I reviewed the last Roblox fashion doll a while back and found her marshmallow head very amusing, and I have to admit, I didn't really think they'd try again with that but here we are.
Another company, another roblox doll.
and just like the previous ones this one is from a very popular game on the platform and comes with digital codes for wearable stuff.
I don't play roblox, I don't know much about it beyond what my kids have told me and these dress up games aren't their thing so they aren't much help there.
But Dress to Impress seems to be some sort of fashion game where you earn coins or something to dress up your avatar. I don't really know but whatever, we're here for the dolls not the video game.
I grabbed this pack half price secondhand because the person only wanted the code and I don't want the code, so it worked out great.
if you don't care about the code, you can get a lot of these dolls pretty cheap on vinted and ebay.
Let's get into this
I picked the big Y2K Popstar set because she had the clothing I liked most out of all of them. This is the big deluxe set and let me tell you, this box is fucking massive.
I was genuinely shocked by how big it is.
There are four standard dolls in the set, one playset and doll and this one. Least as far as I can tell. Phat Mojo, who make these, teased a second wave but i'm not sure when those are due to come out.
Apparently this game has lore but I don't know much about that either. As far as I can tell, only one of the dolls represents an npc in the game, the others are just outfit styles.
this girl is just an outfit style, she hadn't got a real name or anything.
It's a huge box as I said, and it makes a lot of promises i'm not sure it'll deliver on. They never do.
For starters, it claims there's 3 "mystery items" which is a crock of bullshit given the stock pictures she's sold with online literally SHOW those three pieces anyway. So much for a mystery.
it also claims there's 20+ items. Hmmm. methinks they're counting each shoe and earring as individual things here. I hate when they pull that shit.
it also mentions the dlc. I find it interesting that "digital codes" are now being called DLC instead. I suppose it makes sense, it IS downloadable content, but it's just an interesting shift in the language i've noticed over the past few years.
The box also proudly states you get a collector card. What is the purpose of this card? nothing at all, it's just a piece of cardboard with foil printing you can put in a binder if you're so inclined.
I will say I do rather like that her second outfit is laid out in such a way that you can see every piece individually and it's cool she has a second necklace. it is kinda weird you can't see the shoes she comes wearing very easily though. The logo is in the way.
The back of the box is more of the same, just repeating the same promises from the front with some actual doll images.
though interestingly, she has a biography in the lower left. Say what now?
So wait... IS she an NPC in game then?
I mean this is a lot of words here. I mean it doesn't say a lot, but it's a lot of words. She's a singer and dancer but she also likes baking and enjoys musicals.
Okay cool?
I mean it's certainly more than Mattel give us for Monster High these days.
I'm confused though.
Anyway,
Miss Popstar doesn't come with any baked treats, nor does she actually come with any pop star related things like a microphone which I find interesting. Go figure. She actually doesn't come with any random accessories, just three outfits.
I prefer having clothes but I find it interesting given most dolls these days come with at least a couple of bits of plastic bullshit to bump up the box count.
This artwork is really pretty. I do wish the dolls looked more like this but alas, they were determined to stick to the Roblox look and so we have instead the yassified Marshmallow head.
But that is nice art. I like the soft shading and I appreciate that she isn't wet looking (i'm looking at YOU Monster High g3 artwork. Why is everyone so fucking WET?)
As soon as you slide the box open you get to see the "mystery" outfit which was you know... pictured in her STOCK IMAGES.
The dress is VERY basic but the shoes look nice and there's a pair of sunglasses too.
that's three pairs of shoes right there, nice!
The backing card is designed to look like a wardrobe and it's nice enough. I mean as far as backing cards go, it's nothing too out there but it's also not horribly boring like the brick wall Monster High dolls get these days.
The whole doll is in this plastic shell tray thing which makes her a bit of a pain to remove. There's a lot of plastic tabs and her hat is stuck to her head with multiple plastic tabs which are so tightly in there that you really have to make a bit of a leap of faith snipping them and hope like hell you didn't snip any hair. Unlike most doll hats where you pull hard enough and the tabs snap, that hat was held on like fucking superglue. I could NOT get it off or gain any real stretch on those plastic staples. I had to go in with nail clippers and very very carefully part her hair enough to allow me to snip.
