*REVIEW* Sophia's Doll Comparisons

Did you know that our favorite doll clothes maker now sells two types of 18 inch dolls too? Let’s have a look!

On the left in the beautiful pink PJ's and bunny slippers is Sophia’s soft bodied, black haired Julia doll. On the right is the newer slim vinyl bodied, red head Miley. Both are in their original packaging as I received them. Julia is part of the Modern Girl Collection and does come in a window box (like Miley’s with different graphics) depending on how she is ordered. Miley is from the Everyday Friends line.

Julia quickly shed her plastic bag and hairnet. In terms of deboxing, she is the easiest doll I have ever “unboxed.” The clear bag could easily be repurposed as a dust cover for any 18 inch doll. As far as I’m concerned, this is a zero waste deliverable and there cannot be enough good said about that.

Miley did not take long to debox either. She also came with a protective hairnet…and three wire fasteners and four silica gel packs (for freshness so … good for the doll but bad for the pets and small children in your life so be careful). The wire fasteners were attached simply and effectively without over-taping or excess. Her window box has an inner cardboard shell.

There was a folded piece of tissue paper under the wire fastener that did a very good job shielding the vinyl from the fastener.  

 

Julia found a very good use for the inner sleeve of Miley’s box. Instant bed!

Miley does not have sleep eyes. Julia does. Julia’s eyelids are lighter than her skin tone. Julia is the darkest skinned doll in the original soft bodied line and likely shares the same eye parts as her lighter skinned sisters. 

Side by side in their original outfits, differences soon emerge. Julia’s shoulders appear very wide at first glance. Both dolls stand well without shoes. They both also stand in Miley’s shoes and neither stands well in the bunny slippers (which is only fair since they are bunny slippers). 

Both dolls have beautiful long hair. Julia has a wig. Miley has rooted hair. Julia’s hair had more flyways and a few free strands that shed with a finger brushing. Miley’s red hair did not shed with finger brushing. Because of the neck fastener, Miley’s hair has a “bump.” A hot water dunk would easily make her hair straight again. The color of both the black and the red is very lifelike and vivid. The hair texture is silky and just want you would want for a dolly. 

Both dollies have perfect French pedicures. They have the same feet sculpt.

Julia comes in her PJ's and this lovely floral underwear. What a sweet surprise! Julia’s jammies and undies are very well made. They appear durable and child friendly for dolly dressing. 

This is Julia’s arm. Both dolls have these delightful elbow “dimples.”

Julia’s broad shoulders give her a good range of motion. Her arms can be close to her body.

And here Julia’s arms are stretched out. It may not seem like it but that is a great range of motion for a soft bodied doll. Typically, a soft bodied 18 inch doll has 5 points of articulation, the neck, shoulders and legs at the hip. Julia has the ability to turn her head but not tilt it to look “at” something.

One issue with soft bodied dolls is how their leg joints will allow them to sit. In brief, Julia’s don’t. She can do great splits though and would be an awesome dolly for a budding gymnast. 

Miley comes with her own well-constructed panties (they are not falling down, I ruched them down so you can see her tummy). The simple white panties are perfect for under her pretty dress. I love how the shoes and dress coordinate. Miley’s little sculpted belly “button” is so cute! Both her chest and bum reflect the suggestion of child proportion musculature in the sculpt. 

As much as I love this dress design, slipping the dress off the doll resulted in the fabric of the dress getting stuck in the dress fastener. I was able to carefully extract the fabric from the hooks in the fastener but I can see how this could easily result in the destruction of the dress fairly quickly in less careful hands (like child’s play). The long strip of fastener allows the dress seam to lay nice and flat but the trade off is the sleek fabric potentially becoming pilled from getting caught in it.

From the back, you can see Miley’s little tushy. How cute is that? You can also see how well matched her face and body vinyl color are. It is very common for mismatching of vinyl in lower quality all vinyl dolls. Sophia’s dolls are considered superior play quality dolls (rather than collectible or “cheap”). Miley also has 5 points of articulation. Her head turns but she also does not look up or down.

Miley does not have any side range of motion in her arms. They go up. They go down. 

There is incredible attention to detail on the underside of these tootsies. These are Julia’s toes but both dolls have this feature. 

Close up of view of the doll’s nails. The finish on the nails is shiny so I’ve been referring to it as a French manicure but it also reflects what a healthy nail would look like with just a little oomph to the presentation. It’s a level of detail missing from many dolls on the market today. The wrist creases and knuckle joints are also easy to see in this photo.

Miley does a wide straddle when she sits.

A close up of both faces shows how coloring can customize a doll sculpt. Julia is the older of the two styles and has a simpler face paint. She has a natural colored paint on her lips and cheeks. Her eyebrows are a very organic arch. Julia has what is referred to as a pinwheel color dispersion in her eyes whereas Miley’s fixed eyes are a brilliant blue star burst pattern. Miley has feathered brows that match the coloring of her lashes complimenting her auburn hair. Her lip paint is richer in hue and still very natural looking.

Tilting back their heads, you can see that Miley’s lips fade in color as they go inward. This is impressive and even lovelier in person. Julia’s lips have a light sheen to them that looks youthful and slightly shimmery at the same time.

 So can they swap clothes with such different body types? You betcha! Julia’s floral panties are a tad swimmy on Miley but they do fit with what I would call a loose fit. The waist is elastic; they will not slide down. Miley’s white underwear fits Julia snuggly with ease (also elastic waisted).

Two friends playing dress up! Julia’s hair bow was not stitched to her so it was easy to try in Miley’s hair. The satiny pink PJ's look stunning with Miley’s red hair. She cannot stand up wearing the bunny slippers but they do fit just fine. Julia looks stunning in Miley’s bright blue and pink ensemble.

Both the Sophia’s 18 inch soft body and all vinyl dolls have high play value and love the camera. Each body type comes in blonde, brunette, auburn (redhead) and black hair versions.

LADL and Nonna would like to thank Sophia’s for providing Julia and Miley to show our readers.

Nonna’s secret notes: These dolls are SO CUTE. My collection started with ethnic 18 inch dolls to compliment my children’s dolls but I secretly love all redheaded dolls (like many of you!). Of all the non-AG dolls on the market right now, Sophia’s dolls really are a cut above. They retail slightly over $50 a piece so they are not super store/center market babies you pick up on a whim (although, watch Zulily for deals if the prices seem dear to your personal wallet); this doll is value for money. The exoticness of the Sophia’s face sculpt translates to multiple skin tones very well. I feel strongly that Julia (and her all vinyl counterpart Brooklyn) could be recognizable across many ethnicities. However, that said, Sophia’s dolls do not come in a darker than medium skin tone. There are many new dolls on the market that are exclusively darker skinned that do not offer a light skinned version so I feel that in terms of market success, this is a realistic choice for Sophia’s using only one face sculpt. I consider this a huge success as the face sculpt is darling and lends itself to many interpretations of expression depending at which angle you photograph your doll. I’ve been buying Sophia’s clothes for nearly 20 years and their quality is consistent. I’m simply delighted to have the opportunity to share these beautiful dolls with LADL readers. So…what do you think?