Would you ever do a doll collection tour? I love your aesthetic and the dolls I can see in the background are so cute I would loveeee to see the full collection
This makes me so sad. I’m a trans guy and this makes me look at growing up as a girl differently. I’m glad I was free to express interest in both “girl” and “boy” toys. And I’m sorry for all the little boys who aren’t allowed to be themselves.
I don't normally comment on UA-cam because I feel like I'm shouting into a void, but I need to get this off my chest. I had so many ello sets. My brothers had a lot of lego sets, and my mum saw ello as the female equivalent and would buy them for me so I could join in with my brothers when they played. I did enjoy playing with the dolls, but they scared the crap out of me, to the point that I had extensive lore about them in my head. I believed that a giant ello doll was constantly standing in the corner of my bedroom that I wasn't currently looking at, and it would watch me at night. But it was also simultaneously in every other kid's bedroom all over the world. I called it the ello demon. There would be a worldwide leaderboard ranking all the kids it watched over, with points you could accumulate if you did something to please them. But you would lose points if you did something they didn’t want you to, and if you lost too many points, they would kill you. To appease them, you had to make what I can only describe as body sequences, so I would move my feet in a certain way because every time I completed a sequence of movement I would accumulate points to move up the leaderboard. The way you’d lose points was usually any activity that involved getting out of bed, like going to the toilet or getting a drink at night. So every time I needed to pee, I would lie there, jiggling my feet and counting, so I could accumulate enough points to go to the loo. When I would get up I would run to the loo and back while I counted how many points I was losing each second. Also, making noise would reduce points, so I wouldn’t always flush if I hadn’t gathered enough points. I fully believed that every adult knew about this but legally wasn’t allowed to say anything about it, and it was just natural selection thinning the population down. d: Sorry for my batshit rambling, I dont know if anyone will read this, it's just that whenever I see those dolls, it reminds me of the ello demon. But love your videos! Edit -this was ment to be a funny story about how freaky the dolls were to the point where I demonised them in my head d: do I have ocd? Maybe. Do not worry about me now, I have grown into a mostly well functioning adult d:
I hope you don’t take this the wrong way but have you looked into perhaps OCD testing 🫶💛 I say this with love because I have OCD and I had very similar rules and rituals for myself in childhood and still to this day lol
@@princesstuesday5287 I got diagnosed with another thing associated with ocd as a kid, so even though I was suspected to have other stuff it didn't seem important to keep diagnosing me but just kinda say it's a symptom of what i was diagnosed with. I still have some weird stuff like this but it's not massively invasive to my life but thanks for the concern d: I am doing fine now anyway
I grew up in the 80's with a similar girl toy experience as what you shared. Not being given the toys I wanted had a huge effect on me being able to ask for what I want, accept gifts, and even feel good about my birthday all the way into adulthood. It took me a long time to figure that out. I loved Ello as an adult!!! Had it all over my desk.
I'm glad you shared your story about how your mom changed your mind about which toys to get you, because it's always something I wonder about. I'm a trans guy and always was intrigued by "boy" toys, but I also liked "girl" toys just fine, but I was still sad mom was apprehensive to getting me "boy" toys. Still had some though! But I always know it can be even more difficult the other way around. I'm just a year younger than you and I also loved the rubber era of Polly Pocket. Probably one of my top childhood toy lines. Also I also had Barbie Swan Lake Odette!! Was definitely one of my favorite dolls growing up. I also had the Fairytopia doll!
I used to work at a pizza place and we served "seafood" pizza which was this vile orange slop we stored as frozen little pucks in the freezer. Whenever someone ordered one we'd microwave the slop, smear it on the pizza, add cheese, and that was it. Repulsive substance. These topping choices are tame and understandable in comparison.
I'm older than you so I was an adult collector during this time, heavily into Kelly. I used to buy the Strawberry Shortcake dolls to steal their clothes to give to Kelly and then gave the Strawberry Shortcake dolls, wearing Kelly clothes, to a friend's kid. She loved them and loved how they smelled.
Watching this video made me realise just how much Polly Pocket stuff I used to have as a kid. The rubber clothes, the color changing wigs, even in her metallic era she was so iconic!
I LOVED ello!! I was always a lego kid, and it was the era of clikits, so ello was an obvious choice for me. I remember having a set that was supposed to be a house and a jewelry stand. Those plastic rods were so chewable.
I think the doll I had most fondness for was a hand me down from my brother, he was 8 years older then me and he loved Barbies because they were a lot bigger then action figures, but he didn’t take super good care of his toys and we also had a lot of animals in the house so one of the Barbies lost her head, nowhere to be found, so my mom drew a :) smiley face on the little bulb on her neck that was there to keep the head in place and i still have it after all these years because it never fails to make me laugh. I guess the real answer is Bratz Pretty in Punk or Rock Angels lines I had the styling head of pretty in Punk Jade and I kissed it so much her lipstick came off.
My parents weren't nearly as open-minded as your mother was, so doll ownership was always an uphill battle for me. Being a late GenXer and fellow mermaid enthusiast, I remember the first "girlie" toys I became obsessed with were Sea Wees. I eventually succeeded in badgered my parents into buying me the first wave of three dolls, which they made into quite a production. I and my mom waited in the car while my dad went into Toys R Us alone to buy the dolls like it was a drug deal, because oh the shame if some complete strangers suspected their kid was a baby queer! I then had to agree to a set of rules that were almost as onerous as those involved in the ownership of a Mogwai. The dolls could never leave the house, I could not tell anyone, especially other family members, about the dolls, and they would be the first of my possessions to vanish if I ever misbehaved. Needless to say the joy of owning the dolls was dimmed somewhat by the colossal amount of emotional baggage that came with them and it wasn't long before the shame and regret felt by all parties involved led to them being sent to live on the proverbial farm out in the country. TLDR; I loved Shelly, Sandy, and Coral despite the bullshit that came with them and would put them in chicken tier.
I’m so sorry that was your experience but I’m very happy to hear you got them and cherished them so much. I hope you’re doing well nowadays and that you do what you love, no matter what people think. You deserve the happiness. ✨
😢This broke my heart 💔 I am Darling Dollz creater's Mom.Im truly sorry you had to experience this in your childhood.I also had Sea wee mermaids.I played with them with my Sister in the bathtub for hours until the bathwater was freezing ❄️.It was suggested to me that I requeste that everyone but boy toys for his birthday.It was horrible.I felt like the worst Mom on the planet.He was such a sweet child never gave me any problems ever.I made up my mind right then.I let him be who he was regardless of what people thought.I told him he was special like a unicorn.I wish you the best and I hope you thrive to be who you are with no apologies.
The Trollz website was fantastic ! I didn't care for the dolls at all, but I spent a ridiculous amount of time playing the Trollz website games and even reading Topaz's fashion blog articles. The creators put so much love into it and it even referenced real life, relevant pop culture icons of the time.
12:29 Oh my goddddd I had these exact 2 Winx Club dolls as a kid!!! I feel the same way about them, I totally wish I could go back and save them 😭😭😭 Those itty bitty pieces got lost so fast
The absolute HOLD those Ello sets had on me. Also, the bright purple Polly Pocket boutique playset with the spinning clothes racks and changing room?? Iconic.
My absolute favorite childhood doll is shimmering braids Pocahontas. Growing up I wasn't allowed to have many dolls (only had her, a mulan, eric, ariel, and a barbie) but she was one of them and she was my everything. I still have her and she sits on a shelf in my room surveying her kingdom as she is the queen of my doll collection
I loved Trollz!! Honestly, the website was top-tier. I spent hours on it as a kid. I loved playing the mini-games, dressing my Troll, and decorating my room. I was so sad to see the series kind of fade into oblivion. I didn't even know that I never saw the full series until I rewatched it on UA-cam. Also, I didn't know the show had a soundtrack until it got recommended to me on UA-cam either, lol.
