Revisiting American Girl's 'AWFUL' Rebrand

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[@Queerlyness]

The reason everyone hates it is because they threw away all the details and accuracy of the historical dolls to cut costs and ‘sell better’

[@lisettefrierson3592]

True!

[@janetestherina7169]

it took away everything that is appealing about the lines

[@dlclcn5021]

Agreed.

[@Melissa0774]

Yeah, Pleasant Company totally sold out. What a disappointment. Why does everyone always have to ruin everything good all the time?

[@Time_Is_Left]

@@Melissa0774 Because everything ends up being about capitalism (what didn’t start that way to begin with)

[@ckind2098]

"Don't rebrand your doll line or else some twink on KZbin with a Costuming degree might show up 8 years later to call you a flop" 😂 lmao I always appreciate how you slip in the snark like this

[@BledaRassmar]

Best KZbin Comment I have seen this year lol

[@nhmisnomer]

Just discovered him and I'm not really his target audience but I do love fashion history and his analysis is so clever and interesting.

[@sloanissocoolandgreat]

@@nhmisnomerreally thought this said "just divorced him"😭

[@GreenPlayz000]

@@sloanissocoolandgreat wdym “just divorced him”,did you marry him or something???

[@totalcattitude4339]

As a Chinese American, the loss of Ivy Ling was heartbreaking for me. There were very few characters who looked like me in mainstream media, so I grew attached to her so quickly. I'm extremely disappointed that Mattel has yet to be bothered to put out another historical Asian doll.

[@thisbeem2714]

I agree. Shame on you, Mattel. Of course, that is sort of a mantra I have about that company.

[@miscellaneouslorecollector3675]

Dam that must sucks. Not american, but I can see how that kinda stuff is important to people. HAD NO IDEIA they stoped making Ivy, my condolences

[@eleegee]

There’s actually a rumoured upcoming Asian American Historical doll! So far it’s just a rumour though, and the trademark is currently dead, but you never know! They may revive her. She’s rumoured to be a Gold Rush-era doll named Ning!

[@detectivewiggles]

Asian Americans deserve so much better ❤

[@kenthuang436]

I think that the Millennium twins that represent the Y2K years really should have been an Asian doll instead of some more white blonde hair blue eyes girls again. In fact have the doll be a girl with Middle Eastern heritage and Muslim and her facing ostracism and religious intolerance after the events of 9/11 since that happened to so many people who were Muslims and often profiled unfairly and targeted to full body searches at airports because people thought they would be a threat just because they were of Middle Eastern descent. It’s not like American Girl hasn’t tackled the subjects of racism and oppression before.

[@Man-wolf-]

Theres nothing wrong with girly stuff and pink but i really feel like mattel even to this day just sees little girls as a monolith-like they cant like something if its not decked in pink and glitter

[@kerisaltchannel3817]

I like pink and girly but not EVERYONE will. Some people like blue or aren’t as girly. And thats okay. I hope they understand soon

[@RariettyC]

As a tomboy during the late-90s/early-2000s who disliked the color pink and who loved learning about history, I don't know if I would have been into American Girl at all if I was growing up during the Be Forever era. I loved those dolls because it felt like the creators of them trusted that their audience wasn't a monolith who would automatically prefer something if it was decked in pink and glitter

[@clownsabound]

off topic but i love your icon it looks sick👍

[@whatteamwildcats4033]

I've been trying to get into doll collecting, so I've been going into my local Walmart toy aisle. I looked at rainbow high, monster high, mermaze mermaids, and a whole bunch of brands and found my self mostly impressed. And then I saw barbie and was immediately disappointed at the quality It's not just mattel seeing girls as this weird monolith of pink and glitter, it's a giant lack of care when it comes to making what they're selling look good for the people who do like it

[@Man-wolf-]

@@kerisaltchannel3817 thats an issue i have with the monster high g3 reboot as every single female doll has pink made into their main color even tho g1 had a decent balance between how many of the girls wore pink n how many didnt

[@velvetiivenus]

Some of my major nitpicks as someone who's a huge history nerd: - Samantha's Beforever meet outfit looks NOTHING like what a girl in 1904 would wear. It looks almost like a modern-day outfit, except for the frills. - Kit's Beforever meet dress, once again, looks nothing like a 1930's dress. The belt actyally makes it look like a dress from the 60's. - Julie's Beforever meet outfit is so stereotypical, it hurts my eyes. - All we need for Felicity to become a full-on Tudor doll is a ruff and a cap.

[@KingOfGaymes]

The change to Samantha breaks my heart as she was my first AG doll and means a lot to me, I love her original dress and so did many others. It’s an iconic part of AG history.. Slapping a pink, frilly and historically inaccurate dress on her makes me so angry, it’s like they felt she wasn’t good enough so they had to put her in a cutesy pink dress to make little girls want her more when they didn’t need to.. I remember the absolute devastation of AG fans when they announced Samantha being archived.. So to bring her back like THAT.. So disappointing.. She was perfect as she was, all of the original AG girls were..

[@phoenixfritzinger9185]

Samantha’s dress looks more like 1990’s if anything It’s like something my mom would have made for me to wear to like Easter Sunday church service when I was a toddler or something that Relena Peacecraft would wear

[@naomistarlight6178]

The Kit one bugs me most. It was the Depression. It was right after WWI. People wore somber colors.

[@mikeyfrederick1232]

Call them out Angelica!!! LoL I dig your energy and knowledge of historical fashion..

[@velvetiivenus]

@@mikeyfrederick1232 thank you!! :)

[@starspeculation]

I mean, this might be looking too deeply into this, but it does seem kind of messed up to save pink, the most girlish and desirable color (by modern girl standards) for the more marketable white characters, and take it away from Addy, just to leave her with blue.

[@DarlingDollz]

I didn't think about that, but honestly it's a really fair point

[@bloodmoonbunny6837]

I agree. I assume they expected (or knew to expect) to sell less Addy so the stuck her with the blue and fed into their own cycle of bias. There’s a reason Samantha is covered in baby pink.

[@samkathryn4825]

The funny thing is that Addy’s Beforever meet outfit is the only one I’ve heard frequently spoken of positively. I actually purchased it for Addy as its own outfit because it’s actually cute, unlike the other outfits.

