Wednesday 6 July 2011

Chad Vally Design A Friend Doll review

A few weeks ago, the lovely people at Chad Valley contacted me to see if we'd like to review one of their new (in fact, it's so new it hasn't even hit the shops yet !) toys here at The Madhouse. What kind of a question is that ?! We all said yes excitedly ! They told us we would be receiving the brand new Design A Friend Doll, a dress-up doll for little girls that looks great for playing alongside your child, as well as for allowing them to play for hours on their own, which is always great news for mums and dads.

As we started merrily unpacking the doll, first impressions were very good. She's beautiful and, very importantly, looks normal - no huge boobs and tiny waist, no scary makeup and no lolita-esque sexy clothes. She comes wearing a T-shirt and trousers that look very similar to what both 6-year-old Juliette and 9-year-old Sophie wear most of the time.


As you can see, she has a lovely fresh-faced, make-up free look that is perfect for little girls to relate to, and her luscious hair is perfect for playing hairdressers with. It's long and thick enough to make plaits, ponytails and bunches and Juliette even used some of her own slides and hairbands on it.

The doll is designed for children aged 3+ but is probably best suited to children aged 5-8, which left 6-year-old Juliette feeling mightily pleased as she told big sister Sophie it would be her job to be chief tester of the day !!


They (oh OK, we !) excitedly started unwrapping all of the glossy pink striped Design A Friend Collection boxes containing all the different outfits and accessories. The packaging looks really classy and reminded me of the kind of bags and boxes Julia Roberts was laden down with in Pretty Woman after hitting the designer boutiques on Rodeo Drive ! Nothing but the best for this dolly !



Wow ! The girls are well used to playing with fashion dolls, such as Barbie, Bratz and Liv dolls, which have a wide array of funky clothing, footwear and accessories, but they were blown away by the luxurious garments that they discovered carefully wrapped up in the boxes. The attention to detail is incredible and you can put together some really elegant and beautiful outfits. The girls couldn't stopping oohing and aahing, saying how expensive and pretty they look and how she looks ready to go to a princess party (Juliette) or Kate & William's wedding (Sophie) with all her finery on !


The doll also comes with a charm bracelet and (extremely clever marketing strategy here !) you get an extra charm in each add-on accessory pack.  There are 4 dolls, 12 different outfits and 5 different accessory sets to choose from - although I'm sure this will be added to progressively.


As the Design A Doll hasn't actually been released yet - it will become available when the new catalogues come out on 30th July - I can't give you a definite price, but the doll with one outfit and charm bracelet will cost in the region of £20, and if you choose to purchase another outfit & accessory set, you'll get the whole lot for £30. Given the outstanding quality of the clothes and accessories, the added bonus of the charm bracelet (which little girls will love) and the pretty doll, I think that's very reasonable, particularly compared to other fashion dolls on the market.

I love the fact that this Design A Doll fills a real gap in the market, halfway between the large-sized baby dolls that little girls always start with, and the smaller but often overly sexualised fashion dolls that tweens move on to, so that little girls can get interested in the dressing up/beautiful clothes side without the inappropriate make-up and fashion. The add-to-your-collection aspect also reminds me of Build A Bear, as does the high quality of the accessories, so if your little girl is more into dolls than cuddly toys, you know where to look.

To conclude, did the girls like her? There's no doubt about it, the squabbling over who would get to keep her in their bedroom shows that they certainly did ! 

star rating : 5/5

RRP : £20 for doll + outfit + charm bracelet

For more information :  http://www.argos.co.uk/chadvalley&#cmpid=ADCVMN (from the end of the month)

Other reviews you may be interested in :

35 comments:

  1. They look gorgeous and realistic and normal which is great for young girls to play with, and from what I can see the clothes look decent too. Thanks for letting us know about them.
    @maisietoo

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  2. They actually look rather cute - i think my girls would love them

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  3. This would be great for my cousins little girl, much better than the usual dolls!

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  4. they're great dolls. Im getting Ellie for xmas and buying sophie with my own money. so gorgeous!

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  5. and only 20 pounds!

