Modest is Hottest!
This may be a little off topic, but I just had to share.
A couple years ago while surfing around Pinterest, I saw this idea and though genius! A mother, like myself who was sick of seeing unclad barbies lying around willy nillly, took a sharpie and well… here is the result.
We only had one barbie at the time, and call me a prude if you must, but you better believe I got my sharpie out and drew on that cute little suit. Well, I wasn’t totally happy with the results. Mine had pen marks and when I tried to go over the same spot it lifted off the first layer instead of darkening it. So, while it was better than nothing I still didn’t love it.
Fast forward a year or so. We now have more than one Barbie and I really wanted to fix the problem (which is my girls know how to take the clothes off, but not get them back on)… enter nail polish. That is when it hit me, I could not only cover up these immodest dolls, I could make it SUPER cute and totally colorful!
If you love this idea, please share it!!!
And of course I am going to show you how I did it…. (just in time for Christmas… yes, I just said the “C” word before Halloween, I am a rebel like that!) So I bought some brand new Disney princess dolls to demonstrate how easy this is.
Here they all are fresh out of the box, with their hair all pristine and their dresses still in place. Live it up girls, that is the last time you will look this good!!! (it only takes one tiny 2 year old to change that REALLY quickly!)
And about 3 minutes later…
Goodness, I love this little mini girl!!!
Okay, so the process is really easy. Just lift the doll’s arms out of the way and start with the top line. I usually do a sweetheart neck line in front, and carry the line diagonally down the side and joining it in the back, then just fill the body portion of the doll below. Move the legs as necessary, just watch out, because sometimes when you move the leg it will hit the body. You can do as many coats as you need, and you can re-coat as necessary. Also, if you mess up at all you can remove the spot with some remover on a q-tip.
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Between coats, they can practice a little yoga in the sunlight as they dry out.
Give them a good hour to cure, if you do more than one coat, you don’t want ugly smudges! The best part is all the color choices you have! And this is what you get front and back:
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Hey everyone! It looks like a MODEST pool party on the roof of the Barbie Dream house!
So what do you think? So excited about having modest Barbies around in between outfit changes! If you like this idea please share it! Thanks guys!
EDIT: So apparently people are ticked that I painted nail polish bathing suits on my barbies… so here is my response. I should explain that it is hard for me to express this without being passionate after the lash out that I have received in the last couple days. So forgive me for my somewhat passionate and defensive response.
I think this is a super smart idea. If the kids can’t get the clothes back on then there you have it…. a swim suit. This isn’t a new topic at all as when I was growing up Some barbie or barbie like doll (90210 or Pocahontas dolls maybe? not sure) had a strapless bra and panties painted on them already. My mom loved it. To me as a kid it made no difference to me if she has the swimsuit or not. It was just a doll. I do love the idea of using it as a tool to teach children about modesty. Anyone who has an issue about it needs to think twice. FIrst off this is a blog where you can openly express your ideas and thoughts. It is one thing to ask questions and pose an appropriate opposing response but don’t jump out on a limb things. if you don’t like it then move on to somewhere else. I personally love when people share things like this. Its something that I would never have thought to do and it works so well!
This is a great idea! I was floored that anyone would get upset by nail polish-painted dolls! People read waaaaaay too much into things and need to chill. The yoga poses made me laugh out loud. Keep up the creativity my remodeling friend!
I love this idea!!! Pure genius 🙂 I was wondering though, how long does the nail polish stay on? I worry about it chipping soon after painting it.
Hi Alyssa! All of ours has held up fine. Thanks!
I just wanted you to know that there are so very many people that are doing the same as you! Showing/teaching our children to be modest is the very best thing we can do as parents! Please don’t let those others tear you down. Teaching our girls to be modest shows them that we love our bodies. It shows them that our bodies are special and they are not for others to use and abuse.
GOOD PARENTING! Just remember that you are not alone! Keep up the good fight 🙂
Thank you Tami!!
Thank you for the tutorial! I love this idea and look forward to doing this with my girls’ dolls. It disturbs me to have so many naked dolls around the house, but my 2 year old loves undressing her sister’s dolls. She’s just to small to dress them again. Question: is there a better nail polish to use? Does the nail polish chip off? I would love to see another post on how the polish has held up over time.
Hi Paula! All the nail polish we have used has held up fine. Thanks!
I’m a childcare worker and we always have this problem. I love your solution and plan to share it with co-workers. Do you ever find the polish to peal?
It hasn’t peeled at all. There are a few that have scratched from wear, but you can just add another coat if needed. I did this well over a year ago and haven’t had to fix any so far.
