Hearts 4 Hearts Dolls "Shola" and "Mosi" by Playmates Toys--A Guest Review!

I am excited to present another special review!  This time, my guest writer is Nethilia from the American Girl Outsider blog.  I love Nethilia's writing style and eye for detail.  Her educated, sensitive insights into other cultures are perfectly suited to reviewing these two gorgeous new Hearts 4 Hearts dolls.  Over to you, Neth!

Hey y'all--I'm Nethilia (Neth for short). I've been into dolls, toys, ponies and the like since I was a child. I'm the head administrator and founder of the American Girl Wiki and recently started blogging about the dolls (and fandom around them) at American Girl Outsider. While the main doll focus on my blog is American Girl, I personally collect and display all kinds of dolls and toys ranging from easily found shelf play dolls to limited edition resin ball jointed dolls. 

I tend to focus my collection on dolls of color because, as a woman of color, I feel it's very important to see other cultures properly respected and reflected in dolls--not just for the sake of people's exposure to other cultures outside their own, but so that children worldwide can see themselves reflected in their media (you have no idea how much it meant when The Princess and the Frog came out and a Disney Princess finally looked like me). I feel it's very important that even the smallest things and influences try to accurately reflect the diversity of the world--and that dolls of color aren't just, as I've heard it said, "re-dipped Barbie dolls" with the only sign of diversity being the color of the plastic/resin/vinyl/etc.  So, it makes sense that one of the lines that has really caught my interest is the Hearts 4 Hearts dolls. I fell in love with them soon after the initial release: first getting Nahji and then later adding Lauryce and Rahel to my lineup. When Mosi and Shola were announced at Toy Fair, I knew I was going to get my hands on them the moment they were available:

Hearts 4 Hearts "Mosi" and "Shola."

There are very few Native dolls I've seen other than Kaya'atonmy from American Girl and Rose from the Magic Attic series. Shola is the first time I've ever seen an Muslima/Afghani doll in a widespread line. As a person who tries to learn accurately about all cultures, the fact that these two characters were coming out lifted my spirits. I hoped that they would come with truthful educational opportunities.

I was quick on the draw and got both of them right after release from Amazon for $24.99 each before they sold out the first time with free shipping and no tax. (Don't pay inflated prices; just wait for them to come back in stock.) According to the official site, every purchase donates a dollar of the price to programs that support children in that doll's region--4% of what I paid. Specifically, the line is partnered with World Vision.  I would have been more comfortable with my donation if Playmates had, as Karito Kids did, let me pick my own cause.

My review will not only go into the dolls themselves but a few cultural notes. I'm neither Native (bar distant enough Native blood as to be insignificant) nor Muslima--just a black woman who grew up in the South. I don't presume to know everything. So take what I have to say with the knowledge that I am not a firsthand source and I always encourage people to look up data for themselves--thanks to the Internet, we all have information at our fingertips. I've tried to be as respectful and knowledgeable as I can be within my limits.

In the boxes.

The boxes are fairly uniform along the line; the fronts are solid covers with an image of the doll's face close up. The covers, in this case, have the shots from the prototypes that were shown at the Toy Fair and are shown in almost all the marketing.

Mosi comes in a box where looking inside shows her and what she comes with. She's got a comb, bracelet, and booklet along with her. Right away, by just looking at her feather, I could tell that the prototypes weren't the same as the mass produced dolls. This was foreboding. While dolls tend to dramatically change from initial design, the first thing I felt was that a lot of fine details were lost. However, the dress appeared nice enough and the earrings drew me in. Mosi, by the way, is a Navajo name meaning "cat." Mosi was originally planned to focus as Navajo. Unfortunately, the company removed a lot of the details of her tribe to make her "universally Native." I have a lot of issues with that.

Mosi inside the box.

Shola came the same way--doll, comb, bracelet, booklet. She also looks different from her prototype in glaring ways, especially with regards to her clothing and mode of dress. However, I was very glad to see that she had kept her headscarf.  Shola is an authentic Muslim name meaning "flame" or "blaze." I was glad to know that the name picked was accurate to the character; it's often the case that some companies pick very narrow names that are inaccurate, generic, or stereotypical. Since Shola is from Afghanistan, it's highly likely that she is Pashtun.

Shola inside the box.

Many Muslima cover their hair from a young age for both spiritual and cultural reasons. I'm not Muslima, so I can't assume more than what I've learned from knowing others and my personal observance living in an area that has a significant Muslim population.

Unfortunately, I didn't get many good pictures of the boxes' interior flaps or backs and sides. I tend to be a box tosser and rip my dolls out of the packaging as fast as possible. So by the time I was ready to take the pictures of these two for my review I'd already thoughtlessly sent the boxes to the trash. Que sera, sera. Much like the others, the external flap briefly tells the story of each girl.