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  6. Ive bought Sophie for my Daughter for christmas,with the extra outfit,and p.j's.It really is a lovely doll.I want one too : ) !It's really good quality,and all in boxes,like u get from a boutique!

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  7. I'm ten and i love them , they are like american girl doll's , a bit smaller tho...
    I have 2 , sophie and fraya , i think that's the right spellings. :')

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    Replies
    1. I am ten too and I am going to get ellen the
      design a doll today!!!!! :D

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  8. I have ellie who i just got 2 hours ago and i got sophie for christmas. I have not stoped playing with ellie and sophie since i got em. Great qaulity and great to play with! If you like dolls i highley recomend them.

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  9. Lush dolls with fab clothing and great hair.LOVE EM!

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  10. I like ellie sophie freya and new olivia but not alesha. Her hair is a bit you know and to me shes a teeny ugly.

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    1. Ok and I suppose you have the doll you are properly just jealous because your even uglier in real life and you should see the new her Poppy really beautiful and that's just my opinion so I guess that's yours

      5% That's ok it's just her opinion
      95% Miss it Miss OUT!!

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    2. That's a bit harsh

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  11. I have Sophie (Clara)and Ellie (Ila). There beautiful dolls and great quality! I highly reccomend them.

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  12. love them apart from alesha shes a little eww

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    Replies
    1. I agree my granddaughter's friend has her and my granddaughter (Grace) has Ellie. Her friend's Alisha doll had very frizzy hair. They slept over at mine because of my granddaughters birthday. We had a desginafreind doll tea party with a cake me and Grace made saying Ellie and Alisha. We had great fun

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    2. Everyone has different opinions and her hair may be a bit....Rough but that's no need too turn the table the doll proberly looks better than you and I hear the new doll Poppy is beautiful so the arrow points back please don't be offended by this

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  13. Although I will soon be 11,i Adore these dolls and I desperatley Want one. Im sure if I ask for one on my birthday everyone will think thats babyish. I would love to play with the hair and make outfits with my mums sewing set and Give her jewlery. But I have a sleepover also for my birthday and I am not quite sure if my friends will make fun of me.. I desperatley want Olivia (which I would rename at some point) and all I'm asking is should I really ask for this doll? Is it worth it?

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    Replies
    1. They are designed for slightly older girls so I say go for it ! You're only young once - make the most of it ! Hope you have a fun sleepover ! x

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    2. im 10 and i have 3 ur never to old for dolls !!!!!!!!!!!!

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    3. sounds like me again :0

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  14. i can't wait i am getting my doll today,epic :):):):)

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  15. OMG she is sooooooooooooooooo cute the doll i mean

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  16. Hi
    lovely to hear so many nice comments on the the dolls.I am 11 soon to be 12 and iv had parents,family and friends think im a bit to old for them but I still love them iv got olivia now renamed Emma and I love her to bits.U r never to old for dolls the people that are more into bags fashion and stuff have left childhood.Have fun with you designa friend :)

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  17. Does anybody know whether the dolls have a full plastic body or is it made of fabric as well as the plastic limbs? Also how good is the dolls hair? Is it the stuff that falls out and goes everywhere or not? Thanks xx She wants to use it in the bath. What are people's thoughts on this please. Xx

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    Replies
    1. No, the body is made of soft material - definitely not one for putting in the bath, it would wreck it which would be a waste. The hair is gorgeous and doesn't fall out.

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    2. Thanks xx you just saved me £20 :)

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  18. My daughter is 11+, will be 12 in march. She asked for a doll for Christmas but i taught she is too old for dolls. She is craving deeply for it and spends a lot of her time looking at argos catalogue for dolls. She did not treat her dolls well when she was younger, do you think this interest should be encouraged nor that she is in secondary school and has school work to do.

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    1. Give it a couple of years and she'll be into boys and Facebook !

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    2. Sound like me!! :0

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  19. i bought my grandaughter lily for her sixth birthday and she loves her she goes every place with her finding it hard to get the out fits they are never in stock is there a direct outlet

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    1. My grandaughter loves looking at them in the argos book she loves jasmine she is only 3 so this is on my list for christmas

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