School Outfit

The box it came in, for no reason than I really like the boxes and getting pictures of them. Uh...yeah...it's a box. Although it's one of the newer boxes, I noticed that next to my other box I got in the same order, the bands on it are burgundy rather than pink (can't see due to my flash). Got a little rumpled in transit, but still a good box. B+ ^_~

Anyway, on to the actual review!



The pamphlet. For those who have never seen a historical outfit pamphlet (*cough*), it includes information on how the accessories and outfit pictured on it work into the story that it comes from. Good for those of you who look at certain items and go "What did that have to do with so-and-so's story?".



The outfit in the box. It wasn't packed as nicely a I would have liked. The shoes rattling around in there were a mess just waiting to happen. Oh well. Can't win'em all.



Here's the outfit as one solid piece, as it's assembled in the box. I was surprised to discover that the blue isn't as bright as AG's pics make it out to be. It's actually a very nice, sort of cornflower blue color that I liked a lot more than the one I thought they used.



Here is just the blouse (sorry the pic is so dark and blurry). The collar, I've found, doesn't like to stay down without some effort, but I like the trim on the sleeves. I can see this shirt showing up a lot in mixing and matching, maybe with a pair of light blue jeans. A-.



The jumper portion. I'm not sure I like the pleats (they can't seem to decide where they don't want to hold and where all they want to do is hold), but as I said earlier, I liked the color more when I actually saw it in person, and the flowers on it aren't as jarring as I thought they would be, due in part to the color scheme. My main problem is that it rides a little too low for my tastes, but I knew that when I bought it from the pics of Kit in it.



I didn't know, however, that the belt was a separate piece from the jumper. It actually has holes in it to adjust it, but they're just button holed (no grommets) and the buckle is made of white plastic, not painted metal. That seems kind of disappointing and cheap.

Overall, a B for the jumper. I'm not exactly enthusiastic about it, and the belt being so cheap is what kept it from earning the extra "+".



The knee socks. Mine didn't fray like Keri noted, however, my long fingernails snagged on them a little. My bad, though. Should have trimmed my nails and all. Anyway, I like the slight ribbing on them, that makes them seem nicer and more authentic than my OG knee socks. Also, they are thicker, so you can't see the flesh tone under them, like you can with the OG ones. I happen to love knee socks, though, so I could be biased here (they're one of the reasons I wanted the outfit). A



The oxfords. These are just adorable. The lighter portions are little more on the orange side than I would like, but they're very well-made and actually fit on PM feet, so maybe I lucked out on the tightness issue that was being complained about (I did have some trouble keeping the tongues out while slipping them on, but that's it). A



The comb. I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I usually don't care for hair accessories and thought for sure it would end up thrown into my doll stuff drawer, but I actually found it pretty nifty and easy to use, no instructions necessary (yay, I have common sense!). With long hair (you'll see in a second) I found I had to do something a little different than they do with Kit, but the style is still very pretty. A+

I originally got the outfit for Mary, and she did look lovely in it (she always does, though), but other than the comb slipping a little, something didn't look or feel right about it, and I couldn't put my finger on it at first. Finally, the answer dawned on me, and it was very surprising.

It's actually better on Liz! My main complaint about the outfit being in Kit's collection was that it seemed too girlie for a tomboy like her, but Liz, Tomboy to end all Tomboys, looks great in it, and it doesn't seem to offend her anti-girlie sensibilities. So for those of you who had the same reservations for the same reason, now you know that it does work as a dress for a tomboy, if a tomboy has to wear a dress at all.



What I did with the comb in her hair. It doesn't look too good from the back and I plan to fix it, but from the front the effect is really lovely.

Overall, I give this outfit an A-, more for how much I love the extras than the outfit itself, but also because it's a good dress for tomboys and a very nice color.