Coloring of the clothes, in general, reminds me of the Spring 2018 Mix-n-Match: lots of aqua, pink, dark blue and lavender. Not pastels, necessarily, but not vibrant or neon colors. Just really nice colorful pieces.
Many mothers in the store (over three days of us being there) told their girls that Gwynn was just the Emerson doll that they already owned who'd been dressed in new clothes. While you can sit and argue that one has wavy hair, the other straight, to the casual eye they DO look like the same doll. On the same hand, the mothers were buying Gwynn's outfits like crazy, glad that their own Wellies got to dress like real girls. One little girl was ECSTATIC about this being her first time of going to the store and being able to buy her "very own Girl of the Year". She and her mother were so happy! The collection is a very nice addition to the Wellie line.
Photos in this blog entry were taken at the Columbus store and at home after we got back with our purchases. While Mom and I were busy selecting Corinne dolls at the store, Sis was handling the camera. She missed a few of the displays, but hopefully you'll get to see enough of the sets to get an idea of the various pieces. We did look closely at everything, though, and are including detailed reviews with the pictures we have.
SWEATER. Super cute! Knitted acrylic yarn. Very cute in style. Nice long hem length, and sleeves are perfect length (not too short, like in AG stock photos). Turtleneck (not MOCK turtleneck as described by AG) is folded down, but can't unfold, because of velcro in the back. Nice fit. Velcros up the back the full length of the knit. The sewn seams on the sleeves are not as thick and bulky as in stock photos. The knitting is nice, but the yarn is a bit thin, and you can see the color of the body and top half of the leggings through it. We put a white tank top under it, and no see-through. An even better solution ended up being the long-sleeved top from the 2010 Cozy Plaid Outfit. It makes the sweater look fabulous without making the doll look padded or stuffed. Even with either tee underneath, it's not skintight. Not baggy, just looks like your own very comfy sweater with room to move. In fact, it's so cute, that we're going to keep three of them. Looks amazing on the boy dolls, too!
LEGGINGS. Super nice! Thicker leggings than AG's ever produced, I believe, but still nice and stretchy. Substantial amount of fabric. Nice and long, with a bit of extra length inside the boots. Tight enough that they imply leggings and not pants (think jeggings), but loose enough to move the doll's legs around and see a bit of a wrinkle. Since they're thicker, the thigh gap isn't as noticeable as, say, the leggings in Corinne's Casual Outfit. If you like the appearance, I think they add greatly to the value of the Meet Outfit. They have an iridescence and feel that reminds me of a quality bathing suit that you'd buy for yourself. It's NOT metallic thread, since these are very likely a nylon/spandex combo. And they're a perfect match for the 2018 Spring Mix-n-Match release. (They look adorable with the fish t-shirt from that collection!)
BOOTS. A modified version of the 2010 Snow Flurry Outfit boots, just shortened and re-colored to match Corinne's hair. The fur is thinner, but the fit is fine. They velcro up the back without having to force them closed. Black molded-plastic soles with the sliver-like flat heel that AG's been using for a while. They work nicely under Corinne's Ski Suit. Also, we paired them with the Meet leggings and the fish t-shirt from the 2018 Spring Mix-n-Match release, put the Casual Outfit faux-fur crop jacket on top, and it's a perfect match!
CORINNE'S MEET ACCESSORIES ($35) 👎
Same AG rib-knit hat and leg warmers, in different colors than previous releases. They look very nice. The sunglasses and backpack are really cheap looking. Like the stuff you get your bath items in from the mall stores and cheap glasses. No phone or camera (not even money) to tempt buyers. In my opinion, for what it's worth, the set is not worth the $$$.
GWYNN'S MEET OUTFIT & ACCESSORIES
Very cute doll and outfit! Adorable, really. Same fur on the sweater cuffs and boot tops, but that wouldn't deter me from buying it. Knitted sweater velcros up the back. Wish they'd made it for the 18" dolls. The only thing worth mentioning about the Meet Outfit was the coloring of the fur on the boot tops. No two pairs were the same in coloring. Obviously, they had very long pieces of fur that were dyed in long stretches, which were cut into pieces as needed, with no attention paid to what colors fell where. Some pairs were cuter than others but thought you should know. The overall outfit is very nice. The hat in the Accessories set is sooooo cute that we'll all be sorry they didn't make a matching one for Corinne. The knitted mittens are nice. The backpack was someone's answer to "hey, let's make this a three-piece accessories kit". Kids-crafty looking, but cute on the doll. If you're buying the doll (even just for the Meet Outfit), I'd think you'd want to add the Accessories to your cart, too.
