Marie-Grace Doll

[august]

*Marie-Grace wears her Meet outfit in Meet Marie-Grace, Marie-Grace and the Orphans, and Marie-Grace Makes a Difference.*

Marie-Grace has a new face mold which appears quite pointy in pictures but in person the chin is not as sharp. She actually looks quite a bit like Rebecca and Josefina. She has long brown hair with two gorgeous criss crossing braids in the back ad two side curls. Her eyes are blue with hints of green making them appear almost aqua in the certain light. Her dress is a lightweight taffeta with a pink plaid pattern with some shades of orange mixed in. The dress has two hot pink lace trimmed outsets. The outsets are only attached at the top and bottom so you can put your hand through them like straps on overalls or a jumper. She has black and white boots with three fake boots on the sides and a pair of lace trimmed pantelettes.

I give her meet dress a "B" but the doll gets an overall A from me.

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[JSMT]

From store trip on 9-1-11

[kate1283]

Comparison with Rebecca


Just for fun here is Elizabeth as MG!

[norasroom]

I ordered Marie-Grace because of the unique face-mold and eye-color and I like her in person much better than I did online.


P9037973 by norasroom, on Flickr


P9037972 by norasroom, on Flickr

Her hair is a lovely golden brown, similar to #23's but perhaps with a bit more light highlights. Her pin-curls are longer than Elizabeth's. They came mussed out of the box but went back into shape very nicely with a spritz of water and a finger-curl.


P9037947 by norasroom, on Flickr

She has two braids criss-crossed on the back of her head and secured with clear elastic bands. I will probably leave them in as long as they stay looking nice. They are decorated with pink satin-finish hairbows which were tied upside down right out of the box!


P9037953 by norasroom, on Flickr


P9037951 by norasroom, on Flickr

The rest of her hair is long, silky, with a wave at the end. Not terribly thick.

The aqua eyes are not as dramatically different as I expected. They almost look like a blue/gray/green to me:


P9037948 by norasroom, on Flickr

Very lovely. Agree with previous reviewers that the chin is not as pointy in real life. I really enjoy the heart-shaped face.

Marie-Grace's meet dress feels like a synthetic taffeta. It's reasonably nicely put together and the back closure is that soft velcro. It was pretty wrinkled out of the box but a shot of steam took care of that. I wouldn't want to iron that fabric for fear of meltdown! Her shoes are lovely: almost a patent-leather finish with a back velcro closure. White socks end at mid-calf and the pantalets are pretty standard white cotton with lace trim.


P9037956 by norasroom, on Flickr

She gets an A++ in my book.

[Deleted]

I just love my new Marie Grace doll! The more I change her outfit and comb her hair, the more I adore her. I am really glad I got her.

[rika]

Yesterday I was in the Seattle store studying Marie Grace's face. She has the eyes of the Josefina mold in that they are rather deep set in her face. She also has the same shaped lips, they are just smaller, or rather her mouth is narrower. The fuller lower jaw of the Josefina mold has been reduced, accenting her high cheek bones and her chin. The nose is completely different than any other doll, and is perfectly nice. In all I think she looks older than the other dolls, mainly because she does not have the "baby fat" in her face. I haven't decided if I like her or not. She seems more "doll like" to me, her face seems more like a doll face and more similar to lower cost dolls. She is a sweet looking doll, though, and I don't have anything against her.

[mollyfelicity]

Norasroom gave a great review and I agree with everything she said, so I'll just add a few photos of Marie-Grace.

[sewingmama]

My Marie-Grace arrived yesterday and she is very pretty. Her braids lasted all of about 28 hours. I can't resist doll hair and her wig is my favorite so far. She has the short hairs in the back to cover her wig cap if her hair was in two braids or ponytails. The braids are not blunt cut like Kirsten's and Kaya's. They are the same length as the rest of her hair, in the same style. The ends of the braids were folded over to look tidy in her meet style, thus they are bent right now but I'm sure they will relax over the next few days. Her hair is very thick and a nice length for brushing and styling

[EofA]

I honestly didn't expect to have much interest in Marie-Grace, what with me having strong New Orleans colonial history interests and her character being so much more, well, American than French Creole. When I first glanced at the doll I even dismissed her straight up, thinking she had the Josefina face mold which I adamantly dislike. It wasn't until I paid more attention to her features that I realized that AG has made subtle changes that have corrected the things I didn't like about the Josefina mold. In so doing, AG has created a mold that is to my eyes more delicate, realistic, and aesthetically pleasing. YMMV, but I like AG's new heart-shaped mold a great deal and I think it was an inspired choice for this somewhat shy but firm character.

