J’Adore Tulabelle is a basic edition of Integrity’s Tulabelle doll. I’ve previously reviewed Pomp and Circumstance Tulabelle, which is a deluxe edition. I purchased J’Adore Tulabelle at the same time as Pomp and Cirucmstance, and am reviewing it today.
Like Pomp and Circumstance, J’Adore Tulabelle comes in a purple box with Tulabelle’s story on the inside lid, and she comes with a lucite stand. J’Adore Tulabelle is the most casual of the inaugural collection of Tulabelle dolls from 2013. She is dressed in a simple t-shirt, a denim miniskirt, knee socks, and strappy sandals.
Tulabelle has many different shades of hair color and hair styles. J’Adore Tulabelle is blonde, and her hair is simply worn long with a center part. She comes with earrings, but no other accessories. The earrings are packaged separately. I had no problems inserting Pomp and Circumstance Tulabelle’s earrings, but one of the holes in J’Adore Tulabelle’s ears was too small, and I bent the earring trying to push it in. I was eventually able to insert it, however, thus hiding the fact that it’s bent.
The first earring went in easily enough…
…but the other earring hole was so impossibly small that I bent the earring while trying to put it in.
Bent earring, left ear.
That’s better
Tulabelle’s feet are jointed at the toes, so you can adjust her feet to wear flats or heels.
Flat feet
Arched feet for heels
Pomp and Circumstance Tulabelle was a deluxe edition that came with both flats and heels, but J’Adore only came with one pair of shoes – a pair of funky pink and purple platform sandals.
She wears them with white ankle socks – adorable!
J’Adore Tulabelle gets her name from the design on her striped t-shirt.
The shirt is open at the back.
The majority of dolls that I collect are 12 inches in height, so I find the few 16″ dolls that I have aren’t as easy to pose as the 12″ dolls (Monster High in particular has ruined me for most other dolls in terms of articulation). I wanted to compare Tulabelle to another 16″ doll in my collection to compare the levels of articulation. When I reviewed My Deja Vu Penelope Brewester by the Tonner Doll Company, I was disappointed with the lack of articulation, as well as quality control issues with the doll. I thought it might be her size that made her a bit clumsy in the articulation department. Comparing an Integrity 16″ doll with a Tonner 16″ doll, I can see that Integrity’s 16″ dolls have better articulation than the Tonner dolls. Tulabelle can put her hands on her hip better than Penelope. Penelope’s arms splayed out a little more when I bent them at the elbow and moved them in towards her hips. She looks a little awkward. When I took Penelope out of her box to compare her to Tulabelle, I was again reminded of the uneven leg issue that annoyed me in my iniital review of her.
Tulabelle can also put her hands over her mouth much more easily than Penelope, who, despite having gigantic man hands, can’t bring them close enough to her face to really cover her mouth.
But the one thing I really liked about Penelope Brewster was her outfit, so of course Tulabelle had to try it on. Tulabelle’s torso is wider than Penelope’s, so the dress was tight on Tulabelle. I could fasten it, but there were gaps in between the snaps. It looks great from the front, though. But Penelope’s legs and feet are larger than Tulabelle’s. so the tights and shoes were a little loose on Tulabelle.
Although I don’t have a lot of 16″ dolls (and I keep telling myself that I won’t collect any more because of their size), I find myself drawn to Tulabelle. She’s pretty, and I love her fashions. Although I would prefer that she came in a 12″ size, I wouldn’t be opposed to adding more Tulabelles to my collection. In fact, I’ve pre-ordered the French Kissed Tulabelle from the just-released 2014 collection. I also just bought the other basic Tulabelle doll from 2013, Violet Femme, from eBay, since she’s sold out from Integrity dealers. I guess I’m officially a fan.
Do you collect Tulabelle? Do you have any of the 2013 dolls, or plan to add any of the 2014 dolls to your collection?
Dollsville, USA 