DOG WITH BACKPACK ($35) 👎
I never like to give bad reviews for a whole set, and this is two now. The dog is a very cheap-looking, non-poseable plush. The "backpack" is pretty cute but too small to hold anything. The bag of Puppy Treats doesn't fit in it, and the display staff at the store had to just lay the bag on the floor next to the dog. If you look carefully at the stock photo, you'll see that even AG couldn't get it in. No gusset or "give" room in the pockets, so I can't imagine you could get much of anything in there besides maybe the ski pass. The dog-throw toy and ball look like they do in the photos.
Nice fit and really cute. Slippers are knitted bootie-sock-like pieces with soft bottoms (no hard soles). Clothes are made of very soft fleece with fragile-looking printing that probably won't survive washing. Shorts are not embarrassingly-short-waisted like so many previous AG releases and seem to be a nice fit (covered the doll's Meet panties). Definitely NOT "powder blue" but a paler aqua version of Corinne's turquoise hair. Velcros up the back of the bodice, but the head has to be pushed through the hood.
GWYNN'S PAJAMAS ($22)
Two-piece classic pajamas are very cute and fit very nicely. AG didn't skimp on the leg and arm length here, like in so many previous releases. Velcro up the back of the top, with long piece of closure that didn't leave v-shaped gap at the bottom. Non-working buttons. Fabric is a thin crafting cotton. Slippers are full-foot plush that look cute and fit well.
We knew before we left for the store that we were bringing two of these outfits home with us. And that's just what we did. Very nice! Colors are not what the AG stock photos or our photos show, though. In real life, they're duskier and less cotton-candy looking. There is no "baby blue" on the pants or mittens but a nice lavender. The mittens were made of the same fabric as the suit's lining. Overall, less nursery-looking in color tones. I'm very happy with the way it really looks! In the next week, I'll put Jill and Silver in these outfits and try to get lighting that shows the true colors. Since the fabric has a sheen to it (like nylon looks), my first photos weren't any closer to true color than AG's stock photos. This outfit doesn't come with shoes or boots (since it's been designed to pair with the Ski Set), but it works really well with Corinne's Meet boots OR (our favorite) Courtney's High Tops.
JACKET AND PANTS. We're very happy with the quality of these. Similar in padding to the 2000 Downhill Ski Outfit. Thicker than the 2010 one-piece Ski Outfit. Definitely looks like a ski suit and not a puffy snowsuit. Doll isn't stiff in it at all, but it has more bulk than a thin jogging suit. They added a gusset on the inside leg seams to allow for boots underneath without looking like bell bottoms without the boots. (The pants fit just fine over Corinne's Meet boots.) Sleeves are nice length for wear without the mittens. The faux fur around the hood is a little skimpy but soft. Polyester zipper with a metal pull (no hole in it for hanging something). Even sized to zip up over the Meet sweater without looking baggy by itself. Really nice fit. The jacket is amazing even without the ski pants! It's soooo cute as a standalone winter coat! You can zip it up with either the sweater or other shirt underneath, but the shirt/sweater combo mentioned above makes it a bit too bulky to zip the jacket. It still looks adorable, though, because it only hangs open a bit (like most people wear their jackets). And the Colorado tee from the Casual Outfit is a fabulous match in color when paired with this jacket!
MITTENS, SOCKS & HEADBAND. The mittens are . . . mittens. They're fine. The faux fur looks better on the mittens, since there's less space for it to spread out. The little shortie socks are the nicest things. Wish they made more of these in different colors for separate sale. The headband? 👎 Shame on AG. They should have sold the outfit with fewer pieces and charged less. Think of a piece of very cheap fleece fabric with a seam on one end. Absolutely no stretch. Not even a hint of elastic or stretchy fabric. If you take the doll's hair (wig) off, slide the headband onto the neck, put the wig back on and slide the headband up, it looks cute with the outfit. AG should have just made a special pack of accessories which included the two headbands and neck scarf from Corinne's collection (see later notes). Then, we could have all just ignored it and let AG forget they ever made those three pieces.