The boxes were easily opened--I slit open the tape with one of my deboxing knives and slid them out. (I'm not sure what it says of me as a collector that I have small handheld daggers solely for box opening.) I then slid the two out of their boxes, which just left lifting them out.

Box freedom!

The plastic holding the dolls and their accessories is wholly separate from the cardboard backing, so I went ahead and lifted them out. This allowed me to take pictures of the backs of the boxes, which I was glad to see showed their locations in the world.

Kabul, Afghanistan.

Shola's is from Kabul, Afghanistan: this is both the capital of Afghanistan and the largest city.

New Mexico, USA.

Mosi is from New Mexico. A quick search online shows that the Navajo Nation spans over northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico. Accuracy! I quickly popped and slid off cords, bands, and papers without even looking away from the show I was watching. Twenty-odd years of opening doll packages have made me a near expert at this.

I've decided to focus on Shola first, followed by Mosi; this way, they can stand as individuals.

Shola and all her accessories.

Shola comes with a bracelet, comb, and booklet telling her story. She is dressed in a sheer pink headscarf, a high waist blue cotton calf length dress, purple plastic ballet flats, three rubber bracelets, and simple white panties. Note that as soon as I got her out of the box, I pulled her headscarf down to cover most of her hair, much like the prototype. While most headscarves cover the ears and all of the hair, there is a bit of lax allowed in younger girls that allows visible ears and hair.

I've got to say, the doll doesn't quite live up to the prototype.

The Shola that could have been.

Side by side:

The prototype shows a very elegant long blue dress with very neat trim at the sleeves and bottom hem, high soft purple boots, corded bracelets, and a softer, more opaque headscarf that is trimmed with lavender lace. I'm rather annoyed that Shola's outfit is not even a quarter as beautiful as the outfit that was shown--doubly so because the prototype picture is what's seen on all the packaging and in almost every image of her. The actual doll just doesn't make the grade that the picture offers, and it feels like her clothing was downgraded for mass production.

Disc.

There's also a paper disc with Shola's name on it. Shola doesn't come with an online code like prior characters.  Instead, she comes with a fact about Kabul: it is over 3000 years old. I actually prefer this to the previous online codes, as I'm generally not a fan of signing up for sites for my dolls and almost never use codes to unlock anything so the code is a waste of paper. Facts, however, are always useful.

There's a URL for the Playmates website. They have a shop there. I find it rather encouraging to find items for purchase on the official sites sometimes, though I don't always buy from them.

Facts!

The bracelet is on a black cord with pink and black heart charms. I didn't try it on; there are things I as an adult collector don't try to do.

Shola's bracelet.

The comb she comes with is pink plastic with an alleged ponytail holder. I never, ever use plastic combs or brushes on doll hair as it will wreck it horribly. Human hair can recover from plastic if it breaks, but doll hair can't. I instead use wire wig brushes such as the ones American Girl sells, and replace them when they break from use. Any wire wig brush will do. I also use mild braid sheen spray or spray in leave in conditioners, which helps keep synthetic hair soft and silky. Into the storage box, unusable comb.

Comb.  Boo on it.

The booklet that comes with Shola is small and retells the story given on the internal flap; it's sewn together and has eight pages not including the cover. It also uses the prototype images throughout. 

Booklet.

Rather than take pictures or scans of the booklet, I'll summarize the story:

Shola's country of Afghanistan has been at war longer than she has been alive (accurate, as the country has been at war since about 2001 and Shola is about ten years old). Her parents and both her brothers were killed and so she and her older sister Mehri lived alone in a poorly constructed house with no roof and three walls. The girls were then approached by a man, Shaya, who had opened a school to teach children circus performance. While the girls were reluctant to go, they attend that night and see the circus, which brings delight to Shola. Shaya invites the girls to enroll in the school and go around with him performing. The two girls agree--Shola agrees only if she can become a juggler. Shola becomes a juggler and stilt walker, and her sister Mehri wears costumes and tells morality stories. They also learn things such as reading and math. Shola wants to share her feelings of hope with other children in her country.

I searched and was happy to find that an Afghani educational circus is a real thing--the Afghani Mobile Mini Circus for Children. I'd like to think that World Vision is sending money to this specific program, but there's no way to know. Again, I really wish that I could have picked a cause to donate to instead of having it picked for me, or had it confirmed that that Shola's purchase was going to this specified program.

It would have also been a neat little addition to include juggling pins with her as more than a picture. The story is pretty shallow, and while we get a glimpse of Shola's personality and struggle, all it is is a mere glimpse--like a smell of a delicious meal that I don't actually get to eat. While a novel is a bit much to ask, even a thicker story would be better.

All the girls.

The back of the booklet shows nine girls--unusually, Shola isn't there. It also has a blurb at the back stating how you--yes you--can help. But it then goes on to say that making the difference is done by collecting all the characters. Not pleased with that at all. There's more that can be done to make a difference in the world than just buying dolls, and I'd rather not promote the idea that buying things is the only way to help. Something as small as mentioning volunteering in the local community would have added another option other than "buy buy buy". Blech. 

