After reviewing Lila Yamamoto, my first Rainbow High doll, I bought more of them. A lot more. I picked up a few more at Target, and I’ve got a few packages coming from Amazon (please don’t judge me!). When I went back to Target to pick out my second Rainbow High doll, I saw the Ainsley Slater Trunk Show. I loved her goth vibe, and the fact that she came with not one but three extra outfits! She was also on sale for $44.99 down from $49.99. So I bought it. I didn’t notice until I got her home that her box says Shadow High. Wait, what?
Why does Ainsley’s box say Shadow High when her stand and all of her accessories have Rainbow High on them? I thought she was a Rainbow High doll because her skin tone is a natural one, not the grey, pure white, or pure black skin tones of Shadow High dolls. Since I’m new to the Rainbow High universe, I’m still getting acquainted with the characters and their backstories. So I started watching the Rainbow High webisodes on YouTube. That’s where I discovered that, in Season 3 episode 6, during the intense competition of the Rainbow Vision song contest, Ainsley drops the bombshell that she’s transferring schools. It’s like the Ainsley doll was too far into the production stages to change the accessories by the time this episode aired but MGA was able to change the box before the doll was released.
The Ainsley Slater Trunk Show special edition doll comes with three tops, two skirts, one dress, two jackets, one belt, one pair of pants, four pairs of shoes, one purse, two bracelets, four hangers, one comb, and one doll stand. Despite the name of this edition, however, it does not come with a trunk. It also doesn’t come with earrings, even though Ainsley’s ears have holes for them.
I love how Ainsley is posed in her box as if to say “Here I am!”
All of Ainsley’s accessories say Rainbow High.
The Ainsley Slater Trunk Show doll debuted at the Rainbow High x Shadow High Pop-up Shop in L.A. in late May and officially launched in retail stores on June 1st. It retailed for $60 when it first debuted. I’m glad I didn’t pay that much for her, because if I did I would be even more p.o.’d about all of the black marks on my doll. Marks that won’t come off, I should add. The first one is on her face. There are also a few stray bits of glitter on the right side of her nose that was used on the pearlescent finish on her face. It makes her look like she has blackheads (she is a teenager, after all). There is also some mottling of the pearlescent finish above her left eyebrow. I’m not usually the type of doll collector that compares faces before buying a doll, but I guess I have to check for marks on Rainbow High dolls. Apparently a lot of Rainbow High collectors have this problem with their dolls.
However, marks on the face were not the only problems I had with this doll. There were black marks all over her body, caused by the unlined black outfit she came in. And now I’m nervous because the Shadow High Storm Twins will be arriving from Amazon any day now.
Another issue I had with Ainsley that is common with Rainbow High dolls is that her hair had so much styling gel in it that it was super-crunchy. I’ve never washed and styled a doll’s hair before, but I decided to try it with Ansley. I took all the ties out and washed her hair with warm water and a little shampoo, and let it air-dry.
After her hair dried I restyled her high ponytail and wrapped two sections of hair around it, securing them underneath the ponytail with another rubber band. I left a long tendril one either side of her face. Now her ponytail looks like Ainsley’s hair in the webisodes (and the artwork on the box), where her ponytail is secured by a section of her hair. I still haven’t figured out a solution to that pesky flyaway doll-hair problem, though. And dang, that black mark next to her eyebrow is still bothering me!
In the webisodes, Ainsley’s hair is mostly purple. The Ainsley doll has black hair with indigo strands that are more visible in the right lighting.
Ainsley wears bright makeup colors to brighten up her black wardrobe. She has rainbow-colored eyeshadow and rose-pink lipstick. But in true goth/emo form, she wears black nail polish.
I love the artwork on the back of the box that illustrates the four outfits Ainsley comes with. They look kind of retro and remind me of those big-eyed-kids paintings by Margaret Keane. The outfit she comes in is called “Better with Boots.” It’s her signature outfit that she wears most of the time in the webisodes.
“Better with Boots” features a black cropped jacket with one sleeve paired with a black corset-laced miniskirt accentuated with a removable belt with letters that spell out the word “RAINBOW.” Her black combat boots have clear spikes on them. Ainsley seems kind of goth for a Rainbow High student. No wonder she’s transferring to Shadow High.