Very cute idea! A two-piece version might be cute to try as well 🙂
Looks to me like there are more supportive comments than negative ones.
Comments can be hurtful but keep your head up and stand firm. Barbie dolls should wear underpants… there is a miniature version of everything else for a Barbie so why not underwear??
I know a few Barbies who will be getting ‘suited’ real soon in my house.
Cheers for the great idea! Tara
Love, love, love you idea. I have 30+ Barbie dolls that I clean, style their hair, and make clothing for them if needed and I give them away at Christmas for kids. The idea of making 30 pair of panties was something I was not looking forward to. Looks great!
I love this! My daughter leaves her Barbie dolls all over the playroom and I end up with little boys (1-6 years old) playing with naked barbies! If it was just my little guy I wouldn’t care, but since I have 2 daycare boys and all the neighbourhood kids end up at my house to play that can get a little weird sometimes, especially since some parents are more conservative than others. In the end, it’s a personal preference. If you don’t care about naked dolls then ignore the post. But for those of us who want an alternative, this is a great option 🙂
When I see the way some teenage girls dress these days………….I wish their moms had painted their barbie dolls to. GREAT IDEA.
I’m so happy to have found another mother like myself. If our children aren’t properly ashamed of plastic then how can they be with their own bodies?
My daughter is 6 and is just now getting into Barbies. I have a 9 year old boy too. I despise seeing these dolls lying around naked. I love this idea! All of our dolls will be getting bathing suits this week! Thanks for sharing!
This is such a great idea!!
I came across this page via Pinterest, where I had been thinking about doing the same thing with my 8 year old’s dolls. Glad to know that it’s doable!
Barbies have often been the staple of childhood. As it involves imaginative play, I don’t tend to think that kids are obsessing and over-sexualizing Barbie’s body. I think they are mainly playing with them in the sense of “Barbie is babysitting her sisters and they are going to have a slumber party”. You know? And personally, I am not jealous over Barbie– especially with her fried hair after a year or two of being played with! I think it’s the parents and psychologists who have spent too much time over-analyzing their own body image issues and have therefore deemed it as something a young child feels as well.
I can remember getting a fashion pack from JC Penneys for Christmas as a little girl, and being so happy when they included bra and panties in it. It meant that the dolls could be more ‘realistic’ to me. And with my own daughter saying things like “I wish Ken’s underpants were painted, because they look see-through” with the way they are now, I get it.
It’s more of following the social mainstream with fashion that causes the need for these things. And with Barbie already being a fashion icon of sorts, it’s up the person how they want to dress her. I say, if you want to do it– great. If you don’t want to, then don’t. It’s just an idea– nothing to shake up the youth of the world with, lol!
I love this idea! My daughters know that the Lord has made there bodies, and that they are beautiful and special just the way they are. But they also know that God has made parts of the body that are sacred and not to be seen or touched by others. And before you flip out they are still very little and have not been told yet about the beauty of marriage. I would like to ask what you have used to paint these dolls. My daughter loves to bathe her Barbies and I’m sure paint probably wont last very long. 🙂
AJ it is nail polish it has lasted 2 years without any problems! It could handle baths!
Thanks so much for the idea, I love their nail polish suits they are cute. I love nail art, so I will add some little nail polish bows and things to mine. I don’t understand all the negative comments saying you need to teach your girls to love their bodies. Here is the thing, we don’t look like barbies. We aren’t an anatomically incorrect one colored lump. I don’t think it’s the fact they are naked that bothers me but the fact they are boring not colorful lumps of plastic. Thanks again for the idea 🙂
This is genius!!!!! My 3 year old is into barbie now and it was a bit of a Frozen/Sophia the 1st/Barbie Christmas…..They are all naked and I try to teach her how to put the clothes on them…..really b/c I hate picking them up:) I am sooooo going to get out my nail polish and paint some suits on the girls:)
Thank you so much for this genius idea!!! My daughters loved it! We have always bought the Barbies with modest clothing, but they never have modest swimsuits. We painted their dolls & they look awesome! 🙂
I THINK IT IS A WONDERFUL IDEA THANK YOU, I do not care for Barbie running around nude either.
also, I can not stand how children today have to have less and less on to think good about themselves showing all their parts in the process. I have 2 teenage girls and a 5 yr old girl it is a nightmare shopping with them all because they are always wanting the tiny clothes everyone else has. I wonder why though because even barbie when she is dressed barely has clothes on depending on the outfit the children need to love their bodies yes but they also need to be taught that they can look beautiful with it covered as well and not show all the boys their stuff or where it cause the other girls do to. YOU CAN LOOK BEAUTIFUL EVEN IF YOUR COVERED!!!