Years ago, our then-five-year-old niece asked for a Bratz doll for Christmas. When I looked them up, it set me off on a rant. I recall telling her I was not getting her a hooker doll.

Mim Hammonds (Mim’s Dandy Dolls) takes overly-made-up dolls ostensibly intended for children and makes them more natural and realistic and child-friendly. Off comes the heavy makeup, away goes the too-mature, overly-sexualized clothing, and the dolls’ features are reshaped to make them more approachable and attainable. Hammonds even gives them haircuts and takes down their high-heel-frozen feet!

The resulting dolls are charming in their simplicity, and I’m sure they’re much healthier for children to be playing with and aspiring to. Bravo to Hammonds for making something so positive out of dolls I always found distressing and depressing.

All images property of Mim’s Dandy Dolls.