[@Paradespc]

I heard (but not read the books myself) that they rewrote Addys stories to be “less frightening” in beforever. In other words, no portraying the true history and suffering of slaves

[@DarlingDollz]

@Denise Gambino They did redo the illustrations to be more tame, supposedly at Rowland's request. The original illustrator actually said she left the project due to being told to make her illustrations less scary. This actually led to some nuances being removed from the later books, like Addy's bully originally being illustrated intentionally with a lighter skintone, but the new illustrator erasing that later on

[@crazypyp5871]

It feels like the rebrand no longer took into consideration that these are historical figures meant to live in that time period and instead treated them as cute aesthetic dolls. Their original outfits were so much nicer and cuter and had no need to be changed and finally, they were accurate to those time periods though they aren’t anymore.

[@FrenkTheJoy]

It also just flatout doesn't make sense - it's not like the dolls didn't sell well with the original, accurate costumes. So why would they feel the need to redesign them to be more Barbie-friendly?

[@largeautomobile]

They're really cheapening themselves as a brand

[@Melissa0774]

@@FrenkTheJoy I feel like as well as the originals did sell, Matell must think the changed ones will sell even better. It's greed.

[@leifmeadows3782]

@@FrenkTheJoy Well, the original historicals sold well--to a group of children in the 80s, 90s, and a little bit into the 00s. Children of today like different things, and tend to be less impressed by historical accuracy. It sucks for the rest of us but I honestly don't think they'd have changed it up otherwise.

[@teleriferchnyfain]

@@leifmeadows3782 Who do you think buys them? Clue - NOT the kids.

[@bitt3rblu3]

I think a huge issue with the modern collection is the difference in materials! The original historical dolls had clothing made out of cotton or linen, etc. so they laid/draped correctly and felt authentic. The Beforever outfits were just polyester, polyester, and more plastic which makes them feel cheap and anachronistic. Kit’s original meet outfit was a knitted sweater set, but her new outfit was polyester with a huge, gaudy plastic belt loop! It makes the work feel careless.

[@lajinkccat8995]

Agree, its the same thing they did with the Barbie doll over the years.

[@keroppi6417]

For sure. I get that it may be more expensive overall to make dolls nowadays, but AG is such a premium brand. The point is that the dolls are REALLY nice and they last a long time. I was lucky enough to have 3 as a kid, and I treasured them. They shouldn't be held to the same standard as Barbie or a more budget-friendly line like Our Generation (No shade to OG though)

[@callistephus42]

Oh my god when you showed felicity's rebrand outfit I had to do a double take. It's such a downgrade from all her earlier outfits it hurts 💀

[@emily-tristancresswell1863]

It also made me physically do a double take.

[@ollieno971]

Literally awoo jump scare

[@Paradespc]

It’s so painful to see

[@thisbeem2714]

It took away Felicity's personality. She would have hated wearing something like that. I mean, she secretly stole her brother's trousers to ride horses in one of the books. Plus. It was an UGLY dress.

[@brischarrer]

​@ollieno971 What does awoo mean?

[@annabefriend]

i cracked up when felicity's be forever dress came on screen at 13:02 😭 it looks like if someone tried to make fiona from shrek's dress out of a couch

[@justbecca2414]

This has me DYING from laughter it’s SO TRUE 😂🤣

[@xxratsrcutexx3494]

Lmao that describes my feelings exactly 💀💀

[@AnActualBatMan]

i literally said "what the fuck" outloud when it appeared 🤣 WHAT IS THIS DREEESSSS burn it 🥲 Poor couch, i feel bad

[@itsbeyondme5560]

@@justbecca2414 lol

[@ROBYNMARKOW]

It's hideous..

[@laurenduncan3084]

Unlike the actual outfit itself, that OshKosh B'gosh read of Kit Kittredge's BeForever outfit was INCREDIBLY accurate. Look at how they massacred my girl!

[@freakette555]

The thing is I think that dress is really cute, its just a Kit Outfit at ALL

[@basementdwellercosplay]

As someone who studies historical fashion, is getting a degree in historical methods, and works at a museum making recreation dresses, I can tell you this makes me real sad. I gre up with these dolls as a kid and as adult loved the old designs that had so many details and nods to historical clothing

[@lurji]

where can i study this kinda stuff? i love the topic very much and i wanna go into it academically

[@basementdwellercosplay]

@@lurji I mean my school doesnt specifically do history but I am doing an applied historical methods major which focuses on working in museums and hands on historical research. I'm sure there is a way to look into schools for it

[@katiecakes10000]

Especially since the original Felicity had stays and an embroidered pocket.

[@gildedpeahen876]

The original dresses were made with so much attention to detail and with beautiful layers and fabrics. The new ones look cheap cheap cheap

[@xXprettyxkittyXx]

I hate the idea that they don’t think little girls like history. We LOVED historical fashion with all of the bows and fabrics and colors. AG was one of many book series that got girls interested in history and learning. Hell, I got into crafting and cross-stitching which is technically ultra feminine/traditional interests. So even if you want to make the argument that the encouraged STRONG feminine values, you can. The idea that you could be both girl and adventurous was so awesome for some of us who struggled to fit in with both boys and girls going up. The new versions are such an insult to girls.

[@ryhen7062]

im not a doll collector at all. but as a kid i was obsessed with their native american doll (forgot her name) because im canadian indigenous so i felt kinda validated. but, us natives cant afford that shit.

[@Plantlexia]

Kaya! She was my first doll, I was obsessed with native heritage

[@nadinegriffin5252]

Check out Maplelea. They have Saila an Inuit doll who has some amazing accessories.

[@yemyearmii7231]

I was able to save up for a Kaya! Haudenosuanee represent

[@srg24601]

Same! I'm mixed and my dad wanted to get me that doll so bad since there were a million dolls that look like my mom's family, but not his. Unfortunately we never had the funds to justify buying her 😔

[@CCClarinet12]

I had Kaya!!!!!

[@Cruznick06]

2014 is also the year Mattel rebooted Monster High. The faces were made more round, the characters given brighter colors (and way more pink across lines instead of reserving it for Draculaura), and the overall clothing/design quality went down. Interesting that this happened to American Girl the same year.

[@silyknow]

I looked to see if anything happened within the company that year and all I could find is that they bought another brand

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

@@silyknow im guessing it was probably an internal push to make their lines more commercialised and stereotypically girly

[@amyvasquez4268]

Didn’t that happen in 2016 or 2017 though

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

@@amyvasquez4268 it kinda started in 2015 with doll changes (dayna treasura jones's only doll looks identical to reboot dolls but is still gen 1) and then was official in 2016 im p sure

[@HarpsiFizz]

I think there must have been a gas leak at the Mattel offices that year. I wonder what went on in that year. Did they hire a bunch of new, stupid people? They must have.

