Cranberry Party Dress

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*This outfit was worn by Samantha in the 1986 and 1998 edition of the book Samantha’s Surprise and in the 1986 edition of the book Changes for Samantha*

Cranberry Party Dress
$22 SCO
Grade: A

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dress. I have a current Mattel version and love it all the same. It is made of a deep cranberry coloured taffeta, trimmed with lace and a ribbon around the waist.



I have the floral lace version. I have never personally seen the "heart" style lace. It is still lovely on her. the set also has a wide satin ribbon for her hair.



The outfit also comes with a pair of thick knit tights.



We like to dress Samantha in her White's under this dress. Even on my white bodied doll there seems to be plenty of room to fit and looks wonderful.

[QNPoohBear]

I'm not a huge fan of this dress. The version I have is from 1988 or so and it's a brighter red than the current version. It looks weird and I prefer the newer color. There are three different lace patterns- flowers with stems, flowers without stems and heart shaped. My Sam is dying for the one with the heart shaped lace pattern.

[C.I.Fairfield]

I have the hear-shaped lace. (No idea how to post a picture.) It is, in my opinion, the best one. The lace on the others looks a little cheap. The thick white tights that come with it are very nice and look surprisingly good; better than the thin white tights that came with Nellie's.

Aside from the lace, I am not too fond of the dress. I feel it should have had a dropped waist (like in the books) and the skirt always seems too short. But it is a lovely dress and essential to Sam's Christmas story, so I reccommend it highly!

[FelicityFan85]

This dress is really cute and the color is nice for the holidays. I don't have this yet myself but my mom has it (her Sam is modeling it in the photos).

[scandia]

I bought mine in Spring of 1997. It is a very beautiful shade and fabric texture. It has lasted me this long. I do not use the tights. I remember wanting to get the "dress like your doll" version- yeppers, I can fit into the larger sizes- but never got around to doing so. A.

[LosT&FounD]

I love almost everything about this dress but sometimes the lace gets caught on my brush when I try to brush her hair out, but still an A!

Warning! That ribbon can get really messed up by velcro!

That is my main woe about this outfit. I got it at age 8 and the ribbon became torn up because its loop trim caught on the back velcro. Still, the fabric is good quality and the lace is nice, although I prefer the heart design. The ribbon is a fraystopped white satin ribbon, thick and good quality. The tights are her meet ones in white, but very nice and versatile.

Grade:
****1/2
A- for ribbon problem.

[♥ Bridget ♥]

This is one of my favorite dresses. I love the deep burgendy color and the material is so shiny and nice. The bow and the lace trims are beautiful. Each year before Christmas usually mmy newest doll gets to wear it to christmas eve dinner.

A+++++++

[Leila]

The one downside of this dress, in my opinion, is the Velcro. The Velcro on the dress is VERY strong, and will snag both the taffeta and the tights. The stockings are actually much thinner than I expected; they're delicate and dressy, not like Samantha's practical meet tights.

Aside from that, I LOVE this outfit. My favorite part is actually the hairbow - it looks great on Samantha with this dress and lots of others. I have the current version, and the color is gorgeous. It's not really cranberry colored, though, more like red wine-colored. I think I'm also one of the only people who prefer the floral pattern over the heart pattern. It's very delicate-looking.

I'll give this an A- for the flimsy tights and the Velcro issue.

[FelicityFan85]

I posted photos of my mom's Samantha's outfit a couple years ago. I got this outfit for my Samantha, for Christmas in 2008. My mom's is from 2006 and they've changed in those two years. The material on mine is thinner-so much so that the skirt is now lined. The fabric is also a little different in color. The ribbon and lace seem to be pretty much the same. Both versions are very nice and at least my mom and I can tell our Sam's Christmas dresses apart, lol. I give this outfit an A.



The skirts-see how the skirt lining is?


Notice the fabric difference? Mine on the left; my mom's on the right.


Both Samanthas look lovely in their Cranberry Party dresses!

[ladylavender]

This is my favorite Sam dress,she just look absolutely gorgeous and very class with this dress.
I gave this an a+++

[LissieAB]

I like this dress a lot. It is simple-ish but very striking when put on Samantha - the bright color makes her dark hair and eyes pop! I have a 2005 version and the color is a toned-down cranberry red. The only problem I have with the dress is that the edges on the sash around her waist can fray a little. Also, I don't love the material, but all in all, very nice.

