Holiday Accessories (2014)
Oct 16, 2014 11:52:55 GMT -5
Post by Jamirae on Oct 16, 2014 11:52:55 GMT -5
I hesitated to start this because I don't have pictures. Greenchile may help me in this regard this month (hint, hint Colette?). But till then, this will just be a written narrative. I did not buy last year's set at all though I got the shrug from someone who did not want it, and the year before, the black velvet jacket, went for a pittance of $9, it was so over stocked. Got it on sale, bought a couple of them, love it and wonder why it didn't sell well.
This year the Holiday Accessories are comprised of a faux fur vest in a black, dark char-gray( yes, black, couldn't get it to show up navy in any light and brushing against the nap makes it true black in color). The vest is short, right to the doll's waist line but not as short as bolero or cropped in length. It has no front closures and is cut to show a curved v neck line. It is lined in black. It has capped sleeves attached in the same fabric that the deep blue Happy Holiday Dress has. I thought this would severely limit the vest to that dress, but those sleeves can very easily just be folded in so that they do not show and the vest be used without that bit showing. So those cap sleeves do not limit you to that dress. I'm not into these faux fur vests, but they are the style with the young girls. This is a very nice one and versatile. I daresay it could be worn with the other holiday dress, the Silver Shimmer dress as well as the Happy Holiday one. Just tuck in the cap sleeves.
The bracelet is a chunky look one. I'm sure you can find something similar or make one if you are into the jewelry crafting, but it is bigger in circumferance than Dollar Shop stretch rings, and is a very notable piece IMO. All "diamond" and large scale. The candy box has a shiny red top with "* American Girl" in gold on it and gold ribbon and bow with a gold bottom. Nice contrast to the two holiday dresses and will match the Holiday Special gown from what I have gathered. The "chocolates" are glued to the box so no taking a piece or even taking out the whole batch from the box. Suits me just fine, but those who like separate pieces, do take note.
The ornament is very sturdy. It's not just a glass ornament. It's made of heavy duty plastic, and the two halves of the ball are clearly glued together and the line is unattractively obvious. IMO it detracts from the prettiness of the ornament, but you are not likely to get breakage, which is probably the reason why this is done.. Glitter is loose inside the ball iwth a snowflake and some glitter painted on it. Other than the glitter and the bow, it's all plastic including the silver "stem" . Ordinary dark blue ribbon in a bow with 2014 American Girl printed on the ribbon.Anyone crafty can do a lot better than this, but probably not without sacrificing child safety. That ornament is sealed, glued tight. It would take a lot to break it. I was disappointed because I wanted something daintier and that glue line is just too "there" for me.
It's $32, with $2 for it to be in a gift box. I got mine without that extra. I would have likely waited till after the holidays to have bought it in hopes of a price reduction, but with a $10 off $100 coupon and a discounted gift card, I bought this and the matching holiday dress along with Bitty's Teal Tidings dress right at release this year, and am going to really enjoy them I think the accessory set is priced right given the cost of that black velvet jacket in 2012 that only had a plastic Nutcracker, a watch and paper tickets and was also priced at $32. The ornament is far nicer than the felt do-dads from last year's accessories that were priced at $28, candy box is much nicer than that wrapped gift and the vest is far more usable, even with jeans. I think $30 would have been a better price point. I give it an A- due to the poor workmanship of that ornament that could have been a pretty heirloom piece even made of plastic but looks more like a gumball container.
This year the Holiday Accessories are comprised of a faux fur vest in a black, dark char-gray( yes, black, couldn't get it to show up navy in any light and brushing against the nap makes it true black in color). The vest is short, right to the doll's waist line but not as short as bolero or cropped in length. It has no front closures and is cut to show a curved v neck line. It is lined in black. It has capped sleeves attached in the same fabric that the deep blue Happy Holiday Dress has. I thought this would severely limit the vest to that dress, but those sleeves can very easily just be folded in so that they do not show and the vest be used without that bit showing. So those cap sleeves do not limit you to that dress. I'm not into these faux fur vests, but they are the style with the young girls. This is a very nice one and versatile. I daresay it could be worn with the other holiday dress, the Silver Shimmer dress as well as the Happy Holiday one. Just tuck in the cap sleeves.
The bracelet is a chunky look one. I'm sure you can find something similar or make one if you are into the jewelry crafting, but it is bigger in circumferance than Dollar Shop stretch rings, and is a very notable piece IMO. All "diamond" and large scale. The candy box has a shiny red top with "* American Girl" in gold on it and gold ribbon and bow with a gold bottom. Nice contrast to the two holiday dresses and will match the Holiday Special gown from what I have gathered. The "chocolates" are glued to the box so no taking a piece or even taking out the whole batch from the box. Suits me just fine, but those who like separate pieces, do take note.
The ornament is very sturdy. It's not just a glass ornament. It's made of heavy duty plastic, and the two halves of the ball are clearly glued together and the line is unattractively obvious. IMO it detracts from the prettiness of the ornament, but you are not likely to get breakage, which is probably the reason why this is done.. Glitter is loose inside the ball iwth a snowflake and some glitter painted on it. Other than the glitter and the bow, it's all plastic including the silver "stem" . Ordinary dark blue ribbon in a bow with 2014 American Girl printed on the ribbon.Anyone crafty can do a lot better than this, but probably not without sacrificing child safety. That ornament is sealed, glued tight. It would take a lot to break it. I was disappointed because I wanted something daintier and that glue line is just too "there" for me.
It's $32, with $2 for it to be in a gift box. I got mine without that extra. I would have likely waited till after the holidays to have bought it in hopes of a price reduction, but with a $10 off $100 coupon and a discounted gift card, I bought this and the matching holiday dress along with Bitty's Teal Tidings dress right at release this year, and am going to really enjoy them I think the accessory set is priced right given the cost of that black velvet jacket in 2012 that only had a plastic Nutcracker, a watch and paper tickets and was also priced at $32. The ornament is far nicer than the felt do-dads from last year's accessories that were priced at $28, candy box is much nicer than that wrapped gift and the vest is far more usable, even with jeans. I think $30 would have been a better price point. I give it an A- due to the poor workmanship of that ornament that could have been a pretty heirloom piece even made of plastic but looks more like a gumball container.
