Did you read the American Girls books when you were little? I did. I read about Molly! There was also Kirsten, Samantha and Felicity. I remember getting the catalogue for the dolls. The catalogue was oversized and filled with HUGE pictures of the dolls, their clothes and the accessories. Needless to say, they’ve come a long way since then! (No, I never got one. Partly because I didn’t really push the issue too much. They were pretty but really expensive.)
They came up the other day at work, so I decided to take a look around the American Girl’s website. Incredible! Where do I begin?
1. Of the original dolls, only Molly is still available. The others were retired.
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They’ve got some new girls. And I’m not sure how I feel about the Hippie, Julie. I kinda like the Hawaiian girl, Kanani.
3. The accessories seem to be a little overpriced.
The stroller is $70. A quick search on target.com yields a few choices for $39.99.
The bike is $80. Another quick target.com search finds a Huffy for $69.99.
4. Now the clothes on the other hand, kind of a steal.
The whole outfit is like $28. The shoes alone would cost a human around $100.
5. The American Girl empire is truly incredible. They have these stores setup all around the country where young girls, their dolls (and their parent) show up to take their dolls to the salon and cafe. Prices range from $10-$20 for a styling. But it doesn’t stop there! You can get them additional “spa packages” that include facials, nail decals, spa robes and a doll skin care form. Incredible! FYI – if you want your doll’s hair did, just let me know, I’ll cut you an awesome deal.
6. Then there’s the cafe, where you can enjoy a lovely meal with your friends, family and of course, your doll.
7. The ultimate experience comes with a steep, $250 price tag. It includes a meal for 2 at the cafe. A sitting at the photo studio and a souvenir issue of American Girl magazine with your girls’ picture on the cover. A session at the doll hair salon, $130 in spending money and a girl and doll matching t-shirt. Cafe gratuity not included.
8. And if that isn’t enough, you can have yourself immortalized in doll form. Like mine? She had long black, flowing hair. But I wanted all the accessories that came with the ski outfit 🙂 Safety first!
To be fair. There are WAY worse things little girls could be playing with. Barbie isn’t exactly anatomically correct.