Our Generation Retro Doll "Joy" by Battat

At this time of year, I like to walk through the aisles of the toy stores in my area and pick out the dolls and accessories that I think would make the best gifts.  I don't have many doll lovers on my actual shopping list this year, but I still like to see what new items are in stock for the holidays and choose my favorites.  Most of the time I just make a mental note of the items I like best, but this year I purchased a few of my selections so that I could share them with you here on the blog.

I have been keeping a close eye on the 18-inch play dolls that are available near me (Journey Girls, My Life As and Our Generation).  While all of these brands have something new to offer for the holidays, Battat's Our Generation line is by far the most appealing to me.  I feel great about purchasing dolls from this company because I know that they use only recycled and recyclable materials in their packaging, they promote charitable work, and they avoid using harmful chemicals in the production of their dolls.  I also think that the Battat dolls are very attractive and well-made for their reasonable price.  Furthermore, whenever I am visiting my local Target store, the Our Generation section always seems to have the most constant stream of young admirers.

Today I'll show you my favorite new Our Generation doll...along with an outfit set that I thought would go really well with her:

Our Generation Retro Doll "Joy," with pieces from the "Winter Wonder" outfit pack.

Of course, it isn't just the dolls that tempt me in the Our Generation display at Target.  I also like the look of the larger articulated horses (which I own and still haven't reviewed!  Argh!):

And of course the adorable foals...which are more realistic (but less fuzzy) than the cute My Life As foals:

There's even a large (wooden!) horse stable set that can be purchased for around $80:

I met a few girls in this aisle, and we were all discussing how the larger horses would actually fit inside this barn.  It doesn't look like there's enough room:

However, you can see over on Doll Diaries that the doors fold out to elongate the stalls, and then there's a fence that can be added to the front to keep the horses from running away. The set is pricey, but it looks pretty fun and comes with a lot of accessories:

My Target was also packed with a good supply of Our Generation clothing and accessories, including a few of the wonderful mini dolls:

Among the larger accessories, the styling chair seems nice (and I know the kitchen set is great), but the scooter, the 4x4 and the camper are all made out of thin plastic that doesn't appeal to me very much.

My Target actually didn't have very many dolls in stock during my recent shopping trips.  The selection is much, much better online (and there's a free shipping offer during the holidays).

There were only five different dolls in stock at my nearest store (note: they're all white, which is typical.  Battat could really step it up with the ethnic diversity in this line.  It's pretty disappointing):

I don't like the face with the exposed teeth very much.

The dolls I had not seen before were Ginger, who has a red dress and green eyes that would be great for Christmas:

And some neat-looking winter accessories...

And the two new Retro girls, Rose and Joy.  Rose was much easier to find than Joy, but I don't like her coloring anywhere near as much as the redheaded Joy:

I do like her red polka dot dress, though!

I eventually managed to find Joy in stock, so I purchased her along with the Winter Wonder outfit, which I thought might coordinate nicely with Joy's pink and black dress:

Our Generation "Joy" doll ($22) and "Winter Wonder" outfit ($17.99).
Total: $40

I think a mini Our Generation doll would round this gift out perfectly, but I've already reviewed a few of those.  All three items could be purchased for $50.

The Retro Our Generation dolls come in cream-colored boxed that I think are even more attractive than the typical bright pink and orange packaging:

The back of Joy's box features Ashlee's story.  This inspiring clip describes how an eight-year-old girl founded her own charity, Ashlee's Toy Closet, which is dedicated to collecting toys for children in need:

The box advertises it's own recyclability...and the fact that it was made from already recycled materials.

That just makes me happy.

There's also mention of how a portion of the doll's sale price goes to Free the Children's "Power of a Girl" initiative, and a blurb about the value of recycling:

To be fair, though, recycling envelopes doesn't create energy (unless you burn them)...it just saves energy.

Joy is attached to a cardboard backdrop that slides out of the open-faced main box:

Joy comes with a small leaflet describing how to care for different kinds of Our Generation doll hair:

Given my poor track record with curly hair, I made special note of numbers 4 and 5.

Finger style, Emily.  F-I-N-G-E-R style.

It seemed at first as though Joy was attached to her box with only two large cable ties--one around her neck and one around both ankles.  However, as she started to come free, several tiny plastic ties in her clothing become painfully apparent:

Two on each side of the skirt.

Once the plastic ties were cut, she could be removed from the box.  Her hair still had a considerable amount of plastic in it at this stage, though:

She had a small ponytail in back, and the sides of her hair were sewn into plastic strips.  This is my least favorite method of hair control.  I am a bit sympathetic in this case since these dolls are packaged in open-faced boxes.  They certainly need something significant to control their hair, but I have a really hard time getting these blasted plastic strips out.

