Ruby & Ribbon Dress & Charm (2010)

[Candace]

I got this in the mail the other day. While it wasn't my favorite online and I got it because it is appropriate for Caitlin to wear considering her religious background, I was far more impressed with it in person.

I apologize if my pics aren't up to their usual standard. I took these at midnight indoors, and my camera doesn't like to take pics indoors, stupid camera.

What you get for $36:

-headband
-tights
-dress
-shoes
-jacket
-charm

I totally forgot to take a picture of the charm, so there isn't one here. The charm that comes with this is the "Real" square charm. Caitlin already has it on her charm keeper necklace.

The outfit is mainly a bright, Christmas/4th of July type red and standard silver.

The dress is a knit red dress with a velcro closure, with the kind of velcro that normally doesn't snag but does snag a little with the knit, particularly if you do what I do, which is turn the velcro in on itself to try to avoid snagging the tights. The dress is a turtleneck dress, very trendy with puffed sleeves and a silver ribbon with bow accent. Aside from the fact that I think it is annoying that the velcro loves to snag, I still like the dress.

The headband is a real headband--not a ribbon or a glorified hair tie. It is a white cream type color with large jewel accents.

The tights are silver fishnet with a white cream part along the waist, which makes them easier to use and put on the doll. They are a perfect fit on Caitlin and don't have the same problems as the Tap Dance outfit tights of stretching too much and being at the doll's armpits.

The shoes are red ballet flats with silver bow accents. They are made to look like patent leather.

The jacket is very cute in person. It is made of a metallic knit material with silver lace accents and it has real functioning buttons that are made to look like jewels.

Overall, this outfit is very cute and very Christmasy, and works by itself without the accessories. I also think it has some mix-and-match potential given the amount of pieces.

Grade: A- (minus for the annoying velcro problem)


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[numberonekitty]

I have a weakness for red and knew immediately when I saw this dress that I would be buying it.

I will give the entire set an A.

I love the simplicity of the dress- and the fact that they didn't muck it up with other colors. The red and silver is classic together. I prefer the dress without the tights though. The sweater material is somewhat thin for the winter, but it's a short sleeved dress, so not sure if that was by design or not. It certainly would not cut it in our Ohio winters. The tights do not have any fit issues slipped on easily.

The headband is covered in an ivory satin and a trio of rectangular jewels. The jewels are a bit large for my taste, but they are on trend. The red and silver slip on shoes are typical AG shoes, cute, well fitting and match perfectly. I feel the dress doesn't scream Christmas and could be worn for almost any occasion.

The sweater is a silver metallic thin gauge weight with a two button and elastic hook closure. I bought the Holiday Accessory set as well and it coordinates perfectly with this set.



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[Mars]

The headband doesn't fit on Josefina's fat head. I sympathize; headbands don't fit on my head either. Maybe I just haven't finagled it right yet, but I thought I'd throw that out there before I get around to my full review.

[BeauCoeur]

The dress: This outfit would have to be my favorite modern holiday outfit ever released. It's perfect for any winter holiday...or any other special occasion occurring in the winter. It's more trendy than some of the AG outfits, which I really like. I am in love with the color; AG should consider making more things in this vibrant shade of red. The Velcro does snag the dress, so it's best to take extra caution when putting it on and taking it off. I especially like this dress on dark-haired dolls. Grade: A

The sweater: I really do not like the sweater with this dress, since the dress is a sweater dress. I also feel like the sweater is too much when paired with the dress. However, the sweater is an excellent mix and match piece; it looks great with jeans or dress pants. The knit has sparkles woven into it. I also love that there are real working buttons. Grade: A+

The headband: It's just strange- the fit is weird. It is pretty, though; I like the jewel embellishments. Grade: B

The shoes and tights: No complaints- the tights fit nicely, I like the way they look, and I love the glitter woven into them. The shoes fit perfectly and are a beautiful shade of red. Grade: A+



Better photos to come...

[AmericanGirlFan728]

I love this outfit and so does Hannah, my #37. I give the outfit an A. The dress and sweater are pretty and easy to get on, as are the tights and shoes. It's perfect for the holidays and overall a great purchase. It may cost more than most outfits but it's worth it.

[tkimt]

The present box isn't from this set, and onIvy's right is one of Sam's Mattel valentines obscuring things a wee bit (sorry).

[dragonflybg]

I bought this when it was in the last chance sale for $18. I like the simplicity of the dress, but the fabric seems very prone to snags. The headband is ok, but I love the shoes. I like all the mix and match pieces and that you can dress it up for holiday or leave off the tights and sweater for an everyday look.

A- for snag prone fabric, but otherwise it's great.

[KitandKat]

Dress: Simple and elegant. It's not too fancy and doesn't scream Christmas, so could be used for other occasions as well. The ribbon belt lays well. It's a very rich, deep color. The dress fits VERY snug (even on my thinnest doll, Sam, I had to pull it tight to get the Velcro to close), but is stretchy so it's not really a major fit problem. The fabric is snag-tastic, though (even though it has the no-snag velcro). Grade: A-

Sweater: I love the ruffle detailing and that it has real buttons. I think the dress is fine by itself. It looks okay with the sweater, but not my favorite. The sweater does work for mix-and-match. I was happy the sweater came with the outfit instead of throwing in with the accessories so you had to buy the accessories, lol. It has glitter woven in and is very pretty. Grade: A

Shoes: I think they are supposed to look like patent leather, and are also a vibrant red, but they just look a bit plastic and fake to me. Grade: B-

Tights: They fit well (can be rare for AG tights IMO). They also have glitter woven in, very pretty but maybe a bit young (I haven't seen a girl in the target age range wear glittery tights for the past few years). Still, I like them. Grade: A

Headband: I'm just not a fan of AG doing hard/solid headbands. There always seems to be a fit problem where it doesn't lay on the doll's head quite right - usually a gap between her head and the headband. This one is no exception. I'm confused by the "cream" descriptions because I thought it was supposed to be silver (just not sparkly silver)! I do like the jewels. Grade: B

Overall Grade: B+/A-
Like the dress, sweater and tights, but the dress seems very prone to snags, and I could do without the shoes and headband. Still, the sheer "look" of this outfit wins out for me. I love it. And, considering I got this pretty cheap on sale, I definitely think it was worth it.





Jessica (my Kanani) was wearing the sweater because she looked cold compared to all the others. Not sure if it matches exactly (lol) but this shows the detail:

[EofA]

I didn't like this outfit enough to buy it when it was the holiday offering. The matchy-matchy look said 1980s evening soap operas and Princess Diana to me, and I'm not a fan of that look. Still, I could not resist the call of the sweater dress, and I liked individual pieces enough to justify getting the set when it finally went on sale.

Let me first set your minds at ease, because I'm sure you've been wondering how dolls ever get through the holidays wearing those itchy, scratchy tights. Behold! The itchy fabric doesn't go over their sensitive parts:



Isn't it a relief to know that? The dolls are relieved, anyway.

As for the dress, it is lovely in its simplicity.



I even like it with the sweater.



Detail:



I wonder how many target market aged kids ripped the loop closures on this sweater?



Back view:



Now, I like it less with the tacky shoes and tights. Headband neither adds nor detracts from the look but because these headbands that AG makes now are so undersized, I prefer to do without.



If Joan Collins and Linda Evans ever wore flats on Dynasty, they'd look like this:



The ensemble gets a B due to 1980s tack from the waist down. The sweater and dress, however, are lovely and merit A grades.