I had the pink Mermaid Fantasy Barbie as a kid and I loved her sooooo much. We went on a ton of undersea adventures in my bathtub. Her hair was so soft and fluffy and the rubbery tail felt "real" to me. Unfortunately, I think part of the reason she's so expensive now has to do with that tail, as the fin would unscrew and was likely to get lost, and the scale outer detailing would flake and tear after play. She was a great friend.
I had the Mermaid Fantasy Kayla and I completely agree! I have such fond memories of her and I’d love to get her back but like you said, it’s really hard to find one in good condition mostly because of the tails. I saw a Kayla with Barbie’s tail fin screwed on 😅
girl I LOVE the trollz website . . . there was a music player and I found it so funny there was a weezer song on there ! you’re taking me back w this 🥹💖 I remember always wanting the rubie’s costume wigs for each character . . . just iCONIC !
I just recently got a Winx Club Bloom doll second hand incidentally! That Stella is stunning. I actually also still have that Glinda Barbie as well as these Wicked Witch of the West and Wicked Witch of the East dolls. my mother gifted me them at the peak of my Wicked obsession back when I was about twelve and I loved them like they were my own children so just seeing that package there gives me nostalgia :') my third contribution is I also had that Rapunzel doll (I wanted Odette SO badly, but I only ever had this like. McDonald's toy version that I really loved) but while Rapunzel was fine, the main toy I had and played with from that line was this plush of Penelope the dragon
I REMEMBER THE GLINDA! I was either a big fan of the wizard of oz or my family gaslighted me into thinking that but i had her and dorothy. I actually got my childhood dorothy from my moms recently and she lights up and speaks still. I was a 97 baby and I was surprised by how little on this list I related to other than that. i played with a fairly diverse array of barbies, bratz (both adults and bratz babies), a woody from toy story doll, powerpuff girls dolls, polly pockets (both the big, rubbery ones and some teeny tiny ones), american girl. But then, I was also a big fan of stuffed animals and littlest pet shop.
Watching this video inspired me to make my own ranking chart with as many childhood toys that I could remember! It was so much fun reliving my childhood memories and fishing out which ones I remembered (although I might update it if I remember more lol) My own nostalgia aside, I'm so happy to hear that your mother was so supportive of you growing up! It makes me happy whenever I hear parents fully embrace who their child is instead of trying to get them to be someone they're just not.
omg ELLOS!!! i never had a set myself, but one of my teachers in elementary school - she was actually the teacher for our schools “gifted” (re: undiagnosed neurodivergent) program, which meant i spent a whole day in her class once a week 1st-5th grade - SHE had a big bucket of assorted ellos that we could build and play with during free time or inside recess. totally forgot about them until right now and have never heard anyone else talk about them.
We're doing whatever we want. Whether it's a month later, half a year, 9 months later, celebrate your bday anytime. Happy bday DD 🎉🎉🎉 Rubber clothes Polly was best Polly. I remember her fondly. My top tier would be pepperoni and mushrooms
I knew I had an Ello set as a kid but could never remember which one- now that I'm watching this video, I'm almost positive it was the Aquaria one just like you!
I was born in 2000 with an older sister also born in 1996, so this video was FULL of dolls that I remember seeing on store shelves or owning myself! I gasped at that Polly Pocket car because I was flooded with memories of recreating horrific accidents using mine, and I gasped again at the Ello mention because my grandmother had some that I loved to play with-in spite of their horrific faces, I loved their geometric designs. Such a fun video and I loved hearing you open up about your childhood memories. I have bins full of my old dolls in the attic and this made me want to go through them, LOL.
The doll I was the most into as a child was 1998 Generation Girl Barbie. The chunky cell phone, denim jacket, sparkly blue halter dress, the ankle tattoo?? She’s still so iconic to me. She even had a practical shoulder bag to store her water bottle and VHS tapes for her video camera. So many accessories. I also loved Zodiac Girlz Aries, but she is one of those dolls with terrible hair quality who is bald now.
I remember way too many of my childhood toys 😆, so I'm only going to mention one: the Barbie Laugh With Me Silly Storymaker. It's was a chunky spiral bound notebook looking device that you could create and save Mad Lib type stories on. I've had the soundbites stuck in my head for years, especially "sliiiiimy"
OOMMMGGGG THE ELLO SET!!! I absolutely had that exact one and I *loved* it!!! Also the winx club dolls. I'm very sad highschool me decided to customize them and then got rid of them 😢 I had them all cause winx was my life 🤣
You unlocked a deep memory when you mentioned ello, I think my sister and I had the fairytopia set? I can remember exactly how it feels to lock the pieces together, and how it smells. Never would have thought of it again if it wasn't for this video.
I loved Ello and I still have a giant box full of them! Recently I used some Ello house pieces to make a mini-shelf to put on my bookshelf for small figures haha.
Faves from my childhood: Pink and Pretty Barbie, Loving You Barbie, Super Star Barbie, 1988 Doctor Barbie. Dolls I wanted but never got: Western Winking Barbie, Perfume Pretty Whitney, Dream Glow Barbie, Peaches and Cream Barbie, Country Bride Barbie.
I think if I made a tier ranking like this most of the entries would be Kelly dolls. One of my favourite Kelly dolls was the redhead from diamond castle. I took her everywhere I played with her all of the time. my least favourite childhood doll was graduation Barbie because I did not understand her.
i oddly enough used to collect yugioh cards as a kid to play with them as if they were dolls. like the characters in the card art. my favorite were the pretty women, and they formed an all powerful magical council that fought a battle against the "evil" cards that had dragons and vampires and things. I remember almost ruining a card because i submerged it in water during a "torture" scene when a spy got caught...
OMG that Ariel doll with the clear tail! I thought I remembered every childhood doll I had but I completely forgot I owned her. That tail was iconic to me
Man this wound up giving me a ton of nostalgia watching! I had the Rock and Pop series growing up as a kid too! I loved mix and matching the pieces from both sets so much, it was one of my favorite things to play with (and munch on). I had the blonde wig and pink wig set. I wanted the Lila and Shani ones SO bad, especially for Shanis purple ponytail pieces. Some dolls I remember loving as a kid were my Sakura and Syaoran Trendmaster dolls, specifically the Pink Cat one for Sakura since it was my favorite Sakura outfit. I LOVED Card Captor Sakura as a kid and even owned the Trendmasters Book of Clow and Sakuras Initial Wand and remember smuggling it into school in my backpack to take out during recess pretending I was a Cardcaptor. I remember their dolls weren't as big as Barbie compared to my Polly Pockets, so I tended to jam them in the limo. I also had Sailor Moon Deluxe Adventure Dolls of Tuxedo Mask and Usagi and loved them too. For some reason my Usagi's legs got broken off easily so she was almost always in the splits. Also I almost only played with the Sailor Moon Dolls in the bath specifically, I kinda had a bin under the sink in the bathroom I'd keep dolls in and would take hour long baths playing my Disney CDs on my Boombox as I played. I must have driven my mom insane. So of course I had to also have an obsession with playing with my Jewel Hair Barbie in the bath too and getting her hair pieces stuck on the carpet of the house whenever I played with her outside the bath 💀 Also while they're figures I gotta give a shoutout to the Mattel Megaman Battle Network figures, I had all of Megaman.Exe figures and drove my nephews insane with jealousy to the point their dad asked to buy them off me lol Late Happy Birthday btw!! Thanks for the video!
My favorite childhood dolls were the signature Draculaura, Frankie and Ghoulia. In fact I loved all my Monster Highs, the other ones I had were Lagoona, DOTD Ghoulia and Clawdeen, Dead Tired Cleo, Operetta and Jinafire. For Barbies my absolute favorite was Corinne. I love that her outfit changed from gown to musketeer uniform. I also loved Merliah, the 50's Barbie anniversary doll, and the Sweetie Fashionista. Unfortunately I "had" to sell them recently (I wasn't very sad cause they were mostly so incomplete and/or ruined that they didn't make me very happy anyway
I had exactly one Ello set as a kit too! (It was called shopopolis) I remember having fun with it as a kid but I just looked up the pictures and the characters look so scary. As a kid I thought it was so mature and artsy lol.
