Bollywood Dance Costume

[mamared]

Kavi wears a vibrant Bollywood dance costume when she performs a dance routine with Pari and Sophie in her school’s musical revue. SKU#: HMC15 $45



This colorful costume (and especially the dance routine with Pari and Sophie when Kavi wears the costume) play an important role in Kavi's story, which makes me extra appreciative that I was able to purchase it along with Kavi. (Although now that I've read the story, I think it would be even more appropriate to have two of these costumes!)



Here's the website description along with additional thoughts and photos on each piece ...

A double-layer skirt—perfect for spinning and twirling—with a royal-blue base layer and a crimson outer layer featuring a gold print and gold trim - This lehenga is so pretty! In the story, it belongs to Pari's older sister who has outgrown it, and Pari's mom shortens the hem and takes in the waist to fit Kavi. (Pari has a matching outfit that still fits, which she wears in the routine.) The royal blue base layer and the red outer layer have a generous amount of material, which can spread out when spinning or even if fluffed out a bit. The blue under layer is plain, and the red outer layer has a gold medallion print all over with a gold ribbon trim along the bottom. The two layers are joined together at the waistline, which is gold fabric with a strip of the royal blue, and they're also both sewn into the seam that goes up the back of the lehenga. The waist closes with a strip of Velcro. The pattern of gold medallions doesn't match up at the back, but I don't think that would be very noticeable if someone is dancing and/or if the scarf is worn over it. Grade: A









A gold tikka with a colorful embroidered design that attaches to a semi-sheer red dupatta with a gold lace trim that can be worn on her head or across her body - The dupatta is made of a long rectangular piece of red mesh netting that is finished on all sides, and has gold lace trim along one of the long sides. I think it's a clever design feature that the gold tikka can be attached with Velcro in the middle of the long side and that it's also easily removed. The tikka is fairly thick and seems well made. In fact, it's so thick that it tends to stick out from Kavi's head if not placed just so, but I'm not sure if there's a better way to do it differently. (Metal might have been good for collectors but I would imagine there would be worries about metal damaging or discoloring Kavi. And I guess a sticker could have worked, but wouldn't last as long.) Grade: A-





A blue sequin top with a gold accent trim and puff sleeves - The lined top is covered with blue sequins and has gold bands on the neckline, bottom of the bodice, and the bottom of each puff sleeve. It closes with a strip of Velcro up the back. The top is cropped, so a bit of belly will show between the top and skirt. The color is great, and so is the overall look, but it was just a little tricky for me to put the top onto Kavi (and specifically guiding her hands through the bands at the end of each sleeve). Grade: A-





Red bindi stickers for her forehead, gold earring stickers, and red and white nail stickers for her hands and feet - These are all really nice extras to include in the set. I didn't use any of them yet, but the package includes 4 bindi stickers, 2 sets of gold earring stickers (4 earrings total), a set of 10 red nail stickers for fingers and for toes, and a set of 10 white nail stickers for fingers and for toes. I love the idea of this, but since there isn't any information included about whether the items are reusable or how to get more, I'm hesitant to try them out. Grade: A for the cuteness, D for the limited supply





A gold sequin choker necklace and matching gold sequin bracelet cuffs - The necklace and bracelets are all seem to be sturdy pieces that close with Velcro. Each bracelet cuff has three rows of gold sequins that go around it, and the necklace has two rows of gold sequins. I like these, and I think they're made well and add a lot to the outfit. Grade: A





Overall, I think this is a stunning outfit that plays an important role in the story, and I'm really glad that AG has it available as part of Kavi's collection.

Two more photos of everything that comes in the box:

[maddy479]

Quickie review to show how the outfit looks on an older doll! I love this outfit. I think it's well-made and worth the $45, though if you have the opportunity to get it on discount obviously that eases the blow. Here it is on a short body tag 47 (circa 2008):



The one thing I will note for those curious is that the top is snug on older dolls. The velcro closes almost all the way without straining too much, but you do have to tug, and there is a small gap near the waist. The doll's arms can still move freely. The skirt has plenty of give. If you or someone you know has limited motor skills, it should be okay, but the velcro may snag the sequins in the process of tugging it closed, so keep an eye out for that.



Having the doll's hair up really helps the dupatta drape nicely, and in a perfect world they would have done some kind of tutorial on how to do the hairstyle they picture on the web, but I guess that's life. There is velcro between the dupatta and the tikka and under the tikka, which helps the whole thing stay on the hair without damaging the hair on removal. It's a nice touch.

Overall, I give this outfit an A for attention to detail and integration into the stories and certainly recommend it as part of Kavi's collection. The fabrics are nice and there are a lot of pieces, which drives up the cost, but sub-$50 is pretty good for AG these days.

[Jamirae]

Bollywood is a big part of a lot of Indians’ lives. My DIL, and her sisters , though all born here in the US and very much mainstreamed into US culture love playing the music , streaming the videos, dancing, singing and watching Bollywood fare. Came back to their home the other night to strains of the music and walked in as my DIL was dancing and singing with my granddaughter in her arms with a Bollywood video on the screen. The baby already has several bright colored Indisn outfits that would fit right in with Kavi’s Bollywood outfit

So, my personal preferences in attire have to be put aside in assessing this realistic outfit. Firstly, I like some cohesion in my character dolls’ wardrobes and this outfit and pjs are out of that range. As is the meet top. So, there is a general feeling of dissatisfaction with Kavi’s wardrobe in general. Also, I don’t care for the brighter gaudier outfits that are the epitome of Bollywood wear. The Diwali outfit, I adore, and is definitely part of my Kavis’ wardrobes. The Bollywood outfit will go into my granddaughter’s Kavi stash. I don’t want it with my things

But the outfit is well made and fits well with her story, both, to me , important components of AG doll clothes . Also the colors are flattering to the doll. And, of course, irl, we don’t tend to have cohesive themed and color coordinated wardrobes. But with so few clothes, it works so much better, imo, when the. pieces fit together.

So, the outfit is wonderful and essential to the story and background. Makes a wonderful stand alone outfit , is well made and suits the doll. I give it an A in that regard, removing my personal quirks and preferences from the equation. However, my Personal Kavi won’t get this outfit.