Why I LOVE American Girl Dolls

First of all, a disclaimer: I'm an adult (age 36) collector of American Girl Dolls. My collection includes Girl of the Year dolls (with a serious desire for the 2015 and 2016 Dolls of the Year, Grace Thomas and Lea Clark, respectively), Historical Characters, and Just Like You dolls.

I recently acquired a Historical Addy, who had some seriously bad hair. One quick rewigging later, with the Monique Cotton wig, and she's adorable enough that my Mom, also a collector, had to buy one and do the same thing. Yay, I'm a trend setter. Ha ha. See-- Pics of new AG doll (My Instagram) for pics.

I like American Girl, and have since I was a child, because of the world of play they open up. Their characters, even the historical ones, are "era flexible"-- does your Samantha want to be a 1970's boho chick like Julie? Does your Kaya want to be a WW2 Patriot like Molly, perhaps morphed into a Navajo code talker? SHE CAN BE.

Do you want to take a doll that needs a little bit of work, say, she has a slightly funky hairdo, and customize her into anything you want? YOU CAN.

But above all, what I love about American Girl is that it allows GIRLS TO BE GIRLS. The dolls aren't heavily made up. If they have ANY makeup, like the previously mentioned Grace doll, it's very minimal. That doll's lips are slightly "pink", as if she's wearing a little bit of lip gloss. This is in contrast to many other dolls marketed towards girls, such as the Bratz dolls, and even the fellow-Mattel brand Barbies. I'm definitely in favor of a less "mature" look to dolls-- it allows girls to remain girls longer, without feeling "pressured" to wear makeup, or look older than their age.

In addition, American Girl and Mattel, in recognizing that boys often want to play with their sisters, and that girls would like a boy doll to play with, recently introduced the Logan Everett doll. This doll is the first "boy doll" in the line, at least officially. While there's been some controversy within the fandom about this doll using the Kaya face mold, somehow implying that this doll is more "masculine" than the others, and potentially "cultural appropriation", I don't find this to be the case at all. I applaud the company for recognizing the desires of its consumers and introducing products based on feedback of their consumers as well.

This last one is likely why this year's Girl of the Year, Gabriela McBride, is a "girl of color"-- something the fandom had requested for some time. Likewise, she also has a slight differing ability-- she stutters at times. Reportedly, next year's Girl of the Year will be Latina, named Luciana Vega, and be interested in space/STEM activities.

In short, the world of American Girl is endless. It allows girls to explore their world, learn about their world, and realize that girls can do everything boys can.

Shoes Make the Doll...

They say "shoes make the outfit" and I totally agree. From Etsy shops to commercially available shoes like these Grey Sneakers to Pixie Faire patterns for "Jane's" shoes which look like the popular Bob's and Tom's, there's a lot of really cute shoes out there.

From Etsy, one of my favorites is Doll Shoe Lane. Their adorable Watermelon Felt Shoes would be the perfect fit to a summery outfit, like this Watermelon Skirt or Watermelon Sleeveless Dress, both from Metta's Creations. Another cute outfit that would be "made" by the watermelon felt shoes is this Watermelon Halter Romper.

As previously mentioned, I like the "Jane's" style shoes. I regularly wear my TOMS and BOBS shoes, and of course, like to occasionally match my doll. The Jane's shoes are very versatile, and can be fancy, like these Pearly Janes, which would be cute matched with this Philippines Dress.

The commercially available shoes from American Girl-- American Girl Doll Accessories & Shoes-- are all perfect for the outfits that they sell. While they can be a bit pricey, they're perfectly sized for AG and SOME other 18" dolls, and will fit perfectly and look totes adorable.