Gwen Doll & Meet Outfit

[Curiouser]

Gwen Thompson is one of Chrissa's friends.

Gwen is a blonde doll with brown eyes, light bangs, and the classic face mold. She is very similar to JLY #12.

Her meet outfit consists of an embroidered white eyelet sun dress, pink sandals (very much like Jess'), a pink headband, a white "scrunchie", and light pink undies.

I can't say that I have any complaints about the Gwen doll. I'm sorry to say I changed her hair before snapping pics, so you wont' see the wispy hairs that she comes with. They looked wet and clumpy in the box and I decided they bothered me. As you can see, they are easy to deal with.

I love her meet dress and hair band. The hair tie is nothing special, just a white hair tie. Her sandals are very much like Jess' only pink. They didn't impress me then, and they still don't impress me. My sandals have rather loose elastics to go over her ankles, so they don't stay on very well. I hope that is just a problem with mine, and not a common issue.

[LaurenInChicago]

I got Gwen at AGPC on 1/2. Actually, she was a birthday present from my sister who knew I wanted her and picked her out for me while were there. I think Gwen is adorable and I love her clothes. Yes, she is pretty much the same doll as #12, but I think mine has a special-ness to her, I'm not sure why lol. She has pretty coral colored lips and I love her sundress and sandals.

_{*Mod edit to remove dead image links*}

[banshee]

Are her eyes pinwheels or decal? In what ways does she differ from #12, so that second-hand buyers can be sure of what doll they are getting?

[starearedkid]

Well...my cousin's birthday gift got delivered today--so before my parents picked up, I decided to snap a few pictures. I am sorry for the quality of the pictures--they lighting isn't the best. And of course, I got her when it was dark out--so I couldn't use natural light.

Tomorrow, if I have time, I may take them outside--but right now, Gwen is back in the box. My point of reference is #12 that I was bought about a year and a half ago, so I don't have comparison's of a revised #12 (did they revise #12?) Personally, they are one in the same--which doesn't stop me from wanting a Gwen. But that would mean that I could use #12 in an eye swap with Ruthie to give Ruthie brown eyes and then my #12 would be like the retired gray eyed/blonde girl which I always coveted. But I digress.

From the front:
As you can see, the main difference in the front is the length of the bangs. Gwen seems to have the feathered bangs--I believe. They have the same eye color and face mold.

From the back w/the hair up:

The hair seems to be the same exact shade to my eyes-maybe a smidge darker, but that is if you really squint and pretend that you want the shades to be different.

From the back w/the hair down:

Again, it seems to be roughly the same length. The big minor difference here-is Gwen's hair is ever so slightly layered--and #12's is the same exact length. #12 wig seems to be a bit fuller--however, Gwen does has a very nice thick wig as well.

The main difference to tell if you have a Gwen or a Gwen imposter (#12) on Ebay or anywhere else is this:

On #12 you can see how far back the bangs start, the classic "pie wedge" bangs--and on Gwen they are a lot closer to the forehead.

Obviously, since I don't have a revised #12--I can't identify major differences. I do love Gwen--just wish there was some huge difference between her and 12. A face full of freckles like the actress would be nice!

Hope this helps!

-Jordyn

[mom4natalie]

I just purchased the Gwen doll on the last free shipping..I bought her for my daughter for either birthday..or..Christmas..as I also purchased Chrissa during the online discount for her..
I was reluctant to purchase Gwen...because we have a JLY..which is very similar..but..my daughter insisted..as Gwen was her favorite character from the story...and..after viewing her...there is something special about her..I can't explain it..but..I am glad we brought her home to live with us..

[Macky]

Mar 12, 2009 10:12:57 GMT -5 splendidlybaroque said:

Can someone please post more photos of Gwen with her hair in different styles?

Sure, here's my Gwen with some styles:

Braids



Pigtails


Headband:


And loose:


I really love my Gwen, I gave her freckles and she looks adorable!

