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From American Girl Playthings, Felicity is a closet pyromaniac.



OMG I finally own this!

I've wanted this clothes press for almost twenty years, and finally got lucky last December. The clothes press is made of very heavy, solid wood that is held together by stapler-like nails. The top and sides of the clothes press are very nice, thick and smooth wood while the back, doors, and bottom are made of a lighter, softer plywood feeling wood. How, may one ask, do I know the wood so well?


This is how my clothes press came home to me. Yeah, I cried. For all it's solidness, the clothes press is not the most hardy piece of furniture ever made. It was not just the wood, but the brass details were damaged in the delivery. However, aside from the bottom the clothes press came together reasonably well with a bottle of wood glue and some hot glue. A liberal partial refund also made the clothes press more palatable.


My clothes press did not come with shelves, which helped in it's price. Without the shelves one can see how roomy the main part of the press is. See, a doll can easily fit into her clothes press but the doors will not close on her. Taking the shelves out may be a possibly for those having trouble making everything fit.


Not the best photo, but one can see how dresses can fit into the press. All my Felicity's clothes (besides the separates) are folded and stacked in the press in two piles. Felicity has a lot of clothes but they barely half filled the press. There is a wrinkle problem, especially for things that get stuck at the bottom and are only worn once or twice a year. However, it is not any worse than clothes stored in a trunk like Kit's. An added bonus is that it is easy to find the wanted dress, unlike a trunk like Samantha. Getting the dress out may be an issue. Even when I finally get around getting her shelves, I still think she will have plenty room to grow. This image also shows the clothes press in relation to Felicity. The clothes press is almost two Felicities. Perhaps Lissie will need a stool?


The drawers are roomy. The bottom holds Felicity's spare shift, night shift and cap, all her other caps and her four pairs of stockings while the top holds her three outfits that are two pieces. If the drawers are too full, clothes may fall out or get stuck and may be difficult to get out. The drawers have pretty brass handles that are functional as well as pretty. They are however kept on the press by tiny nails, which can loosen over the years. I had to hot glue a couple of handles back onto the press.


In my fantasy about this, I always imagined that the top of the clothes press would barely hold Felicity's hats. I was very happy to realize that the top will support the hats and several more things. Due to the overhang of the top, the clothes press does not completely rest against the wall. If would be nice if it was possible to hang something on the top overhang.


The clothes press in the context of my closet. As one can see it dwarfs Kit’s furniture but it is perfect for Felicity’s furniture in matching and scale. Another plus for me is that it looks like in belongs in Felicity’s room, unlike say the doll sized trunks kept by the other dolls.

Pleasant Company promised that the clothes press would be an heirloom to treasure forever. Compared to my 2007 Addy trunk and c 2001-2007 Kit trunk it has aged very well. The brass has not dulled as much as Kit’s and has not nicked as easily as Addy’s. In fact if the shipping incident had not happened I think the clothes press would have been in excellent to new condition. It may take a while to find one in excellent condition on a budget but factor in higher shipping, and I would say go with an experienced seller. I went with a newbie and was very lucky it ended as well as it did. I would highly recommend the Clothes Press as a solid, well-made and historically accurate piece that would make any doll proud to keep her wrinkled clothes in. A+

From Playthings:

Kit’s Trunk
Kit uses her mother’s old trunk for her clothes when she moves up to the attic. It’s covered in burgundy vinyl and trimmed in wood. The top lifts up to reveal a compartment where you can keep your Kit doll, and two drawers with brass handles hold her outfits and accessories.

I think it was around 2007 that the trunk became hingeless. For the first time, I actually went the secondhand market route and got me the hinged trunk even though American Girl.com has a perfectly good one still available.


Kit and her trunk...and Tabby the cat's butt.

The trunk is made out what seems like either light wood or heavy-duty cardboard. The outside is lined with pleather (misspelled fake leather) and brass details. The brass has tarnished over the years, of course, I don't think my trunk was the best kept trunk ever. As someone has pointed out, this was Mother's traveling trunk, it should be lightweight.


The locks are very pretty and look Victorian to me, which would put it correctly in Mother's young adulthood. You can see the pattern of the pleather.


The brass details. They are heavier than the leather and feel cold to the touch. I do think it is real brass.


The trunk seems like it should be a little longer, there seems something short about it. Kit fits in the top tray. You can slip a few accessories around her, not a lot but enough to keep her from sliding around. If the hats are stacked together, there will be more room for other accessories.


I was curious for a long time how much this trunk would hold. The tray holds my Kit's ridiculously large shoe collection along with her hats, socks/stockings, hair things and a couple of other things.