Why? Just... just why?
one tab was all that was needed guys. one loose tab to keep the hat in place during transit. I mean ffs.
Her plastic clamshell tray thing also features this massive receipt with all these prices which I assume is her ridiculous shopping spree. it doesn't give us a total, that's probably for the best. Girls' been maxing out her credit card.
And we can finally see her feet! She has plain little black heels on. Nice.
Her default outfit is pretty decent. The skirt is made from fashion denim with a two tiered ruffle, there's a massive belt attached that appears to come off, she has these long fishnet stockings that I think are actually supposed to pull all the way up but have come down in transit, a soft white fur coat/jacket, a silvery necklace and a tee that's printed with animal print and has this random ribbon detail at the collar.
I can't say any of this screams "y2k" to me, as someone who lived through that era, but sure, cool, whatever.
Her face is, I think UV printed but it's very very well done. Her lips are highly glossed which makes them look super plumped and her makeup is fairly subtle but nicely realised in small scale.
But she has a square head because she's a Roblox character and they're all shaped like lego men.
which makes her quite strange looking having this quite detailed semi realistic face on such an unnatural face shape. She has a tiny short nose, no filtrum and a massive jawline.
She's a bit strange looking is what i'm saying.
Her hair is beautifully soft, I assume it's Kiwi nylon or "milk silk" because it feels like the Rainbow High hair. It is however VERY thinly rooted. She has massive swathes of real estate across her scalp. I assume this was done to force her hair to sit better, but it does mean she can't really be restyled too easily which is a bummer for a fashion themed doll.
Her default style has this piece of hair pulled forward and tied at the side into a chunky and somewhat awkward ponytail. it sticks out strange without the hat and on my doll, it was already looking messy (probably from my fight to get the stupid hat off in the first place)
so i took it all down to see what we were working with.
Her hair has a pretty soft curl.
She actually has two braids hidden in her hair. Her artwork shows one clearly but the other one was a surprise because it was really hidden under a bunch of other hair.
I ended up tying the front pieces back to better show her face but also because i'll be frank, there's not that many options for a doll with such thin hair. She does have a center parting, but it has to lay in a VERY specific way and even doing that left patches where you could see scalp and that bothered me.
this way all the gaps are hidden, so long as I arrange the hair just so.
this also gives a better idea of her rather strange head shape. She isn't quite as marshmallow as the other Roblox doll, but she's still got a little cube face.
Makes me think of those Boxy Girl dolls and their inexplicably square heads.
I believe I mentioned in my last roblox doll review that there are different avatar styles in the game. My middle son had big opinions about this. I endured quite the lecture about this.
From what I understand, these Royale High dolls were based on the standard Roblox body which is very off brand lego looking.
Dress to Impress use a modified avatar with a slimmer more doll-like body but retain that funny cube head, just with more realistic makeup slapped on top which creates a bit of an uncanny valley effect.
Back when I looked at Royale High there was also some drama with a third type of avatar which were just generic human looking. Kiddo had big feelings about this. I dare not ask him what happened with those because I can't handle another hour long lecture lol.
But it's not really relevant here anyway.
Both dolls have funny cube shaped heads.
Now I will admit, when these Dress to Impress dolls came out, I assumed they were being made by the same people who made the Royale High dolls and would, therefore, be on similar bodies.
oh ho ho, I was very wrong.
Different company, different body, completely different scale too.
While the Royale High dolls are Bratz sort of height, these Dress to Impress dolls are Barbie sized.
Their bust is a tad larger, the waist slimmer and their legs a fraction shorter, but they are roughly the same sort of size.
Their feet and hands are however absolutely massive. Alongside even a g3 Monster High doll, these feet have a high heel and are both longer and wider. I couldn't find any dolls in my collection who could easily share shoes.
But let's talk a little more about this body.
It's a really unique looking body. Her torso is very very long and very toned with a bust joint that doesn't move side to side much but does twist. Her legs look short in comparison to that long torso but probably are actually closer to human proportion, we're all just so used to over long legs on fashion dolls.
She has very very skinny arms with massive hands that are removable to allow for easier dressing. I always appreciate this feature.
She's articulated at the neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, bust, hip and knees.