[@freydobaggins6252]

My mum was a kid/teenager in the 70s and I swear there are old photos of her dressed in outfits EXACTLY like Julie in her original line- that accuracy is amazing!

[@Star_sweeper]

My mom had an outfit exactly like her jumpsuit/turtleneck outfit!

[@Agforever12]

@@Star_sweeper my mom had a shirt just like her patchwork top

[@thingtwo3996]

My mom loved Julie cause Julie had so many clothes that were almost exactly like what she'd grown up wearing!

[@XaurianQueen]

It's heatbreaking that now that im an adult who could buy herself a historical doll or two, they've changed what made them historical! I used to love the american girl doll catalogue and the clothes and accessories were very cool.

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

tbf beforever got scrapped in 2019 so its less shit than this now

[@charischannah]

This is what ebay is for. :)

[@leahdavis9434]

@@charischannah haha unfortunately American girl resale markets are competitive. Difficult to find, super expensive, lots of people trying to get them too

[@leahdavis9434]

@@ItBeThatWaySometimes it's all about the original pleasant company molds, which are the hard ones

[@randomusername429]

​​@@leahdavis9434 know, right? I was trying to find some discontinued Caroline stuff online, and someone was selling each fork, plate, spoon, cup, etc from her dining room set INDIVIDUALLY for like $12 each. And that's not even counting the actual table and chairs which they were probably charging much more for. It's insane. I have found some stuff that's actually kinda worth it, like full discontinued sets for various characters with a doll, several outfits, furniture, etc for like $600. But even though it's a reasonable price for what you're getting, it's still so expensive.

[@kathylennerds750]

As a non-American I didn't know American Girl was even real and not invented by The Simpsons until much later and yet here I am scandalized Mattel would butcher these poor girls like that smh

[@saku577]

I don't understand why they picked such an unflattering photo for Felicity's redesign dress too, like what were they thinking, it makes her dress look box-shaped???

[@FrenkTheJoy]

I thought it kind of made her look pregnant, which is not a look you want for a 9 year old character.

[@keltzy]

Does it look better in real life? I'd just assumed tried to give her panniers or something, but messed up the scaling and didn't care enough to fix it.

[@saku577]

I'm sure the shape is fine irl, her dresses' forms generally were. It's just such a weird angle on the photo.

[@jessherselfable]

@@keltzy I have it. It’s awful. It looks like it’s designed to be worn over a bustle but of course they didn’t give her any undergarments so it just hangs like a weird sack. I’ve made my own historically accurate clothes for her because I can’t stand the Beforever meet outfit.

[@ashcatalina8149]

I HATE Felicitys Beforever dress. It’s so garish and the complete opposite of her original outfits. It also makes me think of Marie Grace & Cecile- they had PETTICOATS they could wear under their dresses to make the skirts flare a little more. And technically back in the 1700s (but mostly earlier if I remember correctly) women wore lots of fabric to make their skirts look poofier to actually pull off the illusion of being pregnant- why? Because that would hide pregnant bellies more! Which were considered unusual or even taboo to show. BUT felicity is a child growing up in the 1700s not a woman so if they were trying to pull off this silloette it is oddly and inaccurately placed. Felicity didn’t have a petticoat for her Beforever dress the whole shape and color is just- AWFUL.

[@townfool4682]

growing up in the 2000s, the historical "best friends" were some of my favourite dolls, and I think it was so sad to see them just disappear. I know they might not have had the same historical accuracy as some of the older doll outfits, but they were CUTE. Emily, Elizabeth, Ruthie, NELLIE had some of my favourite outfits of all time.

[@lilyderooij]

I have ruthie and ivy still

[@JP2GiannaT]

Nellie was one of the best book characters ever.

[@moremercurial]

I remember being so (briefly) excited Samantha was being unretired because of my deep childhood love for her- and then immediately HORRIFIED at what they did to her. look how they massacred my girl >.> she looks like she's dressed in the Target junior's section from 2014. just horrible

[@timbofication9788]

"Some twink on KZbin with a costuming degree will call you a flop" 💀💀💀 your sense of humor is so good

[@SeymourDisapproves]

11:33 stooooop that original bicycling outfit was so cute. They absolutely massacred the girlies 😭

[@kayakat1869]

As a kid, Kit used to have the best outfits. Felicity, Elizabeth, Julie, and Ivys clothes were so adorable! Then they threw it all away with Beforever. I'm still mad about the Ivy thing too. They didn't have to get rid of her like that, especially because she's the only Asian doll they had. She had a really interesting backstory too, and her Chinese New Years dress was my favorite and pretty well designed. I'm just glad they didn't get rid of Kaya or Addy. Them "archiving" their characters was the worst decision imo. The original Samantha was so important and Kirsten was an very similar in culture, time period, and location to my ancestors that came here.

[@leifmeadows3782]

I really think they should have changed Ivy's meet outfit before dumping her like that. That meet outfit was HIDEOUS, and I almost didn't buy the doll because of it. And I'm an adult who saw pictures of her online and knew that I wanted her. I can't imagine an actual child being able to get past the ugly meet outfit.

[@amydaskilewicz9076]

The re-design of Felicity's meet dress made me say "no" out loud

[@jenniferhanses7064]

In regards to colors, pink was a color associated with manliness and soldiers until sometime after the 1910s. Pink was associated with blood. Girls wore light blues, which were delicate like eggshells. Alice Blue, the color favored by Teddy Roosevelt's daughter was the last gasp for blue before the mysterious color change occurred.

[@nilimarose]

The Addy doll was the first big purchase i ever made. It took all my Christmas and birthday money lol. I loved her books, and It makes me sad that anyone thought they were too disturbing. The fact that Addy and her family had traveled the underground railroad and struggled once they came north made her feel real to me.

[@KatieLHall-fy1hw]

I remember when Addy was new, and she had that LONG HAIR! It was glorious. And as for her book, it was spectacular! I grew up in Virginia, and my school covered the Civil War in..: 4th grade, 7th grade and 10th grade. Her book is one of the best I’ve read that illustrates the awfulness of slavery and makes it understandable for kids, but also shows how her family rebuilds and worked together for a better life. It is one of the best stories. Heck, all of the books were good

[@JustLilKeko]

I don't even like American Girl Dolls (never got into them even as I kid and I say the books at Barns and Noble school trips) and the change looks honestly heart wrenching. They used to be to well constructed and accurate which as someone into historical fashion now makes me sad that girls are getting a complete downgrade. That's not talking about the books that went into themes of poverty and hardship that kids do actually go through whether people want to admit it or not

[@lexyshannon9428]

Exactly! Regardless of if you were into the dolls, you could really tell that there was a lot of heart and work put into getting the details right. Now, it's just... :/

[@hibikuokudan]

I was someone who grew up with the original American Girl books (the dolls were too expensive), and I loved all the characters. These changes are disgusting and don't feel like the girls I learned from.