The trunk's opening falls down to show two large drawers. I don't know how historically correct it is but it is nice. My Kit has a lot of clothes and her wardrobe is a bit of a tight fit in my drawers.


It's a bit tight in my closet so Kit's washday set has to go on top of the trunk. The trunk is wide/long enough to display somethings if you are short on floor. Kit could fit up there as well.

In all, I wish that the trunk had a bit more things. I do however love the brass details and the attempt made to make it look like a real trunk. The fact that is the only trunk mentioned in the books is an added bonus. Right now hinged trunks seem to go on the low side on Ebay. My very played with trunk was under a $100 shipped. Even though it seems like it went though the ringer (or the crayon box) the trunk has survived. Kit's trunk is a well made, sturdy piece of storage. A

I got this set from Ebay in 2009. It was not NIB and seemed in semi-played condition from the mid 1990s.



The bedwarmer is a historically correct reproduction that could range for the 17th to 19th century. It is made out of wood and metal. It is light and has a little hook so if able, it can hang from a wall. However, it is kind of hard for Felicity to hold it.


The bedwarmer opens so Felicity can store warm rocks or something. The problem is that the bedwamer opens way too easy. Also, over time it seems like the screws attacking the metal to the wood loosen.


The candle and candle holder are very detailed and realistic. The candle holder is metal, because mine has dulled over the years. It is too heavy for Felicity to hold but looks like it was made from an original. It is made to catch wax and has a cute heart detail that would appeal to a nine-year-old. The candle does not seem to be made out of wax, perhaps plastic. It is not bendable but looks like it has been used, with wax dipping. The "wick" also looks like it has been burning for a while.


The The Little Pretty Pocket Book has been reproduced in full (I think). It starts at the title page and introduction and goes though the alphabet. It's a cute little children's book with Purtian-like verses ("If proferous, of Pride beware; Changes of Fortune frequent are.") The book even has period appropriate printing, spelling and grammar. The book itself is made with brown leather like material and can be fit with much work and little comfort in Felicity's pocket.

An example page.

This nighttime accessories is one of the Felicity's best PM sets. It is historically correct and can be used for other time periods and very pretty to display. It is a little high maintenance, with the bed warmer and candle holder prone to tarnishing. Keep in mind that it may not age perfectly well even if it is NIB. However, Felicity probably did not have brand new things herself. I do believe that it is worth the pretty Ebay penny and is needed in any Felicity bedchamber. A+


The original with the replacement. Enough said.

In the years before Jell-O (1920sish) gelatin was a great show off food. In order to get gelatin, you need to eat a lot of meat, and for a long time, only wealthy people could eat a lot of meat. For someone to have a lot of gelatin molds showed that you had money.

Cakes were a common treat, the pyramid in the treats set were a typical wedding decoration. Those pyramids could get pretty high. I pity the kid who tried to snake a cake from the bottom.

American Girl.com sales:




Birthday from-me-to-me 2008:

In all it's NIB glory:

Yeah, there is a not a speck of wood and metal in sight. It's all plastic. But hey, plastic makes American Girl go 'round.


The centerpiece of the set is a washer. American Girl made the Washmore washer prettier than the real-life samples that I have seen. The body is cream colored with red specks and the "metal" stuff is steal gray. The rollers on the rinser is rubbery-feeling and American Girl added the brand "Washmore" on the front.

The washer is Kit-size. Kit's hand rest on the rinse handle. An added bonus is that the rollers really work and can push the hankie though.

The washer can hold a couple of dresses and a couple of socks (but where does missing socks go? ) for a real washing experience.

Inside the washer. The middle thingy really moves and there is a small hole that drains out pretend wash water.
Kit, her oven, her desk and her washer to show size.



The set comes with an apron. It is a rose-type shade of pink that buttons with real tiny buttons.

Flower details, cute, but not for my Kit.



By Kit's time, irons would had been electric and temperature controlled. It looks kinda like the way irons should had been. It is made of light, shinny plastic with a black handle made to fit Kit's hand. I guess unfortunately all girls need to iron.


The hankies are nice, big, screen painted in popular Depression area styles. They are nice for displaying the washday set with one being ironed and one going though the rinser. They are bigger than Kit's meet hankie and I can see them being used for other play ideas.


The ironing board is a basic boar with a removable cloth top which happens to be a dust magnet. It goes to about Kit's waist, the help her look cute ironing. It is a pain that it will not fold up and makes storing a pain.

The bottom, with legs that will not fold up.


The wash basket is typical Hobby Lobby issue, but it can hold a couple of folded Kit dresses. The soap box is standered issue American Girl product. It is made of cardboard that does not open and is very light. It is not meant for hard play but looks likes for display and play acting.