Marie-Grace's eye color isn't what I'd call 'new' per se, as it is very reminiscent of the older Kirsten color. However, it picks up deep blues and greys in ways that the older Kirsten eyes did not.

I find that the mold's mouth is not so much pursed as it has a more pronounced overbite. I find this extremely endearing since my own little boy has a mild overbite. Because they are so common among children, I think this adds a note of realism to the mold without straying into Uncanny Valley territory. It's kind of like the perfect imperfection to me, and coupled with lips that aren't quite as wide as Josefina's, gives M-G a very sweet look.

I like Marie-Grace's hair color, which is a rich, natural brown. It reminds me a lot of Kanani's, actually. The texture feels more natural to me than some of the other wigs AG has created. The pin curls are nicely done and are period-appropriate. I have to add here that I am dead tired of reading complaints from adult collectors about M-G's pincurls being inappropriate for their modern characters. head::desk Of course they're inappropriate for a modern character! This doll is meant to represent a girl from 1853. If you don't like the pincurls, just get rid of them rather than wasting your energies berating AG for creating a historically appropriate hairstyle. Now as to whether the curls, historically accurate though they are but so very different from our modern aesthetic, are appealing enough to the target market to open wallets is a different story. The pincurls represent one of the MANY variables which have affected the sales figures for these characters.

Anyway, it would take some work to accidentally blend these curls in, unlike those of Felicity, so unless someone deliberately wants to lose the pin curls I don't think careless little (or big!) hands are likely to ruin them. I do think Grace's wig can get fly-away easily, and there is a fineness to the individual strands that reminds me of my first issue Josefina. There are always just a few strays that drive me nuts! I wonder how it will hold up to heavy brushing. The braid hairstyle that she comes with is not difficult to replicate but for the time being I'm leaving mine in because, again, yay for historical accuracy.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few close-ups of my Marie-Grace, who gets a resounding A from me with a hair style that is representative of her time period and for debuting a lovely new face mold:

[Captain Syd]

Comparison of Marie-Grace and Rebecca:

Sorry, it's kind of a crappy pic, I did it really quickly a few nights ago as I was trying to get out the door.



Comparison of Marie-Grace and Felicity and Rebecca:



And



I don't think M-G's lashes are any longer than any other doll's lashes but they seem like they're crimped differently. Felicity's and Rebecca's are pointed straight; Marie-Grace's are crimped in the middle so they're pointing up.

[addycake]

Marie-Grace is so beautiful to me. Her face is so sweet and lovely in person. I thought her hair was alot darker until I took her braids out. It was then I noticed her pin curls don't seem to have any highlites to them, so when looking at her head-on, her hair looks a lot darker than it is because of them.

But her hair colouring is so beautiful and full of several different shades of highlites. Also is it very long (but not too long) and very fun to brush.

I think she looks a lot better with the braids out, because otherwise her face looks very small compared to other dolls (IMO) It may be the pincurls doing this?

I just adore this doll!

Here's my Gracie!






As for her meet outfit. I would have really loved it more if I hadn't been collecting dresses from the lovely seamstresses of this board. But I think I am spoiled, and like this dress the least of all the 1853 dresses I have. But if I only collected AG, I would have really loved it.

[Dollhouse Designs]

I was so delighted to find Marie Grace on my doorstep this afternoon, waiting patiently. I had received one with a gift card, but she had a bum leg so I called AG cs and they sent another. I was so surprised by how very Different she looks from the original. I thought I'd snap some pics before I send MG1 back (but I sure wish I could keep her!)

The first one looks like the original photos of M-G I saw. I will add some photos and make notations on the differences I noted before returning the original. I was in a quandary at first as I liked features of both.

I believe that the 1st MG I received was a first run and the 2nd was manufactured later. At least that's my guess.



The original MG that I received was very sweet looking, but her face just seemed too big somehow. It's weird because MG1 is VERY photogenic and the slightly out-of-scale-ness is not noticeable in pictures, but I see it in person. The new chin extends quite a bit and her jawline was considerably bigger than the other molds in addition to having a wider forehead. I thought was going to have to get used to her.

The 2nd MG I noticed immediately had a much narrower face but I couldn't understand how at first. I thought,"Did they tweak the mold?" I believe that the mold on the 2nd one was compressed on the sides so that her face has a rounder aspect -not as wide & flat. I would imagine that this was consciously done after initial feedback. MG 2's eyes are closer together, as are the brows. In person MG2 does not seem out of scale at all but her features aren't quite as photogenic as MG1, perhaps.