[@Sweetie_Belle123]

Does anyone else remember when they made the mini American Girl Dolls so your American Girl Doll could have its own American Girl Doll-? That was weird

[@tiff.sketch]

I liked them because they were cheaper than the normal-sized dolls, yet had the same clothing and (mini-sized) books

[@teleriferchnyfain]

I have one

[@KatieLHall-fy1hw]

I have two 😆 I played with my Samantha way more overall though, small doll was a treat from the store when I went once

[@deen7530]

I had one of those! I generally preferred smaller toys to bigger ones, and my parents were probably just glad I wasn't begging them for a $100 doll I wasn't really gonna play with.

[@amethyst_cat9532]

I've been holding onto a mini Elizabeth doll for a while thinking it might be worth a lot of money someday (I liked my other dolls better and she got discontinued not too long after I got her). Still not sure if I'd ever part with her

[@IAMCAKEGOD]

justice for Kaya. I love her sm. it hurts my heart they used her face mold for the AG boys

[@samtheflutegirl1373]

They didn't. Nooooo that's so bad

[@Melissa0774]

I hate that they don't publish American Girl Magazine anymore. I know no one reads magazines anymore, but I think they could've made it work for kids. Plenty of people want non technology forms of entertainment for kids. And they could've turned it into a successful social media empire too. It's so needed, because so much of the content that's made for kids today is such crap. They had a website back in the day, but they never seemed to realize its potential.

[@thingtwo3996]

I used to love when the AG magazine would come! It was so much fun to see all the outfits, whether I was able to get them or not.

[@Melissa0774]

@@thingtwo3996 I always wondered about the Help column. I'd love to hear from someone who wrote to it back in the day, about what they thought when their letter got published and if they thought the advice was helpful or not. I sent letters in twice, to the general letters from readers section, and to the Heart to Heart feature, but they didn't publish them. I especially wonder what the women who had their Help letters published in the actual books have to say about it now. That would be a great idea for a KZbin video, if any of those people would want to do it now. I always wanted to interview my grandmother who fled the Nazis during WW2, for the paper doll thing, but she wouldn't do it.

[@CCClarinet12]

I USED TO LOVE AG MAGAZINE and I also had 10 dolls (5 were from my grandma cuz my grandma used to buy me an ag doll for my birthday every year until I stopped playing with dolls)

[@amyvasquez4268]

They stopped making magazines??? 🥲

[@Melissa0774]

@@amyvasquez4268 Yeah, years ago. I looked for in a public library and I thought they just didn't have it anymore, but then I found out it's actually not being published anymore. It's such a damn shame because it's something that kids today could really use.

[@kattriella1331]

I feel like they would have been better off making the Beforever line a series of extra outfits that could be what the characters would wear in different decades or modern day, rather than completely ditching the original outfits and replacing them with . . . Whatever this is.

[@pinkiepielunagirls4541]

something interesting is that when they did beforever, they released girl-sized clothing "inspired by" the new meet outfits. i wish that had been what it was for the dolls as well

[@lou1817]

did anyone else notice they lightened Addy's skin in the redesign??

[@jjabbott7249]

Oh geez, you're right...

[@coralreef2329]

Some of her defining facial features, like her nose, were also toned down

[@NathasyaStellaHermanus]

Jesus Christ, they actually did

[@_Daemon_Sultan_]

Oh god. They did. I’m horrified at this, poor addy deserves better.

[@thisbeem2714]

I didn't notice....To be fair I am watching on my phone with the brightness turned down. It hurts my heart that they would do that to Addy. What a blatantly racist choice.

[@Cool-eo1oe]

I wonder why Kirsten was dropped. I am fully biased as Kirsten was the only doll I had as a kid. But even if they made her wear purple or neon green… I would have wanted more outfits 😭

[@theoriginalsache]

Forced Scarcity, unfortunately. They thought they could drive up the collectors market. It didn't work the way they thought it would. There's some hope, considering they brought back Molly last year, that they might reintroduce Kirsten in the next year or two and/or bring back Samantha's original collection. The 35th anniversary rerelease did really well for the brand

[@WeabooName]

My guess is a couple of reasons, all of them marketing related: 1: She's a blonde, and unlike Kit, Julie, and Caroline (and later, Maryellen and Courtney) was not a character Mattel created. I imagine they would rather dump a legacy character that they didn't create over one they did. (I imagine Maryellen and Courtney get a pass because of this and they don't have the problems below. But I don't know much about the Mattel era characters, so I could be wrong.) 2: Her story is mostly about the immigrant experience of the time, and Rebecca, another character from the Mattel era, also covers it while doing it from a modern minority perspective (Jewish). (Except the books really don't cover it well. Her cousin Ana is the actual immigrant. Rebecca is mostly a bystander. IMO, they should have given Ana her own series if they really wanted to cover that. But that's irrelevant to this conversation.) Taking the above into consideration, as far as potential demographics to sell dolls to, Kirsten, as a blonde Christian white girl, is redundant over Rebecca, a brunette Jewish girl with an olive skin tone. 3: Her story is also touches on how said immigrants and others, with the blessing of the US government, were stealing land from the Native tribes of the area, with the period standard racism that involves. (The nice teacher that teaches Kirsten English chides a boy in her class, saying that they "are not savages like the Indians".).Mattel probably looked at everything involving Singing Bird and didn't want to deal with any potential backlash ruining their marketing of the relaunch. Also, they had their own Native character by then (that coincidentally comes from a time and place where European settlers weren't a problem yet), Kaya. So she covers (part of) that aspect of Kirsten's story from an actual native's perspective.

[@leifmeadows3782]

My understanding was that Kirsten wasn't selling well, because she sold so well in the 80s/90s and 00s that there were just a whole bunch of Kirstens knocking around on the secondary market. I don't think the idea with her was forced scarcity (though I'd see that argument about, say, Caroline or the NOLA dolls) I just genuinely think that the company had already saturated the market with Kirstens, Samanthas, and to an extent, Mollys. Notice Samantha was the first to be retired. Not sure why it took so long to retire Molly, but, shrug.

[@radishjuice8662]

I wanted her so bad! they discontinued her when I was too little for american girl dolls though

[@adrianaacosta7293]

The fact that they scrapped the name “American girl” is so ridiculous because I feel it was great for girls of all races to see themselves as Americans. It’s the unifying factor that ties all the girls together.

