Many of Ostlie's creations feature shorter hair, textured hair, or curly hair - a hard thing to get right, but the effect comes through beautifully.

The features and styles used on some of the dolls defy easy racial categorization.

Some of the dolls look like they are modeled on women from the real world.

Am I the only one that thinks this doll looks like Brandy?

Oh wait a sec - there was a Brandy doll! And it looks true to life! What did Mattel do, say "fuck this mold" when they were done and lock it away somewhere?

I used to wear a very similar style when I was a child - big, thick braids, though I am sure if I had this doll, I would have begged my mother for this twist style.

This pixie-esque curly do is really cute!

Loving the highly textured hair as well as the skin tone.

Could this be the first genderqueer doll? It's certainly the first one I've seen - and I have a friend I'd love to gift it to.

It is Barbie's 50th birthday, after all, and Mattel does have those new black Barbies to promote. And while this supplement is not full-sized like a regular magazine (it's about 6 inches wide; 7.5 inches long) somehow the doll scale makes sense.

Is it a little sad that instead of gorgeous black models, we only get to see plastic dolls propped up in poses? Sorta. But the issue is elaborate, fun, detailed and enchanting, with absolutely stunning photography.

The supplement is divided into many sections, this one is called "Hat Mania."

What is not to love? I might frame this one.

This is from a section called "The Tourist Glam." Notice how the dolls are toting tiny issues of last year's Italian Vogue!

Not for chewing, for admiring only: Shoes.

According to the index in the back, this is "Pop Life!" Barbie in this "Sixties Fever" spread. She looks swinging, but did the editors mix up the '60s and the 70s? Isn't it "Disco Fever" and disco balls?

This diva is Diana Ross Barbie.

In an elegant series of photos titled "Red Carpet," this image stood out as the worst.

The "Shape Up" story included swim, track and tennis spreads.

I have mixed feelings about the "Ethnic Chic" photo shoot. While I appreciate the effort, one of the dolls used was the "Fantasy Goddess of Africa Barbie" by Bob Mackie. Not sure how much is authenticity and how much is just a love of feathers.

Diversity in hair textures are a thumbs up, however.

From "The Royal Way" spread, immediately following the "ethnic" spread, which doesn't say anything about colonialism, does it?

Another really gorgeous image suitable for framing.

This image is in "Tribute To Horst." Teeny tiny furs.

Another Horst tribute, with great hair.

The hairdo spreads are my favorite, and show how playful working with a doll model can be.

Especially when she has flirty eyes.

I wish I could say that this fun, colorful "Street Style" spread was the last one in the supplement.

It would be great to end on an upbeat note.

Instead, the last spread is "Fetish Icons," which isn't very fun, and not a great way to end.

But all in all, for a Barbie or magazine collector, it's an exciting, well made and enjoyable little publication.

Earlier: Mattel's New Black Barbie A Step In The Right Direction

• "He's obviously a well-educated, sincere man who has done good work in building Trinity United Church of Christ. But, to borrow a phrase that Wright might have used in one of his sermons, his rant at the Press Club demonstrates, that he is also a damn fool." [TheRoot]
  
• Surely I wasn't the only one who detected some philosophical ideological undertones to the Lauren Conrad-Heidi Montag feud, but both actually turn out to support bombing Iran. [NY Mag]
  
• Perhaps because Iran recently condemned Barbie dolls. [NYT]
  
• The Fed's bailout of Bear Stearns is the "worst policy mistake of the generation." Well, I mean, we pointed that out already, but when a former Fed head of monetary affairs says so it's apparently "news." [WSJ]
  
• It was a real delusion. It was like [former New York Gov. Eliot] Spitzer: "I am doing something dangerous, but because of who I am, and how smart I am, it is not going to come back to haunt me." -89-year-old financial manager and historian Peter Bernstein. [WSJ]
  
• And now we've got 18.6 million vacant homes on our hands! [Wonkette]

• Congratulations, Daniel Pipes. What a marvelous job you've done fearmongering and mobilizing public sentiment against a champion of pluralism and cultural understanding. I am sooooo glad we have you around to prevent our children from learning foreign languages. [NYT]
• An elite Korean boarding school recently turned off the surveillance cameras it was using to ensure students didn't fall asleep during late-night study sessions. [NYT]
• Two North Korean refugees in South Korea poured paint thinner on themselves and tried to set themselves on fire at the Olympic torch relay on Sunday to draw attention to China's inhumane policy of sending North Korean refugees like themselves back to North Korea, and Chinese students threw rocks and bottles and pipes at them in retaliation. [NYT]
• And speaking of the Democratic People's Republic a a 28-year-old military officer just defected to the South. [ NYT]
• An express train derailed and crashed just southeast of Beijing, killing 70 people. [NYT]

'The goal is to broaden the appeal by demonstrating to parents and children alike that there is more to these characters than what they think,' said Steve Beeks, president of Lionsgate. Mr Arad, who until recently served as chief executive of Marvel Studios, added: 'The one thing we didn't want is for this movie to be sassy.'

Not "sassy"? What's the point of that? Isn't "sassy" was one of the reasons kids liked Bratz in the first place? And is it any wonder sales are down? (By the by, rival toy company Mattel reports second-quarter net income is up 15%. Maybe the comparatively classy Barbie could teach the sassy Bratz a thing or two?)

Fishnets and All, Bratz Image Gets a Hollywood Polish [NYT]
Related: Mattel's Net Income Climbs 15% On International Sales [WSJ]