I usually go to the Goodwill just for their book selection but now that I'm getting into dolls, I thought well, I'll take a look. As I stated earlier I was not going to be collecting large dolls and yet, today I am an owner of one.
This is BFC Ink. (Best Friend Club Ink.) 18" Kaitlin. I found her with her earrings and original clothing- including her boots, for only $3- I couldn't believe it. I was not going to get her, as I wrote before they are just not the right size for me, but my mom said put her in the cart and think about it. If she was naked I would have left her there but because she had that clothing it was a bonus. Plus, this is the first one I've seen at the Goodwill, it's usually just Barbie so I thought for a well rounded blog I might as well get her. Plus, if I didn't buy here my mom would have been a little upset, she fell in love with that face. I'm kind of glad I did get Kaitlin because her face is so open and sweet that she's now grown on me.
While the face is sweet with those green eyes, her body is less than desirable. This doll is part of the first wave BFC Ink. dolls and her arms and ankles do not move. Because of this her poseability is limited. She can not really hold anything and her shoes must be flat. The shoe issue doesn't really bother me as I think her age is around 11ish and much to young for high heels.Plus, the flat feet allows the doll to stand on her own. Which is a nice especially if you are using this doll as a photograph model. I would think that kids would like it also because it adds to the realness of play. But the elbows and wrists can't move and to me that really limits play and what settings the doll could be photographed in.
Other problem is her knees they are held together by thick white elastic, the kind you use in sewing. Because of this her knees can hardly bend and when you get them to bend they pop back into the standing position. Or if she's sitting they will stick out again. I think this would frustrate a child because it was frustrating to me when I tried to get her to sit with her knees bent.
The other issue is her hair, it's not the greatest. As these dolls retail from anywhere from $20 to $35- dollars I was hoping for nicer hair. It's a tad brittle and just hard to brush and as Kaitlin has curly hair it makes it harder. I did do a wash and dry session and it did add some softness to the hair, but not much. But then the hair was puffy and the braid parts I feel will always be more puffy then the rest. So I redid the braids and used straws to curl her hair. I plan on mostly leaving her hair in this style or a ponytail but not much else. If a child were to play and change the hair styles often I think the hair might be a nightmare over time.
The one plus, besides her sweet face is her clothing. The outfit she came with is very well made and seems durable. The lace on the edges is a nice detail, something I think a tween would like, but not too adult. The boots are really cute and I like the little touches such as the fringe and laces. I'm not sure about the extra clothing packs which are sold separately and are hard to find in stores,it seems that Amazon and Ebay are the only options I can find right now. But from the photos they look nice and cute. If I find one at a reasonable price I'll review it.
Since I bought her without her box and other accessories I visited the BFC Ink. website
http://www.bfcink.com/ which lets you read a small entry on her blog and also a small except of a BFC Ink. book. The reader learns that she's an environmentalist and she's into art and design. She has an older sister who works for a magazine and a new step-mom. For more I'm sure one would have to read the BFC Ink. books, which are now out of print but can be bought on the secondary market pretty cheap, as of this writing. While I'm not really that interested in learning more I like that the doll does connect children to actual books.
The BFC Ink. dolls it seems are harder and harder to find in stores. I looked on-line and it seems only the BFC Pen Pals are available at the moment and only at Target for $20 + s/h.It appears that these dolls are being discontinued so maybe they will start showing up more and more in thrift stores in the years to come.
While I like Kaitlin's face and her clothing if I had paid retail I would be really disappointed. Maybe wave 2 with the added acticulation are better, but for $20 I'm not in a hurry to find out. Also, since her clothes are harder to find it would be hard to play dress up with her. Maybe other clothes fit such as Play Wonder from Target? Or the Madame Alexander Wal-Mart doll clothes? I know that American Girl clothing is big on her. So unless you know how to sew or know someone who does. This might be a doll that while looks cute has little play potential.
