scandia
Historical Dreamer
Ich liebe meine Puppen!
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Post by scandia on Oct 8, 2007 11:24:29 GMT -5
This outfit was worn by Julie in the book Happy New Year, Julie. It was released in 2007 and retired in August 2014 during the BeForever revamp , when it was replaced with Julie's Holiday Outfit. In 2019, Julie's Christmas Outfit II was released.On Christmas Day, Julie has special plans with her father and sister at San Francisco's fancy Fairmont Hotel for afternoon tea! This cranberry crushed-velvet jumper is perfect for such an elegant affair. This holiday outfit features: A velvet jumper with a fabric belt and pretty floral embroidery on the side, A puffy sleeved, lace-trimmed white blouse with a jabot collar, Shiny black sandals with platform soles, Gold tights.
(price increase from $28 to $32 January, 2012. Retired 8/28/14)
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. mod edit to remove broken image links
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Post by EB Agent J/Goo on Oct 19, 2007 14:45:14 GMT -5
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.
(mod edit to remove broken image)
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.
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Post by mollygirl1944 on Dec 18, 2007 22:05:35 GMT -5
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.
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Post by rachelcecilia on Dec 20, 2007 10:54:53 GMT -5
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-
*removed dead image link*
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Post by Amy on Dec 20, 2007 18:35:03 GMT -5
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-
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Post by momster on Jan 8, 2008 22:56:25 GMT -5
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.
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Post by sewingmama on Nov 6, 2008 14:50:28 GMT -5
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!
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Post by Librarian4 on Apr 8, 2010 13:38:27 GMT -5
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.
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Simone
Historical Dreamer
My very first AG!
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Post by Simone on Oct 24, 2011 11:02:13 GMT -5
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.
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Post by sailormolly on Feb 25, 2015 20:25:25 GMT -5
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Post by chernayakoshka on Mar 8, 2020 9:39:18 GMT -5
Blouse – A+This is a super cute blouse that I, perhaps embarrassingly, would totally wear today. It’s made of a crisp, white cotton with eyelet lace around the cuffs and on the collar bow. The sleeves flare out and the collar crosses in a sort of bow to give the front a very 70s flare. It opens fully in the back with Velcro (the sticky kind, so be careful) for easy dressing. Sadly, mine has yellowed around some of the lace with age, but I don’t hold that against the outfit. Front. Back. Jumper – A+The jumper is absolutely gorgeous! It’s made of a lovely, soft, cranberry coloured velour that manages to be both slightly tacky and visually appealing. Despite its softness, it keeps its shape and hangs well. The embroidered flower design is pretty and somehow manages to tie the look together. The belt buckle does actually work, but the dress also opens in the back with Velcro (the sticky kind), so it’s easy to put on. Jumper! It looks a lot more pink in this photo than it actually is. Tights – AI actually like these. They’re kind of gaudy, but I sort of love that about them. Mine haven’t shed yet, so maybe AG fixed whatever was causing that. They’re thick, but my stepmom insists that this was how they wore tights in the 70s (and she confirms that they were super uncomfortable). Yes, they do feel incredibly itchy and I’m so glad that I don’t have to wear them, but I think they look nice (and delightfully tacky) with the rest of the outfit. Itchy itchy tights! Shoes – C+This is the one part of the outfit that I don’t really care for. These shoes are just so…yuck, and they feel really cheap. The platform is made of thick foam with the straps being shiny pleather. They open with Velcro for easy closure (which snags like crazy on the tights), but they’re still hard to get on and it’s hard to balance the doll once she’s wearing them. My stepmom says that she did own shoes like this, so I guess they might be historically accurate, but I have very little love for them beyond that. Shoes of disappointment. Good Value?My set was a Christmas gift from my husband in 2017 (who was dismayed that Peggy didn’t have a Christmas dress…he has quite a soft spot for her), so I paid nothing for it. He got it from the secondary market since it was retired, so I don’t know what he paid for it, either. It retailed for $32, which I think is fair given the construction of the set and the pieces it comes with. The shoes are a let-down, but I’m pleased that the outfit had shoes at all. Overall – A-Of all of Julie’s Christmas outfits, this one is definitely my favourite. The shoes drive the overall grade down, but I love every other part of it. When my stepmom and I visited the AG Store in Columbus, she pointed this outfit out specifically as one that she would have worn in the 70s, so it seems to be accurate for its period. It looks great on Peggy and I’m so happy to have it in my collection.
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Post by keeperofthepast on Jun 6, 2023 16:08:23 GMT -5
This outfit screams 1970's. My daughter actually had this prior to having Julie, but sold it later.
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