I HAD THE MERMAID ELLO SET!! I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!! it was so fun that you could make houses, creatures and people all with the same peices! so many good memories with it ❤
I didn’t grow up liking dolls much, but despite that, one of my longest surviving childhood toys that I still own is this old Boppin Rockers bobblehead fashion doll. I didn’t even play with her a lot, but somehow, every time I went on a toy purge, she still stayed. Now that I actually love and collect dolls, I’m so happy I’ve kept her this entire time. It’s like she was a dormant sleeper agent waiting to properly loved, and she finally got her wish.
I ALSO HAD THE MERMAID ELLO SET!!! I actually think I have some still kicking around in my old toy box - they were fun for like 20 minutes, but I remember the commercial made them look amazing!
Ello! Oh my god! I had at least most of one Ello playset as a child. My parents wouldn't have bought it for me; I'm pretty certain I got it second hand with some pieces missing, but I was obsessed with it for a short time. I loved the funky, brightly coloured designs of the characters and the customisabiliy of the playset. But I never for the life of me would have remembered it without this video.
HOLY SHIT ELLO!! you unlocked a core memory, I was a huge lego kid but my mom hardly ever had the money to actually buy Lego, so I would get Other building toys on brithdays or christmas a lot of the time. Ello was one of them! I had the one that made a "house", and I used my betty spaghettis to play in whatever i built because I really hated the little buildable figures that came in the set.
this was SUCH a great idea, SOO fun! and i DID play with and have ello, and so did some of my friends! the character pieces were uncanny, but it's also so mod and groovy in hindsight so i kinda miss it! some childhood favourite dolls i remember have to be Rainbow Princess Barbie, the slumberparty and winter wonderland bratz lines (my memory is fuzzy as to which were mine and which were my friends'), and DEFFS that polly pocket limo set (i can STILL sing the song it plays lol)
I grew up in the 80’s, so 80’s and early 90’s Barbies will always be “peak” Barbie for me. I especially remember my Day to Night, and the one with glow-in-the-dark starry ballgown. My best friend had two beautiful yarn haired Cabbage Patch Kids, with long yarn hair, always dressed in beautiful frilly 80’s style dresses. I really wanted a Cabbage Patch Kid… I think my aunt gave it to me, and it was a boy. With short looped hair. I hated him. 💔
It makes me so happy that your mum was supportive with you and dolls 🩷 You unlocked some deep nostalgia with me (I’m also a 96 baby) and we had so many similar dolls. My favourites were the polly pocket limo, mermaid barbie and the bratz big babyz.
I’ve been into dolls as long as I can remember and my parents knew this. So I always got some action figures and dolls because I liked both. I definitely am lucky to have such understanding parents. I was called Barbie boy in elementary school but I liked that. I wasn’t ashamed. I agree with you on the mushrooms but I love olives. Although I prefer bell peppers and jalapeños.
This is such a lovely (and nostalgic!) list! I'm also from '96 🥳 If I were to pick out some of my favorites from my childhood it would be; - Polly Pocket (The one that came with clay instantly popped into my mind lmao, but I loved so many of the sets) - Betty Spaghetty!!! (I adored Betty!! Horsin' Around was amazing!!! Note: I also loved horses) - Barbie (The early 90s ones with HUGE earrings, I remember owning at least one of the beachy Barbies and maybe Maxi hair? Not sure) Edit: It was the Beach Boys Barbie! And lastly, a faceless, wigless and unclothed What's Her Face... (I must have gotten her very young because have no memory of which one it actually was, I only have her ...husk left 😂)
Omg Betty Spaghetty! I only had the Mcdonalds one and one proper pruple but I loved them so much, I didn't know the name of the dolls tho, maybe I didn't know how to read when I got them and they were very rare in Hungary, I'm so mad at myself for giving them away at one point ToT
I grew up in the 90s during the recession and I didn't have that many iconic 90s toys, but here's a few memories that stick out: The coolest thing I had was probably a Lego Belville set with a horse stable. I wasn't really a horse girl but I looved that set, building the house/stable over and over, bringing the dolls and horses around the house or even outside for adventures, stealing my brother's legos to expand my house. I still have the set with surprisingly few missing pieces. My best doll was a -97 Ariel that came with a little mermaid Shelly/Kelly doll and they both had braids that changed colour in warm water. I was almost "too old for dolls" when Bratz came out but I fell in love hard and I had four of them, Jade was my fave. I'd play with them in secret until I was 14 and even after I lost the ability to play the way children do, I wanted to keep them along with all my other dolls. Sadly I did uhh, customize them a bit as a teen... They didn't really survive that lol.
omg i love hearing about people's childhood dolls! i'm a zoomer so i have very strong memories lf the g1 Monster High dolls, i was OBSESSED! I would spend hours on my mom's computer watching the webisodes! I truly hope today's kids are having an equally magical experience with g3!
i don’t normally comment (but i watch every single one of your videos, thank you always for sharing! 🥺 you’re one of my all time favorite youtube channels and watching your videos always puts a smile on my face) but i literally gasped when you brought up ello bc i was convinced it was smth from my imagination too LOL! i didn’t even recognize it until you showed the heads of the characters they came with
OHHH I LOVED ELLO! I got a promotional pack at the mall of a few of the building bits (along with one for clikits I think) and then BEGGED my mom for the playsets. none of my friends had them and no one else I talk to remembers it... really sucks that it didn't catch on :c
I loved the bigger Polly Pocket dolls as well as Littlest Pet Shop. I had a ton of these. And I was a huge fan of Lego Belville. There was actually a whole mermaid themed playset line, but unfortunately I somehow never had any of them. I had a lot of fairy themed playsets, though. And a sleigh with a white horse and a princess as well as a little monkey house with a monkey which came with a beautiful black girl who was supposed to be a pet trainer slash princess. I hadn't seen a lot of poc representation in toys to the day I saw her in a magazine and I simply had to have her. I loved the color palettes of those playsets and they always came with a lot of greenery and gemstones. I vividly remember evy single little set I owned. Unfortunately never got the bigger ones because they were too expesnive but I loved looking at them in stores.
I wanted to say that the way you talk about your mom in this video is so heartwarming 💜 it sounds like you have a wonderful mother that really embraced you. I just think that’s beautiful.
When I was a child I distinctively remember that one Christmas my parents bought be a pack with 2 dolls. There was a princess and a mermaid and they came with 6 full outfits I think. And the box was also shaped like a suitcase. It was the most beautiful doll set I ever seen. And I think this is also my mom's favorite set too, lol.
What a fun video! And it was so touching to hear how your mom acknowledged how important dolls were to you (props to grandma for the Polly Pocket!). I'm old, and my favorite doll of all time was my first Barbie, which I got for my 9th birthday in 1961. She had a black ponytail. I also got the Suburban Shopper and Open Road outfits. Over the few years I got a lot more outfits, a couple of Kens, a Midge, and a blonde bubble-cut Barbie. But nothing will ever top the thrill of my first Barbie. I did like baby dolls, so I also loved the Tiny Tears doll I got for my 7th birthday in 1959 (which I had asked for). But the Shirley Temple doll I got for my 8th birthday, not so much! My parents should have known I loathed Shirley Temple! I did play with her though. Anyway, I have none of these dolls now, but I sure wish I did! If I were closer to your age, I know I would have wanted the Barbies you picked as your top favorites.
