Christmas Outfit

[scandia]

*This outfit was worn by Julie in the book Happy New Year, Julie*
(price increase from $28 to $32 January, 2012)

I bought this outfit at the American Girl Boutique and Bistro last Tuesday.

The jumper is gorgeous. It is a good length. The belt buckle actually works- but the dress velcroes in the back. The velvet is soft- perhaps a bit too soft, but the jumper still has a shape and durability. The design on the bottom left of the skirt is beautiful and works great. The color is a gorgeous shade of cranberry- it looks beautiful on Elise (JLY 25), but I do not know how would it work on Julie since her coloring is so different. I do have to pull the skirt a bit down when I sit Elise, but the length is fine per se and you can sit down your doll- it just takes a bit of adjusting.

The shirt is absolutely beautiful. It is crisp without being stiff. The design is a classical one that would work for any time period. In fact, the blouse and jumper are timeless and not dated- they would work for Samantha, Kit, Molly, Julie, and the Girls of Today!

But while the jumper and blouse are timeless classics, I am afraid the tights and sandals are not. The tights- let's just say that shiny gold metallic stockings are not something I would put on a pre-pubescent tween. And the platform sandals- while I had a pair in high school that I wore in the warmer months, I would not put them on someone in the winter nor with that outfit. Don't know if the term for the tights and the sandals would be dated- but they do not go so well with the jumper and blouse.

Overall:

A+ for the jumper and blouse
Not going to grade the tights and sandals, since to me they do not go with this outfit at all.

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[A Guy Named Goo]

As always, I start with a box. Usually I also show you the pieces as they come out of the box, but this time, I needed to hunt down batteries for my camera and then it broke so I had to beat on it until it worked again fix it delicately and expertly, so I tried everything on first. Anyway, standard new historical box.



Here is the outfit in its entirety as it looks on Tabby (my Jess). I promise you all if I get Rose before someone with Julie gets this outfit, I'll post pics of Julie in this outfit so you can see how well it works. I think it looks beautiful with Tabby's darker coloring, though. Well, the main parts, anyway.

The blouse is made out of a sort of scratchy linen. I expected it to be softer, really. The ruffles on the cuffs need to be ironed out, since mine got folding at odd angles in transit, but the sleeves don't appear as poofy as they do on the website in person. The jumper is a lovely burgundy color and very soft velvet with flower details stitched into the side, and the belt is removable and although it has holes in it for the spoke to hold it in place, there is no spoke on the buckle.

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The detail on the side of the skirt. Blouse: B, Jumper: B+



The tights are horribly, terribly tacky. Not only do they look terrible in person, they feel terrible and they shed little gold flakes. They are made out of a thick orange-yellow fabric, which has tinsel (yes, tinsel) woven into it, that likes to come off. The fabric is so thick, it's next to impossible to sit the doll down while wearing them, and even worse to get the shoes on over them. They really are good for nothing, and the texture is just awful. F



The shoes, which are two faux-patent leather straps looped around each other on a foam base. They are made of cheap foam and plastic "patent leather" and don't fit on my doll's feet at all. I got them on eventually, but when I changed socks, I didn't bother trying. D-

So I have to give this outfit a C+. Don't get me wrong, the blouse and jumper are adorable, but they really phoned it in in places. Considering how much it is, you'd really expect more from it.

[mollygirl1944]

I actually like this outfit. My sis recived it for her birthday, and it has become her Kailey's Christmas dress. I really love the jumper and blouse, not so much the tights and shoes. Our tights look really tacky and uncomfortable, but they don't shed gold flakes! Maybe they fixed that problem. Overall, I give this outfit a B, mostly because of the tights. It does look good with Kailey's colloring though; this is probably because she has the same coloring as Julie.

[rachelcecilia]

I just got this outfit, and while the tights and shoes are made a little cheaply and seem like they would be uncomfortable to really wear, I think they fit the time period perfectly. I give the whole thing a B/B-

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[Amy]

I guess I'm in the minority here, because I really like this outfit.

The Shirt - B+
Definitely screams "Partridge Family." Cute shirt, nothing extraordinary.

You can slip it through the belt loops to undo it.

The Jumper - A
My favorite part of the whole outfit. It's very soft and pretty, and feels nice to touch.


The Tights - B
I dunno what everyone else's deal with these is, because my pair doesn't shed. Maybe it happens over time? Anyway, yes, they're kind of tacky, but I like tacky stuff. Again, screams "Partridge family." Which...usually isn't a good thing...

The Shoes - D
Now here's something we can all agree on! The shoes...suck. They're actually not as bad as I expected, but they're still cheap feeling, and Julie has trouble standing up in them. They're hard to put on, too.

Overall Grade - A-

I don't what it was about the 70's, but people (okay, I admit it, it was me) really wore dorky thick tights with sandals and that outfit is as dead-on accurate as they come.
Aren't those the same tights that came with one of the Bitty Twins holiday sets from about 2001? The girl dress was the same color and similar fabric. They are definitely not bio-degradable.

[sewingmama]

I really like this outfit. The blouse is *great* the jumper is fantastic and very much like one I had in 1st grade. The tights are hard to get pulled all the way up her legs, but that's true to life in my case The jumper is long enough you can't see they aren't pulled up anyway, but the waist of the tights is at her waist so I dunno. Anyways, they are fine.
The shoes...they don't bother me. For the price of the outfit, they include the shoes. Buying a single pair of shoes these days is 1/2 the price of an outfit so I'm not going to complain. They work, they fit and they look fine with the outfit.
Overall I'm very happy and give this outfit an A!

with flash


without flash

[gdking1965]

Although I don't own this outfit, I've seen it up close at AGPNY. It is very indicative of the 70s when I was a girl. It actually reminds me of the performance outfits the Partridge Family always wore.

[SimoneQ]

Last year I didn't have Emily and got Emily's holiday outfit for Kylie. Since I have Emily now I needed to get her another holiday dress so I decided to get her Julie's. My one complaint is I have trouble with the shoes. Other than that, I love the outfit, especially the jumper and the tights, and definitely recommend it.

[KitandKat]

Shirt: It is very well-made. It has real lace (double ruffle) on the sleeves and the necktie. The material is a little thin but not so much that if she wore it separately, she would need a tank top under it. For better or worse, I think these shirts are starting to make a comeback as "poet" shirts/blouses. I do like it on its own... it would be nice if it was a tad bit longer though, it *just* hits the top of AG pants. Grade: A-

Jumper: The jumper is nice quality and it feels soft. The flowers are embroidered and it is a nice deep cranberry color. It fits well. The buckle is not a real buckle, but the belt goes through real belt loops. The only complaint I have is that the belt is sewn on in one spot so that it makes the jumper bunch up a little in that area. I will probably cut the belt loose if I can so that the jumper will lay more flat. Grade: A-

Tights: These are nice and thick! They are very sparkly and bright but fun. They seem like they will not rip easily and they were very easy to get on. Grade: A

Shoes: Fail. They are very flimsy and hard to fit over the tights. The velcro strap seems like it could easily fall off or stop sticking. The platform is just foam and the rest of the shoe is some type of vinyl or plastic. I do like the little twist detail at the top, it has two straps that twist over each other. They remind me of shoes from the MyAG Karaoke Outfit, I think around 1998? Anyway, they seem very cheap. I think AG could have used a different material, at least, and made sure they fit over the tights well. Grade: D+

Overall Grade: A- without shoes, B with shoes


Parker tries on outfits from our Clandestine Coconut! Thank you! by kitkatrock, on Flickr

This is the only picture I have of it right now.