Review: Dot Dead Gorgeous Operetta

Oh, Operetta. Last fall we were all so excited about you. Your profile art looked amazing. Your bio was so cool -- who can resist a rebellious rockabilly chick? And your doll looked oh-so-exciting. Those victory rolls. The scars and tats. Your musical note/heart mask sealed the deal. We all had to have you. And then you started showing up in stores. And you were cool, for sure. Those victory rolls looked great -- so polished, so glam. And your clothes were indeed rockabilly retro. But your mask, attached as a barrett to one of your rolls, was kind of a problem. It smushed your left roll down in middle which just looked odd. And if I wanted to remove it, it required messing your hair up even more. And speaking of -- while your victory rolls truly were victorious in their soaring doll hair perfection, the back of your hair was a completely different, very messy, very crispy, story. It seemed your hair, in philosophy at least, had much in common with the mullet: business in the front, party in the back. But we loved you anyway; you were so unique and so ambitious in your design, we simply had to.

It seems Mattel may have agreed with us because since your first doll there have been some design changes, or at least, your hair and mask have seen some changes. No victory rolls, no barrett mask. It's for this reason that I declare your Dot Dead Gorgeous incarnation the best version of you to date:

Beautiful

Okay guys, let's get one thing clear right up front: the new earring mask is a vast improvement over the barrett mask. It looks just as good, but is much more user-friendly. It can be easily removed, and just as easily reattached. The cobweb and spider it's attached to is pretty cool, too. With that out of the way, let's continue.

Her hair has upward curled bangs (a simple alternative to the victory rolls that achieves a similar visual effect), and while the texture of her hair in the back still seems a bit ratty, it's at least pulled into a cute ponytail so it's pretty manageable. Let's see how she looks without the mask:

Gorgeous indeed.

Her faceup is lovely. She has a thin strip of hot pink eyeshadow over each eye, which is in turn surrounded by brown eyeshadow that goes halfway up to her eyebrows. This is coated with a thin layer of glitter. Her lips are a deep red. This version of Operetta uses the red, black and white color scheme established by her basic doll, but much more prominently. She also maintains her retro 50's vibe thanks to a nicely buoyant poodle skirt. The bodice and skirt are white with black polka dots, with two layers of red tulle over the skirt. The top layer of tulle has large black dots printed on it and a hemmed seam. Her bodice has a molded cobweb detail in the middle of the bust and red straps with small black dots. This print matches the large bow in her hair. She has a white, beaded necklace, with three black musical notes hanging off of it. These coordinate nicely with her piano key-themed belt.

Her purse is also piano themed, although it looks like a pretty old, beat up piece of equipment (aka it looks really cool). The handle is a string of musical notes, and black, molded cobwebs hang off the sides.

Creepy and cute.

Her shoes are amazing. They're red, open toe platforms with black wedges. A pair of die cover the toes, and a black spider with long, loose legs grips the back of each ankle. The spiders lower legs can be moved and adjusted.

Her other earring is a silver cobweb. It matches her stand and brush (I love the DDG stands, by the way). I'm not always a fan of the mismatched earrings Mattel puts on these dolls, but I like the effect here. Plus it's kind of necessary since the other earring doubles as her mask.

Overall grade: A- She loses a few points because her hair is still a bit of a mess. But overall this a big step up from her basic release, at least in terms of mask functionality, and how they've tamed the hair somewhat by putting it in a stylish ponytail. There are lots of great little details, her theme is emphasized in a creative way, and quality control is good on this doll. Take us out, Operetta!

"Y'all come back now, ya hear!"

Top image: Mattel. The rest: yours truly.