Skipper Highlight Reel: A Trio of Customs

My Skipper collection has grown over the past few weeks! This Skipper Highlight Reel post covers three new custom dolls that just arrived! The first two Skippers were sent to me by my friend Arnaldo. He’s been working on Barbie customs for years and has even been featured in popular doll magazines! I met Arnaldo at a Kenvention a few years back. His customs were pretty awesome looking, but even more so, his personality was amazing. Because of this, I leapt at the chance to pick up a Skipper custom that went on sale recently on his Facebook page. The custom? A brown-eyed titian Skipper. I’ve always admired Arnaldo’s brown-eyed girls, because, as you probably know, vintage Skippers were never released with anything but blue eyes. Check the custom out below!

He was kind enough to send a surprise inside the box, as well! This Malibu Skipper has had her hair done up in a cute un-Skipper like ‘do.

The final Skipper in this post is one I commissioned. I hinted in a video a few months ago that I had purchased a Skipper doll for a special project. To make my idea a reality, I enlisted the help of Krista’s Doll Restoration. She’d done work for me in the past and I knew I could trust her skills to make my very special Skipper come to life. So, what was the project, you ask? Well, I commissioned a Skipper doll that mimicked the Skipper shown in the first ever Skipper commercial. In that commercial, Skipper didn’t have a side glance; she looked straight ahead. You can see it in the video below.

Because the reality of one of the Skipper dolls seen in the commercial popping up on eBay, let alone at a price I could afford, is a pipe dream, I figured why not create one, or ask a talented friend to make one for me! Below is the outcome and I’m very, very pleased with the results.

To compare, here’s a normal Skipper standing next to Krista’s fantastic custom prototype Skipper inspired by the original Skipper commercial.

I did have one slight hiccup in making this custom Skipper a reality. The doll I originally bought for this project is not the one you see in the pictures. I had first thought of going to a different person to create this custom, but after sending my doll off, the person dropped off the face of the earth. After a few months of zero communication, I decided that I needed to go elsewhere. I don’t think I’ll be seeing that doll again, but thankfully no money was exchanged.

I should have gone to Krista in the first place. She was kind enough to sell me a doll at a good price. Krista did an amazing job on Skipper and did it very quickly, too! (To learn more about Krista, visit her website!) I’m very pleased with how this straight gaze Skipper doll turned out!

Read more Skipper Highlight Reel posts here. What do you think of these three customs? What do you think of my special project? Have you commissioned a custom recently? Share your thoughts in the comment area!