Barbie Basics Collection 003 Model 02 and the Saga of Prototype vs. Production Hair

     When the Barbie Basics swimsuit collection was announced, I was really happy with the lineup of dolls! The one that really caught my eye, however, was the Lara (Model 02). Her neon green one piece swimsuit and her voluminous dark auburn hair really popped! I knew I had to get her!

    I happened to see the swimsuit Basics dolls at Target and I got my Lara! I'll admit I was a little disappointed when I saw her hair in person. For reference, this is what her hair looked like in the prototype photos:

Image from barbiecollector.com

    You can imagine my disappointment when I saw just how flat and sad looking her hair was in the box. I didn't expect it to look exactly like the prototype; that almost never happens. Here is an in-box photo (I didn't take a photo of my doll in the box; I searched the internet for this):

Image from https://www.victoriaces.top/ProductDetail.aspx?iid=696588806&pr=38.88

    I've always loved playing with my dolls' hair. As an adult, that turned into transforming hair that didn't quite match the prototype to be a closer match. Overall, I'd had pretty decent results. I saw this Lara as a new challenge! I will absolutely give credit where credit is due here; while the doll's hair was flat in the box, that seemed mostly due to packaging and keeping everything set in place. Once Lara was out of the box, I took a Barbie brush, fluffed her hair, and her hair was soon the voluminous look that I fell in love with! Here are some photos of my Lara after her hair transformation:

    

    I'm very happy with how amazing her hair turned out and how EASY it was to fix! Aside from this doll's hair, her facial screening is so beautiful and she is one of my favorite Lara dolls ever!

    I'm saying it here and I'm sure I'll say it again in future posts that include Barbie Basics, but the Basics line was absolutely amazing! The dolls were gorgeous, fantastic quality, and very affordable! The fact that they were "basic" and therefore customizable made collecting them even more fun!

    I'd love to read comments from collectors who love the Basics line! Did you keep them as is? Were they base dolls for OOAK projects? Does anyone else have stories about fixing a doll's hair to be more prototype accurate? I love seeing the creativity in the collector community!