I could not find a picture of the folding rack. I'm not too found of it but it is useful. It can fold out and hold a few things. Not wonderful but not bad either.

For display value I give it a B+. All piece is correct for Kit's period and Kit can been show doing all the washing activities. If one could forgive the plastciness of everything, one can kind the nice details in the washer, soap box and iron. Everything besides the board can be store in the box, but the set looks too nice to hide in a box.

I have not been a kid for a while but I would guess a play value of a A-. It probably depends on the kid, but if you have a girl that likes putting her doll to work there are a lot of things that she can do with the set. The washer has moving parts, the iron looks like the real one in her house but historically correct and the basket holds clothes. A little history nerd in the making can have interesting comparing and contrasting between laundry in 1930s to laundry today. Isn't that what American Girl is all about?

Grace is a cute little basset hound. She is made out of fabric with plastic eyes and a sculpted face. She has big floppy ears a long body and short little legs. She looks like a dog that would be clumsy.


Grace has a very sweet/sad face, you can see why Kit falls in love with her.


Grace with my other dogs. While the others have a more neutral expression Grace has more look in her face. She is however much shorter than the other two.


Grace's body with the other dogs. She does look like a basset hound. However, she is so tiny. Shouldn't a full grown basset hound be bigger? Would the pattern make a more more to scale dog cost that much more?

Grace was a needed part to Kit's collection, and I really do like her. She grows on you. She looks cute with Kit and even doll Kit seems like she really loves her dog. If only she was full sized but since she is not she gets a B from me.

Christmas '09



The coat looks like your basic man's dress coat. It is a medium shade of gray with lighter flakes mixed in. The fabric is probably not wool, but it is not fleece. I peg the fabric as imitation wool tweed.


Like all other winter coats, this is not going to keep a doll warm. As well, the coat is not lined.


Coat has a nifty collar that makes Kit look sophisticated. There is enough of a neckline to push a scarf though to make the outfit even better (and warmer).


Cuff can be worn up or down. The sleeves are slightly tight on my older Kit.


American Girl is not even trying to cover up these fake pockets. Personally, I think $24 makes real pockets worth while.


The worst thing about this coat is the buttons. They are tiny little suckers, almost as small as the buttons from Kit's birthday dress. Given that these are coat buttons, not to mention made for men, shouldn't they be just a little bit bigger? This makes it hard to button the coat and not made for tiny hands.



Kit in the North Texas Christmas storm '09. The coat is roomy enough to fit well enough Kit in a simple dress, her Christmas and newer school dresses may be pushing it a little. The belt is a little hard to get on or off, which along with the buttons makes me recommend limited this to older kids. Given the coat's importance in Kit's winter story, and the fact that she does look warm in the outfit (not that the doll herself is warm) I think it earns an A-.

What I got inexchangee for that "I Like Your Style" outfit and book in 2006.


The coat is a very nice fall/spring coat. It is made of a textured denin fabric. It does not feel like a par of jeans, but a flannel feel. The fabric has body, but it is not very thick and will not keep the doll warm on a very cold day.

The color is a shade of purple called mauve, which is kind of like a pinkish shade of lavender. History nerds know that mauve was a very hip color in the early 1900s, and Empress Alexander of Russia's favorite color. It is a very nice color that American Girl needs to use more of.

The lace has a pretty flower pattern.




The hat is a shade of buttercup yellow. The hat is made out of classic American Girl polyester-type fabric. Not Victorian. Anyway, the hat is very pretty deck out in the same lace and ribbon as with the coat.

The hat has an off fit. It seems like it is too big for Samantha but it is tight fit on her head.

The goodies add to the outfit. The binoculars are basically the same that Kit has in her Hobo kit, except Samantha's are painted black with a gold trim. Samantha had hold her binoculars in an akward poise that only an American Girl can do.


The cards are a Victorian-based illustrations with basic details about the bird. The cards are printed on card stock. A doll can hold the cards, but it would be nice if she had a pocket in her coat while she goes bird watching.


Hey, to be honest, I'm glad that I finally have an outfit that goes for a pretty penny on Ebay. Out of the three outside outfits produced in 2006 this is the best in terms of quality and looks. The jacket looks nice with several of Samantha's outfits (my personal favorite is the Talent Show dress) and looks nice outside and in no matter the weather. A

Edited to fix some of the funky misspellings.

Black riding boots are the surplus cousin of the boots from any of the many ridding outfits that American Girl has made in the last decade. You can pick a pair up at any Place or B&B for $14.


Hey, they come with a shoebox because we all know that everything else American Girl makes does not come in boxes too!