The plastic was also folded over and plastic tied to itself--just for fun.

Yippee.

This method of hair control leaves behind some pretty messy hair:

Fortunately, Joy's shoulder-length hair brushes out very easily and can quickly be made to look nice:

One thing I'd like to mention here is that Joy has no smell whatsoever.  Some other inexpensive dolls (the new My Life As girls and My Size Anna jump to mind) have strong chemical odors when they first come out of the box or when their clothes are removed.  This doll definitely does not have that problem. 

Joy comes wearing a vintage pink and black party dress.  She also has a black bow in her hair, lace gloves, pink net tights and vinyl saddle shoes:

Her hair bow is attached to an elasticized headband that is easy to remove from the doll...after the plastic ties that attach it to her head are cut, that is.

Looks exactly like a bow tie.

The dark black color of the headband (and all of the other black in this outfit) made me nervous about staining, but there's actually very little staining on this doll.  

Here is the only mark on Joy's entire body, and it's nicely hidden behind her ear:

You can also see the cut plastic tie at her hairline.

With the headband removed, Joy's red hair falls into her face on the left.  It also hangs quite a bit longer on her left side, which makes some sense with the side part (when the hair is pulled back into the headband, the sides are even in length):

The back of the hair is quite uneven, too, but I don't see a good reason for this.  I'll certainly be giving this hair a little trim.

I really like the practical length of Joy's hair.  So many play dolls have really long, hard-to-manage hair these days, this is a refreshing change.  The hair is just long enough to pull back into a sophisticated ponytail: 

With the hair pulled back, it's easier to see Joy's pretty grey eyes:

Her irises have an almost metallic glint to them and some good detail.  They remind me a little of Paola Reina eyes.

Like all Our Generation 18-inch dolls, Joy's eyes close (sort-of) when she lays down:

One detail that I don't think Battat has mastered yet is lip color.  Many of the Our Generation dolls have opaque, unnatural-looking lips.  They always seem like they're wearing heavy lipstick, which isn't my favorite look for this style of doll.  

Joy has opaque pink lips, but she pulls it off better than some since this color happens to match her pink dress nicely:

This isn't the greatest picture of Rose (the other Retro doll) but you can see that her lip color veers a little too much towards purple and (at least to me) doesn't look attractive or natural:

I was hesitant to purchase Joy since I already have Kendra--another redheaded Our Generation doll.  Let's look at these two together:

Joy (left) and Kendra (right).

The dolls are pretty similar, but there are a few differences between them that are worth noting.  First of all, Kendra has freckles (which I really like) and Joy does not.  Also, Kendra's eyes are a very bright turquoise blue while Joy's are a more muted grey.  I prefer the color of Joy's eyes.  Kendra has a mini doll counterpart, though, which I think is a huge plus.  I hope Battat will make a mini Joy some day.  That pink dress in a tiny size would be amazing!

Joy (left) and Kendra (right).

Finally, and perhaps most important to me, the two dolls have different hair colors and hair lengths.  Kendra's hair is a dark flame red that borders on unnatural.  It's also very long.  Joy's hair is a lighter orange-red that seems more realistic to me.  Joy's hair color (and its short style) make her my favorite of these two.  

Now, let's take a closer look at the rest of Joy's outfit:

Before I could remove Joy's dress, I had to take the little net gloves off.  These were tied to her wrists with white thread that needed to be cut.  

The top side of each glove (left, below) has finger lines sewn into the netting, but the bottoms of the gloves (right, below) are plain:

The top part of my doll's left glove is significantly yellower than the bottom:

The discoloration is hard to see in photographs, but is best shown by this view of the seam:

Yellow on the left, white on the right.

I think the gloves are a nice aesthetic touch, but they're a bit tricky to get on and off.  This, combined with the discoloration will probably prevent me from using them.

In contrast, the dress is very easy to get on and off.  It is all one piece and includes a stiff tulle underskirt that allows it to stand up on its own:

The bodice is a dusty pink color with a black sash and four decorative black buttons.  The pink fabric has a slight sheen and reminds me of a matte satin or maybe a silk shantung.  There's a seam along the left side of the bodice that makes it look like the dress has a sailor-style buttoned opening along that side.  

The bodice opens in back with plastic velcro:

The black skirt is made out of a thicker woven fabric that does not have any shine to it.  This is more like linen:

With the dress turned inside out, it's possible to see the careful stitching and the black tulle underskirt:

I especially like the detail in the gathered sleeves:

Underneath her dress, Joy is wearing pink net stockings (just like Sienna's), bright pink underwear, and vinyl saddle shoes:

The shoes were held in place in the box with clear plastic strips:

The shoes have vinyl straps that can be unfastened:

The strap buckles look like doughnuts to me:

These shoes are ok, but they're nowhere near as nice as the rest of the outfit. The vinyl looks cheap and the bright pink color clashes with the more subdued rosy pink of the dress.  I wish these shoes had been made out of canvas or imitation leather.