[starwenn]

This is my favorite Samantha dress and my favorite of all the American Girls' Christmas outfits (along with Addy's gorgeous plaid Christmas dress). Of course, I'm a little biased, since cranberry red is my favorite color. This was one of two outfits my parents gave me when I received Samantha for Christmas 1993, and I've had it ever since. It's in perfect shape, no fraying anywhere. The lace is the flowers with stems.

[lara]

I found this dress at a thrift store and realized when I looked at this site that there wasn't a photo of this version of the lace. I think this is the flowers with stems? It is dated 1994. The dress is a dark wine, I think a little duller shade than the more recent versions and the lace and ribbon are white. Very pretty, except the fabric feels sort-of like a nylon tent!

[Catlin]

I love the dress. It is a very rich wine-color with very elegant white lace. Not too hot on the material, but the color looks stunning against Sam's dark hair and eyes.

[PleasantMemories]

I’m aware of eleven variations of the dress. However, there could be more.

Bright Red: With Heart Lace (made of Silk Taffeta) (circa 1986-1987)
Bright Red: With one large flower in center, smaller flowers around the border, and two vines (circa 1986-1988)
Bright Red: With a cluster of flowers in the middle and smaller ones along the border (circa 1987-1989?)

Cranberry: with Heart Lace: (circa 1989-1992)
Cranberry: with 9 prominent flowers (4 bottom, 3 middle 2 top), more flowers on side ruffles, and two vines (circa 1989-2000). This dress has 2 full scallops and 2 partial ones.
Cranberry: same lace as previous dress but with one full scallop and two nearly complete ones (circa 1989-2000)
Cranberry: Similar to previous lace pattern, but with scallops that connect the flowers (circa 1992-early 2000s)
Cranberry: Three center flowers (one larger, 2 smaller), more flowers along ruffle border, and scallops that connect the flowers (late PC early Mattel)
Cranberry: Three larger flowers near scallops, more flowers on side ruffles, and three vines (can have lining or no lining) (early 2000s-2008)
Cranberry: One large flower and many smaller flowers in center, more flowers on side ruffles (mid 2000s-2008)
Cranberry: Most of the flowers of the left side of the dress, more flowers on side ruffles (mid 2000s-2008)

_{Edited for clarification}

[agdollfan1992]

I have this dress for the doll. I agree with the comment on the velcro. The velcro snags the ribbon and tights. That is the only negative thing about this outfit. It's a cute outfit. My grandma thinks it looks nice even though part of the ribbon is snagged. I asked her if she noticed. Honestly, she said she didn't notice.

[samfan123]

Adding a couple more photos to show variation in lace. I got mine for Christmas in 1996.

[agfriend1]

I have this dress too. It was one of my favorites as a little girl. The cranberry color is just delightful. I wish American girl would come out with dresses like this again.

[rebchan]

My Samantha wore said dress (probably an early 90s version; I can check later) for years and never got a stain.

[Karenhenks]

I've had more than one of the cranberry color versions. I've never washed them, but never had a problem with the color running onto the doll, either. Even with long time wearing.

[WildPigeonChase]

Beautiful! I'm not sure what year mine is from, as I bought it secondhand, but is definitely one of the later cranberry colored ones, not bright red.

As you can see from the last image its a little snug on my 99-01 Samantha, but not bad. I'm not a huge fan of the material, it feels a little polyster-y to me, but again its not too bad. Overall I'd definitely recommend it for someone interested in her collection.

[babc]

Here's a pic of my variations of the dress:



From top to bottom they are tagged:
1987 Pleasant Co
1989 Pleasant Co
1990 Pleasant Co
American Girl (this one has the lined skirt, which I believe is the later version)

The heart lace is my favorite. The pattern reminds me of Samantha's symbol.

[Tiffy]

Does anyone have a 1989 cranberry dress that comes with zippers and pearly looking buttons on the sleeves? I bought a WB Samantha who came with 5 sets of clothing, a few of them with zippers instead of velcro. They all seem authentic though and have the tags, and don't seem to be cheaply made. Just curious if some of the Pleasant Co dresses do indeed use zippers and sleeve buttons instead of the usual velcro.  Thanks!

Front:


Back:


Sleeve button:


Tag: