Before we go any further into the week, I have to tell you about Blogalicious 2009. I had an amazing time. Aside from meeting a cadre of fantastic bloggers, I danced, played princess with Disney and even got behind the wheel of a Camaro (that OnStar system is out of this world). The conference was at the W hotel in Atlanta. The staff was wonderful and the decor was different, modern, but there was just something about the room that made me feel that any minute I’d get Tyra Mail (you are still in the running to become the next top blogger). I listened to a reading by author and fellow blogger, Denene Millner and a couple of songs by new artist Priscilla Renae.
In spite of my intentional decision to travel light, I still ended up with enough swag to register my suitcase a whopping 66 pounds at the airport. The rule is anything over 50 pounds is $50. And since I play by the rules, I did what any savvy and sophisticated diva would do. I began unpacking and playing shuffle between my check-in and carry-on with all of my Blogalicious, swagalicious goodies, until their hearts were moved with pity and took my bag. What’s a few pounds here or there. Sometimes life does give you an A for effort (and let’s you save an additional $30).
I met so many cool people this weekend, that this post would turn into a novella, if I tried to recount every story and encounter. One in particular stood out and that was Stacey McBride-Irby, designer of the new S.I.S Barbie Dolls. The S.I.S stands for So In Style, but trust me these dolls are sisters and unlike the attempts before them, they really do capture the unique beauty of African American women. They are four dolls with different skin tones, hair styles and distinct features. McBride-Irby, wanted to not only capture African American beauty but also to promote that spirit of sisterhood. So each doll is a big sister/mentor and is paired with a younger doll, which also has her own unique beauty. I love it.! I am tempted to go out and buy the full set. I mean these are not the Barbies I grew up with. Just think about it, had you been surrounded by representations of your real beauty, not just in your mommy and aunties (not that they didn’t have it going on), but completely surrounded by it as a child, how would that have affected your view of yourself?
I also love that the dolls have different goals, dreams and yes, hair. During McBride-Irby’s interview with CNN, it was mentioned that some were, ahem…concerned about the fact that all of the dolls have long hair. My question is, how bad of a bad hair day do you have to experience to hate on Barbie? They are dolls and most little girls and their younger brothers eventually give them a pixie cut anyway. So they need to have some length to start with. Could you imagine if each doll had really short hair, what would the reaction be then? Don’t worry, I won’t go there. I’ll leave that to Chris Rock. By the way, I’m a little peeved that Good Hair is not playing in my area. I ‘ll have to take a day trip or wait for the DVD. But since everyone has been making hair confessions lately, I have a few of my own. Stay tuned this week.
Well, here are a few pics. Enjoy!
