Stay tuned for more Islandshire fun!
We just got a pair of these outfits from Target for Jill and Silver, and they are way too cute! We've had our fair share of Our Generation clothes for the dolls, and some are very nice and some are a bit cheap. These are very nice. In fact, the fabric quality is as good or better than the American Girl outfits that have been released this year. Before the outfits went in for a vinegar soak and hand-wash (precaution we take to avoid staining with all doll clothes), I thought I'd model them on an Evette doll, because this would be a great addition to Courtney's 1980s wardrobe. The set also comes with little pom-pom hair bands, but I didn't want to put them in Evette's hair. The sweatshirt is a nice thick knit with a soft lining inside (velcro on the back). The leggings are a thick stretchy knit with elastic waist. Shoes are solid plastic but fit the AG feet perfectly.
Stay tuned for more Islandshire fun!
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With the long weekend, I was able to snag an hour for some quick doll photos -- so, here are a couple of them! Jill and Silver got a bit of a hair trim a week or two ago (not to mention new outfits as well), and they wanted to show off a bit. Thanks to someone on a doll forum (who actually gifted us with a trimmed Joss wig), I got the idea for the hair trim. Most of you will probably remember Jill and Silver with the first small trim of their original wigs (they were Joss dolls) -- here's their old look: Well, they really wanted something more . . . unique. Jill and Silver are like that. And then, they found these really cool and colorful outfits just in time for our American Girl Rewards certificate. Not only will these match their upcoming Goofy's Candy Company venture, but they also have a very Sabine Wren feel to them. According to Silver, there was no way they could have such cool outfits with their rather dull hair-cut. Time for a new trim! That meant a couple nerve-racking hours for me (I am not very confident when it comes to cutting hair), but the girls were very happy with the end result. And just to confuse everyone, the girls switched places in the photo above. Jill is now on the left, and Silver is on the right. Truth-be-told, I needed to adjust their outfits and put them back in the wrong spots for the last half of the photo session!
Hope everyone had a nice weekend, and plans are that there will be more doll photos coming soon. Now, if we could just get the lawn mower fixed . . . It's been a crazy month here with hardly any time to spend on the dolls. Consequently, I was a few days behind on the release new of the new Disney ILY 4ever 18" doll line now available exclusively at Target. But all the dolls and fashion sets are available online from Target, so it was nice and easy to order a couple outfits right away! Of course, Nanea always needs new clothes . . . doesn't she? Click on photos above to enlarge. We got to open them just now, and the boxes for the outfits were much larger than I'd expected. If you're like me and your blood pressure raises with crazy packaging, be warned that the packing is very like the Our Generation style. Granted, if you want to gift these to someone, they look beautiful and rather impressive. But there are a lot of plastic tabs and threads to cut -- all of which take a lot of time and effort to unpack, can damage the outfit and fill the trash dumps. Simpler packing would be a plus to me. Here are photos of the two packages before I opened anything. A quick note on the packing inside. The Moana outfit was held in by a large number of the plastic fasteners (with the two ends, like they use to hold on a price tag, etc.). I had to be very careful when cutting them out not to damage the clothes. They left small holes, but nothing really noticeable once the outfit was out and fluffed up. You could easily rip the fabric, though, if you were too fast removing it from the packing or pulled on it while still connected to any of those fasteners. The Minnie Mouse Bathing Suit set was sewn in (rather than the fasteners -- see final picture in slideshow above), and that was much better. It was easy to snip all the thread on the back, and it slid right out of the outfit. Definitely hope they go to that method for all the fashion sets! Of course, Nanea couldn't model both outfits, so Kelly volunteered to help! Here they are looking as cute as cute can be . . . Each outfit set was just $12.99 -- which is a real bargain, considering the ever-rising prices of the AG items. For play or even photo fashion, these are a great value. The fabric may be thinner than AG, but honestly, I think girls will enjoy these just as much in most cases, and for a fraction of the cost. The quality of the clothes feels pretty comparable to Our Generation and maybe some of the My Life. They fit the AG dolls very well. The shoes are a nice-feeling plastic (much heavier than I thought they'd be), and these open sandals fit the AG feet well, though I've heard that the closed shoes in this line do not fit. Here's Nanea in the Moana outfit (minus the included hair scrunchie, as that is going to be Flossie's new fashion piece). It accessorized very well with the shell necklace and hair flower from the Moana Animators doll! The sunglasses are way too cute, and while they're a bit big on the face (see photo), they are perfect when sitting on top of her head. The shorts has elastic on the band, so they slide up easily. The shirt has velcro up the back. And Kelly is wearing the Minnie Mouse bathing suit outfit. It's SUPER cute! The one we received has a whole in the back (obviously a factory defect), but Target is replacing it with no problem. This is an adorable set. The swimsuit is stretchy and just slides on from the bottom. The cover-up has velcro down the back. We made the Minnie Mouse ear headband that she's wearing. Apparently, more will be released in this line through the coming year -- including Snow White and Beauty and the Beast. Looking forward to more of these fun fashions.
