American Girl BeForever

[anonomom]

I think the rebranding is kind of silly -- was there something wrong with the way that the dolls were before?

But I'll admit -- my catalog says there'll be an AG episode of Project Runway, and I am excited for that.

[citymama]

Wow. Marie-Grace and Celine are gone.

Oh my, when I saw this, I thought you meant "on their way out." But they're really gone!

By some miracle, I thought to buy ahead and last holiday season when they went on sale I bought a bunch of Cecile outfits to give DD1 this year. But I never did, and I heard her saying last week she was going to ask Santa for Cecile outfits for Christmas. Whew! Glad I bought ahead! I thought they would be phased out year-end like Molly was. Unfortunately, DD lost one of Cecile's black boots and they no longer sell replacements. Boo hoo.

I am sad that they are over time turning the whole AG enterprise into a more generic doll business, and scaling back on the original historical doll premise. I suspect it's partly due to demand, and also, Pleasant Hill was catering to 8-12 year old girls who could read, get the back stories, and get into history. Girls of an age and maturity to handle the complex stories as well as the tiny parts and accessories - and be responsible for expensive dolls. The actual audience these days is much younger, as older girls now are less likely to "play with dolls" at 11 and 12, and as grandmas and moms are more willing to spend $100+ on a doll for a 5 year old. So on to the era of My American Girl and DOTYs!

[Neatfreak]

I kind of view the Beforever line to be a commitment to investing in the historical line, actually. A lot of new merchandise to catch the attention of a new generation of 8-12 year olds.

That being said, my daughter totally views the dolls as secondary to the chapter books, and regrets not buying the historical collections before they were re-released.

[Corie]

But I'll admit -- my catalog says there'll be an AG episode of Project Runway, and I am excited for that.

Yes!! Us too! My daughter and I love to watch Project Runway!!

[TxCat]

I still have my Samantha, Kirsten and Molly dolls, trunks and accessories in the guest room closet, waiting for my girls to be old enough for them. However, I never had any of the books, and based on DD1's personality now, she'll probably love the books as a complement to the dolls. If I was going to buy them on Ebay, should I get the original style books that came out circa 1987-1990, or are recent editions good enough as far as illustrations are concerned (but not the new BeForever releases, which sound like a downgrade)?

[citymama]

TxCat, I like the recent editions better actually. Especially the box sets. But no need to eBay them - amazon.com has them, and around November, AG has both free shipping over $100 and big sales on some of the books and box sets.

[klwa]

I still have my Samantha, Kirsten and Molly dolls, trunks and accessories in the guest room closet, waiting for my girls to be old enough for them. However, I never had any of the books, and based on DD1's personality now, she'll probably love the books as a complement to the dolls. If I was going to buy them on Ebay, should I get the original style books that came out circa 1987-1990, or are recent editions good enough as far as illustrations are concerned (but not the new BeForever releases, which sound like a downgrade)?

I'd check out Abebooks, too, rather than just eBay. I've gotten much better deals on some books there.

[anonomom]

Also check your local used book shop. Mine usually has a fairly good selection of the older versions (with the white covers). And over the summer, I found several omnibus editions for the historical characters for $2.99 each. DD1 isn't crazy about them, but I'm hoping DD2 will be more interested.

[brittone2]

Agree about used. We have complete sets for several dolls. I've purchased some new, but we've found tons of the books at library used book sales, thrift stores, used book stores, and used curriculum sales (for homeschoolers).

[elephantmeg]

I just pulled the GOTY (Isabelle) from DD's room. If she is wearing makeup then I can't tell it! She doesn't look any different than say Marie Grace who was the closest doll I could compare it to (except skin tone and hair of course!)

Eh. Maybe I am more conservative than many. It just looks to me like a little girl version of a retro cocktail dress - if it was in black, it looks like something that Audrey Hepburn might've worn. It is awful like Bratz? No. Is it something that I would put a little girl of mine in? No, esp as some girls who are 10 or 11 actually have some small amount of cleavage nowadays - which that dress looks like it would accentuate.

What really disappointed me, though, is the comparison between the old and the new Samantha (and all the other dolls, too). The girl outfits used to be exact copies of the doll's historic dresses, great for playing and imagination. Like putting on a Kirstin dress and playing pioneers. The new stuff has lost so much of that compared to the dolls my sister had - Samantha was one of them. The new outfits are "inspired" by the doll clothes - but would never be something that a girl in those eras would wear. Samantha's Gran would have an apoplexy if she showed up in that dress! The neat, truly functional, high-quality accessories, the educational value of the dolls and books, all seem to be waning. I was bummed when the latest doll of the year had makeup.

I'll see how American Girls moves forward, but it looks like the scales are tipping further in favor of consumerism over education and imaginative play. That is my larger concern and disappointment.