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Lovely velvet/velour (?) dress, matching shoes, tights, and white pleathery coat with faux fur trim.

I think this is the loveliest of the holiday outfits, though the coat really isn't my style at all. I like the classic silhouette of the dress, with the slight bell sleeves, the empire-esque waist, and A-line skirt.

The shoes are lovely and not too overdone. Like many other holiday shoes, they don't lend themselves easily to other outfits. Unfortunately, they are of the sort that tends to fall off easily- and be slightly frustrating when balancing the doll to stand upright.

Overall, its shortcomings are minor- and outweighed by the general smartness of the outfit.

This is a two-piece set of PJs (top/bottom) with a pair of slippers. The PJs themselves are made of something synthetic. They're dark blue with a lighter bluey paisley pattern.

The frogs that close the jacket are made of elastic and actually work. They might pose some difficulty for little fingers, but my only fear was that I might unravel the knots. I'm not sure if said fear is unfounded, but I'm loathe to try to unravel them to find out.

The slippers are nice, with the clear plastic band to hold them on. They work quite well, actually. My doll is fully able to stand while wearing them (something you can't say of the horrible poufy slippers of the star pjs and the previous, "Asian-style" Snowflake PJs).

The included book is particularly ridiculous. It's a kind of Hannah Montana story, blah. Best if tossed in bin straight off.

Fit is fine on Mattel dolls.
Overall Grade: A for Outfit. No + due to particularly awful book, even when compared to other JLY books.

Your American Girl can‘t wait to twirl across the stage in her white swan costume with a matching headpiece, white tights, and satin toe shoes. So she won’t miss a step, help her practice in her black leotard, pink tights, and ballet slippers. Includes a mini program to the ballet Swan Lake.

* * *

This outfit is really darling. I only have pictures of dolls wearing the Swan Lake outfit, but I can take some later of the practice outfit. The description doesn't specify it, but the swan costume is actually three pieces- the two wings snap onto the tutu proper.

Pros:
I love that this outfit actually goes with a particular ballet- Swan Lake. The more recent outfits, while nice, aren't particular to a production.

Unlike most of the 2-in-1 sets, this outfit actually includes enough pieces for two *complete* separate outfits. You get two leotards, two pairs of tights, and two pairs of shoes!

The Swan Lake performance outfit is quite accurate to most costumes for that ballet- and the practice outfit is common to many ballet schools, unlike the other practice outfits, which use pink leotards.

The swan costume uses delicate faux-pearl beadwork to emphasize the headpiece, wings, collar, and cuffs. There are several layers of tulle forming the tutu.

Cons:
The white tutu uses velcro, which can snag the tights easily if not used with the utmost care.

Both ribbons on the pointe shoes are the same length, making it difficult to tie them off without leaving one long tail hanging, even if you tuck the ends under.

The headpiece to the swan costume is a really odd size. I don't know if I just got a bum headband, but mine is too small to be worn as a headband- and too large to wear just around a bun. The feathers at the apex of the headpiece also stick out in an unsightly horizontal fashion.

Overall? I give this outfit an A-. The idea is really well-executed- two complete outfits, a costume and program specific to a real ballet, and both outfits are actually appropriate to what dancers would wear (although a kid would not be playing the part of a swan).

The minus is earned because of the annoying-as-all-get-out headband and the frustrating ribbons. Luckily, the problem of the ribbons is fixed in later ballet outfits by making them into stretchy loops.

This outfit is lovely. The colors are wintry without being too bold or relevant to any particular religious celebration.

The jacket is soft. As scandia mentioned, it is fuzzy and seems as though it would easily pill. However, unless your doll is rubbing itself heartily against the sofa, that shouldn't be a problem. There is delicate beadwork along the collar/wrap section of the sweater and on the cuffs. The delicacy of the beadwork is really what makes the outfit. I have not had any problems with the beadwork durability, but I would not be surprised if it did not stand up to rough play. The sweater closes with a standard thin, light blue ribbon. I tie mine in a square knot before tying it in a bow, otherwise, the ribbon is too slippery to hold the jacket shut without loosening.