I was never a big doll kid, as my family couldn't really afford them, but the one doll set I remember cherishing (and subsequently missing when I had to leave them behind on a move across the states) was a mini Disney Princess gift set that my step mom got me on Christmas one year. It featured Tiana, Cinderalla, and Sleeping Beauty, and they each came with their respective princes (Naveen, PrinceCharming, and Philip), 3 sets of clothes, and a random horse colored green, blue, or pink. I ADORED that set and remember making them go on silly little adventures. Other ppl who mightve also had these dolls may remember the clothes were made of rubber and HIGHLY chewable lollll. While I didn't have the dolls, I was obsessed with their movies and websites (MyScene, Barbie, Bratz, and Monster High most notably)
I remember one of my sisters getting that Ello playset! I completely forgot that it existed until you puled it up. I think she had a lot of fun with it but those mermaids were super weird
My favorite childhood dolls were Lady Lovely Locks and Cherry Merry Muffin. I still stand by the former as a truly beautiful doll. There were not a ton of options in the late 80’s when I was a kid, so her adorable princess aesthetic, pleasant pastel color blends, and fantasy hair clip-ins really made an impression on me. I also watched the cartoon and had Lady Lovely Locks branded things like puzzles and coloring books. Cherry Merry Muffin was, admittedly, a Strawberry Shortcake ripoff, but I honestly liked her kawaii aesthetic better.
Thank you for sharing so much about your childhood; it was really sweet. I liked the pizza theme too and chicken is the best pizza topping (though I’m a white sauce girl). I started collecting dolls again last year after the Barbie movie, starting with 1991 Pet Pal Courtney, the Barbie doll I truly remember the most. I was obsessed with cats, and also the only Polly Pocket (Bluebird) I truly remember having was 1993 Cuddly Kitty compact, which might be fun someday. I had the white moon base Sky Dancer. I had a Kenner Big Sister Lauren from my grandma that I still own (and I got her sister Meredith). I have an amazing Fab Detergent doll a gray grandfather gave me who is gorgeous and my mom finally gave to me last year when we unearthed it moving. I also do remember another Barbie, actually, the Amidala with removable gold skirt/sleeve things that I remember my cousin asking me to teach them how to braid hair with and it’s such a good memory. I didn’t get that one again, but the doll with the separate face in a hood. I have paper dolls of Amidala from my childhood I still have. I have a super cute fabric baby doll I think is from Fisher Price, but religious trauma in my twenties had me thinking dolls with faces could get posessed so I ruined her face and I’ve had to remake it so she’s black now instead of white but I love her all the more for having to fix her up. I have the American Girl doll meant to look like me and my local doll store offered free shampoo and style recently and she’s in braids and looks just like Molly almost. I’m still trying to find my favorite doll who was a small baby doll who was Black and I’d love to either find at the house we still have or figure out the brand. My mom would make me, my mom, and my doll outfits with the same fabric.
Happy Belated Birthday! Awesome video as usual! It really sent me down memory lane. My kids are your age and I remember how much they loved their Winx and WITCH dolls. Speaking of toys you thought you hallucinated, I got Grow Up Skipper for Christmas. For decades I thought she was a fever dream, because, what a weird doll! My favorite dolls were the Young Sweethearts dolls. They had very joint-y bodies (14 points of articulation) so of course they were acrobats who travelled in my Barbie van to give performances. It took me ForEver to track them down as an adult, they are so obscure and I didn't remember what line they were. I only got a replacement set 2 years ago. I love them still
While we're talking about childhood dolls, I'll share my recollections. I was born in '93, for context. One barbie I remember vividly is the Business Lady one. She came with a little computer game on CD, I think you've talked about her before? I also got the fully articulated ballerina barbie when I was like, 3 or 4. She was stunning. I know I had a bratz doll too- I think the original Yazmin. The last doll I specifically remember is a Mulan doll, where you could put warm or cold water on her face and it would make her matchmaking makeup show up or go away. However the bulk of my barbies were hand me down 80's barbies, many of whom had some interesting "custom" hair cuts. I remember there were some hand made barbie clothes in there too. Every once in a while you'll show an older barbie and I'll be like "oh! that's where that one piece of clothing came from!". By the time they got to me all their outfits were so jumbled I had no way of knowing what went with who. The only one I remember specifically had bright blue eye shadow and hot pink earrings. I think she might have been one of the ones with chopped hair but who knows. I kept all my dolls in this barbie closet / suitcase things. I gifted the whole collection to my brother's kids in like, 2012, so it's possible some of those 80's dolls still get played with!
I remember Ello! I didn't have any of those toys, but I think one of my polly pockets or something came with like.... One (1) head, sort of as a promotion or something? Like "hey this other thing exists, check it out." I don't even remember, but I always had one piece and was so confused why it came with one of my other toys and what this mysterious toyline was that I never seemed to be able to find. Absolute enigma of my childhood. I think I still have that head somewhere, I think it doubled as a ring??
Old yes I had the Ello play set!! I loved it, great colors. I totally forgot it existed, you’re the first person I’ve ever seen talk about it or show it!!
i think my fav/ most iconic childhood dolls were LIC Sasha, LIC Cloe, LIC Yas, and LIC Dana. Obsessed was an understatement, those dolls straight up rewired my brain chemistry and formed me as a person. I loved my Bratz Fabulous Tianna and thought she was theee moment and thought her red pants were the coolest. I also remember loving my Juicy Bling Nolee and my barbie fairytopia dolls and the same pink haired mermaid fantasy doll tht u had. My heart breaks little more every time I think about the fact that I dont have them anymore ToT. I also miss my littlest pet shops so bad & I was really into them as well. As for dolls i didnt like, i specifically remember not liking my bratz superbabies yas and never playing with her .
Completely agree with your pizza topping taste LOL In 1st grade, I saw GNO Dana on a store shelf and I fell in love. My parents didn’t buy her for me, but one of my friends in school had her. She didn’t like Bratz so she gave me the doll and I was the happiest person on planet earth. When I was a kid, I didn’t take good care of my dolls at all and was quite rough with them so eventually my Dana doll broke and I was heartbroken. As an adult, I was able to purchase her again along with the other GNO Bratz dolls (the originals, not the reproductions)!!
Your grandmother’s gift of the Polly Pocket is a beautiful expression of love and understanding. How wonderful.
I forgot about the tier list for a second “I’m going to put her into chicken” 😭 sent me
Would you ever do a doll collection tour? I love your aesthetic and the dolls I can see in the background are so cute I would loveeee to see the full collection
Omg yes ive always wanted a doll tour
Yess this!
I’m glad your mom was so supportive. I was forbidden from playing with my sister’s dolls (by my dad)
That’s awful!!! My son owns 3 rainbow high dolls, he’s totally welcome to more if that’s what he wants. We support him
When I was a kid i always got the boy dolls from sets/two packs from my sister because she hated them
This makes me so sad. I’m a trans guy and this makes me look at growing up as a girl differently. I’m glad I was free to express interest in both “girl” and “boy” toys. And I’m sorry for all the little boys who aren’t allowed to be themselves.
I don't normally comment on UA-cam because I feel like I'm shouting into a void, but I need to get this off my chest. I had so many ello sets. My brothers had a lot of lego sets, and my mum saw ello as the female equivalent and would buy them for me so I could join in with my brothers when they played. I did enjoy playing with the dolls, but they scared the crap out of me, to the point that I had extensive lore about them in my head. I believed that a giant ello doll was constantly standing in the corner of my bedroom that I wasn't currently looking at, and it would watch me at night. But it was also simultaneously in every other kid's bedroom all over the world. I called it the ello demon.
There would be a worldwide leaderboard ranking all the kids it watched over, with points you could accumulate if you did something to please them. But you would lose points if you did something they didn’t want you to, and if you lost too many points, they would kill you. To appease them, you had to make what I can only describe as body sequences, so I would move my feet in a certain way because every time I completed a sequence of movement I would accumulate points to move up the leaderboard.
The way you’d lose points was usually any activity that involved getting out of bed, like going to the toilet or getting a drink at night. So every time I needed to pee, I would lie there, jiggling my feet and counting, so I could accumulate enough points to go to the loo. When I would get up I would run to the loo and back while I counted how many points I was losing each second. Also, making noise would reduce points, so I wouldn’t always flush if I hadn’t gathered enough points.
I fully believed that every adult knew about this but legally wasn’t allowed to say anything about it, and it was just natural selection thinning the population down. d:
Sorry for my batshit rambling, I dont know if anyone will read this, it's just that whenever I see those dolls, it reminds me of the ello demon.
But love your videos!