[@charley2475]

they haven’t??

[@NathasyaStellaHermanus]

@@charley2475 Apparently not

[@katsyachoppy7839]

what are you talking about? also thats propaganistic

[@dghsdjk44]

@@katsyachoppy7839 how the fuck is that propaganda

[@kttyz313]

They didn’t. They scrapped the name “Historical Characters” to refer to their historical line, and changed it to “Beforever.” The brand is still called American Girl

[@chevvy427]

Why would they change the color of Addy's dress??? They want to color code these girls so much, her color was right there! I wonder what about her made them think she wouldn't wear pink 🧐 Edit: Taking the color of Addy's cover dress to give it to another white doll feels like some unintentionally racial stereotyping. Addy is as much of a feminine little girl as any of them.

[@thisbeem2714]

I said basically the same thing elsewhere. SMH

[@sacrilegioussasquatch]

At least the blue was the feminine colour back then. The pink looked so cute on her though

[@imaginefun13]

I seem to have completely missed the Beforever era, so I have never actually seen these outfits....I am shocked lol. Some of them looked so so bad, I can't believe they actually were approved and produced. I'm guessing there were some higher-ups that insisted on making the historical dolls more modern. At least it seems they learned their lesson!

[@nanasewdear]

About Julie: I was in high school in the 70's and Julie's original collection is so accurate. All of Julie's Beforever is not a dud, but that meet outfit is absolutely a hippy Halloween costume. I like the newer face molds. I really like the shorter hair on the newer Kit. I sew a lot of my doll clothes because historical fashion interests me.

[@unikittyproductions2797]

I was their target demographic (9 year old girl) at the time of the rebrand and incredibly disappointed. One of the reasons I had loved AG so much was the quality and accuracy of the dolls, and how the books and the outfits worked with each other. I hated the pinkification of characters such as Samantha and Kit, and also did not appreciate the change in the books. I always loved colonial fashion, so Felicity’s new meet outfit hurt the most. I ended up saving up and buying an original Felicity on eBay when I was 11.

[@WeebaLu]

I feel like BeForever was like, the gen 2 Monster High had. Awful research, made for toddlers, poor quality, etc. When I look at all the brands Mattel owns, around 2015-ish, you can really see how hard Mattel had fallen financially when you see the downgrade in all their brands, including American Girl. I'm just glad they're at least trying to fix what they broke with the American Girl brand. I feel like Claudie is actually a really good example of what American Girl should try to do going forward, keeping the historically accurate clothing but also having a separate contemporary-based collection. Just wish they would do another 1800's-based doll instead of focusing so much on 20th century characters, at least bring back Kirsten like they did Molly :(

[@catherinerodeback2494]

My biggest gripe with the non historical series is that nearly all the girls are "preformers".

[@hopelessromantic8682]

One reason I think Rebecca’s 1910 collection was so accurate was the popularity of Downton Abbey at the time 😂 👍🏻

[@Madeleinewith3Es]

I got into the original series as a kid back in the 90s, and the Felicity doll and her clothes are what I attribute my love of historical costuming now, and there's a huge following still of adults who love them and make the outfits for themselves. It was around 2004 I remember noticing the changes, like Elizabeth being blonde when she'd always been a brunette, and all her clothes just being a color-swapped copy of Felicity's clothes, and Felicity herself getting a purple gown from a side story turned into her main gown and young me *hated* the lavender with her red hair.

[@seraphinasullivan4849]

I'll explain the rest of my feelings but first: Felicity's beforever dress looks like Margaret Wells from Harlots. I don't know if it was the exact same colors or silhouette but every time i see it i hear "My mother is the exemplar bawd in all of London!" and that's such a weird association to make with an American Girl doll, but it's what i got. More generally: i was really disappointed when i heard of the rebranding. A lot of kids' toys are sold in bright colors and there was something so alluring about the muted color schemes of collections like Kitt's and Felicity's and Kirsten's from the pictures i saw in the catalogues. My family was broke so there's no way i could have gotten them, but it was a joy to just look at what was available. Those more muted color schemes made them look like heirlooms and ancient photo albums, legitimately like history come to life, even if i wasn't always a fan of the historical silhouettes. The beforever redesigns just looked so cheap and flat in comparison. If felt like watching well-meaning amateurs botch historical art restorations or like if someone painted over the birth of venus to make her look like taylor swift

[@thisbeem2714]

😂 That comment about the birth of Venus sums it up!

[@rogerlloyd1897]

I adore your insight and humor. I'm not a huge American Girl fan, but I always loved looking through their catalogs back in the 90s as a kid. Mattel in general has scaled back so much. I didn't know much about this brand before and I have a better appreciation for it now. Thank you for your time and research on this. Amazing videos as always.

[@V1D3OSTAAR]

Damn no response

[@justbecca2414]

I absolutely HATED beforever and still do. At the time frame it was released my dad was going through cancer and that’s what I started calling the line and my catch frase being “beforever is worse than cancer” I was a young teen and it was dramatic but I can see where I was coming from 😅🥴

[@sweethistortea]

I wasn’t really into American Girl dolls, but I am a huge fan of history and thought the historical dolls diving into historical events to be interesting. It seems like a lot of doll companies are rebranding rather then putting resources into up keeping the product.

[@tricorvus2673]

Kit’s era was when my mom and her sister grew up, and honestly it makes my heart sink, how it went downhill in the rebranding. I’m glad that Mother and Auntie aren’t able to see it.

[@ainerobertson78]

Fyi if you are ever thinking about doing videos on historical fashion, I would absolutely watch them. Dolls are such a fun and interesting way to look at fashion and they seem like little time capsules about what was trendy and what influences (good or bad) we were trying to push on to kids at the time. The topic doesn't even have to be doll related tho, I gobble up Karolina Żebrowska and Bernadette Banner's videos regularly and my hunger cannot be satisfied. Ugh fashion is such a special interest of mine bc my ADHD hamster brain has so much fun connecting all the influences that history & society have on fashion and vice versa

[@somelikeitvntg]

So happy to get a costume design prospective on it! One thing I want to mention is that the research that you showed us was mostly women while the AG characters were girls. Historical children’s fashion, particularly girls fashion, was meant to distinguish them from adults. Girls often had shorter skirts and wore their hair down. The 35th anniversary girls sold very well! I hope that sent a message to the company. Molly is my favorite :)

[@Youknow107]

Oh it did haha cause they brought back molly and some of her classic collection. 😊

[@ilavalolipop]

I’m a 90s kid. When I was in elementary school I thought American Girl Dolls were really unique. Ironically my family couldn’t afford to get me one. But many of my classmates had them, and the point about not underestimating and insulting your audience is really true- I was just a kid, but the authentic construction and silhouettes of the characters stood out to me, and helped me get a basic grasp on historical fashion even at such a young age.

