Holiday Bibs Outfit (1998-2000)

[Masquerade]

Here's Madelaine in the Holiday Bibs Outfit.

This is a really simple set. The shirt is a creamy white silky material with silvery/diamond-like "buttons" up the front. These are decorative; it velcros up the back and at the sleeves. It looks pretty cute with the Hanukkah skirt and blue jeans as well. It's a very simple, versatile piece.

The overalls are a more fuzzy material. I guess it's velour? Feels soft and stiff to the touch. It has four buttons on the front to attach the buckles to, and there's also about an inch of velcro on the sides to make it easier to shimmy up the doll's legs. I really love the detailing they've put into the back:

There are two pockets back there, perfect for sliding a doll-size candy cane into. The back left pocket also has a little strip of velour fabric attached to the side, like some carpenter's pants have for sliding a hammer into. I guess this is the dressy outfit the doll wears when she's nailing stockings onto the fireplace? Beats me but I appreciate the detailing anyway.

The shoes are simple gold slip-ons. I also use them for the Medieval Princess Outfit because the shoes that came with that costume are terrible, in my opinion. This outfit also looks really cute with white tennis shoes or slip-ons.

It also comes with a little gold AG necklace. I've got the necklace but it's still in its packaging because I'm paranoid I'll lose it otherwise.

Overall I'd give the outfit an A.

[EB Agent J/Goo]

So I have been out for this outfit since the holidays officially begun, and I finally scored one on eBay (the short version of the story. The long version is full of action and intrigue, with pirates and ninjas, but since that's off topic I won't get into it here). It came with the blouse, the shoes, and the bibs, but no necklace or ribbon (s'all right, I didn't really care for either one, anyway). Short of pictures this time around, because it's time for me to give up the ghost and admit my camera is dying, so I got a couple of badly lit and posed pictures for you:

*mod edit to remove dead image links*

Picture number 1: the outfit, as well as the holiday tchotkes my grandmother's collected over the years and, in the background, my mom! *Waves at Mom* Anyway, I'll just go and list down the pros and cons really quick:

Pros:
1.) Easily the least girlie holiday outfit, so perfect for a tomboy like Liz, but with enough feminine details (like the rhinestone buttons and cut of the blouse) to make it identifiably for a girl.
2.) The blouse is very silky and the bibs are very soft. Wonderful feeling all around.
3.) Buttons on the bibs are made of real metal.
4.) The rhinestones are nicely understated and add just a hint of sparkle without being obnoxious. (They only go halfway down the shirt, but since the bibs cover the rest of the shirt, I don't mind.)
5.) Extra velcro on the sides of the bibs and the cuffs of the shirt so all of the pieces slide on easily.
6.) The shoes are sturdier than I imagined they'd be from the pics. They're also cuter than I imagined (Julie's tights kinda made me wary of anything gold that AG makes now). They have hard plastic soles, velour lining on the inside, and are made of a smooth, shimmery gold fabric on the outside.
7.) If I do say so myself, the colors really complement Liz's green eyes and blonde hair.

Cons:
1.) The bibs are very loose fitting and hard to position just right, but it's a minor quibble.
2.) The shoes were very hard to get on, despite being PM and Liz being PM. I tried them on Tabby, one of my bigger Mattel dolls (who was even wearing socks at the time) and they fell right off, so maybe Liz just has big feet.
3.) On my version, at least, I noticed something weird with the velcro on the sides of the bibs: on side, half of the velcro is sewn inside and half is sewn outside so when you close it, it makes a seam, but on the other side, both halves of the velcro are sewn inside so the seam juts out when you close it.
4.) The bibs attract more lint and hair than my black T-shirt at my mother's house (she has a small dog). I had to give it a good run-down with a lint brush before taking the pics.
5.) The rhinestones aren't real buttons and are sewn on kind of loosely, which makes me a bit nervous about them staying on. Also not sure I agree with the extra rhinestone on the neck, or even the high collar, for that matter.

So all in all, I give this outfit a good, solid A-. I love it on Liz, and it's pretty much what I expected. There are flaws, like a lot of AG stuff, but unlike some AG stuff, the flaws here are easy to ignore and some may just be unique to my outfit.

[incagold]

Here is a picture showing the necklace and hair ribbon. We got the outfit in 1998 and it is still holding up nicely!

[cymbre]

Here's a closeup of the shoes:



And the bibs:

[Buckingham Alice]

This is a really cute outfit. It's doesn't scream '90s like a lot of other AGOT outfits from those period do, and it's pretty without being overly feminine but still very festive. It's really well made as well. The velvet is thick and soft. Be careful with those blouse though... it can snag. It looks AMAZING on #61, and luckily it fits well even on newer, slimmer dolls.