School Dress & Shawl

[HelloMiss]

*This outfit was worn by Kirsten in the book Kirsten Learns a Lesson*.

Review: I love how Kirsten looks in this dress. The dress is made from a heavier cotton material (to resemble Calico I suppose?) I also love the little shawl, it is a very nice touch. My only complaint with this set is that the shawl feels cheap... a little slippery even. I thought it would be thicker and more "woolen" like her napkin from her school lunch...

Rating: **** 1/2

[QNPoohBear]

I like Kirsten's school dress. It is a pretty brick red color with a little design in off white that looks like division signs. (original version). The cotton thickness is a little heavier than her Meet dress and the velcro has held up better. The shawl I have (1980's version) is larger than the newest one and normal cotton material. It's just perfect for early fall days and very AMERICAN as opposed to the other two shawls which are specifically Swedish in nature. The hair ribbons that come with the dress are a pretty smoky blue color but an odd choice for a red dress. They coordinate with the shawl though and the whole ensemble looks very nice together.

Grade: A

[FelicityFan85]

I like this dress. The thickness of the fabric comes in handy for colder days. The color and pattern are cute and I think the shwl, though thin, feels soft.

[Moker]

I really like this dress. Like others said, the thickness of the fabric is nice. I also really like the pattern and the matching hair ribbons. My only complaint is that I would have liked if the shawl was thick like Kirsten's yellow shawl. It's still nice, though. A

[PleasantMemories]

Grade B+

Kirsten’s school dress is one of the few pieces in Kirsten’s collection to undergo a substantial change. In 1991-2 the print on Kirsten’s school dress was changed. Some sources say it was changed later, but I’m very certain that I purchased my 2nd dress in the early 1990s. The first version of Kirsten’s school dress is softer, is a brighter red and has little addition signs. The second version is a little stiffer, more a cranberry color and has a floral print. I personally prefer the older version. The dress also comes with two woven, navy hair ribbons and a shawl. My older shawl feels a tiny bit thicker and softer, but there are no other changes.





Though the pioneers probably couldn’t care less, I think the school dress clashes a bit with Kirsten’s checked, meet bonnet and wish the set came with a darker colored one. Oh well! My Kirstens often wear the meet apron with the dress, which looks quite cute. The birthday pinafore looks cute over the new school dress too.

[Wickfield]

The dress - the main flaw I find in Kirsten's school dress is the fact that it is essentially a red version of the outfit she arrives in! This is historically appropriate though, and the outfit is very nice; and Kirsten thinks she looks hot in red. The dress has an accurate calico pattern of white and black flowers and "grow stripes" to be adjusted as Kirsten grows. The only problem is that it looks kind of short most of the time. Strangely, it matches her meet apron and also goes with her cream-colored hair ribbons. I prefer the dress with her black boots, too. Nice quality but kind of redundant so it gets an A-.

The shawl - is kind of pointless. It's not very thick and also slightly small; it's the same size as the kerchief to her dirndl (and can be used as a kerchief too). It will not keep her warm at all and is hard to tie, but at least it matches the dress. B-

The hair ribbons - these are thick and woven and though they come slightly unraveled at the ends they work with both this and her dirndl. They are thinner than her meet ribbons and seem more tightly woven. A

Piccys soon!

[pevensie]

In case collectors would like to know, I just wanted to throw out there that I have both versions (patterns) of this dress--and they're both tagged 1989! I don't know what happened there...

*Mod edit to remove repetitive image*

[Wickfield]

Sept 14, 2009 14:56:03 GMT -5 RubyAlison said:

Does the redness of this dress stain the doll's body at all if left on for a few weeks? Thank you.

We've left our dress on Kirsten for weeks at a time and have had no problems at all. HTH!

[RubyAlison]

Another question. This dress almost seems a little short on my Kirsten. Her pantaloons show below the bottom of the dress. Is that normal?

I do really love this as a nice autumn dress for Kirsten though. And of course I am delighted to be able to read the books and look at the pictures and then look over at my Kirsten and see her matching the story pictures.

I thought the shawl wouldn't stay on easily without having to knot it. However I am able to just kind of tuck the ends under her arms and she wears it well.

Overall I am very pleased with the outfit and I like the rich deep burgundy.

[Colonial Rose]

This set includes a dress, shawl and two hair ribbons. I have the Mattel version of this and am very pleased with it. The material is a good thickness and I like the colour and floral pattern. It has growth tucks on the bottom and plenty of gathers just like the real dresses from that time did to let them out as the owner grew. Best of all, the dress fits my PM doll fine. The shawl was a bit of a disappointment as it is a very thin cotton with fringe and it is rather small to be a good shawl. But I did know that before I ordered the dress, and it is pretty and looks good with the dress. The hair ribbons are dark blue and are a thick woven material. A
_{Mod edit to remove link to deleted image}

[ashleyvp]

This is my favorite dress in Kirsten's collection. I love the fabric - rich, soft and thick. Plus it's gorgeous on K's coloring. I purchased this secondhand so I can't comment on the shawl, since we don't have it, but I am in love with the dress.
Well made and beautiful, I highly recommend it for your Kirsten!

A++

[agl ♥]

This is my favorite Kirsten dress! It is a lovely color, and the fabric is thick and a great pattern. Very well made, and it looks great on Kirsten, as well as other dolls. The shawl is adorable, and though it is a little small, I still like it very much.
I give this dress an A+
Mia is modeling, I thought her coloring looked very nice with this dress.

[LinneaAnne]

I love this dress. The color is fantastic on her, and the material is thick and hangs nicely on her.

[QNPoohBear]

Some close-ups of Kirsten's original Pleasant Co. school outfit







top ribbon came with the outfit, bottom ribbon came with her hair ribbons set

[Aaryana]

My Mattel dress fits my PM doll fine. It's soft and really nice fabric, though I think the shawl is a bit small.

[rosieangel]

I like this dress a lot. I have the newer pre-Mattel version, as my Kirsten was a 1993 birthday gift. The fabric is a lot stiffer than her other dresses, which I like because it becomes more wrinkle-resistant and preserves the adorable little pin-tucks in the front of the bodice. It fits her beautifully and looks quite cute with her Meet Apron!

I lost the shawl when I was little, probably because I was so frustrated with trying to tie it around her shoulders that I simply discarded it. When you're ten years old, you don't think about collectibility, unfortunately! But I do remember it being so small that it was impossible for my little hands to tie. That's a pity, because the shawl itself is cute and matches with the cranberry color of her dress beautifully!

[skukla]

[sailormolly]

This is my favorite of Kirsten's core 6 outfits! And the first one I got after getting Kirsten from Goodwill.

The shawl is a little thinner than I was expecting, but still very cute.



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SailorMolly