[@BriIsTheFinestCheese]

the historical american girl books truly set the groundwork for me to be interested in politics and made me more empathetic, not only Addy but Samantha's friend Nelly, Kit's friend Will, etc. They changed my life! I had no idea about the rebrand because I've never been into modern company's dolls that much as an adult, so thank you for making this video!!

[@krackkokichi]

i was so devastated when beforever came out because i had been saving for a julie doll and suddenly her super cute outfit was non-existent

[@thisbeem2714]

Oh man, that IS heartbreaking.

[@guiguiny]

it would be a dream if they brought back the original clothes and their collections like they did with Molly, I hate the beforever line, Samantha and Kit had such beautiful clothes 😭

[@krisrhood2127]

I grew up in the 60s and some of Melody's accessories reminded me of things we had in our house

[@shootingstarbit]

13:03 this is perry the platypus’s exact color scheme

[@DoveJS]

When I was a kid, I wasn't big on large child/baby dolls (I preferred fashion dolls and plushies of any size) but I loved the American Girls collection for having interesting books, distinctive outfits, and awesome accessories and play sets. They were super expensive though so I only ever had the paper dolls which were equally amazing since the artwork resembled the actual girls a lot more! My main complaint then and now is always how close a toy matches the original source... lol plus how much space it takes up. Samantha was also my favorite of the original girls; I think she was the fave for a lot of people because yeah her waistline was weird but she was rich so she had the coolest outfits out of everyone! Plus it helped she was a brunette... Barbie becoming a constant blonde is something I'll never forgive Mattel for. I didn't even realize back in the beginning that she came in so many hair colors and while I'm glad they kind of got back to their roots with way more additional diversity, as a kiddo I was left hoping and praying any new Barbie line had some of Barbie's friends that I'd like. I was just a pasty girl with stringy brown hair but it was still so validating to find a doll closer to me (one of the reasons Belle used to be my fave Disney Princess growing up... well that and monster f'ccing lol so you can safely guess I loved the original Monster High line, only thing iffy was the skelly bods. Some day soon I'm gonna get one of the new Gen dolls, though I'm kinda disappointed Clawdeen is no longer a brunette for obvious reasons.) I get why so many people are excited by the expansion of the Barbie Fashionistas and other lines like Extra and Signature Look, plus it just gives you so much options if you're like "eh that brunette isn't doing it for me.... oooh I like that red head... aww the freckles... ohhh the makeup and skin tone are actually matched well on her!" (Edit: I like dolls that don't resemble me as well, including different ethnic traits and cultural backgrounds, I'm just saying it's always nice seeing a little element of yourself and in general Barbie in the 80's/90's is the one that made me haaate blonde dolls for so long... I don't hate blonde people or Barbies and many blonde dolls are beautiful but Barbie is to blame for my automatic aversion to blonde, hot/pastel pink, and boring purple forced into every blessed thing marketed to girls/women.) And Made to Move is also what I always dreamed of because I loved action figures for their articulation but I loved dolls for my ability to change up their looks. 😊 Anyway, I'm so grateful the Pleasant Company focused on teaching children, especially girls, about different time periods and I loved seeing this video breaking down the outfit inspirations and why the Beforever redesign just didn't work. I'm betting the issue is indeed that Mattel didn't have access to the Pleasant Company's research: they probably trashed it after they were done because they never thought they'd need it again or else didn't document it very well and never presumed Mattel would want it, so it's good to hear with later entries that Mattel tried harder. I also hate how they insist on color coding and just vibrant pinks in every doll line... I mean I love those shades of blue but paired with the more Halloween costume efforts it's kinda meh. And yeah for some reason I always had the least interest in Kirsten and Felicity I think... lol I guess just their aesthetic made me shrug then and now. They're not bad but not impressive by any means. Even Kit is definitely more interesting in her sack dress and that's such a cool detail to learn about. And whoa yes they did Julie so dirty augh! 😅

[@michelleburchfield1420]

As someone who bought every, and I mean EVERY doll for her kids, even her two boys - yeah, I’m that mom… We fortunately missed the BeForever phase of American Girl and didn’t go back until after they dropped it. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. The way they just casually threw away all the history as if us ‘little girls’ lacked the capacity to understand it, and those hideous new outfits were so bad. Your video was great, thank you! And the way you referred to yourself at the end, I spit out the water in my mouth, I laughed so hard. That’s exactly how we speak in our house - high five!

[@Engineersdayoff]

It was not just Cécile it was Marie-Grace too as neither was the best friend, but rather equals. Even the books are split evenly. Neither is considered the best friend when one retired both did. Until recently Marie-Grace was the only doll available with her face mold and Cécile is just beautiful. Their story is one of my favorites and both dolls are just gorgeous and unique.

[@SimmerErin]

Excellent analysis. I agree.. the rebranding bothers me, from a historical POV. That isn't to say AG has ever been perfectly historically accurate by any means but.. it bothers me as they already have many modern lines. I don't see the need for this. There are adult collectors that I'd hope would still allow them to sell- and who is to say younger fans wouldn't still like accurate pieces? It makes them stand out, and the colors chosen at times make me question the thought process too

[@wafflefries174]

I was a die-hard Kit Kittredge fan as a kid, in fact, I still own all of the original books and outfits. I remember hearing about the redesign and being so pissed off because I thought they took away all of her personality.

[@melasn9836]

I'm old, so the original line of books is what made me a history buff as a kid. And it was SUCH a great Christmas when my family splurged to get me a Molly doll, and I saved up my allowance to buy her outfits & books after that (she's still safely stashed away in a vintage 40s traveling trunk in my house). Seeing her dressed in a kind of pseudo-retro style instead of something that was actually close to what my grandma actually saw/wore in the 40s is just... dispiriting. I'm so glad that mine pre-date the Mattel buyout, because not only are the outfits pretty damn ahistorical (except for the 70s), they're also very chintzy looking. I can understand why more serious collectors were upset. Also, why is Molly considered a "divisive" character? Is it to do with dolls, stories, or something else?

[@cougellie]

I’m wondering why she’s divisive too.