CORINNE'S SKI SET ($44)
The kids will probably love this set. Helmet and goggles are similar to previous and current releases, just colored to match this collection. The ski poles will probably bend easily like previous versions, and the handholds are only good if the doll doesn't have her mittens on. The poles had fallen to the ground in the store displays, since they had just been leaned against the mittened hands. The skis were thin plastic and super shiny, unlike previous ones I've seen. I don't ski, but they looked really cheap. Maybe skis look shiny now. I don't know. The ski pass is a bit of elastic with a velcro closure on the back which weaves through a plastic holder with a card inside. There's a sheet of stickers for the helmet, but, before you let your kids put them on, you might tell them to wait for your help. The helmet has a fair amount of "molded areas" that are raised and recessed. The stickers put on by the store staff were wrinkled, bent and bubbly in these molded areas. Looked pretty cheesy. Nice helmet, though. Just be careful where you put those stickers.
CORINNE'S CASUAL OUTFIT ($34)
We came home with only one of these, because my sister wanted the leggings. We ended liking the individual pieces (not as an outfit) so well, we'll be using a Rewards Cert for a second one.
JACKET. Quality faux fur, feels like 1990s Dakin plush. Fully lined (even the sleeves). No closure. Fit well, even over the clothes underneath. A bit short-waisted, in my opinion, so not a fan of it due to its styling. Quality piece, if you're into this fashion.
LEGGINGS. Nice and stretchy. Thinner than the Meet Outfit, comparable to Courtney's blue leggings. Definitely leggings and not pants. Way too much thigh gap for me to use them as is, but we're excited about putting these under a skirt or longer sweater. The pattern reminds us of "Mary Blair" Disney art, and Jill and Silver will each end up with a pair of their own.
T-SHIRT. A lot of you will have to buy this outfit for its nice cotton tee with COLORADO printed on it. (Colorado being a haven for doll collectors, as we all know.) Comparable to the Ireland t-shirt from the Travel set and the Skyline tees. Nice length, not too short or thin. Velcros up the whole back. Looks amazing under the Ski Suit jacket in color and style!
HEADBAND. 👎 Well, what can you say? A piece of very cheap, thin fleece serged around the edges. Think freebie to raise item count in set. The back DOES feature about an inch of elastic under the fleece, which gives it a bit of stretch.
HOLOGRAPHIC BOOTS. Same holographic material as Luciana's boots but different styling. No particular style or shape, but they'll work with a variety of outfits. Have flexible rubbery soles, instead of the hard plastic ones. Velcro up the back. I like them.
Same nice skates that AG's been selling for about the last five years, just re-colored to match Corinne's outfits. The knitted mittens with a rib-knit opening are very cute and fit as well as mittens fit an AG doll. The scarf is a joke. 👎 The AG person who specced this should have been fired before they got started. They cut a hole in the middle of a single layer of the flimsiest excuse for fleece you've ever seen, through which you're supposed to stick one end, and then they SERGED THE EDGES. (Think kindergarten craft.) Matches the headband in the Casual Outfit but even cheaper construction. In my opinion, AG could have redone Maryellen's knitted scarf with velcro in the back and charged a little more.
GWYNN'S ICE SKATING PERFORMANCE OUTFIT ($28)
Really cute outfit. One-piece skating dress is fitted (not baggy), made of drapy "velveteen" that will look good "twirling". Back of top closes with velcro, but the dress' skirt does not open in the back (slides on). Looks really cute on the doll. Tights are nice quality knit (not see-through stockings). Skirt is not hemmed but nicely serged with matching thread, which probably makes the outfit very fluid in motion. Skates are not the molded-plastic like other Wellie footwear, but more like a thin version of vinyl like they used in Luciana's boots.
Certainly nicer in real life than in the stock photos. All in all, it's a nice boxed set. If you have a Rewards Cert on a good sale, it might be just what you're looking for. A little paint and greenery, and you could work this into your historical-doll displays, too. We expected it to be Wellie-size only but were pleasantly surprised at how nicely it fit the 18"ers in overall scale, too. If you don't already have a fire pit, this set seems to be well worth the $$$. The plastic on the bench is a heavier, textured plastic that doesn't look or feel like the thinner stuff that AG's taken to using lately. Seems to be something that will hold up to play time. The "snow" on the end columns could be covered with garland or something, if you don't want a winter set-up. The bench cushion and pillow were pretty nice. The cute fleece throw was actually hemmed around the edges and made of a little better quality fleece than other pieces in this collection, having a not-stiff, comfy-cozy feel to it. The fire pit compares to the one that came with the Camp AG Hangout and doesn't have much to offer outside of the whole set-up. The cocoa cups were nice and cute, but the Thermos was very thin and lightweight (think Barbie). It'll look fine in a set-up.