Ansley’s second outfit is called “Jewelry Completes the Look.”
The outfit consists of a fitted cropped pleather mock turtleneck top and a matte black skirt with white trim and a silver fastener.
The pleather motorcycle bustier is a separate piece.
She wears black plastic knee boots with a “silver” harness with alternating upside-down and right-side up letters “R” all over it and a printed zipper down the inside.
The soles of the boots have the colors of the rainbow on them. I think Ainsley must have an ironic sense of humor, because the only pop of color in her mostly-black wardrobe is on the bottom of her shoes, where it remains largely unseen.
This is the outfit Ainsley wore when she stunned the audience at Rainbow Vision with her announcement that she’s changing schools.
Ainsley’s third outfit is called “The Bag for Any Occasion.”
“The Bag for Any Occasion” consists of a black tube top with buckled shoulder straps, and long black pleather pants.
The black pleather low-rise pants have corseted gussets on the side. They remind me of Jim Morrison from The Doors. Is Ainsley the Lizard Queen?
The outfit comes with a black quilted cross-body bag, hence the name of the ensemble.
The bag has a real zipper that opens and closes. It has a clasp that also opens and closes. The word “Rainbow” is embroidered in gold tinsel.
Her shoes are stiletto slides with the letters “R” and “H” for heels. Ainsley is going to have to buy a new purse and shoes when she gets to Shadow High.
The fourth and last outfit is called “Leather for Any Weather.”
It has a black minidress with a clear plastic double-buckled halter, and purple lace at the hem.
The dark purple boots feature a harness-and-medallion design.
The best part of “Leather for Any Weather” has to be the graffiti motorcycle jacket.
It has real but non-functional zippers. The buckled belt might fasten but it’s so tiny that I left it open.
So out of the four outfits Ainsley comes with, and the 400 fashion combinations that MGA advertised on the box (and no, I didn’t try them all), my favorite look on Ainsley is a combination of the top from Jewelry Completes the Look and the pants from The Bag for Any Occasion. They’re made from the same material, and they look so cool together. Ainsley is giving me Emma Peel vibes. The shoes I paired with this outfit, however, are not from Ainsley’s Trunk Show. They’re the Rainbow Sparkle Ankle Boots from the Rainbow High Mini Accessories Studio. They’re very Stephen Sprouse.
The jacket from Leather for Any Weather goes well with the boots. Ainsley looks like she belongs in Greenwich Village circa 1985.
Ainsley is only my second Rainbow High doll, and I’ve noticed some of the same issues that plague other Rainbow High collectors. I was disappointed by the quality issues of the black marks on the dolls, but I won’t let it dampen my enthusiasm for Rainbow High dolls just yet. Ainsley is very pretty but her original hairstyle was a little awkward. The excessive amount of hair gel could have been an issue but it was easy to fix and I love how her hair looks now. I’m still enjoying the quality of articulation of the dolls and their highly detailed clothes and accessories. The fashions Ainsley came with are fierce. They’re all black and goth. I had so much fun mixing and matching them.
Will Rainbow High win Rainbow Vision for the eighth year in a row, or will Shadow High win? Personally, I have a theory. Have you noticed during Season 3 that every time we see Seoul Select’s contestants, the Royal Three, up on stage to perform, the story cuts away to other characters? We haven’t yet heard their song. I think we’ll hear it in the final because – dare I say it – I think Seoul Select will win. My theory is that both Rainbow High and Shadow High will both be disqualified due to cheating from the two sets of twins everybody loves to hate: the Devious Twins from Rainbow High, and the Storm Twins from Shadow High. Crazy, I know! I look forward to more episodes to see who will win Rainbow Vision.
Who do you think will win Rainbow Vision?
Dollsville, USA 
HI! Loved your article! I, too love these dolls and have bought quite a few recently. I also buy Monster High, Pullips, and Blythe dolls. It is so much fun to collect them and I am glad I’m not the only one judged for buying them! HA HA. You sure do write well! Are you a journalist? You do a great job with your blog. Thanks so much!