Edit -this was ment to be a funny story about how freaky the dolls were to the point where I demonised them in my head d: do I have ocd? Maybe. Do not worry about me now, I have grown into a mostly well functioning adult d:
My god that is utterly incredible. You were seeing shrimp colors. Thank you so much for sharing this, now I must be vigilant for the Ello Demon too.
i thought they were so ugly/freaky as a kid too haha
I hope you don’t take this the wrong way but have you looked into perhaps OCD testing 🫶💛 I say this with love because I have OCD and I had very similar rules and rituals for myself in childhood and still to this day lol
Oh no! That sounds like really bad OCD, I hope you’re doing better now
@@princesstuesday5287 I got diagnosed with another thing associated with ocd as a kid, so even though I was suspected to have other stuff it didn't seem important to keep diagnosing me but just kinda say it's a symptom of what i was diagnosed with. I still have some weird stuff like this but it's not massively invasive to my life but thanks for the concern d: I am doing fine now anyway
I grew up in the 80's with a similar girl toy experience as what you shared. Not being given the toys I wanted had a huge effect on me being able to ask for what I want, accept gifts, and even feel good about my birthday all the way into adulthood. It took me a long time to figure that out. I loved Ello as an adult!!! Had it all over my desk.
I'm glad you shared your story about how your mom changed your mind about which toys to get you, because it's always something I wonder about. I'm a trans guy and always was intrigued by "boy" toys, but I also liked "girl" toys just fine, but I was still sad mom was apprehensive to getting me "boy" toys. Still had some though! But I always know it can be even more difficult the other way around.
I'm just a year younger than you and I also loved the rubber era of Polly Pocket. Probably one of my top childhood toy lines.
Also I also had Barbie Swan Lake Odette!! Was definitely one of my favorite dolls growing up.
I also had the Fairytopia doll!
I used to work at a pizza place and we served "seafood" pizza which was this vile orange slop we stored as frozen little pucks in the freezer. Whenever someone ordered one we'd microwave the slop, smear it on the pizza, add cheese, and that was it. Repulsive substance. These topping choices are tame and understandable in comparison.
I got violently sick from shrimp on a chain pizza place once, so I don't understand why people would ever want seafood on a pizza.
Guess I didn't need to eat dinner today anyway!
I'm older than you so I was an adult collector during this time, heavily into Kelly. I used to buy the Strawberry Shortcake dolls to steal their clothes to give to Kelly and then gave the Strawberry Shortcake dolls, wearing Kelly clothes, to a friend's kid. She loved them and loved how they smelled.
Not the black olive slander 😭
right? how did black olives hurt you, darling??? 😭
we must form a contigent of black olive lovers in the comments
Fr lmao my fav topings are literally pepperoni, black olives and mushrooms
@@FaeTheGay love mushrooms 🤤
I GASPED out loud at that, how can I trust anything else Darling says after that? 😔 (/jk!!)
i loved using ello to make swanky rooms for my pollies, who were highly preferable to the scary human-things the ello sets came with
Watching this video made me realise just how much Polly Pocket stuff I used to have as a kid. The rubber clothes, the color changing wigs, even in her metallic era she was so iconic!
I LOVED ello!! I was always a lego kid, and it was the era of clikits, so ello was an obvious choice for me. I remember having a set that was supposed to be a house and a jewelry stand. Those plastic rods were so chewable.
I also loved Ello! In my mind it was such a luxury jajajaja and like high iq play??? Jajajajajaja
THANK GOD I FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE WHO REMEMBERS CLIKITS
You slayed being a buffalo chicken pizza stan and canceling the black olives. You always have the most correct opinions
We DO celebrate you every day of the year 👑
I think the doll I had most fondness for was a hand me down from my brother, he was 8 years older then me and he loved Barbies because they were a lot bigger then action figures, but he didn’t take super good care of his toys and we also had a lot of animals in the house so one of the Barbies lost her head, nowhere to be found, so my mom drew a :) smiley face on the little bulb on her neck that was there to keep the head in place and i still have it after all these years because it never fails to make me laugh.
I guess the real answer is Bratz Pretty in Punk or Rock Angels lines
I had the styling head of pretty in Punk Jade and I kissed it so much her lipstick came off.
My parents weren't nearly as open-minded as your mother was, so doll ownership was always an uphill battle for me. Being a late GenXer and fellow mermaid enthusiast, I remember the first "girlie" toys I became obsessed with were Sea Wees. I eventually succeeded in badgered my parents into buying me the first wave of three dolls, which they made into quite a production. I and my mom waited in the car while my dad went into Toys R Us alone to buy the dolls like it was a drug deal, because oh the shame if some complete strangers suspected their kid was a baby queer! I then had to agree to a set of rules that were almost as onerous as those involved in the ownership of a Mogwai. The dolls could never leave the house, I could not tell anyone, especially other family members, about the dolls, and they would be the first of my possessions to vanish if I ever misbehaved. Needless to say the joy of owning the dolls was dimmed somewhat by the colossal amount of emotional baggage that came with them and it wasn't long before the shame and regret felt by all parties involved led to them being sent to live on the proverbial farm out in the country. TLDR; I loved Shelly, Sandy, and Coral despite the bullshit that came with them and would put them in chicken tier.
I’m so sorry that was your experience but I’m very happy to hear you got them and cherished them so much. I hope you’re doing well nowadays and that you do what you love, no matter what people think. You deserve the happiness. ✨
😢This broke my heart 💔 I am Darling Dollz creater's Mom.Im truly sorry you had to experience this in your childhood.I also had Sea wee mermaids.I played with them with my Sister in the bathtub for hours until the bathwater was freezing ❄️.It was suggested to me that I requeste that everyone but boy toys for his birthday.It was horrible.I felt like the worst Mom on the planet.He was such a sweet child never gave me any problems ever.I made up my mind right then.I let him be who he was regardless of what people thought.I told him he was special like a unicorn.I wish you the best and I hope you thrive to be who you are with no apologies.
The Trollz website was fantastic ! I didn't care for the dolls at all, but I spent a ridiculous amount of time playing the Trollz website games and even reading Topaz's fashion blog articles. The creators put so much love into it and it even referenced real life, relevant pop culture icons of the time.
OH MY GOD THE ELLO SET i literally forgot i had one until this video i had to pause it for a second oh mygod
12:29 Oh my goddddd I had these exact 2 Winx Club dolls as a kid!!! I feel the same way about them, I totally wish I could go back and save them 😭😭😭 Those itty bitty pieces got lost so fast
I love the 2000s Strawberry Shortcake dolls, they’re the base of my redesigns!
The absolute HOLD those Ello sets had on me. Also, the bright purple Polly Pocket boutique playset with the spinning clothes racks and changing room?? Iconic.
My absolute favorite childhood doll is shimmering braids Pocahontas. Growing up I wasn't allowed to have many dolls (only had her, a mulan, eric, ariel, and a barbie) but she was one of them and she was my everything. I still have her and she sits on a shelf in my room surveying her kingdom as she is the queen of my doll collection
I loved Trollz!! Honestly, the website was top-tier. I spent hours on it as a kid. I loved playing the mini-games, dressing my Troll, and decorating my room. I was so sad to see the series kind of fade into oblivion. I didn't even know that I never saw the full series until I rewatched it on UA-cam. Also, I didn't know the show had a soundtrack until it got recommended to me on UA-cam either, lol.
Yessss
I had the pink Mermaid Fantasy Barbie as a kid and I loved her sooooo much. We went on a ton of undersea adventures in my bathtub. Her hair was so soft and fluffy and the rubbery tail felt "real" to me. Unfortunately, I think part of the reason she's so expensive now has to do with that tail, as the fin would unscrew and was likely to get lost, and the scale outer detailing would flake and tear after play. She was a great friend.