Yes, $14 is HALF the cost of the average American Girl outfit and the boots are really nothing too exiciting (it is no Heelys). The boots are made of pleather, or however one spells fake stiff leather. The sole is very strudy and thick and as an added bonus, instead of Velcro the boots close with a oversized zipper. The inside of the boot is white to avoid the risk of stainage.


I have to admit I brought for a silly reason. I wanted Felicity to have something to wear with her ridding outfit since I'm 90% sure that she would not had worn her everyday black shoes with such a fancy outfit. However, I'm sure her boots would not had been out of fake leather with a plasitc zipper but it was close enough.

On the doll:


For those of you with the same idea.


Perhaps the most annoying thing about these boots is that it is hard to get them off. The zipper refused to go past the doll's heel, making getting her foot out of the boot a long and possible limb displacement threat processes. Since the pleather won't bend, it left little markes all over the brand new boot. If these are for a child, forgive her if you see her yanking a leg out of a boot. For $14, a boot should fit the doll's feet. C

From American Girl.com.




Something that actually accidentally happened to end up in my bag at a store. I thought I was getting an outfit but decided to keep this.


The pizza and box is basically like any other dolly food one may find at some random toy aisle. The box is off-white cardboard with a generic pizza printing. The box is hard to keep closed. One cool thing is that there is a circular insert much like real pizza boxes.

Box closed:


Box opened:


The pizza:

There are six slices of pizza for the party. The pizza is made of a rubbery plastic with molded sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Not very realistic but it does fit in a doll's hand.


I was surprised on how detail the 300 Wishes Game is, almost an exact replica of the real thing.


Box opens up. Blame the camera.


There are four little hard cases with five cards each. Each card tells of a "wish" a young girl may have. Some girl that is for I had little desire to "Live on a horse ranch" or "See Koalas on a trip to Australia."

The game has three problems. First, it is very hard to keep all the little pieces together. The box does not hold the cases well, and the cases can not keep the cards. Pieces are going to go missing quickly. Second, I dare anyone to explain this game to me.


Yeah for awesome dolly books! This one is a full sized edition of the American classic Snooze-a-Palooza! This is great for doll book selves or beds.


A random page.


The lemonade is exactly what you may find in the sweet treats set. The glass are small but fit in the dolls hands. I know that pink lemonade is a staple in a girls diet but I would had preferred soda cans.

For $24, you do get a lot out of you money. The pizza and the lemonade could had been better, but the game and book make up. It fits well into real girls' lives and looks neat for a modern doll's room. The only caution is that one should not buy this set for a girl younger than 8 or one that loses things easily. That is unless you like tiny cards in your vacuum.

A

During the final months of the Samantha era I bought a second set for one of my new dolls. I noticed that there are significant differences in the last two years.


The 2008 version is the one with the darker pencil box, the 2006 version has the lighter box.


The 2008 book holder is made out of darker red leather with shinier brass buckles. The leather is also sturdier and holds it's shape better than the 2006 model. The little wood is lighter and seems more study. Regardless, it is harder keeping the supplies in the strap.


You really can't tell, but the 2008 books are lighter than 2006 (ie colors are slightly more defined). The main difference is that the trusted Pleasant Company logo has been removed.


The main difference is the pencil box. 2006 box is made out of thin, cheep stained wood. It lid is so think it feels like it was made to be broken. The lid also easily slides open and close and stores the pencils and pen well. 2008 is made out of thin plastic (I think). The box is lighter and of course darker. The lid is more tightly on the box and the pencils and pen are a tight fit.

The changes do not warrant crying Mattel fowl and as well, I'm glad I got a second set instead of tracking down an Ebay price.

Hey, it's NEW




Not to be confused with this:



In sweet life:



The menorah is made of heavy metal. It looks like the basic classic menorah. This is my first menorah but I'm assuming that it does not have a high tarnish rate. The candles are made of flexible plastic and can come out of the menorah, which is a tight fit. If this is for a kid I would recommended gluing the candles in the menorah because once they are out I'm assuming that they will be lost. They kind of look more like birthday candles than religious candles to me.


In scale with a doll. She can't hold it but it looks nice next to her. I'm not positive it is correct scale for "real life."


The "improvement" to this set is the girlify (yeah, made up a word!) the accessories and add a box and bag. The velour bag is big enough to store the plastic gelt and the dreidel. Plus it gathers up closed and looks pretty for the doll to hold. But, why does American Girl have to label everything? To add in the storage possibles, the bag fits into the box!
The gelt are right size and made of light plastic one side shows the Star of David and the other is menorah. It is light and makes a great dreidel game.


Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of cheep wood. I guess the powers to be decreed that girls needed a light blue dreidel. The best part is that the doll can hold her dreidel!

The box is made of thick cardboard with heavy paper covering. But it is too little for a cool present and too big for this girls present-

WHY American Girl WHY replace the classic, wonderful Star of David necklace for this? But hey it has beads so that makes it better.

The bracelet fits well and it is pretty and girly. It also seems to stay on the doll well, which is good because my new dolls is keeping this thing on. The picture is bad, I know.

The doll with everything.


To be frank, I probably would not had put this in my B&B bag unless I read this on AG's website:
Please Note:
This item is only available online and in American Girl retail stores while supplies last
I've been "almost" buying this set for about four years now. I figured that it was now or maybe never.

Compared to the original set, I kind of wish that they kept the original set. American Girl did seem like they tired to top the last one for the everything is relatively well made. I would had preferred a necklace to a bracelet. I would not recommended this to a small kid. To many things to be lost and the bracelet would not be made for small hands. I do love how well the set can be store and it looks pretty on display every winter. B

Oh, oh methinks this set is retired, better get myself over to Playthings.

Backpack Set for Dolls
The perfect pack for American Girls on the go! Nylon backpack has zippered pouches to store everything from her Math Smarts book to her planner. Includes a cell phone with a clock that works, plus a pretend apple.
$26 GSBP

Hark! Glorious day!

All right, that is out of my system so I'll continue.



First, the backpack, very realistic, I think I had one like it for a few years in high school. It is large, roomy and made with canvas-like material. The backpack has a main compartment, two medium-sized pockets, a dinky little pocket, two mesh side spaces and a cell phone case. I could fit my Saffy's laptop, her schoolbooks, a couple of American Girl books and a few odds and ends in this thing. However, there is one complaint. The two front pockets do not hold as much as the real thing. Saffy keeps her lunch money, glasses and a stray pencil in there but nothing else. What use is a pocket with no room?


I received my own cell phone around the time I bought this set in 2006 (yes, I am that uncool). They look identical, right? No! I will frankly never understand American Girl's obsession with putting clocks in things and putting their name on everything. I really wish they would had not wasted that time and tried to make this cell phone more realistic. You really can not look at the clock, it is too hard to keep the cell phone open.


The apple is a nod to all of us who had mothers who insisted that we keep extra food in case we either got stranded on an island or the bus was late. It is the basic American Girl apple, tiny, semi-realistic and rubbery. It looks nice and fits well with the mess pocket.


BOOKS! Excuse me while I happy dance. There could be a multitude of things wrong with this set and the books would make me happy. So your doll does well in school she has an American Girl issued planer and Math Smarts book. I've always applauded American Girl's refusal to bow down to the Barbie "math is hard" mentality and I love the fact the doll has a little math helper guide.

Like all American Girl books, you can read them. I did read them on a long car ride and both seem to be abridged well. It would had been nice however if American Girl would had added a text book or maybe a History Mystery paperback instead of wasting time on the cell phone.


Saffy read for school, or to look for her shoes. What ever comes first.
My "funny" comments aside this is a great school set. Aside from the cell phone great attention for realism was taken and your doll will be ready for school. I can see great play value for girls playing school and great display for the collector. I just wish and American Girl in the fall adds a new school set equal to this one. Hopefully they keep the math is good mentality. Final grade A.

I wanted to post some pictures of the desk as it could work "in use."
American Girl catalog has a couple of nice pictures of the typewriter and school supplies with the desk but this will have to do.

Mine:


I wanted to desk to represent a bookish girl who happens to wear perfectly white dresses. (Picture refuses to resize itself.)


First of all, as no one at American Girl ever employed the concept of scale? The poor girl towers over her little desk.

One could argue that Kit received a child-sized desk back when she was seven or eight yet that does not explain this:

What is the point with cubbies if they don't hold anything? Real roll top desk can hold papers, books and supplies in their cubbies, not a few bits and pieces.


The redeeming quality is the drawers. The top drawer holds the pencil box from Samantha's school supplies and Kit's pencil case.


Regardless of the lack of cubbie space the desk top does hold a fair amount of books, a typewriter and a few other things.


The top holds the girl's lamp, camera, paper case and inkwell in case Felicity needs to sign something.

My doll's desk holds supplies that come from Kit's Hobo, school, camera, typewriter and nighttime accessories, Samantha's school supplies and a few odds and ends that I thought looked cute.

When I bought this desk, I was expected to be disappointed in the scale. However, I was pleasantly surprised on how much stuff the desk could hold. It could be better but its qualities outweighing the scale issue. I think it passed as the childhood desk of a budding writer and therefore it deserves another A.