Sized perfectly for both Corinne and Gwynn. (I have no idea why AG is marketing this just for Corinne.) Nice for what it is, especially if you don't have these pieces already. A good height for the dolls, too. It'll make a nice display piece, and if there are any kids left with an imagination they'll probably love it. We might have been tempted to purchase this during a good sale, but most of the food items are cheaper re-makes of previous releases that we already have. (And the bagel! Who ever heard of a flat, yellow bagel with a small round drill hole in the center?) The brownies, cookies and nachos will look familiar, but those granola bars are weird looking. (Even Mina wouldn't eat those, and she eats everything.) The doors open and close on the microwave and refrigerator. The lack of money in a shop is weird, but the biggest surprise comes in the ski rental area. I think one of the cleverest parts of this set is the fact that it isn't just a snack shop. The ski-rental idea was a great one! But where in the world are the skis?! I think they expect you to spend another $44 for the Ski Set, but you only need the skis to complete this Ski Shop set-up. There isn't room for the rest of the Ski Set, and you can't remove those ski holders on the end of the counter. So, if I wanted this set for display only, I'd figure out something else to do with those plastic bits sticking out. And cover the rental sign. $44 for a pair of skis to complete your $150 Ski Shop makes no sense to me. Of course, if you need the whole Ski Set, then you'll be ready to go if you purchase both!
Let's discard any thought or mention of the price of this item. If the price doesn't bother you, then read on. We're just going to describe what we saw and won't comment on whether it's "worth it or not". Only you know what it's worth to you.
This is a BEDROOM SET, not a Ski Lodge, as we'd wrongly guessed prior to actual release. In the book, the girls' father decorated their bedroom for them to look like a ski lodge. That's a very cool and original idea. Kudos to AG for thinking of this. (While we're handing out kudos, you'll be glad to know that AG listened to feedback and made this large item HINGED FOR STORAGE!)
Walls are made of smooth pressed wood, similar to the Diner and Nanea's Market, with the same kind of hinges. Folds up nicely for storage but is way too large and HEAVY to cart around to other places on a regular basis. Just imagine moving the Diner around, with another 6" on top. It's much larger than Nanea's market.
The wood bed structure is actual wood. The pink bed rail on the front is enamelled metal. The ladder and window trim are cheap Barbie-style plastic, just like the removable chair lift. Personally, I would discourage unsupervised use of the chair-lift seat, because that soft plastic on its hanger looks like it will be easily torn from the wall. And there's no repairing pressed wood. Very cute idea for display, though. If it were me, I'd remove the chair and hang a potted plant or bird cage from the hanger.
If you're considering buying this, you'll want to watch the video on AG's website to see how the roof converts to a small ski slope behind the house. Clever, but heavy work that probably needs adult help to avoid damaging the walls. It looks cute with either set-up, but placing it as a ski slope means that your bedroom has no ceiling/roof. Cute use of space, and AG gets points for creativity on this one!
The ottoman is a very nice cube of PU foam covered with a quality faux fur. (Same fur that they used on Gwynn's beret?) Calling it a "chair" is a far stretch of the imagination, but it's an adorable footstool. The table is super cute and steady on its feet. Reminds my sister of a scaled-down version of the table from Lea's hut (one of her favorite pieces). The very nice knitted bedcover in deep turquoise is the same as the one from the Camp AG Hangout. The rest of the bedding is fine, and the rug does its job. The plastic clip-on light for the futon area is really cute. Everything else is just what it appears to be and fine.
There is a standalone, grey-plastic ski rack in the list of included items on AG's website and in their product video. However, the store display did not have one, and it's absent from the AG product stock photos. If someone buys this set and a ski rack is included in their box, please let me know.
The entertainment center is similar to the new Coffee Shop in materials and construction (not a compliment from me). The back side (with the "fireplace') was made with the same harder plastic as the fire-pit bench, though. That might give it a bit of display value, since I guess you could put the bench behind the vanity side (on the fireplace side) and pretend it's in a family room or lodge sitting room. The two-sided effect was a good idea. Lots of cubby holes for stashing things, and the doors open and close. Not connected to the walls, so that's a bonus. Easy to store. Okay, but not my favorite piece in the collection, because of its "My Life As" quality.
Now, let's get down to what you all want to know. Yep, the plastic Chinese food is as nice as you hoped it'd be. The plastic steamer is cute, too. The grey plastic for the chopsticks was a bad choice but not a deal breaker. The boba tea was well done and pretty realistic looking. It's a shame that AG didn't make the food available as a separate set. They'd have sold out "in a very soon moment". Hope you enjoyed the tour!