However she has knots instead of brass ferrules and I had to loosen her head upon arrival because it was too tight.

Overall A+ for looks B for quality.

[SunKist]

Is there information available about the change that seems to have happened to Gwen between February and March of this year? I noticed that her picture on the AG website has changed (her hair is in a half-ponytail and they moved the headband to her dress as a belt). I found a Wikipedia article that says the "new" Gwen has longer bangs, too. Does anyone have first-hand experience?

I'm a little annoyed that it seems not only will Gwen's price sky-rocket on the secondhand market after 2009 because she is an LE doll, but possibly even MORE so right now if she is the "original" Gwen (that for some reason only sold for a month or two??!?). I'm a bit confused, and would love other opinions. I could just be misinformed!

[EofA]

AG simply changed her hairstyle in its marketing photos on February 23, 2009. The doll's wig itself is unchanged.

[pinkwaterlop]

Can Gwens hairband snap or brake if your not carefull with it?

[Curiouser]

The hairband is pretty sturdy. I suppose you could break it if you tried, but it shouldn't break from any sort of use I'd consider normal.

[Megan]

I love my Gwen doll! I renamed her Evelyn Sage Rodjevich, Eve for short. She gets and A+++++++++++++++ time infinity from me! She has gorgeous eyes, hair, blushing, and a sweet expression due to the younger-looking version of the face mold. Okay, okay. Enough gushing, here are the pictures.

*sigh* Isn't she lovely?
-Megan

[operaghost]

The doll:

Gwen is a very pretty doll. Her hair is soft and long- just the right length to do styles with. It's just about the same length as JLY#25's only not as thick. Gwen has light layering, but it does not get in the way of styling. Her bangs stay in place. The are a little fluffy at first.

Her eyes are pretty and dark brown. They are very dreamy. Her face reminds me of Samantha's. Her face coloring is natural and nice. Overall, I love my Gwen. She fit into the "doll family" right away. If I had to pick only one of the three 2009 LEs it would be her.


The outfit:

Her dress is complete win! It is one of the things that sold me on her. It is an eyelet lace sundress with pretty floral embroidery. I had a hard time getting her pink headband on right, so I tried it as a belt. I thought it was a weird way to wear it in the catalogue, but I have to admit, I prefer the dress with the headband belt.

That said, the headband is nice but I can't get it on her head without messing up her bangs. It's not very stretchy. It matches the dress so well though. The white hairtie is just a regular terry hair tie.

Her underwear are light pink with a cute design, and do not show through her dress. Her dress is lined, by the way. That's probably why.

Gwen's sandals are similar to Jess. I think Jess's are a little better though, because the plastic strap on Gwens' are a bit too loose. I like the color of Gwen's sandals though. They look cute on her.



Overall: A+! Gwen herself and her outfit make the grade as high as possible.

Book: I skimmed through it and it looks helpful for kids.

[Dragonslovedolls]

Gwen is SO pretty! Mine arrived with no hairnet and her hair was all over the place, but it was a pretty easy fix (contrast with Chrissa who did have a hairnet but whose hair had frizzies and flyaways that took more fixing).

Love Gwen's meet dress! It's nicely made, lined skirt, lovely fabric. The embroidery is nice too. The headband/belt is a tad odd (never seen a belt before that you have to get on without undoing) so it's probably going to stay a headband here. The shoes... they're okay, they stay on with the elastic... I would have preferred 'real' shoes or sandals rather than recycled Jess footwear, but that's just me being picky.

This is the first doll I've bought with the 'new' bangs and I like them!

My Gwen's limbs are 'just right' tight but I did notice her arms 'pop' when I move them. It doesn't bother me... I guess we'll see if they become loose.

[Rollsinsnow]

Got Gwen, but I am going to sell her. Her hair is shorter than the older JLYs, and layered too, so it's not as thick. Pair that with the annoying outward flip at the ends and I find her just impossible to photograph.

ETA a picture of what I mean by the flip

[Abbey]

Gwen is the sweetest thing. I always find myself staring at her, because she's just so cute.