Shola's face.

Shola has medium tan skin and a heart shaped face mold with a slightly pointed chin and full cheeks. Her nose is wider than Dell's and narrower than Tipi's, so I'm pretty sure it's a wholly unique mold to her.

Close-up.

She has full lips with a dark rose tint, a wide nose, a light but visible philtrum, feathered brown eyebrows, light blush to the cheeks, painted upper and lower lashes, and gold-hazel eyes that are the same color as Lauryce's. These are reminiscent of Sharbat Gula, the Afghani woman who was photographed in 1984 and later identified in 2002. Eyes are what draw me in to a doll, and Shola has very beautiful eyes.

Compared to Nahji, her face is fuller in the cheeks, her nose narrows more at the bridge and flares more at the sides, and her eyes are a little more pointed at the inner corners.

Next to Nahji.

Next to Lauryce, it's clear her mold is different. Lauryce has the same mold as Rahel. However, their eyes match, and their skin tones are both in the medium spectrum.

Next to Lauryce.

Her profile shows a gentle curve down the forehead to her nose line, over the lips, and a soft point to her chin. It's very realistic. Also, it shows that her eyes have a clear curved lens, like real eyes, and helps the light reflect. 

She has small gold post ball earrings. These wouldn't be visible with the headscarf fully covering her head, but again, exceptions for a doll and a child.

Earrings.

They slide out fully with a little bit of tugging and are gold plastic. It's best to tug them out slowly, lest the plastic warp or break; I almost broke one myself. They appear to have posts about 2mm wide, or what would be about 12 gauge.

Earrings alone.

Compared to actual 18-20 gauge earrings, it's clear that the posts are much thicker:

Compared to actual earrings.

So I tried standard American Girl earrings, but their posts are too big and won't fit. The only way Shola can wear different earrings is to swap with the other H4H girls or purchase 12 gauge earrings. It's probably best just to let her keep what she's got.

Next to American Girl earrings.

Shola's headscarf is sheer pink and neatly wraps around her head, hair, neck and shoulders. It's simplified so that a person who doesn't put on headscarves themselves regularly could put it on and take it off.

Headscarf.

Most headscarves wouldn't be sheer like this, since the intention is to cover the hair so that it can't be seen. But again, Shola is a child.

The right side shows a smooth line and gathers nice over her shoulders:

Right side.

The left side shows the closure. Instead of snaps or clips, her headscarf closes with a square of Velcro. It's a little jarring--most girls would instead wear pins--but I understand the need for the Velcro in order to have the headscarf stay on and wrapped without a pin. However, the Velcro is thick and snaggy--I can see snagged hair and fabric in the future.

Left side.

The headscarf covers her hair fully down the back.

Down the back.

Unhooked, the headscarf hangs free down her back; the Velcro closure on the back is actually more towards the center back but is a little twisted.

Unhooked.

From the front, it looks a touch uneven but might still be somewhat modest in that her hair is covered. For the rest of the review until she's redressed, Shola will have her headscarf off. It's a little disjointing for me to show a Muslima/Afghani character sans headscarf, like taking pictures of a devout nun out of her habit. I personally will probably never photograph her again with her hair uncovered. However, it's part of the review.

From the front.

The headscarf off shows that if unhooked, it would probably be a full square of fabric. However, it's gathered into a headband style so it can be easily slipped off and on by those who don't regularly wear headscarves. One corner has the Velcro square for the closure.

Headscarf off.

The back has a thin elastic band tacked on that is tucked under Shola's hair; the sides are sewn gathered. All someone has to do is slide the band around Shola's head like a headband, adjust it to the right place, and then twist the side over and around to connect to the Velcro square for it. It's not hard or complicated to take off or put on; I've wrapped doll headscarves with just squares or rectangles of fabric, and sometimes wrapped my own hair up in my sarongs.  Probably the hardest part is adjusting the band before the twist around.

Elastic.

The dress is a blue cotton print with flower ribbon trim and contrasting yoke at the bodice both front and back. The flower main print is simple white circular flowers and dots.

Dress.

The yoke is larger print white flowers, and the seam between the two is covered with ribbon twisted trim to resemble flowers. There is a slit at the front neckline topstitched in cream thread. Compared to the the prototype fabric, it's a little boring; the contrast in prints is a little meek.

Yoke.

The sleeve is elbow length with a straight line and simple hem in cream contrast thread. Contrasting fabric at the sleeve would have not only added length but also visual variety. Closer observations show these are raglan sleeves--that is, they're cut in the same piece of the side bodice. They're slightly eased at the top to fit against the yoke bodice.

Sleeve.

The yoke extends to the back with the same larger print flowers of the front. I'm glad to see that the ribbon trim isn't just on the front; many playline doll dresses ignore the back, and considering dolls are three dimensional it's a shortcut that makes clothes feel half done.