[@ginnynoel]

I believe it's mostly due to her personality being seen as whiny, and most controversially a big plot point being her hula girl costume. AG tried to correct this with Nanea from 1941

[@ajallen9674]

@@ginnynoel basically. In the first book she complains about having to eat turnips and demands peas, mashed potatoes, and carrots. Which is normal for a child, but in the 1940's when resources were scarce, it comes off as bratty. Her mother finally comes home from work (she took a job in a factory to pay bills after her father left to be an army medic) and uses up their butter and sugar rations. In the 40's it would be akin to throwing a tantrum because you didn't get the toy you wanted.

[@taylerskye]

Ivy was the second doll I ever got, Julie being the first and my favorite. I’ve always loved the 70s and I was so sad to see her go.

[@joannayawn154]

Samantha’s BeForever collection is just so inaccurate but I can’t help it I love it sooo much 😭 it’s so cute! However the original Samantha will always be better imo!

[@maxaroni39]

I grew up as a huge American Girl fan, with the books being my favorite part! I loved all the historical details and learning about what life was like back then, and how their collections fit into that really well. My biggest gripe with Beforever is that the books are now abridged (this is a rather recent change), which is really infuriating. Why was that a needed change?

[@mastersnet18]

Yea that’s ridiculous. The original books said 7+ on the back. Then in the 2000s it changed to 8+ and now they’re abridged? Do they expect 5 years olds to read it?

[@nadinegriffin5252]

My daughter is so upset the Mattel AG is pulling away from the historical line and the books. She is not happy with the focus on the Truly Me line. She has Kit in the teal dress and just bought Rebecca because they discontinued her too. She wishes she had been a kid when AG was better.

[@anthonycrowley2264]

American Girl was literally my childhood(I still have a bunch of the dolls, including Elizabeth and Kirsten!), and seeing those awful changes in the Beforever line is just heart-wrenching!

[@blackquills27]

i was having a very angry conversation about this rebrand the other day!! so excited to hear your thoughts on it

[@merefinl6914]

Kaya was my favorite (and I still have her!), I'm glad that they didn't change her design at all. I was definitely drawn to her for her horse and dog accessories, but she gave me a life-long appreciation for indigenous cultures. I enjoyed learning about history a lot more thanks to her, and branched out into the other characters' books. The only other doll I got was a girl of the year doll because she happened to look like me.

[@mikeyfrederick1232]

Just gotta say your content is fun, interesting and educational...really opened my eyes to the deep and vast history the subject of dolls has..your channel is super cool in my book...

[@DarlingDollz]

Appreciated!

[@zwilliams331]

Again, consistently the most creative, interesting and well delivered doll subject matter on social media. ❤

[@delaneyrosies]

I totally remember this happening as I was a young teen at the time. I remember initially thinking the marketing was pretty and actually liked the color cohesion, but compared to the older outfits, (especially with Julie and Kit🤢) they really lost something from the original vision.

[@soap_soap]

Something to note about all the historical characters before Courtney and Claudie is that all of their years have a 4 at the same end which is just pretty interesting overall

[@pinkiepielunagirls4541]

not all of them! the two pre-beforever releases he skipped over - caroline and marie-grace & cecile - are 1812 and 1853 respectively. also iirc some of the earlier dolls also have stories that take place in other years but ag marketed the years as ending in 4 for consistency, i guess

[@soap_soap]

@@pinkiepielunagirls4541 Thanks for the info! :D

[@ginnynoel]

@@pinkiepielunagirls4541 yeah Julie's story takes place in 1975 and 1976 for the bicentennial!

[@Youknow107]

@@pinkiepielunagirls4541 kit was actually truly the first to start this. Yes she has the year 1934 on her covers but her story starts in 1931-32 and goes to the beginning of 1934. So thanks to kit we have the rest except for Kaya and the ones that the other person said to have stopped the 4 at the end.

[@pinkiepielunagirls4541]

@@Youknow107 i think molly's story actually begins in 1943

[@dorkinwithdolls1425]

I also just recently got into AG and I’ve watched it change and change again within the last few years. I think Claudie is wonderful but I can’t get over my disappointment that she doesn’t write. Poetry from the Harlem renaissance is some of my favorite and when I didn’t see much mention of poetry in her collection my heart kind of sank. Great video as always though ☺️ Hoping the historical girls get the attention they deserve from Mattel again.

[@royami8627]

have you read her book? her collection doesn't reflect her whole story, it's her about her trying to find what she's passionate about, and a lot of the people she knows are artists and writers and musicians. Writing is something that she is actually sort of drawn to.

[@dorkinwithdolls1425]

@@royami8627 ohhh!! I had no idea!! I saw others complaining about the lack of writing focus and assumed it was missing. Thanks for letting me know!

[@chronoxxe]

Growing up I had a giant book which had all of Julie’s stories and I read them over and over again. I eventually also got Ivy’s book as well. I never had the dolls but the books had illustrations so I knew what the characters looked like. So seeing Julie in the redesigned outfits is like a slap in the face to the illustrations of her I grew up with. Plus poor Ivy…

[@jewisley]

Schools have been dumbing down forever. It’s a real shame. History - the people - have so much to tell. My children had Kierston, Samantha, and Molly. Samantha’s meet dress is 1950’s little girl dresses. Her new look is not at all correct. Kierston’s dress is hideous. I prefer the older looks for all of those dolls. In addition to making clothes out of feed sacks, people would take old clothes apart and remake them. The fabric would have been faded from repeated washing and being hung on clotheslines and sometimes, the fabric would be turned inside out and reworked. I had a jumpsuit that I made for 4-H exactly like Julie’s.

[@linphillips8331]

I remember seeing the drop waist silhouette in Oz book illustrations, except for The Wizard of Oz, the first one, which had a different illustrator. The drawings of Dorothy and Ozma fascinated me as a kid.

[@Kittychanwilleatyou]

i definitely mirror your opinions almost exactly! i’m a huge history fan and it broke my heart to see what had happened to some of my favorite dolls. thank you for a great video

[@moirad3504]

I'm not a doll person, but I had an early Addy, and I was gotten into American Girl Dolls, because like I moved in to a neighborhood where that I made friends with all the girls and they all had American Girl Dolls (and the rich girl had all of them). So I saved up for and bought Addy (and I still love her, I hope to pass her on to a niece of nephew), but at one point I know I had an American Girl Doll cookbook, and like I know my original copy is gone, one of my neighborhood friends must have taken it, but like it taught me how to make butter in a way I still have taught people how to do, and I know it had a good pancake recipie and I want that back, and I've never seen this book in any used bookstores.

