Spring Party Dress (RETIRED)

[cami713]

This outfit was worn by Samantha in the book Samantha’s Valentine Crafts. It was released in 2004 and retired in 2008 during the first archival of Samantha's collection.

Samantha’s creamy Victorian complexion lights up with this pretty dress. Sprinkled with rosebuds and trimmed with pink piping, the dress is accented by a crossover collar and belt. Comes with a matching hairbow and three paper valentines to share with the special people in her life. Includes a trading card.


I like this one SO much more than Nellie's. It's so much prettier in person. Also, this matches her white party slippers much better than the lawn party shoes. Don't know they pair those together in pictures.

The Good: Nice colors, and I love the collar and little belt-thing. Ribbon is nice, too.

The Bad: Seems like you get less, compared to Nellie's.

Rating: ****1/2, A

[HelloMiss]

This isn't my favorite Samantha dress, I think it's actually quite plain... but I thought the little roses was darling anyway...

[gena]

We have this dress, and it is really cute. But....I wish the roses had been embroidered instead of printed onto the fabric.

[lizzard]

I also think this is one of the plainer dresses and the style of it bugs me. I don't like the crossover collar and belt. The color is pretty muted, too. Plus, I dislike the fact so many other dolls' outfits are being retired yet Sam keeps getting new ones. If she does, then they should make them worth it.

I do like the valentines it came with and wasn't expecting it (it was a gift).

I give it a C+.

[EofA]

We don't have Samantha and never intended to get her, but I liked the looks of this dress and bought it when it was on the old Monthly Specials that AG used to do. Other reviewers have described it as simple, and that's exactly what appealed to me about it. It is not Edwardian-dated, so I planned to use it as a modern dressy dress for our Today girls:



I liked the lines of the pleated front. The cut was quite generous, and it fit our fluffier PM dolls. The little crossovers at the neck and waist add a touch of style and while the buttons are strictly for show, the crossovers do not come undone. Embroidered rosebuds would have been a nice touch but would have upped the price considerably. The fabric seemed to be a thinner cotton, so a slip of some kind was necessary to hide colorful doll undies.

I initially gave this dress a B+. It missed a higher grade because the fabric was a bit thin for my tastes. Plus, it didn't come with shoes, just a hair ribbon and the paper Valentines, so I think it was a tad overpriced. I got it on sale for $16 and I thought it was worth exactly that.

I kept this dress for 2.5 years. I anxiously checked it each time I got it out, looking for the tattletale discoloration on the interfaced collar and cuffs that others had complained about. It seemed like I was one of the lucky ones...no changes.

But exactly six months after the above photo was taken, I got this dress out again and....not so lucky.









So in six months time, even while adequately stored, this dress has ruined itself. I was very disappointed with the lack of quality control; this shouldn't happen. Beware purchasing this dress.

Grade: F

[agdollcollector89]

I just recieved this outfit in the mail yesterday and I love it on my mattel sam I give it an A. I would give it an A+ but I think its chinchy that you have to buy the shoes sepereratly.

[colleen]

I bought mine last year and am Now returning it..
The Cuff,collar and sash are turning brown..
better check yours as I heard(Although CS wasn't aware) that mine was not the only one.Rumor has it that they used an iron on interfacing and the glue is now seeping thru.

I wish I knew how to post photos on here as I took one...
They are going to credit me money on a new outfit.

The CS even found my order in the computer !

[AztecQueen2000]

B- I think it's an OK period piece, but do not think it's really a "party" dress. The simple styling makes it look more like an everyday dress. Love the valentines, though

[princessemily]

I actually like the fact that this is one of the plainer dresses of Sam's collection. I know my Nellie gets tired of some of the frou-frou dresses her friend Samantha dresses in, but this one is one that she borrows all of the time.

Its collar and cuffs are turning yellowish, and while that defect is something I thought I wouldn't like, I think the discoloration actually looks nice. I like to pair the dress with Samantha's off-white, creamy-colored lawn party shoes.

