This outfit was part of a mid year (June 2023) release for Kavi, which consisted of the pair of costumes from Kavi’s favorite Broadway show- the icy-blue dress worn by Glinda “the Good Witch” in Wicked, and this lacy black dress worn by Elphaba “the Wicked Witch”.
I purchased it at the LA store later in the fall, thinking it might be a nice outfit option for my Shimmering Silver doll. I ended up not liking it much with her platinum colored hair and fair features, but I think it’s well-made and looks especially nice with Kavi’s darker hair and features.
Here’s AG’s description, followed by some additional thoughts and photos:
Kavi’s favorite musical is Wicked, and she can’t believe she finally gets to see it on Broadway with her grandmother and two best friends, Pari and Sophie. This authentic replica of the Elphaba, the “Wicked” Witch, costume—designed in collaboration with Wicked—brings Kavi’s Broadway dreams to life.
Premium features:
A black lace top with a high neckline, rainbow underlay, and lace ruffles at the shoulder and wrists, a black cape that attaches to the top with a button, and a full skirt with tiered asymmetrical tulle ruffles and a multicolored underlay; A black tonal-print witch hat that curves to the side at the top.
Also includes:
A broom with a handle so dolls can hold it; A pair of black lace-up-style boots.
SKU#: HNW65 $79The top and skirt are both made of a rainbow polyester underlay covered with black lace. The top has long sleeves, a high neckline, a zigzag bottom, and lace ruffles along the shoulders, neck, and wrists. There’s a plastic oval vanity tag at the bottom edge, and like the skirt, the top closes with a single strip of Velcro up the back.
I didn’t notice the asymmetrical shoulder ruffles until writing this review:
From the back:
Close up on Kavi:
The rainbow waistband of the skirt is covered by the top when the doll is wearing it. In addition to the black lace overlay, the skirt is covered with asymmetrical black tulle ruffles. The shape of the skirt flares out at the bottom and it looks full from the front and back, but has a relatively narrow profile from the side.
Close up of waist band and tule ruffles:
The top and skirt both fit easily on Kavi, and I think they could fit well on a slightly larger doll, too. The reverse side of the rainbow polyester underlay is smooth and almost gives the impression of lining.
A black cape attaches to the back of the top with a pair of little back buttons. The elastic loops that the buttons go through are sewn into the back of the top at shoulder blade level. I didn’t even notice the loops until I was specifically looking for how to attach the cape. The cape itself is made of a somewhat clingy fabric. I would have liked some kind of handhold on the side of the cape so it would be easier to pose Kavi with her cape spread out.
The cape (the label goes on the inside at the top):
Close up of the buttons:
The button loop:
With the cape attached:
The overall look from the back:
Elphaba’s black witch hat is made of a different fabric. It’s sewn with a curve at the top, as shown in the photo above. The hat fits well on Kavi’s head, and although it’s not too big, it could probably work with someone with a slightly larger head or thicker hair, too. The fabric on the hat has a black-on-black pattern that I think looks a little like snake skin (in pattern but not texture).
The brim is flexible and unreinforced:
Close up of hat fabric:
Kavi’s broom is made of heavy-duty plastic. It’s about a foot tall, and it has a clear plastic band that can fit around her hand so Kavi can hold it (although it’s too heavy for her to hold in the air). The broom can stand on its own, albeit at an angle.
The broom standing on its own (next to the hat):
With Kavi:
Close up of handle:
The boots are very cute. They are tall black boots with permanent laces up the front, Velcro closures up the back, and high heels that make them a little tricky to balance in. (I didn’t need to use a stand for my Kavi, but I did have to position her just so.)
From the side:
From the front:
On Kavi (the smooth underside of the skirt fabric is also visible in this photo):
Overall, my feeling is that this is a fun and well made outfit. I haven’t seen the Broadway production of Wicked so I can’t speak to the outfit’s authenticity, but I really like the quality of the pieces as well as the general look of the black lace overly and the rainbow colors underneath. Other positives include the separate top and skirt (which means they could possibly be used in other mix-and-match combinations), and the cute but tippy boots. I’m less enthusiastic about the cape, mainly because of the clingy fabric and the difficulty in posing Kavi with the cape spread out (although I do admire the way it attaches to and detaches from the top), and I’m also a little ambivalent about the shape of the skirt (as my personal preference would be a more full skirt, but I suspect this might not be authentic to the Broadway production). With all this in mind, I think I’d give the set a B/B+ at the original price, and an A if it were acquired for around the $60-65 mark.
I want to finish up by mentioning the packaging, because there is A LOT of packaging with this set. It comes in a large box with all of the pieces displayed, held in place by plastic forms, all of which sadly seemed excessive and wasteful in my mind.
I no longer have the original box, but I do have these photos from the back of the box:
