All About Bratz Dolls - Fashion, Dress Up and Games

Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha and Jade; names well known by young girls as being the four most fashionable dolls on the scene, and with their individual personalities and fashion, every girl can have their favourite. But Bratz dolls (it's Bratz dolls, not brats dolls) are also good role models by promoting both aspiration and individuality.

The four characters possess their own style, wear the most up-to-date fashions and have a ‘passion for fashion’.

• Yasmin is described as ‘ultra girly’,
  
• Cloe ‘likes to play dress up’,
  
• Sasha is ‘edgy’ and
  
• Jade has her own, ‘quirky’ fashion sense, with the aspiration of becoming a fashion designer.

The outfits that each girl wears are entwined with their personalities; teaching the young owners of these dolls that it is always important to be yourself.

Bratz are Barbie’s biggest competitor, with many young girls preferring the modern look and styles of Bratz dolls to Barbie, who has changed very little since her release in 1959. Bratz are seen as being more up-to-date with the current world and attract attention with their modern outfit designs. Many parents agree that although Bratz dolls are depicted in heavy make-up, that they do not distort their childrens’ ideas of beauty as their large heads and disproportionate features make the dolls less of a realistic threat than Barbie, who is often criticised for portraying an unrealistic body image as though it were a ‘perfect’ ideal.

The fact that Bratz dolls toys market all four girls equally means that, although girls can have a favourite, they are more likely to own more than one of the characters. Although Barbie has made variations, such as Chelsea and Teresa, they are not widely marketed and children often end up with several different versions of Barbie herself. This means that children are both limited in their imaginative play, and have a restricted idea of beauty.

With Bratz dolls, children can collect the original four girls, but also have a wider choice of other dolls that have been created. Young girls thus have a widened idea of what beauty can entail, including different races, hair colours and fashion sense. Imaginative play is also made more fun, with girls being able to emulate the individual personalities created for each brats dolls, and playing with friends can be much more exciting when every girl has their favourite!

There is a whole range of Bratz dolls toys products including Lil’ Bratz dolls, Bratz Kidz dolls, Lil’ Angelz dolls, as well as Accessories, Electronics, Games and Sports which contain a Bratz theme. This is great for Bratz fans, who can collect all of their merchandise and variations of the dolls. The original Bratz girls are recognised for their distinctive look; large heads, wide almond shaped eyes and slim bodies attired in high-fashion clothes. Their clothes are easily added and removed, as they slip right off with the clever Velcro fastening, so hours of clothes-swapping fun can be had with these girls!

Bratz Boyzare also available, allowing for more fun characters when playing with friends, or alone!

Lil’ Bratz dolls are smaller versions of the original Bratz dolls, at three inches in height, and come in packs of all four girls! Their clothes are removable in the same way as the original Brats dolls’, and they have the same realistic hair!

Lil’ Bratz dolls have the same ‘passion for fashion’ as the original girls, and possess the same sassy looks.

Bratz Kidz depict the Bratz girls, but at a younger age. These dolls still have long, silky hair, but their clothes are snap-on, so changing their outfits has never been easier! They are also dressed more casually and child-like than their teenage counterparts, and are six inches tall.

There are currently sixteen different dolls to choose from, including the original four, and Bratz Boyz Kidz doll! Bratz Kidz dolls also feature in a film, where Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha and Jade are all invited to a sleepover, and some spooky stories are swapped among the girls!

Lil’ Angelz dolls add a pet-theme to the Bratz products; baby versions of the girls, with shorter, plastic hairstyles instead of the long, realistic hair the dolls usually have.

Now kidz can take care of their petz by getting them clean at bath time or becoming doctors, and taking care of them.

These dolls come with many pets for them to look after, of all different species, so the fun is endless!

Bratz have also created a line called ‘Bratz Plugged In’, which are a wide range of electronics, such as 13” televisions, cameras and alarm clocks.

These top of the range electronics mean that Bratz fans can have a girly, Bratz themed bedroom that they can show off to all of their friends!

Bratz merchandise also includes bedspreads, bedside lamps, and wall stickers, so now everything can match!

Bratz sell two games in stores currently; ‘Bratz Babyz Storybook Collection 3-D Memory Match-Up Game’ and ‘Sleep-over Board Game’. The object of the latter is to guess your friends’ favourite things, in order to learn more about them. This is a great way for girls to strengthen their friendships, and to have a great time at any sleepover! Bratz video games are also available, with Rock Angelz being the most popular of all, available for the Playstation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance and PC! These games contain the Bratz characters, and feature music from Bratz CDs, of which there are now many available!

Sporty Bratz fans need not worry either, as Bratz have created both a funky, purple skateboard embellished with pink butterflies, and a scooter in beautiful pastel shades – exercise and hanging out with friends never looked so good!

The range of Bratz Bikes is expanding rapidly too...

Online, Bratz fanatics can find Bratz Dress Up Games, such as ‘Bratz Makeover’ – after selecting your favourite doll, you can then change her appearance. Firstly, you can shampoo, rinse and dry her hair. When this is done it’s time to apply the make-up; blush, eyeshadow and mascara for the distinctive almond shaped eyes, and lipstick for the full, iconic Bratz lips. Then, it’s time for the nails – the length and colour can be altered, and extras such as rhinestones and butterfly motifs can be added. The final step is to add an image to the characters’ t-shirt & choose what colour glitter to finish off.

On the Bratz website itself, there are also games such as ‘Pack and Play’ which involves helping the Bratz girls to find the things that they need to pack in their hotel room, in order to go back home. This teaches young girls the responsibility of looking after their things, and the importance of putting things back in their rightful place in order to be able to find them; a dream for parents who need a helping hand teaching their children to tidy up after themselves!

There is also ‘The Love Meter’ which ‘calculates’ how well a relationship would work based on the names of the two people, and ‘Dream Life’ which is a computerised version of the popular children’s game MASH (Mansion, apartment, shack, house) which is usually played on paper to determine where you will live, who your partner will be, what job you will have and what car you will drive! ‘Love Meter’ and ‘Dream Life’ both give young girls a sense that they can determine the future, and thus excites them for what lies ahead in life.

Bratz are popping up on our screens, also, with their very own television programme in which the girls run their own teen magazine as well as keeping up with their school studies, and taking care of their social lives. Editor of their rival magazine, Burdine Maxwell, however, always injects some drama into the lives of the girls, and tries to stop everything running quite so smoothly.

In ‘Bratz: The Movie’, the girls go their own separate ways; their different interests and hobbies lead them to different lives, and new friends. But the girls are all reunited and become best of friends again after they are all put in detention for causing a food fight. This leads to fun times, new relationships, and the girls work together to win a talent show; one which has only ever been won by Meredith, the most popular girl in school! Bratz have also created many other films, both animated and 3D, some of which star Bratz Babyz and Bratz Kidz and are aimed at different age groups to ‘Bratz: The Movie’, respectively.

Girls can have hours of fun mixing and matching the clothes of the Bratz dolls, combining their individual styles to make funky new outfits! Online, plenty of amazing new clothes can also be bought for the dolls, and Bratz fans can also test out their creative skills by making new outfits themselves! Of course, it doesn’t stop there; the hairstyles you can create for the girls are endless!

On Ebay, a huge range of Bratz products can be found; DS skin stickers and children’s watches being among the most popular products available to buy. Handmade and custom outfits are also available, meaning that girls can have even more beautiful outfits to dress their dolls up in and show off to their friends!

by Julie-Ann Amos, professional writer, and owner of international writing agency www.ExquisiteWriting.com

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