After a bit of waiting on FedEx, Mom's new 35th Anniversary Addy doll has arrived! This was a fun set of photos to take, because Addy was my very first American Girl doll back in 1995. My original Addy doesn't get many chances to pose for photos these days, so she was excited to volunteer for this review.
While we did order a couple of Anniversary Addy dolls in order to have multiples to choose from, we hadn't planned on ending up with quite this many. Due to a shipping mess up, we ended up with six of them! Here they are in their boxes and PC Addy saying 'hello':
While we did order a couple of Anniversary Addy dolls in order to have multiples to choose from, we hadn't planned on ending up with quite this many. Due to a shipping mess up, we ended up with six of them! Here they are in their boxes and PC Addy saying 'hello':
When you see them all lined up like this, they look remarkably similar -- but to anyone who likes to pay attention to every little detail when picking a doll (we tend to analyze everything), there were a lot of cute choices here with various personalities. Here are close-ups of each doll, going from left to right. Because of the boxes, I had to use the flash, so that makes the appearance a little harsh.
Unboxing the Doll
This is a close-up of the doll that my Mom chose to keep. Can you figure out which one of the dolls above she chose?
The slideshow of photos above shows the unboxing process, as well as all-around photos of Addy in her meet dress and nude. She has the good quality eyes (clear posts), body fabric and even neck strings! While the strings are a bit short compared to the original Pleasant Company strings, they are a very nice quality soft cord. Her body tag is the 2017 version. Later in this entry, there will be photos specifically comparing her meet outfit to the 1995 PC version.
Book, Bonnet and Accessories
I never had Addy's accessories from the 1990s, so I'm not able to compare those. However, I tried to take a lot of pictures of the bonnet (in particular) for others to use as comparison. It seems very nice and fits the doll well. The tie ribbon is a thin cotton fabric. A sheet of foam comes inside the bonnet to protect the doll's hair while in the box. The slideshow below shows many images of the book as well. The gourd is plastic, as is the shell necklace.
1995 PC Addy vs. 35th Anniversary Addy
Now it's time to move on to the two sweet dolls here! In the comparison photos below, 1995 PC Addy is always on the left, while Anniversary Addy is on the right.
My PC Addy was ordered in Summer 1995. She's still wearing her orignal hair style (though the net has been replaced) and her complete meet -- now slightly faded with time.
Anniversary Addy definitely has her own unique skin tone which appears to be Mattel's very successful effort to simulate the vinyl tone of the old PC Addy dolls. While it's not exactly the same, it's very similar. It's redder and darker in tone than the classic AG dark vinyl (think Melody or TM #58, etc.), but not as deep as the new dark tone available on CYO dolls, TM #80 or 85.
It's always difficult to get accurate photos of vinyl tones, but here are multiple shots of the two dolls that will, hopefully, show the difference.
It's always difficult to get accurate photos of vinyl tones, but here are multiple shots of the two dolls that will, hopefully, show the difference.
The first and third photos above are taken without a camera flash. They show the general tone well, but the red is drained a bit. The second and fourth photos are taken with a camera flash, and while the dolls appear darker than when seen in real life, the red tones are more visible.
Anniversary Addy has the new modified Addy face mold, so I tried to capture some close-ups to show the difference that gives. Personally, I think both dolls are precious while being very different. First is PC Addy, second picture is Anniversary Addy.
PC Addy has the old "light brown" eye color (same as the original AGOT #18 dolls), while Anniversary Addy has the current dark brown pinwheel eyes.
PC Addy has the old "light brown" eye color (same as the original AGOT #18 dolls), while Anniversary Addy has the current dark brown pinwheel eyes.
The mouth area is quite different in both mold style and paint (though PC Addy's face paint has mostly faded now over the years). The teeth on Anniversary Addy are definitely larger than the PC mold.
[Note: This photo makes Anniversary Addy's face look very round, but it's definitely on the thin side. In fact, all six of the Anniversary dolls we have here are very thin-faced dolls.]
[Note: This photo makes Anniversary Addy's face look very round, but it's definitely on the thin side. In fact, all six of the Anniversary dolls we have here are very thin-faced dolls.]
Both dolls have the non-removable gold hoop earrings. Anniversary Addy's earrings seem to be slightly larger than PC Addy's, and they do not come up quite as close behind the ear. Color is pretty much the exact same.
While the hairstyle is similar, I am guessing that Anniversary Addy looks more like the early Mattel Addy dolls, because her braid is a lower braid that is more folded up in the back than tucked into a tighter, shorter bun like PC Addy's hair. It's also interesting that Anniversary Addy's braid is done in a way that leaves the hair along the front of her face much flatter against the head than either PC or Beforever Addy (whose hairstyles pull the hair up from the temples). This give Anniversary Addy a completely different look that resembles Josefina from the front. It quite suits the texture of the new wig.
There is quite a difference in hair texture between the two dolls. PC Addy's hair is much coarser with a very noticeable textured effect. It feels a bit drier than I remember it being in the 1990s, but it was never soft hair. Anniversary Addy has slightly darker, shiner hair (though the color difference may be due to some age fading, not sure) that is definitely not as coarse or textured. This is soft like the textured hair of TM #80 and the newer dolls. It almost looks a bit softer than BeForever Addy's hair.
