Name: Flavas Dolls
Made by and When: Mattel, 2003
Material: Multiarticulated vinyl
Height: (Tre) 11-1/2 inches; (Kiyoni Brown) 10-1/2 inches
Descriptions of Hair, Eyes, Mouths:
Choice Awards Tre – black flocked hair and sideburns, painted brown eyes and painted lower eyelashes, closed mouth with a removable mustache and goatee (presumably it washes off)
Tre in aqua warm-up suit – black flocked hair and sideburns, painted blue eyes, closed mouth with a faintly painted mustache and goatee
Tre in denim fashion – bleached blonde flocked hair, no sideburns; painted hazel eyes, closed mouth, no facial hair
Kiyoni Brown – Dark brown rooted hair with golden blonde highlights, painted green eyes with tan and brown eyeshadow and painted upper and lower eyelashes, closed mouth with pale pink painted lips lined in brown
Clothes and Accessories:
Choice Awards Tre – Black shirt, pants, shoes, VIP necklace with silver chocker and silver stud earrings; extra fashion consists of olive-green and tan short-sleeved pullover sweater, tan shorts, multicolored high-top sneakers. Accessories include a cell phone, sunglasses, gray microphone and stand, huge brown Afro wig, plastic wig holder, Flavas Choice Award, a white accessory box that holds a silver hair pick, mirror, clippers, and a cologne bottle.
Tre – Aqua warm-up suit, black mesh tank top, white sneakers with gray stripes on the sides, silver stud earrings, holds a black vinyl man bag; has extra blue basketball jersey and shorts, black sneakers; boombox, art decals and decal applicator, pull-out street stand
Tre – Denim shirt with navy blue knit T-shirt, denim pants with deep side pockets, white sneakers, silver stud earrings, holds a tan vinyl man bag; extra outfit (not shown) white sleeveless shirt, khaki shorts, black sneakers; has a skateboard, decals and decal applicator, pull-out street stand.
Kiyoni Brown – Red two-piece jogging suit with white mesh crop top, silver necklace with heart-shaped pendant, and white sneakers; Kiyoni’s extra fashion consists of denim short-shorts, short-sleeved denim shirt, white footies with blue pom-poms, white terry cloth visor, black high-top sneakers with heart graphic on sides, and a black purse with matching heart graphic. Accessories include a boom box, temporary decals, decal applicator, and a pull-out “street” stand.
Other: Designed in an attempt to represent members of the hip-hop culture, each doll is dressed in “street-style” clothes with graffitied boxes and pull-out stands to create a “hanging out” scene. More than one version of Tre, Kiyoni Brown and the other Flavas dolls was released. Considered stereotypical, misrepresentations of the hip-hop culture by some and poor role models for children by others, this multicultural, multiarticulated doll line’s shelf life was limited to less than a year. Among adult collectors, the dolls remain popular. See the gallery images that include all characters of the Flavas doll line.
Gallery
Choice Awards Tre
Tre in Aqua
Tre in Denim
Kiyoni Brown
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