In addition to the shape of the face, MG 2's hair is a tad lighter and her skin is a little more tan, just subtly. Her face paint is lighter and the brows are positioned closer, giving her less contrast in her face.

MG1 has more brilliant eyes though and her lashes are unaccountably thicker or something, more noticeable but I haven't figured out why yet. Very pretty eyes. Her brows have a little tilt to them, making her look as if she is saying "awww" as one does when seeing a kitten or puppy.



The curls on the side of MG2 are less full and more manageable. I thought the original had too much going on there, so I separated them and pulled half of the curls back. I also removed the braids from both.

MG1's hair is just a tiny bit longer. Not sure why, but when I tried pulling MG2's hair back, it was more flattering than on MG1. Might be the curls.


i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/RSAdams68/MG1sm.jpg

MG1 reminds me of Chrissa actually. Oddly, when I look at MG2, there is no resemblance to Chrissa. MG1 does have a gentler face.


i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/RSAdams68/MG2Sm.jpg

MG2 has a really 'natural' looking face and seems more versatile. I prefer her mostly, but both have their pretty points.


i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/RSAdams68/FulllengthSm.jpg

MG1 has about 1/4 thicker waist and the regular body tag. When I measure her like for a 1 pc swimsuit she is 1/2 bigger in body. MG2 has narrower shoulders. It's really strange there is a difference between them. MG2 has the huge long body tag that I have heard about.

The problem with MG1's leg was that it was too tightly strung or something. It 'popped' into position and she wouldn't stand very well because the leg kept leaning to the center, not allowing her legs to be hip width for stability. The 2nd MG has no problem like that.

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[Deleted]

When Marie Grace first came out I was not interested at all. But then I saw the 25% off sale (yes I am a sucker for sales), so I took a second look at her. I am so glad I did. She is the doll I have been waiting for AG to create since I got back into collecting. She has almost the same color as my WB Kirsten's eyes which I love. Brown hair that is so nice with lots of length for different styles. A bonus is her unique face mold which really makes her stand out in a good way. I got Marie Grace to be a modern girl and have re-named her Emma. I am not fond of the side curls, so I just have tucked them behind the braids which I think looks nice. I got to hand pick Emma. When looking at the dolls, my Emma had a noticeably thinner face than the other girls. I didn't take a comparison picture in the store and now wish I had. The sales associate near by also said she saw the difference but keep telling me they are all suppose to be the same. I was surprised at the new long body tag and she does not have the V slit for the neck-strings in the back.

edited to add: After taking out the braids I was completely overwhelmed with the kinky hair that I could not relax no matter what I did. Unfortunately, my frustration has caused me to part with her. While she is still a beautiful doll I would still rate her high because of her uniqueness, I, personally, need to enjoy her through everyone's pictures.

edited again: Since I have found some tips on straightening those kinks in the Nurse's Section, I did end up getting anther MG doll. The face mold is really growing on me and I hope that AG uses it more in the future because it just seems so realistic to me. Sorry about needing to edit again.

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[shannonkloppenburg]

Marie Grace is so bedanged cute! She just came today! I love her new face mold, it kind of reminds me of a revised Josefina mold. Her hair is so long but doesn't get messed up really. I've been snuggling her all day since she came and it's still nice, and the braids are still in. I love her story too! She replaced Samantha as my favorite AG, yes I know.. GASP! Here's a perdy picture...

Attachments:

[sewingmama]

Her hair is great for styling, it can do anything and look great. Even her pincurls can be disguised/integrated without permanently damaging them. Cécile isn't here yet so Marie-Grace doesn't feel compelled to stick to her time period. She'd rather skate with Molly than be alone.

[fionabrigade]

She is my second doll but is the first doll to be purchased directly from AG.

I have had MG for over a month now and haven't unboxed her yet, but I think she's friggin' adorable. She has a sweet expression and I like how the 2 teeth are less pronounced in comparison to the other facemolds. MG is a lot skinnier than my Jess doll and her meet dress is very loose around the bodice. She also has the "old and short" AG body tag. Can't comment on the hair yet since it's still in the hairnet but I'll probably will be taking her braids out once unboxed.

Not a fan of her meet dress. The color is completely off, I doubt hot electric pink was in fashion back in the 1850's. The weird vest/shoulder sausages are an enigma to me. It would give me great satisfaction to snip them off the dress completely but I won't do that.