The skirt is two layers, a gauzy silver layer over an ivory satin underskirt. As you can see from the photo, the silver layer is about an inch longer than the underskirt. This may or may not bother you.

The tights are standard issue AG tights. This means- watch out for snags if you bite your fingernails!

The shoes are standard Mary Janes. Nothing to write home about. Unlike scandia, I do not find them useful with other outfits. However, my dolls rarely dress up. They are rather plain; they lack any embellishment.

The outfit comes with six (maybe it's four?) small jaw clips. Do forgive my lack of knowledge of hair thingy terminology. They're clear plastic with white glitter. I've never really liked that style of hair thing. In fact, I haven't even used mine, so if you're lusting after them, drop me a PM.

So, overall? B+ No issues with an outfit, that gives it a solid B. The delicate beadwork bumps it up to a +.

AGT4, or Inky to me, is my favorite doll. She has such a great personality!!

Here are some albums of our travels together.


And here are some of my favorite pictures of her!






_{*mod edit to remove dead image links*}

This doll is stunning. Her hair and eye combo make her look very elegant. I think she looks the most sophisticated of the Today dolls.

My #23 is Mieke! I got her for my birthday last year at AGPC. I love her freckles. Her hair is long enough to style, but short enough to make her look unique. I like the placement of her part.

Here she is:

This outfit is gorgeous. The collar is absolutely hideous. I hate it. I cannot find the words to express my distaste for this ridiculous piece of... fluff. Ew.

The tights are fantastic. I love their texture. The shoes are darling, although all my girls' heels hang off the back. I find the elastic straps reminiscent of the black shoes worn by the children at the party in the NYC Ballet's Nutcracker. The skirt is darling. The black velvet shirt reminds me of an Elvin design- very lovely and perfect for a Lord of the Rings Fan.

A+ for the outfit. F for the ugly collar. Ew!

Price aside, I'd give the hat an A for quality. I wasn't too keen on the pink accents, but it ended up working out well. I've taken this hat out and about on Inky, when we went to a Neko Case concert. It didn't snag her hair at all.

Goo, I'm not sure if the bead is actually glued on. I wonder if yours was a misfit? My bead slides up and down fairly easily, but not so much that it doesn't serve its purpose.

The hat is seriously overpriced. Sadly, collecting AG has given me enough sticker shock that I've kind of accepted the high prices. Ugh. I would pay 8 dollars for the hat, the same as the shoes, but no more. I got it with the Nicki Starter collection, but I hated the ranch outfit so much that I returned it. When I returned it, they gave me the full price on it, even though it had been reduced price when I bought it b/c of the starter deal. So, I effectively got the hat for free.

I think it might be more accurate- almost all the dresses I've seen in paintings are of girls in very pale dresses with different sashes. I'm guessing the accuracy comes from whether or not Felicity was wealthy enough to be wearing a white dress.

I love this dress- it's so lovely. I have to take the shift off the doll to get her to wear it- it shows through oddly at times. When I was little, I thought this was the most gorgeous dress ever.

I love this! I agree with shiniker in that the woven quality of the skirt is great. It looks just like she and her family might have woven it themselves. The belt sets off the outfit rather well.

The edging on the camisa is very pretty.

My only complaint, which doesn't have much to do with the outfit- why does Josefina have to wear short sleeves all the time? I'm a New Mexican and they are pulling your leg if they think a short sleeved camisa w/ a poncho will keep you warm. You need sleeves! Especially that close to Santa Fe.

This is a gorgeous set. The hat is lined and has two leather thongs with tiny feathers on it. The bracelet is mock bone (plastic). You need to untie the leather thong of the bracelet, put it on Kaya, and retie it. This might be difficult for a small child or someone with short fingernails.

The parfleche is very nice but looks kind of fake. It's unfortunate it's not larger, so you could store more of Kaya's things in it.

Grade: A

I agree on the moccasins. I tend to hold Kaya upside down so the fringe is hanging down, and then wrap the ribbons around tightly. I'm assuming Jeanette did something similar. It's very pretty, but I wish the shawl was embroidered.