She can sit okay. She leans back a little bit like many dolls, but she can sit without tipping over. Sadly, her short skirt means she cannot do this without flashing her panties to the world.
Her hip joints are rounded which means she can push her knees together for a more modest pose but it doesn't help. Those panties are full on out there i'm afraid.
That bust joint twists which allows for some somewhat strange poses.
Her head has a decent tilt as well as being able to look ever so slightly downward and upward. It's only subtle, but it helps a lot with photos.
Her knees bend to a standard 90 degrees... ish... but her elbows can't quite manage even that. She can't touch her own face, this is as far as her arm bends even without her jacket on.
So let's take a look at what she came with.
Outfit 2 is this super short denim and animal print number, intended for use with the silver knee high shoes and black necklace.
It's cute, but the dress is VERY short and VERY tight. The belt is sewn on and purely decorative.
The shoes are fine but I find them kind of plain. They are very "pop star" though. Not so sure about the y2k element but there you go.
The dress itself is nicely made. The panels are trimmed and there's a faux zipper made of silver ribbon. It's a halter neck which fastens with velcro behind her head, though the velcro can be a little temperamental.
Outfit 3 is far more basic. The leopard print dress is competently sewn but it's very very plain and the hem is a little messy. The fabric choice also feels cheaper than the other two dresses which both use a denim, this one is some sort of polyester or nylon or something. It does look pretty nice on the doll though, but it's definitely much much cheaper made.
the snow boots are really nice though. They're painted extremely well and they're so chunky that she can stand like a champ in them.
I will say though, that her outfits are giving more "snow bunny" than "y2k" to me and I do find it weird that she has fur lined boots, a fur hat and a fur coat but nothing except some fishnet socks to cover her legs. She's a northern lass on a night out clearly. Short skirt, big boots, no stockings.
So, a big reason I got this girl was to see what other dolls her outfits fitted.
given how close to Barbie size she is, that was the obvious first call.
Outfit 1 and 3 fit the standard Barbie Made to Move body very very well. Outfit 2 on the other hand is not only far too short (it doesn't cover her crotch at all) it also doesn't fasten at all. It's significantly smaller than the other two outfits which is surprising because neither of the others feel like they're stretching much. That outfit 2 is really tight on the Dress to Impress doll too though. It's just a lot smaller.
Obviously the shoes and hat and stuff are far too large for Barbie, but the majority of the clothing pieces fit really well.
This girl looks fabulous in that leopard print number.
The stockings felt a bit too tight on Barbie's wider thighs, but this Aliexpress Poppy Parker clone body fits them well. The skirt is very short but the whole look works I think. I couldn't get the jacket on though as these hands don't come off and the long nails really get in the way.
This "Coppy Parker" clone doll actually has a head (same body as above) and she fits the leopard print dress nicely I think. She even manages the stockings pulled right up to her hips.
It IS a cheap feeling dress but it photographs well so I can't hate it. It's definitely a piece that can be dressed up and look good.
It is, like most handbags, a pain to get the doll to look like she's actually holding it. I generally don't display my dolls with handbags anyway, they're more hassle than they're worth.
And then she has her fur hat and sunglasses.
The sunglasses are nothing fancy, they're solid black plastic so even the lenses are solid plastic. Poor girl can't see a thing through these lol. They fit okay.
her hat is pretty nice. Like her jacket it's lined with this white mesh looking material and super soft to touch.
She also has a pair of silver earrings but they're just a sort of hexagonal hoop and not overly interesting.
The big head means that the hat and glasses can sort of fit Monster High. They're all a little oversized but they work alright.
I feel like Abbey would rock that hat. it's very her.
Sadly all the other pieces of clothing are too big for Monster High, bummer.
I did however find a doll who could ALMOST wear Y2k's shoes.
Say hi to VIP Hair Academy.
These sort of obscure little dolls were made by IMC and are the companion line to the "I heart VIP Pets" line.
I've reviewed them before here
Anyway, this girl was sitting nearby and I grabbed her on a whim because I remembered they have big feet.
Not quite as big as Y2k's feet, these are giving "child wearing their mother's heels" but they stay on and fit better than any other dolls i've tried.
So that's sort of cool.
Alongside Barbie her proportions are clearly bizarre and very stylised, but somehow I don't hate it as much as I thought I would.
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