Doll: A
Meet Outfit: C


Her braids remained factory for a whole day before I took them out. Anyone else considering this, beware. The braided hair is unruly and the ends jut out at odd angles. I've been spritz/brushing it for sometime now and it still won't relax.

edit 12/11: pics removed due to theft by lil' monsters.

[Deleted]

I bought my Marie-Grace NIB on eBay for about the same price I would have paid had I bought her during the 25%-off Apocalypse. I really was interested in her after finally reading all three of her books, and really relating well to her shy character.

Marie-Grace (AKA Alex in her modern persona) came to me today, much to my surprise, since when I checked the delivery status, she was still marked as being somewhere in the midwest. Anyway, she came in the usual packing ...



Her right eye opening seems a bit less round/smaller than her left eye, but it does not really bug me that much.



Anyway, I believe she is a first-production run, since she seems to match and look like the description that Dollhouse Designs kindly wrote about above.

Like EofA mentioned, M-G already has the annoying flyaways. I will probably take her braids down at some point.

As for her meet outfit, I really hate pink, and especially this colour of pink, so the outfit gets a C from me.

However, the doll itself gets a resounding A. I love the new face mould, and this is my first brown-haired, blue-eyed doll, and this makes me even more happy to have this combination added to my collection. Her wig does seem a bit thin, but not any thinner than Kanani's, I would say.

What I also find great about M-G is that she really looks good in any colour outfit. Some dolls just cannot pull that off, but M-G can. I will throw in more pictures of her in modern clothes, once I get around to actually buying some, but in the meantime, here are pictures I took for another thread of M-G in Felicity's outfits. She makes a wonderful colonial girl.

First Meet Dress





School Outfit



Christmas Gown



Spring Dress





Summer Outfit:





Cardinal Cloak



Riding Outfit



Work Dress



Nightshift and Cap



These outfits really make me wish AG makes a bonnet for her at some point. She is definitely a hat doll.

[jennifermichelle]

These reviews are so helpful! My daughter wants Marie-Grace for her first doll and it looks just like her. Can someone answer a question for me please? Is Marie-Grace's skin actually golden tan? It is hard to tell in pictures but if someone who knows could compare it to, say, Felicity or Samantha for me I would be so thankful.

[EofA]

Regarding skin tone: No, Marie-Grace has what AG calls 'light' skin tone. Any variation between her and any other doll with that skin tone made at any point in AG's 25+ year history is due to batch variations in the vinyl. Lighting in any of photos you see will also be a consideration if you're noticing difference. You might even find Marie-Grace dolls that vary from one another in terms of skin tone, but the doll's vinyl skin tone is still AG's lightest.

[melangell]

I think she looks good. Here is a link to my album since I really don't want to have to resize all these photos. Two including this one were with flash, the others are slightly darker and with ambient lighting.

album link: s825.photobucket.com/albums/zz171/melangell1968/Josefina%20in%20MGs%20clothes/

[Maddie]

I LOVE Marie-Grace. She is a real sweetie. Like many have said, her mold is either something you hate or adore. Of course, in my case I adore it! I also really enjoyed her book(s), very well thought out and made MG, C and NOLA come alive. I really like Marie-Grace's hair- the honey brown color with golden highlights is simply gorgeous. I like her meet outfit okay. I wish it wasn't that windbreaker material though.
Doll: A+++
Hair: A+
Outfit: A

[sharayahlynn]

To be honest (and I really hate to say this because I love her now), at first I didn't care much for Marie-Grace. I loved Cécile, but Grace took a while to grow on me. Surprisingly, she was the first of the two to come to live with me. Mine has a slightly wonky eye, loose limbs, and she's a bit floppy, but hey, no one is perfect, right? The wonky eye is kind of cute, actually. Her pin curls are very cute, much cuter than I thought they would be, and the rest of her hair is very soft and pretty. I love the color of her eyes, they're beautiful! I also think her face mold is cute, but it's definitely not my favorite. I love her meet dress. I think it looks very pretty on her, though the colors may be a little too bright for someone who likes softer, more subtle colors. Overall, I give her an A.

Time for pictures!

[Buxom Vyxen Th' Backstabber]

I adore my Marie-Grace, but her meet outfit had me thinking whoever thought putting those shoulder things on her dress was a good idea needs to be slapped. The print of the dress is tolerable (it looks like a picnic tablecloth) but what in heaven's name are those shoulder things?! I couldn't get her out of that dress and into her party dress any faster.