At least the shoes match the underwear, though!

Hello, underpants!

Joy's outfit can be shared with My Twinn and American Girl dolls...although the shoes can't be buckled and the gloves are way too small:

18" My Twinn with the "Helen" face.

It also fits the new My Life As girls:

Including the shoes and gloves!

Looking at this picture with the headband, though, I am struck by how high the foreheads are on these dolls.  My goodness.  How did I not notice that before?

Lots of real estate up there in the north.

I think Elise looks better without the headband--with some of her hair falling towards her face:

The dress also fits the Journey Girls, although the shoes are a bit too big and the gloves won't fit.

Kelsey looks pretty in this dress, but (as usual) my camera cannot handle her ultra-pale complexion.

When I first saw the Winter Wonder outfit, I assumed that it was meant to go with Joy.  They look like a perfect match for one another:

In fact, this outfit set is not part of the Retro collection--or at least it doesn't share the cream-colored packaging, and it doesn't say "Retro" anywhere on the box:

$17.99

Also, while the doll pictured on the box looks a lot like Joy (she has short-ish red hair and pale eyes), it actually isn't Joy at all, but a green-eyed redhead whose name I don't know:

Is it Lana, maybe?

Since the outfit doesn't seem to have been made to go with Joy, it's amazing that the pink colors match so well.

The outfit pieces are sewn onto an orange cardboard backing that can be pulled out of the main box:

It's easy to snip the threads from the back.

This set includes a pink coat, patent leather shoes, a pair of socks, a headband, a purse and a plastic hanger:

The coat was the piece that tempted me most with this set.  It is made out of a thick, soft fabric that hints at brushed wool (but isn't actually wool).  It has lace accents on the front (it's plain in the back) and a black collar:

The coat is not lined (I expected it might be because of how heavy and nice it feels...) but seems to be well constructed.  It has working buttons with actual button holes--no velcro in sight.

The coat comes with a matching rhinestone headband that looks very fancy.  It has a section of elastic in the back that allows it to fit a variety of doll heads:

The double row of rhinestones is mounted on a pink velvet ribbon:

The purse that comes with this set is made out of printed snake skin vinyl fabric:

The fabric doesn't feel very high-quality (and I don't really care for the print), but the silver plastic clasp on the purse looks authentic and opens and closes nicely:

I was excited to see that the shoes in this set are not made out of vinyl...but closer inspection put an end to my enthusiasm.  They are ballet slipper-style black imitation leather shoes with velcro straps decorated with large chunky bows:

I'd have preferred a buckle to that huge bow.

The bottoms of the shoes are made out of a sueded grey fabric that is very soft.  This is more reminiscent of a ballet slipper than it is of a dress shoe:

Because the shoes do not have a hard sole, they look a little lumpy and shapeless.  Also, the white underside of the leather, the unfinished edges of the straps, and a few loose threads here and there all add together to create a vaguely sloppy appearance:

The worst thing about these shoes, though, is that they don't fit on the doll's feet.  At least not with the cream-colored socks that come with them:

No exaggeration--I simply could not get the shoes onto Joy's feet over those socks.  The socks are good-looking on their own, but their usefulness is diminished if they can't be worn with shoes.

However, when I looked at Joy with the coat and socks on...

I felt like the cream color of the socks didn't match the coat very well and that Joy might look better with the rose-colored net tights she came in.  Not only that, but the thinner texture of the tights allows the patent leather shoes to be crammed into place:

It's still not a pretty fit by any means (the velcro barely closes...) but at least I could get them on:

The seams along the sides of these shoes aren't smooth, and the soft soles do nothing to help Joy stand up on her own.

The coat itself looks lovely on Joy...

...and can also fit American Girl, My Twinn, and other 18-inch play dolls.  Here's my American Girl, Keira, modeling the coat:

With most of the dolls who tried this coat on over other their clothing (including Joy herself) the fit was a little tight with the coat closed.  The buttons could all still be fastened, though:

As a little aside, as I posed Keira in this coat I was reminded of how nice the American Girl dolls' balance is.  Joy does not have this same level of balance, and cannot stand on her own in a walking position the way Keira can.