[@anname7373]

One thing I as a jewish person hate about rebecca is how her books tried to push christianity as an american thing and about how they painted rebecca's cousin until she accepted xmas and how they painted her parent's refusal to accept xmas. They were soooo culturally insensitive. also her light blue (both of them) dress is a joke, almost no religious 1910s jewish woman would be caught dead in a dress like that. Also, rebecca's parents would've been dressing her as a woman at her age, the age of majority is 12-13 in judaism. (this is different from the age of consent, that is 18.)

[@leifmeadows3782]

Wasn't Rebecca supposed to be 9-10?

[@anname7373]

@@leifmeadows3782 idk, it's been years since i read it, but she would've been treated like a mini-adult regardless. I was given adult tasks at that age. Only thing we didn't do was mess with really hot things.

[@positivesiennergy]

you have very kind eyes

[@myownbravado]

I wasn't able to have an American Girl doll as a kid, but I always looked at them when we went to the store because I thought they were so beautiful! I was already 20 or so by the time the rebrand came out and not involved in doll world just yet, but I saw them in the store and was shocked! Julie specifically. I thought there was no way anyone would spend so much on a doll that looked like a clearance, Spirit Halloween 70's costume, and I still feel that way!

[@Peyz1824]

The only good thing about the rebrand is that the dolls became more readily available for Canada. Before that there was no shipping to Canada, I had to cross the border to get Saige from the Mall of America (God bless their soul) but to get Isabelle I just had to order her off the Indigo website

[@julieblair7472]

I've never quite understood why the dolls are toddlers when the characters seem to be preteens / tweens.

[@BrOoKiEcOoKiEcUtIe]

They’re not toddlers tho lol

[@darrellwallace4182]

This was not boring. To the contrary; it was very interesting, extremely informative, (especially to someone who has always admired the American Girl doll line but never owned or collected them) and humorous and thoughtful. It's not surprising that something that started as a pure and intelligent idea and concept gets corrupted by a billion dollar toy company and comprised for, what else the bottom line, which is of course, profit! You did an excellent job and I'm a new subscriber to your channel. I'm mostly a fashion doll collector, but this was so intriguing I had to see it to the end. Please keep up the great work!

[@andelbee]

Loved this video! I’m old enough that my kids grew up with the original AG dolls, and I’ve been disappointed ever since Mattel took over. But it was fascinating to follow the progression of the brand, and your insights are dead on. Especially about the drop-waist dresses! Such subtleties are the things that make the difference between impressive historical accuracy and band mediocrity. Thanks for the fun retrospective. New subscriber!

[@juliayang3474]

as someone who grew up OBSESSED with the contemporary American girl dolls (specifically goty) and wrote their college admissions essay about i clicked so fast on this video because the mere mention of beforever still makes my gut churn and lip curl, so thank you for this, i love this video.

[@bloodmoonbunny6837]

I remember finding it hiiiideous. Like wanting to burn the AG catalog. I also will never forgive them for getting rid of Ivy and Cecile. Samantha was always a favorite and I always felt like I wanted one like her that looked like me (so addy wasn’t..quite what I was looking for)

[@spellinwaiting5290]

I'm so glad I have my Julie I got as a kid when she was the newest character. I just wish I had more of her other outfits from her old collection- all I have besides her Meet outfit is her pajamas. I want that floral jumpsuit SO bad!

[@jofosho2]

Ah yes the jumpsuit was one of my favorites, I still want it too! And her calico dress 🤩

[@tristynlinde]

I had Kaya, Kirsten, and Ivy (Julia's best friend) and growing up with all the stories was like a huge part of my childhood and taught me a lot of context around history that I didn't get in school. Plus the darker aspects of the stories were part of what interested me in them, I was tired of just reading traditional kids books with no real substance

[@hexgirlsgroupie]

the beforever line came out when i was 16 aka american girl was off my radar at that point. so as someone who grew up w/ the pre-beforever reboot, i’m so glad it was a flop. the main reason i really liked american girl was bcuz of how historically accurate their dolls were; i just thought they were so cool & interesting, & it was fun learning about each time period through the clothing. so hearing & seeing how bad some of those changes were felt like mattel’s way of belittling their target demographic. like u said, if it’s not broken, don’t bother fixing it (btw i love ur more rant-y vids

[@SilknSass76]

They did Samantha dirty with Be Forever! Edwardian children’s clothing is so pretty

[@BriIsTheFinestCheese]

"specifically a tudor gown halloween costume" i cried. these are so upsetting

[@colourfulsouls]

I had the Kirsten doll as a kid, my sis had felicity My dad does woodworking and he made me all of the furniture- a table & chairs, bench, bed, bureau w cabinet & drawer and a few other things (and he made some for others, too) He looked at the ones they sold for Kirsten and made them in the correct style This is my first time seeing their new designs, I loved the old clothes they were great quality fabric, too I bought a lot of fancy doll dresses from a local older lady who sewed & sold them at craft fairs

[@XuiLeeEv]

(A lot of) the new outfits look cheap, which is crazy for a doll line that is so prohibitively expensive.

[@gracebellinger99]

omg please do more ag videos!! i grew up loving the historicals and have always been super into historical fashion, so i was devastated when i found out about beforever. like those outfits are literally heartbreaking

[@EmbalmerEmi]

I love your longer videos, Especially when they're honed in on one specific topic. I didn't know anything about any of this but now I feel very informed.

[@TheDollFairy]

I love your videos discussing doll lines in depth, and how much research and insight you put into them. I would love to see you actually pursue your idea of tracing each historical garment's inspiration pieces like the Simplicity pattern you found that was nearly identical to Melody's outfit. I'd totally watch that video!!

[@marymurphy1429]

Honestly I don't understand why they did it either. If you want modern dress up dolls Barbie is already owned by Mattel. If you want a doll that's for fun you get Barbie, of you want a doll that's fashionable and educational you get American girl. I'm not even particularly invested in this because while I loved the books I checked out of the library I never had any of the dolls because they were expensive, but these still kind of make me mad. You can't make the dolls that expensive and then not deliver on historical accuracy.

[@mk-aka-morgan8386]

I’ve never really been into the American Dolls, but I do like the idea of Historical dolls more than the modern dolls.

[@eleegee]

I loved this deep dive! It was super fun and I totally agree with most of what you said. It was pretty unnecessary, and pretty insulting .. Replacing years of research and historical accuracy with bright, frilly, historically inaccurate dresses is just stupid, to put it bluntly. On another note, I’d love if you made more AG videos like this!