Ghoulia Yelps Deluxe Fashion Pack Review

Back when I did my first review of the new deluxe fashion packs I doubled up, covering both Frankie's and Operetta's packs in one big mega-review. The plan was to do the same with the remaining two deluxe packs but honestly, doing the Frankie/Operetta review turned out to be more than I had bargained for. By the time I was finished I felt like I had run a marathon. It didn't take me long to realize that I should take a divide and conquer approach to the remaining two deluxe packs, so Ghoulia and Robecca will be covered separately. It's been over two months since I wrote a Ghoulia review, and as you know I can't go too long without bringing her up, so that's whose duds we'll be looking at today!

Ghoulia's pack includes a dress, shirt, pair of jeans, vest, glasses, shoes, belt, purse, and earrings. One important thing I forgot to mention in the Frankie/Operetta review is that all the accessories included with the deluxe packs are brand new! Considering all the goodies included with the four packs, it really is a lot of new stuff! There are two outfits included, so two models are needed to show them off. For the first outfit I went with Scaris Ghoulia because she's new and cool and I'm nothing if not a shill for new Mattel product (heh). For the second look I chose Classroom Ghoulia because she's a really great doll that I don't feature on here enough. Also, she looks pretty damn amazing in the second outfit, if I may say so.

First up is Scaris Ghoulia in the "A" outfit. Everything you see on Ghoulia is included in the pack. She wears a one piece dress with a print of alternating grey and white gravestones. The stones are cracked and decrepit-looking -- very cool. There are horizontal stripes between the gravestones in alternating red and black. The red stripes are shiny. The cut of this dress is pretty simple. It has tank sleeves, hugs the middle, and the skirt flares a little. There are no embellishments -- no pleating, ruffles, etc. The real draw here is the print. The gravestones are pure MH, and their aged look adds a lot of personality. The sparkling red stripes add a hint of glam to the look. On it's own the dress is alright, but it definitely needs some accessories to liven it up. That's where the belt comes in. It's a nice aqua blue shade and fairly wide. It has a simple diamond pattern molded into it. At the front is a skullette buckle with a portion of the belt dangling next to it. This is a non-functioning buckle; the belt actually closes in the back with a tab. Surprisingly the aqua of the belt perfectly matches the grey and red of the dress. This isn't the most amazing MH belt we've ever seen but it gets the job done.

The glasses included have thick black frames and a somewhat blocky design. If they weren't horn-rimmed these would be perfect for Clark Kent. They definitely have the nerd-chic thing going on! I really love these; they're easily among my favorite Ghoulia glasses, and being a big Ghoulia fanboy who always loves her glasses that's saying a lot. I especially like them on Scaris Ghoulia. Something about the wide, dark frames really compliments her dramatic, blood red lips. Ghoulia's earrings are squiggly pink worms. A zombie girl wearing worms as earrings -- how can that not be considered amazing! Yes, when she wears them it looks like worms are crawling into her head, and yes, I absolutely love it! Mattel, I love you. I probably don't tell you that enough.

Ghoulia's shoes are open-toed sneaker-heels. The body of the shoe is black while the sole and heel are light blue. There are molded strings and squiggles on the body while the sole and heel have the same grid pattern as the belt. They're not amazing, to me anyway, but they look good enough and are definitely "Ghoulia". Her last accessory is her purse, a medium-sized tote of red... brain matter? I'm not entirely sure. The texture looks kind of like the brain matter molding they often use on Ghoulia's accessories, but the little bubbles have circles molded into them. You biology experts care to fill me in? Whatever the case, I like the purse.

I would say overall this look is better than the sum of it's parts. The only pieces I really love here are the glasses and earrings. I do love the print of the dress; the cut is a bit boring. The belt has some so-so of it's own going on. But put everything together and you've got a pretty awesome look happening! The lighter tones of the earrings, belt, and shoe soles compliment each other well. The red purse highlights the red of the dress while the black glasses play off the black portion of the shoes. Everything here comes together really nicely. Like I said, the total look is better than the sum of it's parts.

Next is Classroom Ghoulia showcasing the "B" outfit. The only things here that are included in the pack are the top, jeans, and vest. Everything else is a hodgepodge of different pieces. The top is black and has a fairly wide collar and short sleeves. The collar and sleeves are hemmed with white thread. A tiny red bowtie with a print of black gore is attached. It's really cute; the bow adds a lot of personality to an otherwise rather plain shirt. Over the shirt she wears a white vest with a red and black cherry print. This is really cute, too! Her jeans are capri length and come in pure red. Just below the knee the red breaks into a dripping pattern laid over solid black. This whimsical take on gore is very Ghoulia, and just plain looks cool. The sharp red against the black is striking, and it perfectly matches the red and black shirt and cherry print on the white vest.

I definitely love this look! It has a youthful, rebellious vibe that really works for me. All the pieces are well-made, although the pants fit a little too snugly at the hips and have a tendency to get caught in her joints. The Velcro closure doesn't always want to stay shut, either. In any case, this striking look is pure Ghoulia -- a little gory, and a lot cute!

While I'm finding myself more in like than in love with most of the accessories included in this pack, the ones that that I do love -- the glasses and earrings -- are among the best we've seen for Ghoulia. The earring worms are just plain hilarious. While I don't like the dress on it's own, paired with the right accessories it definitely works. The second outfit is near-perfect and has become one of my favorites for Ghoulia.