Back.

The dress closes with thin non-snag black Velcro. I love non-snag Velcro, as it lessens chances for catching on hair and other sheer fabrics.

Closure with dress off.

I was pleased to see that the yoke bodice was fully lined. Sewing on this small scale can be very hard, and the easiest way for neat and non-bulky seams in such a small scale for bodices is to cut two copies and sew them together. The seams around are fully surged.

Lining.

The skirt hem, like the sleeves, is topstitched with the same cream thread.

Skirt hem.

Shola has three stretch rubber bracelets on her right wrist--lavender, chartreuse, and magenta pink--with no clasps:

Bracelets.

They're just like Lauryce's; Lauryce has an extra sky blue one:

Against Lauryce.

They easily stretch to come off her wrist; still, it might be prudent not to stretch them too far.

Off the wrist.

Under her dress, Shola is wearing simple white knit brief underpants:

Shola's panties.

They're exactly the same as Lauryce's. 

Lauryce's panties.

It appears that if a doll comes in a dress, she's likely to get panties; however, if she's wearing leggings or shorts, she doesn't.  The back has full coverage. You can also see the imprint on her lower back of manufacture. I generally don't care for that on dolls, but most of the time it's at least hidden by clothes.

Back shot.

Her shoes are plain molded lavender ballet flats.

Flats.

There's a slight molded ridge and molded bows; inside is a heart stamp.

Shoes off.

The soles show molded stitching, "gathers", and a seam up the back. These shoes are a major letdown from the beautiful soft ankle boots she was shown with in the prototype. I now want to make or find her a set like the prototypes. I've never been much for plastic shoes for dolls when clothlike shoes seem more realistic.

Soles.

Shola's rooted hair comes in a low ponytail. It's a rich, dark mahogany brown with a high gloss and a slight wave, and is thickly rooted and to her hips.

Hair.

The ponytail is held with a clear band, much like the ones that held her in the packaging. I went ahead and slid it out; I buy and utilize clear or black hair bands for doll styling when I want unobtrusive hair holders.

Hairband.

With her hair down, it reflects the light rather well, and the flash of the camera gave rich highlights and lowlights. Her hair isn't black like Nahji's; there's a red tint to it. It's a touch uneven all down like this, sort of like it wanted to slope to a point but meandered on the scenic route.

Hair down.

Her front bangs are thatched into a side part that covers the front rooting well.

Bangs.

They're fastened in the back with a band. I didn't let her bangs down because here Shola is almost never to be sans a headscarf again.

Held back.

Shola has the same body structure as any other H4H character--full vinyl body. She is about fourteen inches tall. Her torso is harder vinyl with a slight chest swell, visible collarbone, and delicate sculpting such as a belly button and--not shown--a butt cleft. Her head and limbs are of softer vinyl and she has sculpted  fingers with nails, toes and toenails--her feet aren't flat like an AG's--and knee and elbow indentations.

Standing around.

Much like Em seeks lots of poseability and clothing options among her dolls, I seek dolls that are good for clothing design and pattern drafting--well shaped bodies, easily moveable limbs, and steady standing without a doll stand if possible. This allows me to expand my options for clothing design and drafting. (I often use the Doll's Dressmaker book for patterns.) I am sure that drafting and fitting patterns for her and any other H4H girl will be a breeze; she's got fairly straight proportions and I may be able to scale down American Girl patterns or designs.

The vinyl body is a little darker than the limbs but as Shola will not be wearing bikinis, there's no reason for me to personally care:

Color difference.

She's cord strung, a little like an American Girl Doll and a lot like a Magic Attic doll: at the head, shoulders, and hips. This allows for a lot more posing than flange joints offer. Her head can tilt up and down and turn, and her arms can also hold multiple poses.

Inner cord.

Sideways splits are not very low.

Side splits are no go.

Front to back ones are okay.

Front to back.

Another thing I look for is hair styling; I like to experiment with hair a lot. Her hair holds a braid nicely and will probably hold French braids well. Not that anyone's going to see most of what I do with her hair as it's going to be braided up and under her headscarf. Speaking of which, back into your clothes, Shola....

Braided hair.

Before I show her dressed fully again, there is something I'd like to emphasize that actually matters regarding how Shola is dressed out of the package, something that's socially glaring. The prototype shows Shola's ankles and calves covered by boots and dress, and her arms almost covered to the mid forearms. However, the widespread release shortened the dress to mid-calf and, with the change of her boots to flats, left her calves and ankles bare. That actually is offensive of Playmates; Muslima women often cover up to at least the ankles, even as children. Pants or leggings underneath the skirt are all it would have taken to fix such an utterly glaring mistake this if they didn't want to bring the dress down in length.

Fixing a glaring error.