[askmkids]

I was lucky to find a great deal on Marie-Grace on my local Craigslist. When she arrived, I compared her to my DD's Marie-Grace. I noticed that their are some differences between my MG and my DD's MG. DD bought her MG when she was first released. I was really surprised at the differences since she has only been out for 6 months. To top it off, the dolls were bought at the same store.

Look at the difference in the face molds. My doll is in her meet dress. Her face has a rosier complexion and is a tad bit narrower. I also noticed that my MG's eyelashes aren't as dark or thick. But you really don't notice it unless you photograph the dolls.

I also noticed that the hair color is different too. My MG's hair is a deeper, richer color with hint of red/maroon in her hair. It is similar to the tint in Ruthie's hair. I really like it. It has more depth and character.

Each doll has her own charm and appeal. I personally love MG and am glad that I have one that I can call my own. The upside is that I can mess with my doll's hair.

[stassy]

I absolutely love my Maria (Maria-Grace). I really didn't care for the new mould judging from official AG pictures. Now I adore her. I have cut her pincurls and ironed her hair. She's my modern girl and she looks good in everything! Her face is so sweet, her eyes are very pretty and her hair has so many different highlights! A++++ from me!

[shannonkloppenburg]

I asked a person who works at AG KC and she said her hair color is the same as Rebecca's.

[QNPoohBear]

I took some pics of Rebecca and Marie-Grace together in store. Marie-Grace's hair has more golden highlights than Rebecca's.

[emily4ever]

I think Marie-Grace is the prettiest of my dolls (Just don't tell EMily and Julie I said that). She looks great in everything, her face is so cute, I adore her little curls and her hair and eyes are such beutiful colours. She looks especialy nice in purple, so Addy's sunday best is a muct

[Jamirae]

Stassy's photos are phenomenal as are his creations. MG at her best! I agree with Askmkids that there is a variance in the dolls, as in many dolls, but with MG it can make a bigger difference in her look as she does have some very distinctive characters which also make her difficult to photograph as lighting, positoning and angle make a bigger difference with her due to the fact that her face is not as perfectly symmetrical as the classic dolls. Picking the right MG could be more important than with other dolls. Mine was picked by AG for me, and I feel fortunate that I got one who looks straight ahead and has the broader face that I prefer. Her hair is also lighter looking than many of the AGS with no discernable red in there. She has enough blond strands in the front to actually give her a blond look.

I did not like her from AG photos and got her simply because she has a new face mold, but now I put her right up there as one of the beauties. Looks great in modern clothes and her hair is one of the best. Long, full and though straight with a bend, very styleable Extremely versatile in looks too. She can be from any era with that center part and those side curls can easily be pinned back or styled to give her a curly look around her face. Unique in the AG line for her hair, eye color and mold.

[emily4ever]

Marie Grace (Claire) WAS one of my favorites, but now I dress her, plait her hair and go and drool over Julie (who I purchased at the same time). My mum didn't like her pin curls, but I adored them and made me want her all the more, when I was charging around the store, she made me stop and I refused to put her down, until I could get her out. Now, 2 months later, I wonder what caused me to now be indifferent to her. Heres what...

Book - I have never read such a boring book and her illustrations make her look like a beaver, but that may just be accurate to her mini.

Meet outfit - I hate the weird bits on the sleeves and don't like the feel of the material.

Collection - There is not a single outfit or accesorie that I like in her collection, so she is now in Addy's era because of the nicer clothers

Hair - Oh...My...Gosh...We just sorted this out. I'm a teenager, not a adult collecter, but I was gentle! I didn't hackl my bruch right through to her head and carry her by her hair. And I didn't go dragging her through bushes, but it went HORRID! It went into a huge, frizzy, knotty mess that was totally unmanageable and after half and hour of brushing and brushing and it only getting worse, I might of lost my temper and chucked her across the room, which I know isn't the best thing to do with your $105 doll, but I was just angry and upset that my darling was now so difficult! Luckily, my mum plaited it all into lots of small plaits and sprayed it with water and leave in conditioner. It is now fine, but we shall repeate the treatment at any size of frizziness.

Okay, that does sound very negative, so here is what I DO like:

Face - Most beutiful mold ever. She dosn't look like a beaver

Hair - Lovely colour, so i am kind of being a slight hypocrite here

Way she looks good in everything - Especially blue, love her in the everyday play outfit

Sorry that this is so long, and though it does seem negative, I do reccomend her, but you must be able to take care of her hair. From now on I'm only getting dolls with thin hair.