I had the Mermaid Fantasy Kayla and I completely agree! I have such fond memories of her and I’d love to get her back but like you said, it’s really hard to find one in good condition mostly because of the tails. I saw a Kayla with Barbie’s tail fin screwed on 😅
girl I LOVE the trollz website . . . there was a music player and I found it so funny there was a weezer song on there ! you’re taking me back w this 🥹💖 I remember always wanting the rubie’s costume wigs for each character . . . just iCONIC !
I also never had the dolls but my older brother bought me the dvd for my birthday one year !
Off topic but I always admire your Kururun plushie in the background.
I do, too, lol. I love Kururun!
@@braindrippings Kururun is awesome ^_^
I just recently got a Winx Club Bloom doll second hand incidentally! That Stella is stunning. I actually also still have that Glinda Barbie as well as these Wicked Witch of the West and Wicked Witch of the East dolls. my mother gifted me them at the peak of my Wicked obsession back when I was about twelve and I loved them like they were my own children so just seeing that package there gives me nostalgia :') my third contribution is I also had that Rapunzel doll (I wanted Odette SO badly, but I only ever had this like. McDonald's toy version that I really loved) but while Rapunzel was fine, the main toy I had and played with from that line was this plush of Penelope the dragon
Somewhere in my house i still I have Clara from the Nutcraker, Rapunzel, Odette, and Annelise from Princess and the Pauper.
I REMEMBER THE GLINDA! I was either a big fan of the wizard of oz or my family gaslighted me into thinking that but i had her and dorothy. I actually got my childhood dorothy from my moms recently and she lights up and speaks still.
I was a 97 baby and I was surprised by how little on this list I related to other than that. i played with a fairly diverse array of barbies, bratz (both adults and bratz babies), a woody from toy story doll, powerpuff girls dolls, polly pockets (both the big, rubbery ones and some teeny tiny ones), american girl. But then, I was also a big fan of stuffed animals and littlest pet shop.
Watching this video inspired me to make my own ranking chart with as many childhood toys that I could remember! It was so much fun reliving my childhood memories and fishing out which ones I remembered (although I might update it if I remember more lol)
My own nostalgia aside, I'm so happy to hear that your mother was so supportive of you growing up! It makes me happy whenever I hear parents fully embrace who their child is instead of trying to get them to be someone they're just not.
i fucking loved the trollz website i was so obsessed
omg ELLOS!!! i never had a set myself, but one of my teachers in elementary school - she was actually the teacher for our schools “gifted” (re: undiagnosed neurodivergent) program, which meant i spent a whole day in her class once a week 1st-5th grade - SHE had a big bucket of assorted ellos that we could build and play with during free time or inside recess. totally forgot about them until right now and have never heard anyone else talk about them.
We're doing whatever we want. Whether it's a month later, half a year, 9 months later, celebrate your bday anytime. Happy bday DD 🎉🎉🎉
Rubber clothes Polly was best Polly. I remember her fondly. My top tier would be pepperoni and mushrooms
This was a very fun video! I loved hearing about your childhood toys and about your childhood. It’s so great your parents supported you. 💖
I would give ANYTHING to have Masquerade Madness Chelsea again
I knew I had an Ello set as a kid but could never remember which one- now that I'm watching this video, I'm almost positive it was the Aquaria one just like you!
I was born in 2000 with an older sister also born in 1996, so this video was FULL of dolls that I remember seeing on store shelves or owning myself! I gasped at that Polly Pocket car because I was flooded with memories of recreating horrific accidents using mine, and I gasped again at the Ello mention because my grandmother had some that I loved to play with-in spite of their horrific faces, I loved their geometric designs. Such a fun video and I loved hearing you open up about your childhood memories. I have bins full of my old dolls in the attic and this made me want to go through them, LOL.
The doll I was the most into as a child was 1998 Generation Girl Barbie. The chunky cell phone, denim jacket, sparkly blue halter dress, the ankle tattoo?? She’s still so iconic to me. She even had a practical shoulder bag to store her water bottle and VHS tapes for her video camera. So many accessories. I also loved Zodiac Girlz Aries, but she is one of those dolls with terrible hair quality who is bald now.
Your childhood doll collection was absolutely goated wth
I remember way too many of my childhood toys 😆, so I'm only going to mention one: the Barbie Laugh With Me Silly Storymaker. It's was a chunky spiral bound notebook looking device that you could create and save Mad Lib type stories on. I've had the soundbites stuck in my head for years, especially "sliiiiimy"
OOMMMGGGG THE ELLO SET!!! I absolutely had that exact one and I *loved* it!!! Also the winx club dolls. I'm very sad highschool me decided to customize them and then got rid of them 😢 I had them all cause winx was my life 🤣
The Trollz website!! I LIVED on that as a little kid omgggg
You unlocked a deep memory when you mentioned ello, I think my sister and I had the fairytopia set? I can remember exactly how it feels to lock the pieces together, and how it smells. Never would have thought of it again if it wasn't for this video.
I loved Ello and I still have a giant box full of them! Recently I used some Ello house pieces to make a mini-shelf to put on my bookshelf for small figures haha.
Faves from my childhood: Pink and Pretty Barbie, Loving You Barbie, Super Star Barbie, 1988 Doctor Barbie. Dolls I wanted but never got: Western Winking Barbie, Perfume Pretty Whitney, Dream Glow Barbie, Peaches and Cream Barbie, Country Bride Barbie.
I had Perfume Pretty Whitney, I miss her every day.
Loved the Ello Aquaria playset! Thank you for reminding me of it! I had nothing else like it!
i was trying so so hard to remember what Ello was called for YEARS!!!!! thank you for recovering my memory
I think if I made a tier ranking like this most of the entries would be Kelly dolls.
One of my favourite Kelly dolls was the redhead from diamond castle. I took her everywhere I played with her all of the time.
my least favourite childhood doll was graduation Barbie because I did not understand her.
I'm a simple boy I see darling dolls video I click
i oddly enough used to collect yugioh cards as a kid to play with them as if they were dolls. like the characters in the card art. my favorite were the pretty women, and they formed an all powerful magical council that fought a battle against the "evil" cards that had dragons and vampires and things.
I remember almost ruining a card because i submerged it in water during a "torture" scene when a spy got caught...
OMG that Ariel doll with the clear tail! I thought I remembered every childhood doll I had but I completely forgot I owned her. That tail was iconic to me
Man this wound up giving me a ton of nostalgia watching! I had the Rock and Pop series growing up as a kid too! I loved mix and matching the pieces from both sets so much, it was one of my favorite things to play with (and munch on). I had the blonde wig and pink wig set. I wanted the Lila and Shani ones SO bad, especially for Shanis purple ponytail pieces.
Some dolls I remember loving as a kid were my Sakura and Syaoran Trendmaster dolls, specifically the Pink Cat one for Sakura since it was my favorite Sakura outfit. I LOVED Card Captor Sakura as a kid and even owned the Trendmasters Book of Clow and Sakuras Initial Wand and remember smuggling it into school in my backpack to take out during recess pretending I was a Cardcaptor. I remember their dolls weren't as big as Barbie compared to my Polly Pockets, so I tended to jam them in the limo.
I also had Sailor Moon Deluxe Adventure Dolls of Tuxedo Mask and Usagi and loved them too. For some reason my Usagi's legs got broken off easily so she was almost always in the splits. Also I almost only played with the Sailor Moon Dolls in the bath specifically, I kinda had a bin under the sink in the bathroom I'd keep dolls in and would take hour long baths playing my Disney CDs on my Boombox as I played. I must have driven my mom insane. So of course I had to also have an obsession with playing with my Jewel Hair Barbie in the bath too and getting her hair pieces stuck on the carpet of the house whenever I played with her outside the bath 💀
Also while they're figures I gotta give a shoutout to the Mattel Megaman Battle Network figures, I had all of Megaman.Exe figures and drove my nephews insane with jealousy to the point their dad asked to buy them off me lol
Late Happy Birthday btw!! Thanks for the video!
