Post by mamared on Mar 27, 2018 13:20:10 GMT -5
From the card that came with this outfit: “The colorful pattern on the skirt and head wrap is inspired by the kente cloth from western Africa. Known as the “cloth of kings,” kente was once worn only by African royalty. Today, many Africans wear kente cloth on special occasions, and African Americans often wear it to honor their heritage. Young dancers enjoy wearing kente cloth, too. Its bold colors and dazzling designs make it perfect for performances!”
Here’s a picture of the outfit. First from the card that came with it and then in real life:
I have mixed feelings about this outfit; there’s some good, some bad, and as others have mentioned, some ridiculous (namely, that this is part of Addy’s collection).
The best part of the outfit are the pieces that are made of cloth. The black leotard seems very well made and is a nice, stretchy, heavy leotard fabric. It is easy to get on and off. The scoop in the back dips lower than the scoop neck in the front, and overall it looks and feels just like a miniature version of a real dance leotard.
The skirt is also well made. When my daughter did African dance in real life, this piece was called a lapa and was essentially a long cloth with two of the corners tied. AG simplified this and made it more like a wrap skirt, with small pieces extending from the corners, making it really easy for even young children to tie. There’s also a bit of elastic at the waist in the back, and AG added fringe to the edges (which I don’t think is authentic but it does help the skirt look more “closed” where it meets than it might otherwise). Here’s the skirt all laid out:
The headband is also a nice piece. It’s almost 1.75 inches wide at its widest, and it has a nice sturdy elastic strap connecting the two sides, so it can do a great job of holding hair back. The fabric matches the skirt and is really pretty.
Those are the best parts of the outfit, and I think they’re pretty appealing in a strictly modern sense, if you’re not thinking that it really has anything to do with Addy.
The worst part of the outfit from my perspective is the jewelry, particularly the shell jewelry. The outfit comes with three pieces of woven black fabric, each about 1/4 inch wide and a few inches long. I don’t know what the black fabric is, but it feels like a heavy nylon, similar to what pet leashes are made of, and there are cowrie shells glued along each of them. Two of these pieces have Velcro on the ends and are meant to wrap around the doll’s ankle and neck. The third has a short chain and clasp, and I think is supposed to be a matching bracelet for a girl. They’re not very well made, and shells fell off each of them the first time I took them out of the package. This might have bothered me if I actually liked the jewelry, but I thought it looked awkward and uncomfortable anyway. There is also a very lightweight gold-colored cuff bracelet for the doll, and this piece isn’t so bad, although I’m not sure how durable it will be in the long run. It feels as though it might break easily.
Overall, my feeling is that this outfit’s connection to Addy is weak at best. Considering it solely on the basis of a modern dance outfit, I would give the cloth pieces an A or A- (not sure whether to give credit to AG for making it simpler or take away for lack of authenticity), and the jewelry a generous D.
Here’s a picture of the outfit. First from the card that came with it and then in real life:
I have mixed feelings about this outfit; there’s some good, some bad, and as others have mentioned, some ridiculous (namely, that this is part of Addy’s collection).
The best part of the outfit are the pieces that are made of cloth. The black leotard seems very well made and is a nice, stretchy, heavy leotard fabric. It is easy to get on and off. The scoop in the back dips lower than the scoop neck in the front, and overall it looks and feels just like a miniature version of a real dance leotard.
The skirt is also well made. When my daughter did African dance in real life, this piece was called a lapa and was essentially a long cloth with two of the corners tied. AG simplified this and made it more like a wrap skirt, with small pieces extending from the corners, making it really easy for even young children to tie. There’s also a bit of elastic at the waist in the back, and AG added fringe to the edges (which I don’t think is authentic but it does help the skirt look more “closed” where it meets than it might otherwise). Here’s the skirt all laid out:
The headband is also a nice piece. It’s almost 1.75 inches wide at its widest, and it has a nice sturdy elastic strap connecting the two sides, so it can do a great job of holding hair back. The fabric matches the skirt and is really pretty.
Those are the best parts of the outfit, and I think they’re pretty appealing in a strictly modern sense, if you’re not thinking that it really has anything to do with Addy.
The worst part of the outfit from my perspective is the jewelry, particularly the shell jewelry. The outfit comes with three pieces of woven black fabric, each about 1/4 inch wide and a few inches long. I don’t know what the black fabric is, but it feels like a heavy nylon, similar to what pet leashes are made of, and there are cowrie shells glued along each of them. Two of these pieces have Velcro on the ends and are meant to wrap around the doll’s ankle and neck. The third has a short chain and clasp, and I think is supposed to be a matching bracelet for a girl. They’re not very well made, and shells fell off each of them the first time I took them out of the package. This might have bothered me if I actually liked the jewelry, but I thought it looked awkward and uncomfortable anyway. There is also a very lightweight gold-colored cuff bracelet for the doll, and this piece isn’t so bad, although I’m not sure how durable it will be in the long run. It feels as though it might break easily.
Overall, my feeling is that this outfit’s connection to Addy is weak at best. Considering it solely on the basis of a modern dance outfit, I would give the cloth pieces an A or A- (not sure whether to give credit to AG for making it simpler or take away for lack of authenticity), and the jewelry a generous D.