I purchased the Logo Tee and Leggings some months back  The purple leggings aren't perfect, but they're better than nothing at all and match her shoes.

Dressed more modestly.

With the leggings, she looks a lot better. I'll be making her long enough skirts and bloomers to wear under shorter dress sets.

Shola is a very unique doll, and covers a region and culture that hasn't been seen in dolls widespread outside of niche characters--a Afghani/Muslima girl with a headscarf and modest dress. She has a beautiful face and eyes, and her hair--even though I've chosen to respect the culture and not display her with her hair uncovered again--is thick and lovely to brush. Even if pictures from me may not show her hair, I will likely do neat braids and twists with it. to fit under headscarves. The headscarf is easy enough to put on and take off and simplified so that people not of the culture can learn some of how headscarves are worn and perhaps try new ones with her.

However, there are a lot of ways that Playmates dropped the ball with her outfit--notably the dress being shorter, and not giving her at least leggings when they chose to shorten the dress and shift her boots to flats. I'm just one person and I'm not even Muslima, but I have researched authentic resources of modest Muslim and Afghani dress and knew where the mistakes are. A large toy company shouldn't have let this glaring error go through. And there's been no word on whether this will be rectified in any future releases. Personally, I'm obligated to pick up the slack to give her and her culture the respect due.

*~*~*

Mosi has a shorter review only because there's no need to go into details I've already covered with Shola.

Mosi comes with a bracelet--blue and black charms, not much different than Shola's--a blue comb that found its way into the storage bin right alongside everyone else's, and a booklet with her story. She comes dressed in a red print wrap empire waist dress with blue ribbon and button trim, red fringe gingham trim, grey and white striped leggings, brown plastic cowboy boots, a plastic "silver" bracelet, and a blue plastic feather in her hair.

Mosi and her accessories.

The first thing I was glad to see was that Mosi doesn't fall too far into the trope of "Braids, Beads, and Buckskins." This can be summed up as visually directing a Native person by using shortcuts, the big three being putting them in leather clothing, beaded items (or beads on the leather) and having them have straight black hair worn in two long braids. It also traps Native people in a past narrative, as if Natives don't wear any modern clothing. Seeing that Mosi had little to none of this was very refreshing. Mosi was intended to be Navajo in pre-production, and a lot of her details show this. However, packaging and marketing went for universally Native.

Directly from the Hearts4Hearts Facebook, a representative said: "After careful research and consideration, it was decided to make Mosi "Native American" as opposed to a particular tribe. So she represents many cultures and benefits the work done for more than one tribe." Again, I find myself disappointed. Not all Native people are universal anymore than Europeans or Africans or Latinas. Mosi should have been given the chance to represent the Navajo culture accurately.

The Mosi we didn't get.

Side by side:

The prototype has fewer changes than Shola did. The main changes are a different print for the wrap dress, cloth and leather/faux leather boots, and a dyed blue feather in her hair instead of plastic. I didn't hold out hope for the boots, though cloth shoes would have greatly improved the look. This was also true with the feather, though I'd have hoped it would have been on an easily removable clip or clasp. I was annoyed with Shola, but resigned with Mosi.

Mosi's fact disc got ripped as I was peeling it from the packaging, so I didn't take any pictures. It states that there were once over 800 Native American languages in Canada and the Americas, and that about 175 are still spoken. While a good fact, my knowing why those languages faded out makes the fact very sobering.

Booklet.

The booklet has the short story from the flap. Again, I'll summarize:

Mosi and her family live on a sheep ranch outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her mother is a potter and sells pots and bowls she's made; her father runs the ranch with their Churro sheep (they also have llamas to keep coyotes away). One day, her father brought home a wild black and white pony who had injured its leg. Mosi named it Warrior because he tried to escape from people trying to help him even while injured; she calls him beautiful and fierce and assures herself that they will become friends and ride together like the wind. In the summers she visits her grandmother, who still lives on the reservation far away. She likes hearing the old stories of her people and learning how to make a basket and spin yarn from wool. They sometimes go to a powwow and watch the dancers in their beautiful costumes. Mosi once asked her grandmother why she didn't leave the reservation and she replied saying "My heart cannot walk two paths." Mosi says that perhaps she's doing that but she likes it. The back two pages are no different from Shola's.

Honestly, the whole story feels like a narrow stereotype of Native people and their culture: catching a wild horse and naming it Warrior, an older relative who lives on the reservation while her family lives away, references to the wind, disconnected powwows and referring to dancer's outfits as "costumes," "old stories" about the people, etc. "Two paths" feels a lot less like Native wisdom and more like a Robert Frost quote. The line about how Mosi and her grandmother only watch the dancers "in their beautiful costumes" and don't actively participate is really indicative of how this is not a story by or for Native people; that is what white people do at powwows. The whole thing feels like what I've heard called "woo" by a Native friend: the current prevailing narrative concerning Native people that says they are incredibly spiritual, proud, noble, and close to the earth. It's a model minority stereotype set that denies Native people full, complex humanity and enshrines them instead as anachronistic and "wild."  It feels like Mosi's culture was arrested somewhere in the 1890s and the only way for her to integrate into the modern era involved her and her family divorcing from the reservation life. If Playmates really did their research for Mosi, they didn't do a very good job. If they wanted to do a real Native diaspora narrative, Mosi could spend all summer making regalia with grandma and then dancing with her in the powwow, spending time with her family on the reservation, and learning her language--and and all of this would be so much more interesting than some weird wild pony narrative.