My favorite childhood dolls were the signature Draculaura, Frankie and Ghoulia. In fact I loved all my Monster Highs, the other ones I had were Lagoona, DOTD Ghoulia and Clawdeen, Dead Tired Cleo, Operetta and Jinafire. For Barbies my absolute favorite was Corinne. I love that her outfit changed from gown to musketeer uniform. I also loved Merliah, the 50's Barbie anniversary doll, and the Sweetie Fashionista. Unfortunately I "had" to sell them recently (I wasn't very sad cause they were mostly so incomplete and/or ruined that they didn't make me very happy anyway
I had exactly one Ello set as a kit too! (It was called shopopolis) I remember having fun with it as a kid but I just looked up the pictures and the characters look so scary. As a kid I thought it was so mature and artsy lol.
I HAD THE MERMAID ELLO SET!! I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!! it was so fun that you could make houses, creatures and people all with the same peices! so many good memories with it ❤
I didn’t grow up liking dolls much, but despite that, one of my longest surviving childhood toys that I still own is this old Boppin Rockers bobblehead fashion doll. I didn’t even play with her a lot, but somehow, every time I went on a toy purge, she still stayed. Now that I actually love and collect dolls, I’m so happy I’ve kept her this entire time. It’s like she was a dormant sleeper agent waiting to properly loved, and she finally got her wish.
I ALSO HAD THE MERMAID ELLO SET!!! I actually think I have some still kicking around in my old toy box - they were fun for like 20 minutes, but I remember the commercial made them look amazing!
Oh wow!!! My sister and I had Ello. Ultimately it was just the bridge over to Legos but we had fun creating with them!
Ello! Oh my god! I had at least most of one Ello playset as a child. My parents wouldn't have bought it for me; I'm pretty certain I got it second hand with some pieces missing, but I was obsessed with it for a short time. I loved the funky, brightly coloured designs of the characters and the customisabiliy of the playset. But I never for the life of me would have remembered it without this video.
HOLY SHIT ELLO!! you unlocked a core memory, I was a huge lego kid but my mom hardly ever had the money to actually buy Lego, so I would get Other building toys on brithdays or christmas a lot of the time. Ello was one of them! I had the one that made a "house", and I used my betty spaghettis to play in whatever i built because I really hated the little buildable figures that came in the set.
this was SUCH a great idea, SOO fun! and i DID play with and have ello, and so did some of my friends! the character pieces were uncanny, but it's also so mod and groovy in hindsight so i kinda miss it!
some childhood favourite dolls i remember have to be Rainbow Princess Barbie, the slumberparty and winter wonderland bratz lines (my memory is fuzzy as to which were mine and which were my friends'), and DEFFS that polly pocket limo set (i can STILL sing the song it plays lol)
I grew up in the 80’s, so 80’s and early 90’s Barbies will always be “peak” Barbie for me. I especially remember my Day to Night, and the one with glow-in-the-dark starry ballgown. My best friend had two beautiful yarn haired Cabbage Patch Kids, with long yarn hair, always dressed in beautiful frilly 80’s style dresses. I really wanted a Cabbage Patch Kid… I think my aunt gave it to me, and it was a boy. With short looped hair. I hated him. 💔
i remember playing with my fashion pollys with my ello (i think it was the standard house one though haha) so you're not alone!
Omg!! I had the Ello aquarium playset as a kid, completely forgot about it till your video! Thank you sm💗
It makes me so happy that your mum was supportive with you and dolls 🩷
You unlocked some deep nostalgia with me (I’m also a 96 baby) and we had so many similar dolls. My favourites were the polly pocket limo, mermaid barbie and the bratz big babyz.
Omg the polly pocket mermaid set!!!!!! I loved it SO much. And I still have it!!! I'm so thankful i still have access to mosr of my childhood toys
yess i had that one too it was so fun!
I’ve been into dolls as long as I can remember and my parents knew this. So I always got some action figures and dolls because I liked both. I definitely am lucky to have such understanding parents. I was called Barbie boy in elementary school but I liked that. I wasn’t ashamed.
I agree with you on the mushrooms but I love olives. Although I prefer bell peppers and jalapeños.
This is such a lovely (and nostalgic!) list! I'm also from '96 🥳
If I were to pick out some of my favorites from my childhood it would be;
- Polly Pocket (The one that came with clay instantly popped into my mind lmao, but I loved so many of the sets)
- Betty Spaghetty!!! (I adored Betty!! Horsin' Around was amazing!!! Note: I also loved horses)
- Barbie (The early 90s ones with HUGE earrings, I remember owning at least one of the beachy Barbies and maybe Maxi hair? Not sure) Edit: It was the Beach Boys Barbie!
And lastly, a faceless, wigless and unclothed What's Her Face... (I must have gotten her very young because have no memory of which one it actually was, I only have her ...husk left 😂)
Omg Betty Spaghetty! I only had the Mcdonalds one and one proper pruple but I loved them so much, I didn't know the name of the dolls tho, maybe I didn't know how to read when I got them and they were very rare in Hungary, I'm so mad at myself for giving them away at one point ToT
@@cornflakes-does-stuff So happy I could help you remember! They were so much fun!! ❤️
I grew up in the 90s during the recession and I didn't have that many iconic 90s toys, but here's a few memories that stick out: The coolest thing I had was probably a Lego Belville set with a horse stable. I wasn't really a horse girl but I looved that set, building the house/stable over and over, bringing the dolls and horses around the house or even outside for adventures, stealing my brother's legos to expand my house. I still have the set with surprisingly few missing pieces. My best doll was a -97 Ariel that came with a little mermaid Shelly/Kelly doll and they both had braids that changed colour in warm water. I was almost "too old for dolls" when Bratz came out but I fell in love hard and I had four of them, Jade was my fave. I'd play with them in secret until I was 14 and even after I lost the ability to play the way children do, I wanted to keep them along with all my other dolls. Sadly I did uhh, customize them a bit as a teen... They didn't really survive that lol.
omg i love hearing about people's childhood dolls! i'm a zoomer so i have very strong memories lf the g1 Monster High dolls, i was OBSESSED! I would spend hours on my mom's computer watching the webisodes! I truly hope today's kids are having an equally magical experience with g3!
I adored trollz, onyx started by Afro punk era when I was in kindergarten lol
i don’t normally comment (but i watch every single one of your videos, thank you always for sharing! 🥺 you’re one of my all time favorite youtube channels and watching your videos always puts a smile on my face) but i literally gasped when you brought up ello bc i was convinced it was smth from my imagination too LOL! i didn’t even recognize it until you showed the heads of the characters they came with
OHHH I LOVED ELLO! I got a promotional pack at the mall of a few of the building bits (along with one for clikits I think) and then BEGGED my mom for the playsets. none of my friends had them and no one else I talk to remembers it... really sucks that it didn't catch on :c
I need more trollz content in my life
I loved the bigger Polly Pocket dolls as well as Littlest Pet Shop. I had a ton of these. And I was a huge fan of Lego Belville. There was actually a whole mermaid themed playset line, but unfortunately I somehow never had any of them. I had a lot of fairy themed playsets, though. And a sleigh with a white horse and a princess as well as a little monkey house with a monkey which came with a beautiful black girl who was supposed to be a pet trainer slash princess. I hadn't seen a lot of poc representation in toys to the day I saw her in a magazine and I simply had to have her. I loved the color palettes of those playsets and they always came with a lot of greenery and gemstones. I vividly remember evy single little set I owned. Unfortunately never got the bigger ones because they were too expesnive but I loved looking at them in stores.
15:40 my best friend had this set and I remember absolutely loving it but I could NEVER get the pieces to go together, it just wouldn’t work for me😂
Omg I had Ello as a kid! I dont think i ever made the playset proper but I have alot of memories of playing with the peices
I wanted to say that the way you talk about your mom in this video is so heartwarming 💜 it sounds like you have a wonderful mother that really embraced you. I just think that’s beautiful.
When I was a child I distinctively remember that one Christmas my parents bought be a pack with 2 dolls. There was a princess and a mermaid and they came with 6 full outfits I think. And the box was also shaped like a suitcase. It was the most beautiful doll set I ever seen. And I think this is also my mom's favorite set too, lol.
