Fisher Price managed to fill a previously empty gap in the toy department. Previously, there was not a ‘dress up’ doll for the toddler set (2-4) that was appropriate. Many little girls wanted to play with Polly Pocket or Barbie, but the dressing and undressing of them was frustrating- now there is Snap N Style. This line of 7″ dolls are easy for little hands to manipulate and provide a wide variety of dressing options.
Pros
The dolls are a great size (7″) for little hands and very sturdy. They each come with brushable hair and a variety of 3 outfits, a pair of shoes, and a hat. Fisher-Price offers a wide variety of multi-cultural variations- with 9 different varieties of Doll style. Extra outfits are also appropriate and offer a good selection- such as soccer, karate, PJs, School Clothes, and Birthday. It is refreshing to see cute, kid-like dolls that look like kids instead of teens. The dolls are modestly covered in a swimsuit like covering when they are not wearing a Snap N Style outfit. All the Snap N Style pieces are large enough to not pose a choking hazard, but small enough to manipulate and playing with the outfits is great fine motor practice for little fingers!These dolls are unique and are a great first ‘dress-up’ doll for the youngest set. They are a favorite of my 2 year old twins. They are available directly from Fisher Price at Fisher Price.com so you do not have to hunt all over town for hard to find dolls.
Cons
As an adult, I find it strange to have dolls that have clothing only on their fronts. Yet, Fisher Price must have thought of that and gave the dolls long enough hair that it is not very noticeable. Their are as of now (Oct 07) only girl dolls available, and I know that the majority of girls would prefer girl dolls. Yet, a boy version would provide a nice addition to the line they currently offer. The dolls all have the same face- just variations of eye and hair. They all have tiny button noses and huge eyes ( not a freckle or pair of glasses in sight)- this is not a very accurate portrayal of todays population, although they do look like little girls instead of vamped up teen dolls. A few of the pieces have been harder to snap on, but when my 2 year olds try a few times, it always works. Another con is that a single outfit retails for 6-9 $, this is when a doll and three outfits go for 10- 14$. Since it is cheaper to buy sets with dolls than outfits (each doll comes with 3 outfits) than single outfits, often you will end up with several dolls! Lastly, it can be hard to find the dolls at times. Kohls, Toys Rus, and Walmart had limited varieties and often were out of stock of the dolls. Amazon .com has them available, but they are up to 3 times the suggested retail price (10$).
Overall, the Snap N Style dolls have been a great toy and have provided hours of amusement for my 2 year olds. I would recommend them to anyone with a girl in the 2-4 year old range!