You know how it is, you walk past a store a million times and never bother to go in . . . for years. Well, that's us with the Build-a-Bear store that is literally across the street from American Girl Place. We finally went in there earlier this year, and I've been crazy about it ever since and wanting to go in to buy a little outfit for something for one of my plush. Last week, as we walked out of AGP feeling flat about the quality issues, there was Baby Yoda in the window display at BAB. We just had to go over and see that, right?! Here is Elizabeth standing in front of the window display: It's a very tiny store, but oh-so-cheery! Inside, there was a display unit just for the Star Wars accessories -- with Baby Yoda (I mean, Grogu) standing on top. I was super excited to see the Baby Yoda onsie PJs on there, because they have been an in-store only item since the Fall, though never available here. Finally, they were there!! They looked rather wide, but I bought one and planned on bringing it home for one of my plush. When we got back and pulled it out of the bag, it didn't look quite as oversized as it had in the store. Lightbulb moment! I ran upstairs and got Kelly (who's always willing to try on anything Disney or Star Wars themed) and a hair bow and slippers to match. Voila! These things are so cute! They fit very well for PJs, and you can't beat the price: $12.50
And the good news is that you can order them online now! Here's the link: https://www.buildabear.com/the-child-sleeper/028844.html?cgid=collections-shop-by-character-star-wars If anyone gets these and uses them on their AG doll, I'd love to see photos! We're going to get another one next week so that Jill and Silver can match in them. Someone asked if I couldn't take some photos using the new Truly Me World Traveler in Ireland outfit as a Mix-and-Match set. Well, Bunty and Sioned were happy to pose and very glad of the excuse to show off their new duds! They started out with the outfits (minus hats, Eliot and Harold are wearing them right now) as they come. Bunty took her sweater off to show the shirt and top of the skirt. The shirts are nice. Not the thickest fabric, but not too thin. Probably on a par with Kanani's Aloha shirt or the store exclusive Skyline t-shirts. It velcros up the back (see later photo). The skirt is some kind of brushed fabric and thicker than expected. It velcros on the back. The decorative buckle on the left side is a thin vinyl strap with a small metal buckle on it. The yellow tights are amazing! They're much thicker than the tights from AG have been for many years. You cannot see through them. The boots are quite nice. The brown vinyl is a bit thin, but it doesn't feel like the kind that will crack in a year. The soles are a rubbery-feeling plastic which makes it easy for the dolls to stand in them. The cardigan fits the dolls fabulously! It's made of a thin enough yarn to actually look to scale and doesn't bunch up under the arms -- which are long enough to fit the doll! The only downside to it is that the button holes are a bit stretched out right out of the box. We're going to stitch them up. The hat is a nice fabric, and we've put it on a Logan and Sioned (customized Joss), and it fit both very well. Bunty didn't want to muss her hair, so she wouldn't try it on. To start mixing it up, Bunty (left) kept the Irish shirt and the brown boots on, but she swapped the tights and skirt for jeans from Logan's Performance Outfit. Sioned (right) removed her sweater and swapped the tights and boots for white leggings and the glittery Truly Me Meet Outfit shoes. And a view from the back and side to show the velcro closure of the shirt and the fancy pleats on the skirt. Next, Bunty donned the corduroy vest from the Boys' Casual and Cool Accessories. Sioned changed to a plain long-sleeved white shirt under the green cardigan, removed the leggings and swapped to a pair of white canvas tie-up shoes. And for their final combination, Bunty donned the cardigan sweater that Sioned took off, and Sioned swapped the shoes for the brown boots from the Irish set. There's also a photo showing them from the back to display the back of the cardigan and the velcro closure of the skirt. BONUS PHOTO: Henry thought a boy would look pretty spiffy (and feel pretty comfortable) in the cardigan, so he thought he'd model for a quick picture.
All the waiting was certainly worth it! The Nutcracker uniforms arrived a few days ago, and Eliot couldn't be happier! He's been aching for a Coldstream Guards uniform for months, because he wants to dress like his ancestor who died in the Crimean War. That was a bit of a tall order, but Elizabeth did get him closer by giving him a Coldstream badge for Christmas --- along with a fabulous sword (antique letter opener) and Bearskin helmet! First off, a few words on the quality of the Nutcracker/Clara set: My sister and I each got a uniform, and I was fortunate enough to know two people on a doll forum who wanted to split the cost and take the Clara outfits. I did have a peak at them before sending them off, though. They were cotton fabric with a sewn-in slip lining. Personally, I thought they felt very similar in make and quality to Nellie's meet dress --- which doesn't really help anyone who hasn't seen her meet dress. But if you have, the Clara dress was very similar. The shoes looked adorable. The Nutcracker uniform is great! It is much better quality than I'd expected. To be honest, I've been wanting a Coldstream Guards uniform for Eliot for so long that, had these appeared in the AG store, I'd have happily paid the $75.00 just for his set. Crazy, but hey! It beats my sister and me spending the Winter making one up ourselves, right?!
Click through the photos above to see more of the uniform. (Right-click on an individual picture and select "Open image in new tab" to see at full size.) I cut a piece of grosgrain ribbon to make the white sash. His Coldstream Guards badge is actually a lapel pin on the ribbon sash. And here are some pictures of his Bearskin helmet. Elizabeth made the pattern for this up herself. It's faux black fur, all hand sewn. There is a padded wire frame around the bottom half of the hat to keep the shape nice. This is covered over by a wide band of unbleached muslin which protects the doll's head from either shine marks or staining (faux fur can be a really bad stainer). The chin band is a thick gold-coloured cord, and the red plume is hand-made on a think wire to stand straight under all conditions! Click through the photos above to see more. (Right-click on an individual picture and select "Open image in new tab" to see at full size.) All in all, I haven't been this happy with an AG purchase in ages! Definitely worth the wait, and I'm so glad we ordered on the preorder. For anyone waiting to get one, these will be available on the American Girl website on October 1st. They are a limited production, so they'll only be available while supplies last.
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Other TopicsMeet the DollsNaneaBennyHaroldHarriet (aka Bunty)EliotJill and SilverKellyEydie |