a doll who's eyes moved so easily. It is also a shame her size restricts her from sharing clothes, because she seems like a fun doll to redress.

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  25. Would you happen to have the link to buy Tonner Rapunzel?

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  26. I absolutely adore everything about this girl, even her crazy eyes. I think that the design of them is very clever. She has the cutest little face and I always love dolls that can kneel. In fact, I am just about to change the body on my Pullip so that she can kneel :) I really enjoyed the pictures of this beautiful doll. She is so photogenic! Happy New Year to you and your family Emily. I can't wait to see what new dolls 2014 brings :)

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  27. Very cool, I wasn't too sold on these dolls but seeing how she actually moves and the quality of her clothes really changes my mind!

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  28. Patience is a very pretty doll, but she is not at the top of my doll list. I am going to be getting Goty 2014 because i have enough money, and then I will probably get another Ellowyne doll to go with my other one that i got for Christmas. I highly recommend the Ellowyne dolls to anyone, and another doll that I have that is pretty nice is Maudlynne Macabre from the tonner toys line. But PAtience is a very pretty and photogenic doll and i love her moving eyes.

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  29. Her large moving eyes are amazing! What a funky eye mechanism for sure!! :-) Her eyelashes are nice as well! Her outfit is extremely cool! (Vintage in nature.) Great, comprehensive review here! You have a good sense of humor! Thank you Emily!

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  30. I LOVE PATIENCE!!! If only she wasn't way out of my price rage *sigh* ah well. I realy like her feet and unless I was seeing things her second toe was longer then her big toe. Which I like because that's how my feet are and I hardly ever see feet that detailed let alone with the second toe longer then the big toe.

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  31. I usually don't go for children dolls, but she is so gorgeous and expressive. I also like the Patience doll that looks like red riding hood, but this sailor one is so charming.

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  32. Such a lovely doll! She has a very cute and quirky personality and i just love her nautical outfit! and of course the hilarious wall-eyed shots! haha :P

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  33. Have you any photos of her with Maudlynne?

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  34. The Marley/Alice body wears Ken clothes nicely too, but not the new thinner Kens from the Basic Black series. My Brat Pack wears a lot of Ken in the summer, very androgynous! I am thinking about Tokyo, but Patience at the Prom looks so much like Audrey Hepburn, its hard to decide. I had a Garden Patience very briefly (got her to split and keep the outfit), the wig on the one i had seemed nice. The outfit looks amazing on my Raven Alice (through the looking glass). Thanks for posting, the wonky eye pics had me giggling in my cube, yes, that's exactly how she looks, very mischievous!

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  35. Love Patience! I've been wanting to get one.

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  36. Emily - why can't Alice wear Patience's dress? It doesn't look so large in the side pix below the two of them. Thx

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  37. Everything fits fine except for the chest area. It's hard to get the dress snapped in the back because Tonner Alice has a slightly broader chest. The middle snap has to be pulled tight to get it to close and then it looks stretched/strained. The scale also seems off to me since Alice has a much smaller head. I bet some of the Patience outfits would work, though, because it's almost a good fit in this case. Hope that helps!

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    1. Thank you. From the pix, it appears that Patience would have the larger bust. Someone I know makes outfits for Marley and wants to be sure they'll fit Patience, as well, before advertising that they do. We appreciate your response! ~ Lynn

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  38. EmilyDecember 30, 2013 at 8:51 AM

    Hi Trinity (I love your profile name...), that's a good idea! I would love to share my dolls, but need to get the displays in order first. Of course, I have been saying that for a while now, but it's definitely going to be one of my New Year's resolutions! :)

    Emily--how is it going with your organization of dolls. We need pictures!

    Love your review of Patience. I have her also and she and Maude enjoy dressing up in Little MissMatched clothing. The shoes are a bit loose but stay on and she and Maude look o cute together, matching, yet not, at the same time.

    I am also very happy to not be commenting on 2012 posts and that I am actually commenting in the end of 2013, though I might have already commented in 2014. I jumped around an awful lot.

    Well, maybe I will actually get to comment in a very recent blog report! :)

    Suzi

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  39. I know I'm late to the party (typical) but I just acquired an Agnes Dreary, and unlike the body of one you show, Mine has the separate chest plate like Patience. Do you know if they changed her? I just got her, and she's the "I Dream of Dreary" model. Thanks.

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