Mosi's data says that her donation goes to benefit Native Americans--but like Shola it doesn't specify how, where, or through whom. I really wish that online codes had been included or something to allow me to decide where my support was going.

Mosi's face is a lot less full than Shola's; I suspect she has the same face mold as Consuelo. She has dark brown eyes with painted lashes, feathered brows, a wide nose, bow shaped lips with a peach-rose tint, the same delicate philtrum, cheek blush that my camera made look brighter than it is, and a much more pointed chin. She has eyes the same color as Nahji's.

Her earrings are made of silver plastic and resemble the stylized Navajo thunderbird. I think little blue faux turquoise in the center would have added a lot of charm--but then again if we can't even get clips for the feather asking for turquoise is pushing it.

Earrings.

Her earrings are two part--a silver post and the separate thunderbird charm. She could wear just the earrings with the posts alone and no charms, but I think they look best with the charms attached. The backs of the charms are flat and undecorated, so I didn't snap a shot.

The feather is molded blue plastic with a loop at the top and was looped into a lock of Mosi's hair with a clear band attached to the loop. As I said, I was disappointed and resigned by the plastic feather. But the way it was attached was even more souring. I can see young girls struggling when taking out the feather and getting frustrated when it isn't easily put back in. A simple small hair clip would have been perfect.

Feather.

The feather out shows the full shape. It shows some feather veining and a sharply defined center ridge; the loop at the top is plausible for placing a small hair band in to reattach to the hair. Right there is where the clip could have attached.

Feather out.

Mosi has a profile similar to Shola's with a gentle curve from hairline over the nose and lips and down to her chin. Her brow is a touch flatter. She also has the clear eye domes that make her eyes look more realistic.

Mosi's profile.

Mosi's bracelet is plastic silver circlet bangle that comes on her right hand; the center is a heart shaped loop.

Mosi's bracelet.

It is exactly like Lauryce's bracelet. Bracelets appear to be mostly standardized throughout the line--either stretch rubber or silver plastic. A notable exception being Nahji and her gold bangles.

Lauryce's bracelet.

There's an opening in the back that allows the bracelet to easily come off. I actually feel a sense of nostalgia by the bracelet; as a small child I used to wear a copper bracelet everywhere to differentiate my left hand from my right.

Bracelet off.

Mosi's dress is an empire waist red print dress with blue ribbon and gingham contrast trim. The print is made up of horizontal dashes and dots and from a distance looks like tilted rhombuses (rhombi?). While not as neat as the floral print, I think it's lovely in its own way.

Mosi's dress.

The front bodice is a wrap style that doesn't actually open, and has the right "side" over left; a peek under the trim shows the bodice was cut with the design. The bodice is trimmed with red fringe bias cut gingham trim, which is left raw and unfinished and stitched down with decorative blue stitches. The trim goes all around the neckline and down the wrap side. I want to try to reproduce this interesting look.

Bodice.

The waistline is accented with thin blue satin ribbon woven through a blue heart button. The ribbon is tacked on at the side seams and goes all the way around the back. It's a fun splash of one of my favorite colors.

Waistline.

The sleeves are elbow length like Shola's; however where Shola's are straight hemmed, Mosi's are elastic gathered. Her sleeves are also set in at the shoulders with a slight easing gather.

Sleeves.

The skirt hem is a simple tuck under with the same bias gingham trim and blue topstitching.

Skirt hem.

The back closes with thin, non-snag white Velcro. The gingham trim goes all the way around the neckline, as does the ribbon trim. 

Closure.

Let's look a little more at the internal structure.

Internally, the sleeve edge is white bias attached to the sleeve and formed into a channel for the elastic. I also found something rather perplexing; unlike Shola's neatly seamed dress, Mosi's is left with tons of raw edges. There's no reason for this whatsoever and it's an unnecessary cutting of corners. I don't know if they were trying for the same raw look inside (why would they do that?) but fringing and raw edges really show sloppy work from a professional company; the only reason I haven't serged my own doll clothes is because I don't yet own one, and I compensate by trimming the seam allowance with pinking shears. If I start to see fraying on this dress I'm busting out my Fray Check and running it over every seam.

Sleeve gather.

