Fashion Is Fun

Fashionista Learns a Lesson

julie american girl story.jpgWe never got an American Girl as a child (unless you count the Marilyn Monroe by Warhol poster from Hanukkah ‘95).


Still, we have half fond and half jealous memories of Felicity, Kirsten, and Samantha, the historical dolls whose every adventure, friendship, and fashion accessory were relentlessly chronicled and sold by the
Pleasant Company. Felicity in particular was huge with our friends, probably because her Colonial time period allowed her the most extravagant dresses and also, she looked a bit like Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap.

There was just one issue - with the exception of a few frilly gowns, the clothes were anything but great for these dolls. We could hole up for hours dressing Barbie in trash bag couture and wrap-dresses invented
from our mother’s old scarves. But the American Girls? Oh, they needed a Little Fashion House on the Prairie.

This season, things are changing. The company just introduced two new dolls named Julie and Ivy who are both from the ’70s (okay, Felicity was from the 1770s, but that doesn’t count). Along with Title IX and Nixon, the girls are also
learning about caftans, bell bottoms, and mood rings.

The cynical part of Fashionista worries this is all American Girl needs to start an overpriced denim line to go with their overpriced dolls.

The rest of us thinks if girls start thinking tunics and disco dresses are cuter than Juicy Couture and the Cheetah Girls, this is a very good step.

Comments

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posted by guest

Nov 26, 2007 10:58AM

cheetah girls. sounds like a cavalli gone wrong. or right if you're an eight year old.

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posted by tahl

Nov 26, 2007 11:57AM

Oh, American Girls. I still have nightmares about trying to brush your hair.

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posted by jesspgh

Nov 26, 2007 12:33PM

I had Samantha who I thought was the most sophisticated because one of her accessories was a beautiful traincase/trunk luggage wardrobe set. I never got the set (it was insanely pricey like every American Girl related object) but enjoyed knowing that it technically belonged to her. My mom and I sewed outfits for her instead of buying all of her official ones.

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posted by guest

Nov 26, 2007 12:47PM

Haha, I loved American Girl dolls! I had Abby, Kirsten, and Samantha. Maybe thats what started my vintage fashion love affair? They had some ugly outfits, but I was lucky to know crafters who made American Doll clothes that were cuter and cheaper. I had alot of adorable 1940's outfits for them. It all makes sense now...

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posted by mpw

Nov 26, 2007 1:43PM

I had Kirsten and Samantha. I refused to let them play with my friend's Molly because her plaid skirts and round glasses looked like the ones my mom was always trying to get me to wear.

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posted by Jacqueminette

Nov 26, 2007 2:10PM

Ohhh, Lord. I had six of those dolls (and a very doting aunt). The clothes got a lot better with Josefina; I'm still in love with her Christmas outfit.

Really, though, I can't believe how expensive they've gotten, especially since they're owned by Mattel now. It's been downhill since the buyout, frankly.

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posted by glamabella

Nov 26, 2007 2:28PM

There were other dolls, too you know...

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posted by vicki

Nov 26, 2007 7:57PM

no one had an Addy doll?

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posted by Faran Krentcil

Nov 26, 2007 11:25PM

Addy didn't exist until my friends and I were in high school. I only know about her (and any doll after Felicity) because I used to babysit.

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posted by guest

Nov 27, 2007 12:42AM

I had Addy and Samantha and my sister passed down Kirsten and Molly to me. They were MY LIFE as I child. I loved them like children, and I loved their outfits.

More importantly, I loved the books, the girls' stories, and the hidden history lessons. I truly learned so much about early America from those books.

After Mattel's takeover, everything went downhill: they pulled Felicity from the catalog, quality diminished, and they focused more on "Girls of Today", leaving the message of history and education to the backburner.

I pity the little girls of today who missed out on the original Pleasant Company.

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posted by guest

Nov 27, 2007 1:58PM

I had Molly !!!!

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posted by FWD

Nov 27, 2007 2:25PM

A Pleasant Company catalogue once showed up at the theater where I worked. One of the first hands was a guy, and he'd never seen the dolls before. He completely freaked out because Kit, the Great Depression doll, had like 24 perfect little dresses and a zillion shoes and toys and accessories. He threw a giant tantrum, shouting: "Kit is not depressed! Kit has more clothes than I do! Kit is not The Grapes of Wrath!"

Then he had a cigarette while drawing moustaches on all the dolls in the catalogue.

(I had Samantha, but I did not tell him that.)

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