Pictures:





Sorry, I have much better pictures, but I could only use the ones posted on my blog.

[Aaryana]

Gorgeous! At first, I was concerned Gwen might look too much like my number 12 (ironically, the only JLY I have), but their hairstyles are different. 12 has the typical pie cut, and Gwen has fewer bangs. I also think Maddy (12) has ash blonde hair whereas Gwen's is more strawberry or honey blonde. Maddy is also PM, so their coloring is quite a bit different too. I added freckles to my Gwen to make her look more like the actress in the movie. Her sundress, though initially not my favorite, is growing on me. I don't like that it's white, but that's the only thing I have against it. It's nice quality. The shoes are cute and stay on okay.

Gwen herself: A+
Meet outfit: A (because of the white dress)

[American Girl Rescue]

Dec 18, 2009 17:41:24 GMT -5 rebeccalover said:

does the doll come with her hair in two long strands in front of her head like the old pictures?

When you get Gwen brand new, she does not come with her hair pulled up in the new photo style, nor wearing the headband with the two strands of hair hanging out of the band like the old photo.

Her hair was just pulled back in a low pony tail, if I remember correctly, and the two strands are hanging loose. The headband is not on her head when she first arrives.

[unodosginger]

I just got Gwen, she is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!
I give her an A+ I love the flip in her hair!

[orkira]

I got Gwen from DH for Christmas 2009. He bought me the Chrissa & Gwen Friends Pack. Gwen is stunning as is her dress.

[RedBug]

I absolutely love my Gwen doll! The flip in her hair can drive me nuts, but it is actually fun to work with. I have her hair in a high ponytail at the moment, and it is adorable.

Her meet dress is just great, too. I love to put shirts over it, so that it looks like she's wearing a skirt.

Her flip-flops are okay. They make good versatile pieces. However, on one of them, the strap that would go between her toes if she had a space between them, likes to settle in the wrong place. One time, while I was looking at the Holiday 2009 catalog, I noticed it did the same thing on the Gwen doll pictured there.

[American Girl Rescue]

Sept 14, 2010 17:19:39 GMT -5 Jamirae said:

Did Gwen or Sonali ever get their own outfits to complement Chrissa's? I can't find any.

No, Gwen and Sonali each only had their meet outfits.

[jennycarlsen]

Gwen Thompson is my favorite doll of the three friends, she is just magnificent! I received her, Chrissa and Sonali for my 17th birthday back in 2009 and I have to say she made me disappointed in Chrissa who IMO is not as pretty. I love her hair the style is just adorable! Her dress is absolutely beautiful and I love that her belt is convertible. Her sandals while they are like Jess's the braiding is a different color so as to better match her outfit. My Gwen doll actually has one eye lash that is longer than the other, however I simply never bothered to return her, honestly I have never before had an issue when purchasing american girl dolls, however lately it seems as though AMG is having more and more product control issues.
Grade: A+

[ladysapphire]

My Gwen just arrived and I love her. She has such a gorgeous, sweet angelic quality that #12 doesn't have--I think maybe it's her layered hair, lack of pie bangs and her little "wisps" on either side. I know that she has really similar qualities to #12 but I think she looks really different. Anyway, her meet dress is one of my favorites and really well made. Her face paint is also really vibrant too and gives her a nice glow. Honestly I wish that Gwen was the Girl of the Year, even with the "$100 Homeless Doll" controversy. A++ at my house.

[American Girl Rescue]

I just noticed that Gwen has the little cut hairs in the back of her wig so that she can wear pig tails and braids without showing off her wig cap!

I guess this is the first time that I've fixed her hair in two pony tails.

And to answer a question posted long ago, Gwen has pinwheel eyes.

[patriciaelizabeth]

What markings do the two dolls have on their necks please? Do they have body tags?

[keeperofthepast]

A friend has her and Gwen is very sweet. It's almost like her book personality rubbed off on the doll and you want to get her nice things.