The bodice is fully unlined; the edges were made neat by using while bias tape. Lining the waist is sewn in stretched elastic; when the dress is off Mosi, the elastic pulls together. When closing the back I had to make sure to pull a little tighter there so there wasn't a gap in the closure.

Bodice elastic.

Under the dress Mosi is wearing grey and white striped capri-length leggings that come to just below her knees. Since she has these on, she doesn't come with panties. The fabric is slick and slippery; I suspect it's a lycra knit mix, like what swimsuits are made of. The seams were matched so there's little misalignment on the seam line. The leggings are also un-surged along the seams.

Leggings.

The top stitching is white at the hem and waistband. They come off and go on easily enough.

At the knee.

The boots are molded plastic; not the soft ones shown in the prototype. All the stitching is molded into the boots themselves.

Boots.

The boots are slit open down the back so that they can be taken off and put back on easily. Well, in theory they come off and go on easily. In practice I found myself tugging and tugging on the boots until I just got out a blow dryer to soften up the plastic; they catch hard at the heel. I much prefer American Girl's method of handling boots, where they close the back with Velcro and have the whole back open. (Older AG boots closed with semi-authentic ribbons, laces, buckles, or buttons, like Samantha's original high button shoes.) If they'd gone with the softer cloth and leather boots they could have put that as a closure. The visible dots are likely where the plastic was injected into the mold.

Back opening.

Now, remember how I said I was from the South? Specifically, I grew up in Texas around the Houston area. So I am persnickety about cowboy boots looking right. These get most of the details right: the stitching and bootstraps at the top, the low heel, the top stitching around the bottom (even though it's molded on), and the lines over the toes area. There's little color to them, but since they were molded from one color I'll have to let it pass. I really wish Playmates did color variety in the shoes so they didn't feel so plastic.

Boot profile.

The stitching on the top of the boots is looped to make hearts all over.

Stitching.

The heart stamp is also on the sole of the boot. There's a number 1 on the heel, stitching simulated on the sole, and at the sole near the toe is a L for left or R for right. I'm 100% sure that's a production thing, as Shola's flats also have left and right markers like that.

Sole.

Mosi has the same body structure as Shola and the others; there's also the variance between the hard vinyl body and the softer limbs. She'll be able to use the same general patterns that I use for everyone else once I draft them up, and figure out how to make decent doll shoes.

Mosi bare.

Mosi has luxuriously soft jet black hair that comes down to her hips. It's got a soft wave and splays out at the end. I am so, so glad she was not given stick straight center parted black hair in two long braids or even had her hair pulled into pigtails and was allowed to come with her hair down. I love Kaya but it feels like the default for Native dolls is "two braided stick straight blunt ended pigtails tied with leather or cord" look. I think I'll have a blast brushing through Mosi's hair and finding new styles for her.

Mosi has thatched-in curved-under bangs that stop right above her eyebrows. They likely shouldn't get lost in her hairline. Her part is also thatched, and the rest of her hair flows down from that. The rooting is thicker at the top and thins out lower, so the hair isn't too thick throughout.

Mosi's bangs.

At this point, I'd gotten the feather completely out, and really didn't think I was going to want to put it back in. I kept the section that had held her feather pulled out with a simple black rubber hair band. So, having made a recent run through Michael's for crafting supplies, I decided to make a good blue feather of my own with my jewelry making supplies. I couldn't find any good hair clips--I'll probably have to run through a hair supply store for that--but I did find silver clasps and dyed blue feathers. Some trimming and crimping later and...

A proper feather!

Mosi now has a better looking blue feather in her hair, made with blue dyed feathers and a crimp closure. I still had to loop it in with a rubber hair band, but this is only until I can get a hair clip small enough to jump ring the clasp to. There's really no reason that Playmates couldn't have invested in blue feathers and clasps--making the feather this way took me five minutes (honed by over twenty years of crafting experience) while I was watching TV.

Mosi is a charming little doll--her hair is so soft and silky that I could just pet it daily. Her clothing could use a lot of improvement, but at least on the outside it looks visually creative--the raw edges and blue contrast is very visually interesting, and the leggings make a nice casual modern look. Bar the feather--which is left loose in her hair and not on a  headband--she doesn't have the visual stereotypes that most Native dolls or characters find themselves pigeonholed into. The boots are this side of terrible, though, and they don't come off or go on as easy as I'd like. I'll probably end up seeking nicer replacements. The earrings are stunning, especially with the significance of silversmithing among Navajo people.

Her "story" is where things get really awful. It falls straight into the stereotypes that her clothing avoids. Marketing her as universally Native doesn't help dissipate that. There was no reason to make her universally Native and not let a Navajo story be told for her. The official Facebook said that they aren't going to make her pony, Warrior, as a side item. I'm actually glad this isn't happening, because it would only reinforce the issues that the story has. Again, I feel like I'm left as a consumer to correct the cut corners that Playmates didn't do right--and where Shola's corrections are needed in her dress, Mosi's are needed in her tale.