What a fun video! And it was so touching to hear how your mom acknowledged how important dolls were to you (props to grandma for the Polly Pocket!). I'm old, and my favorite doll of all time was my first Barbie, which I got for my 9th birthday in 1961. She had a black ponytail. I also got the Suburban Shopper and Open Road outfits. Over the few years I got a lot more outfits, a couple of Kens, a Midge, and a blonde bubble-cut Barbie. But nothing will ever top the thrill of my first Barbie. I did like baby dolls, so I also loved the Tiny Tears doll I got for my 7th birthday in 1959 (which I had asked for). But the Shirley Temple doll I got for my 8th birthday, not so much! My parents should have known I loathed Shirley Temple! I did play with her though. Anyway, I have none of these dolls now, but I sure wish I did! If I were closer to your age, I know I would have wanted the Barbies you picked as your top favorites.
Happy belated birthday! I think my favorite dolls growing up was the Princess Starla (or Gwenevere) and the Jewel Riders!
I was never a big doll kid, as my family couldn't really afford them, but the one doll set I remember cherishing (and subsequently missing when I had to leave them behind on a move across the states) was a mini Disney Princess gift set that my step mom got me on Christmas one year. It featured Tiana, Cinderalla, and Sleeping Beauty, and they each came with their respective princes (Naveen, PrinceCharming, and Philip), 3 sets of clothes, and a random horse colored green, blue, or pink. I ADORED that set and remember making them go on silly little adventures. Other ppl who mightve also had these dolls may remember the clothes were made of rubber and HIGHLY chewable lollll.
While I didn't have the dolls, I was obsessed with their movies and websites (MyScene, Barbie, Bratz, and Monster High most notably)
RIP to all the black olive girlies 😔
I remember one of my sisters getting that Ello playset! I completely forgot that it existed until you puled it up. I think she had a lot of fun with it but those mermaids were super weird
i was obsessed with ello omg i remember having one set that was jungle animal themed
My favorite childhood dolls were Lady Lovely Locks and Cherry Merry Muffin. I still stand by the former as a truly beautiful doll. There were not a ton of options in the late 80’s when I was a kid, so her adorable princess aesthetic, pleasant pastel color blends, and fantasy hair clip-ins really made an impression on me. I also watched the cartoon and had Lady Lovely Locks branded things like puzzles and coloring books. Cherry Merry Muffin was, admittedly, a Strawberry Shortcake ripoff, but I honestly liked her kawaii aesthetic better.
Thank you for sharing so much about your childhood; it was really sweet. I liked the pizza theme too and chicken is the best pizza topping (though I’m a white sauce girl).
I started collecting dolls again last year after the Barbie movie, starting with 1991 Pet Pal Courtney, the Barbie doll I truly remember the most. I was obsessed with cats, and also the only Polly Pocket (Bluebird) I truly remember having was 1993 Cuddly Kitty compact, which might be fun someday.
I had the white moon base Sky Dancer. I had a Kenner Big Sister Lauren from my grandma that I still own (and I got her sister Meredith). I have an amazing Fab Detergent doll a gray grandfather gave me who is gorgeous and my mom finally gave to me last year when we unearthed it moving.
I also do remember another Barbie, actually, the Amidala with removable gold skirt/sleeve things that I remember my cousin asking me to teach them how to braid hair with and it’s such a good memory. I didn’t get that one again, but the doll with the separate face in a hood. I have paper dolls of Amidala from my childhood I still have.
I have a super cute fabric baby doll I think is from Fisher Price, but religious trauma in my twenties had me thinking dolls with faces could get posessed so I ruined her face and I’ve had to remake it so she’s black now instead of white but I love her all the more for having to fix her up.
I have the American Girl doll meant to look like me and my local doll store offered free shampoo and style recently and she’s in braids and looks just like Molly almost.
I’m still trying to find my favorite doll who was a small baby doll who was Black and I’d love to either find at the house we still have or figure out the brand. My mom would make me, my mom, and my doll outfits with the same fabric.
omg i had the jungle ello set and just googled pictures of it and got blasted with so much nostalgia
Happy Belated Birthday! Awesome video as usual! It really sent me down memory lane. My kids are your age and I remember how much they loved their Winx and WITCH dolls. Speaking of toys you thought you hallucinated, I got Grow Up Skipper for Christmas. For decades I thought she was a fever dream, because, what a weird doll! My favorite dolls were the Young Sweethearts dolls. They had very joint-y bodies (14 points of articulation) so of course they were acrobats who travelled in my Barbie van to give performances. It took me ForEver to track them down as an adult, they are so obscure and I didn't remember what line they were. I only got a replacement set 2 years ago. I love them still
That Ello playset unlocked something I think in my mind. I don’t think I had that one but maybe another one?
Same! I had the fairy themed one growing up and had completely forgot about it until this video
While we're talking about childhood dolls, I'll share my recollections. I was born in '93, for context. One barbie I remember vividly is the Business Lady one. She came with a little computer game on CD, I think you've talked about her before? I also got the fully articulated ballerina barbie when I was like, 3 or 4. She was stunning. I know I had a bratz doll too- I think the original Yazmin. The last doll I specifically remember is a Mulan doll, where you could put warm or cold water on her face and it would make her matchmaking makeup show up or go away.
However the bulk of my barbies were hand me down 80's barbies, many of whom had some interesting "custom" hair cuts. I remember there were some hand made barbie clothes in there too. Every once in a while you'll show an older barbie and I'll be like "oh! that's where that one piece of clothing came from!". By the time they got to me all their outfits were so jumbled I had no way of knowing what went with who. The only one I remember specifically had bright blue eye shadow and hot pink earrings. I think she might have been one of the ones with chopped hair but who knows.
I kept all my dolls in this barbie closet / suitcase things. I gifted the whole collection to my brother's kids in like, 2012, so it's possible some of those 80's dolls still get played with!
We had very similar childhoods haha. Thanks for reminding me of some of my old dolls!
Seeing Ello unlocked a memory for me lol! I remember liking the figures more than building the playset.
I remember Ello! I didn't have any of those toys, but I think one of my polly pockets or something came with like.... One (1) head, sort of as a promotion or something? Like "hey this other thing exists, check it out." I don't even remember, but I always had one piece and was so confused why it came with one of my other toys and what this mysterious toyline was that I never seemed to be able to find. Absolute enigma of my childhood. I think I still have that head somewhere, I think it doubled as a ring??
Old yes I had the Ello play set!! I loved it, great colors. I totally forgot it existed, you’re the first person I’ve ever seen talk about it or show it!!
I totally forgot about Mermaid Stars Polly!!! The mermaid tail was one of the platinum pieces in my Polly closet lol
i think my fav/ most iconic childhood dolls were LIC Sasha, LIC Cloe, LIC Yas, and LIC Dana. Obsessed was an understatement, those dolls straight up rewired my brain chemistry and formed me as a person. I loved my Bratz Fabulous Tianna and thought she was theee moment and thought her red pants were the coolest. I also remember loving my Juicy Bling Nolee and my barbie fairytopia dolls and the same pink haired mermaid fantasy doll tht u had. My heart breaks little more every time I think about the fact that I dont have them anymore ToT. I also miss my littlest pet shops so bad & I was really into them as well.
As for dolls i didnt like, i specifically remember not liking my bratz superbabies yas and never playing with her .
I loved hearing all your life stories and anecdotes in this one! What a chill and comfy video
Your channel is so wholesome. I love it. I love how you teach and share your passion at the same time. Thank you for what you do!
Completely agree with your pizza topping taste LOL
In 1st grade, I saw GNO Dana on a store shelf and I fell in love. My parents didn’t buy her for me, but one of my friends in school had her. She didn’t like Bratz so she gave me the doll and I was the happiest person on planet earth. When I was a kid, I didn’t take good care of my dolls at all and was quite rough with them so eventually my Dana doll broke and I was heartbroken. As an adult, I was able to purchase her again along with the other GNO Bratz dolls (the originals, not the reproductions)!!