Grade: A-

[SarahL]

I really like this dress, and I agree that it's better than Nellie's Spring party dress. I got it the day it came out at AGPC (December 26, 2004) and have had no trouble with discoloration as others have. I must admit I've never put it on my Samantha. I have other dolls that wear it. I put it on #6 and was very impressed with the dress on her! Her green eyes really bring out the rosebud stems.



This just seems like a classic doll dress to me, and any doll looks cute in it.

Grade: A

[agfan84]

I have two of these, one was bought on this site, the other on ebay. Both were sent to me white, both have completely changed colors as others have stated.

C-!!

[marisolkaileynikki]

I don't like the dress particulary because it yellows fast. I do not know how to get the yellow out without damaging the dress so it gets a C. The hair ribbon can be tricky to put in and frays. (maybe its just me because its 4 years old) I wouldn't recommend paying the high price on ebay now that she is archived

[bab*]

I saw a badly yellowed one on eBay for $5 and decided to try to save it as I am with the people who think it's nice that AG finally made something simpler for Sam. I put it in a bucket with water and OxyClean before bed. When I woke up, it was bright white and flawless! All I had to do was rinse, hang dry, and steam a couple wrinkles and it looked brand new. I strongly reccomend that anyone with yellowing issues try OxyClean.
Just wish mine had come with the hair ribbon
I give it a B. I love the dress, and I'm glad the yellowing can be fixed, but it really shouldn't yellow in the first place, right?
PS - I love it with Nellie's Spring Party shoes!

[skukla]

Dress before OxyClean soak:









Will report back....

[skukla]

After 8 hour soak in OxyClean, vast improvement, 100% recovery:











I recommend this treatment to all who have one of these dresses with the odd rusty bloom condition on collar and cuffs. The OxyClean removed all the staining completely. In fact, now I can see a yellowish stain (looks almost like a smudge of pollen) on the waist belt that was completely hidden by the discoloration before (oh goody.)
One thing I notice post OxyClean treatment- the tonal stripe in the dress fabric overall is much more visible; the shiny stripes are shinier and have an almost yellow green tinge to them. Not an overt tinge, but it's there. On the collar and cuffs the shiny stripes are more pronounced- opaque and shiny too. The non shiny stripes of the fabric on the collar and cuffs almost read pink because of the pink fabric color underneath (I am sure there is a much more informed way to say that. Perhaps one of my sewing friend will tell me what that is!)
Any way, I wonder if that's what makes the interfaced bits tend to look browner then the rest of the dress- the 2 stripes, shiny-with-a-touch-of-green and non shiny, being looked at together with the pink fabric underneath. That isn't what causes the rust blooms, obviously. That's a whole 'nother kind of fail.

And behold, totally adorable:


The dress comes with a light pink ribbon:

[Little J]

I received this dress when I went through my "too old for dolls" period, so it ended up opened and stuck in Samantha's trunk, the box in her doll box. Even when I started up again it always ended up back at the end of her drunk, I think the dress is beautiful but I'm not to fond of the way it looks on her and none of my other girls are into the whole period thing so it just sits there, I do think I may try it out on my Beckie when I get her.

Anyway, after reading the reviews I'm feeling like such an idiot. Because the dress itself never had any play except the one time I put it on Samantha, I thought that the stain was really the fabric. I just pulled it out to take a look and I'm not that sure if I'll give it an Oxy job or not, as I find I kind of like the off-white, pink thing it's got going on.

Although it isn't much of a review, I give the dress a B/B-, I rarely play with it and the stain is a real turn off because I get really nervous when I have to clean their clothes, especially with Samantha's dresses. It's pretty but I don't think it looks good on any of the dolls except Samantha and it's just barely, I also don't like how the only shoes it goes with is her party shoes, which I don't have and even with those (I compared in store), I still thought it didn't look that right together the pink and white isn't the same.

[keeperofthepast]

I love this dress with its crossed collar and belt piped in pink and the little rose print. I was lucky to get one that doesn't have the interfacing discoloration issue.