*~*~*

Mosi, Shola and the conclusion.

Mosi and Shola are both beautiful dolls. Their faces are open and engaging, and Shola especially is beautiful with her light eyes and full cheeks. Mosi has rich brown eyes and a calm, contented look. The shape of their eyes allows for realistic light reflection when photographing them. Shola delights me as the first playline doll I've ever seen with a headscarf that wasn't made for a niche market. Mosi as a Navajo girl has many small details that signify her as such, but she falls flat with the choice by the company to market her as universally Native.

Both dolls have thick, lovely hair--Shola's isn't going to be much for play, but it'll be taken down and brushed often. Mosi's hair is wavy and soft and beautiful, and I can't stop brushing it to self-soothe. I plan to keep her Navajo and look up things that will help her be as such, with an critical eye towards avoiding woo.

The clothing is done well enough, but it's not as well done as it could have been. Shola's headscarf is designed to be easy to put on and take off for people who don't regularly try to wrap headscarves. Her dress is a little bland from what was initially shown, and it should have been longer if there weren't going to be high boots. Combined with the ballet flats, her legs are disrespectfully bare, and all it would have taken is giving her leggings to fill in the gap. All in all, the prototype got my hopes up and the outfit fell short. Mosi avoids a lot of the stereotyped Native look, though I feel like her outfit could have finished the internal seams and the plastic feather was a cop-out--especially just being banded in. The boots are very difficult to get on and off and are probably the worst part of the outfit--I shouldn't feel like I'm doing tug of war with shoes. The prototype outfits were beautiful--Shola's especially--but so much was lost in the final execution.

While the clothes for both girls have a lot of detail, the shoes are not the best they could be. Years of AG and BJD ownership have spoiled me towards doll shoes--I think shoes should be as well done and accurate or authentic as the outfits themselves, and both sets of shoes have the ball dropped by just having single color plastic with molded details. I don't wear plastic shoes outside of jelly sandals, and I feel like my dolls deserve that same sort of shoe respect. Plastic shoes just scream "cut corners" or "Barbie." I'll accept them in smaller play dolls, but I really am probably going to hunt down nicer shoes for them from BJD sizing. My Hujoo dolls have well done, detailed shoes and their feet are only an inch and a half long!

I'm less a doll poser and more a doll designer. I focus less on poseability and more on body shape and form. The easier it appears to sew and draft clothing for a doll, the happier I am. I can tell that, once the initial drafting is done and I know the basics of how to make outfits fit well, I'm going to have a blast designing clothes for them. Especially Shola, whom I plan to make a plethora of lovely headscarves to go with outfits. Mosi especially might be lovely in jeans and tunic tops.

I'm not feeling the stories that come with these dolls. I could say I was spoiled by American Girl six book sets--or even the Karito Kids story books, and in some ways I was. But even mainline play dolls that have notebooks have a lot more to them than just six pages that have less than three hundred words. Some pages in Mosi's story only have one sentence. The ones that come with Monster High are much thicker and richer in less pages and gives each character a profile with age, likes and dislikes, and personality quirks. Even the bookmark tales for Ever After High dolls have more depth than the booklets for these dolls. In the case of Mosi, her thin tale is full of stereotyped woo. Shola's seems upbeat, but I feel like there could have been more to her story than "I was suffering in a war torn country, was invited to be part of and see a circus, am now part of said circus." At least it's based in a lot more fact, and the circus she is written to be part of actually exists. Mosi's gets facts wrong and even cultural references and reads like an outsider's idea of Natives as Noble Savage instead of fully American. These "stories" feel like scattered water drops on the sidewalk--shallow and easily dissipated.

All in all, I'm ecstatic that there's a line of dolls that steps out of the white US suburban paradigm to make an effort to touch on cultures that aren't often brought up. The last doll line like this, Karito Kids, is out of production and hard to obtain on the secondary market--and they never covered a Middle Eastern character. However, it feels like Playmates left me, as a cultural studier, to fill in the gaps they left and correct their mistakes. Covering other cultures requires lots of respect and not falling into trite stereotypes, and making an effort is only the first step. Something is not better than nothing when that something is incorrect or disrespectful to the cultures being covered. All it would have taken was a little more effort or a few more proper steps to have the line mean and do a lot more. The buttons were right there to push, and Playmates just sort of stared at their buttons and said "Eh, what we have is good enough." It's all right, but it's not good enough. It feels like they did the research and then clipped the corners and dropped it all the way when it cost too much to follow through.

The dolls in and of themselves are great. I'm happy I got them, and I am confident that I can boost them up from "all right" to "great," since I have that knowledge of where to start. But they're only a jumping off point to exploration of the world and the depth of their cultures, and if someone doesn't have that knowledge they might take what is offered at face value. Rather unpleasant things will be reinforced or imbedded, and it's harder to un-teach bad messages than to just say it right the first time.

--Neth