Sparkly Plum Outfit + Book (2009)

[LaurenInChicago]

This outfit looks much prettier in person than in the pictures! Its a beautiful velvelty plum with shimmery sparkles on the tulle skirt. The tights and shoes are well made and coordinate with the outfit. The hairpiece is cute, but I had a very hard time getting the ponytail to wrap around in the doll's hair... it either wraps once and is too loose or wraps twice and is way too tight a fit. Either way, a beautiful outfit! A from me!

[Mars]

I have to say, I don't really like the empire waist with the poofed skirt on this. It makes the proportions look kind of weird. I'm also not super crazy about the ruffly bits around the neck and chest. But both of those are personal preference.

Photos!

There's something I don't like about these shoes. The sequins are a sort of coral pink and I don't think they quite work with the ruby color of the rest of the outfit.

The hairtie is really quite heavy. Hopefully that equates to sturdy.
I do agree with the other poster that the hairtie is a bit of a pain. I think the problem is that the "elastic" isn't actually very elastic - I can't imagine why. I don't think those things are exactly expensive to produce.

You can untie the bow, but the rest of the ribbon is sewn down so there's really no point.

The edge of the fabric here is unfinished but I tugged at it and it doesn't seem inclined to unravel or anything.

The outfit is a really lovely color, but all together it's a bit too much red for me. So I tried it with white tights, which I like better:

[agl ♥]

My friend B. went to Chicago this past week (lucky!). She was very kind, and picked up the Sparkly Plum holiday dress for me!

This dress is gorgeous! The color is very pretty, kind of a deep magenta/purple. The top/bodice is a very nice velvet like material. It's a little tight, but easy enough to get on. The skirt part of the dress is lovely. It is a nice fabric and has the pretty little sparkles! It poofs out some, which does give it a slightly weird shape (like Mars said), but overall very cute. The tights are nice, but snag easily. The shoes are super adorable, and my favorite part of the outfit. The hair tie is kind of useless, it doesn't look very nice and lays funny on the doll's head. It's pretty, but doesn't work very well.

Overall I give this outfit an A+, minus the hair tie.

[fdrsipin]

I agree the tights snag easily. Note to self: put the dress on the dolly first, tights last.

I like the hair tie though, very nice accessory. I used a regular plastic/rubber band first, then the decorative one goes over it. Worked well for me.

I like this Holiday dress, but not too much. Overall I'll give it A-. Not recommended for little kids or heavy play, as the display in the store looked worn, and the hem is almost frayed.

[Jacksonvol]

My 6 year old really loves it. I haven't noticed a problem with the shoes, though. My only concern is tights being destroyed by netting and/or velcro.

[Ally H.M.]

I love it. I have it on Gwen and it looks just like the catalog photo. Velcro and tights are a problem I discovered on Christmas morning. Solution is to put the dress on first, then the tights. Now that is a dress that will definitely go up in value after it is retired.

[Tink]

I was not interested when I saw it in the catalog, but after seeing it on a doll at AGPLA, I knew I had to have it. I like it, it reminds me of a recital dress for some reason.

[Alli]

I kept going back and forth on it and ultimately decided it wasn't worth the price. Seeing it in person at MoA on Saturday was the final nail in the coffin. It would have only worked for me if I had a lighted display for it like the store did, LOL. That was actually really pretty.

[donnaj]

I like mine. I didn't have any shoe problem. The dress could have been hemmed. I didn't find it real short. How short is your dolls dress? I hope it holds up well.

[AGmom2AlliTori]

Ours is incredibly short.... the sleeves end about 1" before the doll wrist.... The bodice is an extreme empire waist... and the skirt falls about 2" above her knees. We are very, very disappointed. All that said - it is still an extremely cute dress - if we tug a bit, we can get the sleeves to just touch her wrists. The empire waist, we can live with, and as long as the doll has the matching tights on - the skirt doesn't look nearly as short as it actually is.

Dd loves this dress, so it stays. I am apalled that I paid $36 for it. I might email my PS and see if there are any left to exchange it with.

D~

[friendofsamantha]

I like it and even though I found it REALLY expensive, I still bought it. (Ruthie looks super cute in it.) I do think it's a little short as well and was a bit surprised about it, but I like the color. I have a weakness for the holiday outfits so couldn't pass it up.

[monimarine]

I bought it and love it. The sleeves go all the way down to the base of the thumb on my Jess and I had no problem getting the shoes on.

[luvag]

As beautiful as it is, I can't get over how short it was made. The bodice is an extreme empire waist and the skirt is too short. It makes my doll look much younger than I want her to look. Maybe there are a couple versions out there? I've been debating whether to return it but it does look so nice in pictures (LOL as long as it's just the top).

[Buckingham Alice]

I like the outfit and all... looks really pretty on my #26 Ashley. It was rather overpriced though.... I'd have liked it much better if it was, say, $28 instead of $36...

[dclmom]

I saw the dress at AGPC back in September and thought the price tag was way too high for a doll outfit. I much preferred the other dress ( can't remember the name- the silver one with shrug). I like holiday outfits too but can find others for much less money that I like even more. Whit- LOVE the black dress!

[cassandra]

I would have purchased this outfit if it hadn't been so short. Even at $36, it was potentially so cute (with the great tights!) that I could have talked myself into the splurge (for me! DD didn't like it, lol).

But when I saw it in AG Natick I was amazed at how the fit was just off. The velvet bodice needed to be longer by about a full inch, so both the waistline and the skirt would have fallen at better levels. It would probably work well for bitty babies, but I'm not interested in them. So I didn't buy it, and I'm fine with that decision. It was much too expensive for what it really was.

[Katie J Designs]

Love the outfit. Looks great on Marisol. It is a bit snug through the bodice, but otherwise just fine. My daughter has an almost identical dress so I had to buy this one to match.

[cassandra]

I was really really disappointed in this outfit. It was sold out from the website by mid-December, but still available in Natick in January, so I snagged one on impulse even though I think that $36 is too expensive. After trying it on our dolls, I'm going to return it.

I think the fabric and colors are really pretty, but the cut or fit is completely off. With the empire waist and the short shirt, the tulle barely came to mid-thigh on our Rebecca. The arms were quite tight, and overall the doll looked like she was wearing her younger sister's dress. The tights and shoes were OK, although not as plush as I'd thought. I didn't take the hair thingy out of the plastic.

Sadly, I'm going to give this a D. Other folks might like this outfit, and I'm happy for them, but I have much better uses for $36+tax. Back it goes.

[EofA]

I completely agree with the comments about this dress being too short. I actually like the bodice as is, and it would have been absolutely stunning with another two inches in length added to the skirt. I love the color but remain disappointed about what could have been. Tights, shoes, and barrette are charming but not enough to offset the shortness of the skirt. Shown below with purse, which was sold in the separate accessory set. Grade B-

[Dragonslovedolls]

I love the rich colour of this outfit. Having missed it when it was available I was very glad to be able to purchase it recently from a fellow board member.
Reading the other descriptions above, I feel pretty lucky because the dress I have has a skirt that does not seem overly short: it falls to just a little above the knee. The sleeves also reach to the doll's wrist without tugging. The little sequins on the skirt and shoes are so pretty.

The tights are sturdier than I expected: having said that, I can still see the potential for snagging on velcro, even the 'baby velcro' used on this dress, so I'm being careful.

The hair tie is very pretty too although as others have said, the elastic bit is not really stretchy.

Overall I think this is an enchantingly pretty outfit. Rowan is wearing it at the moment and there will be photos added when I can upload again.
A solid A rating from me.