The last piece that came with the Winter Wonder outfit set is the rhinestone headband.  This looks very nice on Joy and matches the coat well:

Mixing and matching all of the items that came with Joy and with the Winter Wonder set was really fun.  I think maybe my favorite combination is Joy's dress, headband and tights with the shoes and coat from Winter Wonder:

I also like the look of Joy with her hair pulled back and the rhinestone headband as a delicate accent:

However, the thick rooting along Joy's side part creates a little lump that is accentuated by the thin headband.  Do you see how it doesn't lay flat across the top of her head?

Minor case of cone-headedness.

Joy also looks good with just a simple hair clip holding back the longer hair on the left side of her face:

Here's Joy back in her original outfit for a few more shots:

One interesting thing about Joy's hair is that it has a densely-rooted pseudo part down the back of the head that allows for some decent-looking braided pigtails:

There's a larger-than-normal gap (with exposed scalp) in this part, but it's still better for pigtails than most rooted (and some wigged) doll hair:

I could probably criss-cross some of the hairs along that part to make it look even nicer.

I mention this pigtail feature because I told you that I would offer up some better alternatives to the high-priced and disappointing My Size Anna doll that I reviewed last week.  

With Joy's red hair in pigtails...and with the addition of a reasonably-priced outfit that I found on eBay...suddenly I have a Frozen doll option in the $50 price range with great versatility and play potential:

Our Generation "Joy" as Frozen's "Anna."

There are a lot of these outfits kicking around on the internet.  You can pay anything for a handmade 18" Frozen outfit, and the nicest ones are usually in the $60-$100 price range.  

I am very happy with the quality of this particular outfit given that I only paid about $20 for it.  I can't find the exact eBay store where I bought my outfit, but the pom-pom hem and fancy clasp of the cape make it easy to identify--for those who are interested.

The sueded cape is fully lined...

...and the vest and dress underneath (while made out of slightly odd-feeling synthetic fabrics) have embroidered, movie-accurate details that make it very clear what character this doll is trying to imitate:

The fit of the vest is not perfect (this outfit was designed for an American Girl doll) but it works fine.

I really like Our Generation's Joy as Anna and I'll be interested to see how she compares to more expensive 18-inch versions of the Frozen characters, especially the highly-anticipated Madame Alexander Anna doll, which I have on pre-order.  

Bottom line?  Joy is a great addition to the Our Generation Retro collection.  Her realistic orange-red hair and pretty grey eyes are a new combination for this doll line, and I think it looks great.  I also like the short length of Joy's hair.  It's easy to manage, but still long enough to be put up into some simple styles--including short side pigtails.  My doll came with uneven hair in the back, but this is a fairly easy thing to fix.  Joy's outfit is beautiful and well-made for the most part.  Her dress is especially nice and looks great on several of my other dolls.  However, Joy's net gloves are hard to use and my pair came with some unattractive yellow discoloration.  Also, I feel like the vinyl saddle shoes stand out in a bad way.  Their quality does not match the rest of the outfit, nor does their bright pink color.  However, it's hard to complain about little things when I've already gotten a pretty doll and a great dress for $20. 

The Winter Wonder outfit offers some great additions to Joy's wardrobe.  The coat is thick and soft and coordinates perfectly with Joy's dress.  I love that the coat has real working buttons instead of velcro.  The rhinestone headband provides a more delicate alternative to the thick black bow headband that comes with Joy's original outfit.  The black imitation leather shoes that come in the Winter Wonder set could have been the perfect substitution for Joy's disappointing vinyl saddle shoes, but, unfortunately, these shoes are shapeless and tight...and they don't even fit onto Joy's feet if she's wearing the socks that come with them.  The purse is cute and works well, but I think the main reason to purchase the Winter Wonder set is to get the coat and headband.  As much as I like the coat and headband, $18 is a lot to pay for two pieces.  The black shoes would need to be better-made to justify the current full price of this set.  But still, we're not talking a huge error in pricing here--a few dollars at the most.

Despite flaws in some of the smaller accessories, I think Retro Joy and the Winter Wonder outfit pack would make a beautiful gift for under $50.  The more Our Generation dolls I own, the more impressed I am with their quality.  I find most of the dolls' faces appealing, and the straight hair is silky and easy to play with.  The outfits tend to surprise me with their attractive designs and solid construction.  Best of all, the body style of the dolls makes them more durable than the other 18-inch play dolls in this price range that I have encountered.  I have yet to see an Our Generation doll with a body defect--something I can't say for Journey Girls or My Life As dolls.  Last, I simply like supporting Battat.  This company clearly has an eye on quality, safety and environmental responsibility...while encouraging an empowered, proactive lifestyle for young girls.  

To me, Our Generation offers the best value in the 18-inch play doll market.  The low prices, great selection, and positive image of these dolls creates a feel-good purchasing experience that can make holiday shopping a lot of fun.