Comparing Meet Outfits
The meet outfit on Anniversary Addy looks so precious, and I'm rather partial to this particular outfit anyway. However, there are quite a few differences, if you're specifically wanting a Pleasant Company style outfit. The dress on Anniversary Addy is slightly longer than PC Addy, so you don't see the lace edging on the bloomers peeking below the hemline like you do on the original. While the dress itself is not skimpy in the least and fits the new Addy very well, it certainly is not the size of PC Addy's original. Now, my 1995 Addy is a real tank, so it's not surprising that the new dress doesn't fit her -- it may fit some PC dolls, but I wouldn't necessarily count on it.
The fabric design and feel is as close to a perfect match as you can get. My PC Addy's dress is slightly faded with time, but the color would have been an exact match. Design is the same. Also, the buttons down the front appear the same, as do the velcro closures on the back of the dress and the cuffs.
The bloomers are very similar. Photos in the slideshow above show both pairs front and back, as well as showing close-ups of the waistbands and the lace trim on the bottom of the legs. The waistband is a Princess-style non-elastic front with elastic at the back. Anniversary Addy's bloomers are quite a bit smaller than the old PC style. The lace trim on the leg bottoms is practically the very same on both.
The black socks are the extra-tall above-the-knee style and remarkably similar. The only different is at the top of the sock, but the elasticity has stretched out of PC Addy's original socks, so they were probably pretty similar back in 1995.
The boots on Anniversary Addy give the same general "feel", but they are quite different from the original pair. All of the photos in the slideshow above show the PC boot(s) on the left and Anniversary on the right. The vinyl of the boot is a very similar thickness and feel, though the newer boots almost appear to the eye as a dark navy blue, rather than the very black tone of the PC pair. I think the new boots would be accurately described as a "blue black".
The laces on PC Addy's boots are about half-again as long as the new ones, and the lace wholes have grommets rather than the new embroidered holes of the Anniversary edition. For design and solde differences, I think the photos do a pretty good job.
The new boots are quite a bit shorter than the old Pleasant Company boots. I was able to put the new ones onto PC Addy's foot with the knee sock on, but it only just managed to fit.
The laces on PC Addy's boots are about half-again as long as the new ones, and the lace wholes have grommets rather than the new embroidered holes of the Anniversary edition. For design and solde differences, I think the photos do a pretty good job.
The new boots are quite a bit shorter than the old Pleasant Company boots. I was able to put the new ones onto PC Addy's foot with the knee sock on, but it only just managed to fit.
Vinyl Skin Tone Comparisons
To end the comparisons, here are some photos showing Anniversary Addy's skin tone compared to PC Addy and other dark AG dolls. While it's definitely a unique skin tone, it is almost like a cross between the two dark tones offered by American Girl right now.
The photo above shows PC Addy (left) and Anniversary Addy (right) in natural light. They're a very similar tone, though my PC Addy is slightly lighter. The natural lighting does not do full justice to the tones, though, as the red is not really showing fully.
This photo shows the same arms under the camera flash, which is perhaps a little truer to the slight difference despite being washed out in tone.
And the slideshow above shows comparison (with and without camera flash) between TM #85 (left) and Anniversary Addy (right). They are very similar in tone. Depending on the lighting, they can look almost the same -- however, TM #85 is certainly redder in tone than Addy. She also has darker, browner lip paint -- where Addy's is lighter and more on the red side.
An interesting note here is Anniversary Addy's eyelids. They are the color used on TM #85, so while they are not a bad match, they certainly are not a perfect one -- being on the red side as seen above.
Compared to Beforever Addy's uniquely reddish tone (personally, one of my favorite Addy types), this new Addy is much more on the classic dark brown side. When the two stand side-by-side you get the feeling that Anniversary Addy is almost lacking in the red tones, though the following photos will show that it's just a visual thing. The first three pictures in the slideshow above are taken without a flash and are pretty true to color. The last three have flash and do a better job of showing the difference in red undertones.
Another small note here -- we have two Beforever Addy dolls, and their eye sockets are definitely smaller than the sockets on Anniversary Addy or TM #85.
Another small note here -- we have two Beforever Addy dolls, and their eye sockets are definitely smaller than the sockets on Anniversary Addy or TM #85.
And to finish up, here are a couple of shots showing a variety of AG Addy-mold dark skin dolls. This really helps to see the differences between the various tones.
Top photo taken without flash, bottom one taken with flash.
Top photo taken without flash, bottom one taken with flash.
Dolls left to right:
JLY #1 (c. 2002), TM #85, customized TM #58 with Melody wig (c. 2017),
Anniversary Addy, JLY #45 (c. 2010), Beforever Addy, 1995 PC Addy
JLY #1 (c. 2002), TM #85, customized TM #58 with Melody wig (c. 2017),
Anniversary Addy, JLY #45 (c. 2010), Beforever Addy, 1995 PC Addy
Well, I hope this helps anyone trying to decide which Addy is perfect for them. We were very pleased with Anniversary Addy, and she's definitely a beautiful doll. If you've always dreamed of having an original Pleasant Company Addy doll, then she's not a replacement for that. But if you'd always wanted a beautiful Addy with her original style meet outfit, then she's a perfect choice. It was also interesting to see six of them all at once like this, because there is very little difference between dolls. Quality control on this run seems to be much higher than some other AG dolls.
If anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to contact me through the contact form or by leaving a comment.
If anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to contact me through the contact form or by leaving a comment.
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