Six of the tones (not including Kaya and Beforever Addy) are available as options in the AG CYO doll generator, and sorting out which is which can be very tricky. Here's a chart to show which option is which.
The image below shows a line of dolls representing all the different dark tones (either intentionally different or tones which have now aged to their own hue).
- Normal/Original Dark Skin Tone (1st-run Melody)
- Pleasant Company American Girl of Today Dark Skin (1997 AGOT #18)
- Beforever Addy (customized Addy)
- Normal/Original Dark Skin Tone from later 2000s (Sonali)
- New Darkest Skin Tone (customized TM #85)
- Pleasant Company Addy (1995 Addy doll)
- Normal/Original Dark Skin Tone from early/mid-2000s (JLY #1 from c. 2004)
- Kaya (customized Kaya doll)
Melody and Sonali are technically the same exact skin tone! But just look at what a difference there is looking at them. The red has certainly faded from Sonali, making a much different tone. Reds seem to fade often from vinyl (and that varies from doll to doll -- someone else may have a Sonali with most of her original red tones in tact), creating some big differences. Just take a look at the JLY #1 from about 2004 and notice how different her tone is! In the collecting world, this complete lack of red is often referred to as "eggplant", with counterparts in the medium (referred to as "Cafe au Lait") and light (often downright a greenish shade) vinyl. Some cases of this, I believe, were considered actual defects by AG.
If I had to compare TM #85's skin tone (#35 in the CYO generator) to one of the other dolls, I would say that it is definitely closest to my original 1995 PC Addy. Addy has just lost some of her red over the years, which accounts for the slight difference -- but tonally, the dolls are very close.
If you're selecting #30 in the generator, your doll will arrive looking like the Melody in above photos.
- First photo is always taken with flash. Second photo is always taken without flash.
- Despite appearances, every doll in these photos has the good-quality eyes.
Sonali, TM #85 and PC Addy
Beforever Addy, TM #85 and Melody
AGOT #18, TM #85 and JLY #1
Kaya, Melody and TM #85
Sonali, Melody and TM #85
[Added September 2021:
There is now a similar entry comparing the Light Skin vinyl tones. You can view that by clicking here.
And there is a similar entry comparing the Medium Skin vinyl tones. You can view that by clicking here.]