Preamble
I love Reese Witherspoon. Yes, even though she is blonde, I just could eat her up alive! I loved her in Cruel Intentions, I adored her in The Importance of Being Ernest, and I worshipped her in Legally Blonde.

When I heard that she was returning as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde, I was excited, but realistic. Usually, sequels suck and in this case, I wasn't too far off from my steadfast rule of thumb.

Sigh.

The best thing to come out of this sequel though, was the fact that Reese decided to allow Mattel to make a doll based off of her Elle Woods character. Reese had MGM join her in donating a portion of the earnings to the Children's Defense Fund. Yay! Good for her!

But enough about Reese. Let me tell you about Mattel's, Elle Woods Barbie.

About Elle Woods
Elle is a young, successful lawyer-chick who just wants to make the world a better place. While working for a large, prestigious law firm, she discovers that one of their clients does animal testing. In fact, they're responsible for the imprisoning of her dog/companion/best friend's mother. Gasp! She has to take things into her own hands. Animal testing for cosmetics has to be banned - the price of beauty is just way too high...

Elle contacts her sorority sister and mentor, Congresswoman Victoria Rudd, and is invited to Washington D.C. to take on the world!

After going through several outfits (Too Nancy, Too Barbara, Too Hillary, Too Monica), she selects a crepe pink suit, with a matching pillbox hat, and matching accessories. She looks very Jackie O. - just blonde!

Just The Details Ma'am
Mattel's Elle Woods stands approximately 11 inches tall and is dressed in the exact same outfit that her character wore to capital hill. There are two pieces to her crepe, pink outfit which is designed in the same manner as the original (done by Sophie de Rakoff Carbonell). Her skirt is straight, lined with soft fabric, and has two solid, detailed stitch areas down the front. Of course, a real skirt like this would be buttoned and/or zipped. Here, it has elastic areas so that you can remove the skirt at will.

Elle's jacket matches her skirt exactly, down to the double-stitched fabric lines. The jacket's neckline is sweetheart framed with a scarf, made out of the same fabric that ties into a bow, fashioned to the side. Elle's neck proudly displays a double row of pearls on a choker. She wears pearl stud earrings to finish off the classic, Jackie O. look.

Every girl knows that the shoes you wear can make or break your outfit. Here, Elle wears strappy, fashionable, pink, open-toed pumps.

Just like every other working stiff in the world, Elle is forced to wear one of those "staff" badges which she clips to the front of her suit jacket. I'm telling you, even Elle can't make this accessory look inconspicuous.

Elle takes fashion seriously which is why her Chihuahua Bruiser, accompanies her, wearing a matching ensemble. The white, polka-dotted tote bag allows her to carry Bruiser with her, wherever she goes...

Elle Woods does come with a white display stand however, I'm sure little girls who ask for this, won't be using that for their doll.

Collector Elle?
So, although Mattel has put out several celebrity/character influenced dolls before, this is the first one that I think has interested both older and younger chicks alike. Reese Witherspoon is adored by many and Mattel probably could not have found a better person to model a doll after.

I'm torn over the collectibility of this release because of several factors. First, it was relatively cheap. Second, the box isn't all that special. It falls along the same lines as some of the other, cheaper collectibles. The box is about 4 inches wider than the doll. A single, column type box as opposed to the double one for dolls that are bit more extravagant.

The fabric of Elle's dress is pretty sturdy however, it is prone to soiling. I found that the fabric tends to attract dust more so than some of the other, glitzy fabrics (tulle, taffeta). Also, grimy hands seem to grunge up her outfit right away. The only real way to keep her clean is to keep her boxed up and on display.

The End
I'm going to hesitantly recommend Elle Woods and only to pop-culture chicks who aren't into collecting Barbie for the $$$.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 19.99