By Casey King
As Black Friday is getting closer and the holiday shopping season just a few days away, there has been some buzz about a new toy in the market. Her name is Lammily, a new “average” size Barbie doll. Lammily has a more average body shape than her counterpart Barbie. As well as 38 different stickers called “Lammily Marks” that children can use to customize their doll with anything from cellulite and acne to tattoos and scars. Her untouched look and more realistic beauty is appealing for some buyers, as highlighted in her recent launch video.
Nickolay Lamm is the creator of the doll. He raised more that $500,000 in 2014 in order to start creating the dolls. Lamm says that he wants “to show that reality is beautiful, that life is beautiful, and there should be a line of dolls, which reflects this fact.”
Costing $25.00 a doll, Lammily is expected to be a big hit on Black Friday due to her great reviews. In the testing phase, young children seem to really like the unique doll and her relatable look. When getting their first glance at the doll they compared her to their sister or aunt. They appreciated that this new doll has different features than their other toys. A big hit among the children was that Lammily’s feet are unlike Barbie’s, whose feet are stuck pointed for all of her high heels. The children saw Barbie as being a surfer or model but Lammily was seen in their eyes as a teacher or a pilot.
If the doll does become a success this will open a whole new type of market and toy business. Realistic, body-positive dolls would need clothes, accessories, cars, and other extra playing pieces that could create a huge industry. However, others are more skeptical of the doll. Some reviewers are saying that if the doll is based on being “average” and body positive then she has missed her mark. Critics of the doll say that Lammily is still a white, thin girl with beautiful hair just like Barbie. Her body may be realistic, but her measurements would still make her very thin if she were real. Which then may leave girls thinking something most definitely is wrong with their body if they don’t look like the doll that is suppose to be “average”. The removable stickers could also be an issue. In that they are sending a message that says flaws in our body can be removed, controlled, and fixed with no problem.
Lammily is a step up from Barbie with her positive body image. She is something new that can give children a different doll to see as beautiful instead of their platinum blonde Barbie. It will be interesting to see where the Lammily doll will go from here, especially with the holiday season coming up. For more information on the Lammily doll, or to order your own, you can visit www.lammily.com.