Ombre Ballet Outfit (2016-2019)
Dec 6, 2019 11:43:10 GMT -5
Post by chernayakoshka on Dec 6, 2019 11:43:10 GMT -5
Leotard – A
This is a lovely turquoise leotard with elastic straps and pink/turquoise flowers and rhinestones sprinkled across the front. The cut across the front is very flattering (especially on a doll with a vinyl chest plate like Odette). The tutu is made of four layers of soft tulle. The bottom two layers are light turquoise, the middle one is darker, and the top layer has sparkles. I can’t speak to how authentic this is as a ballet outfit, but it looks very nice on a doll. I love that it’s turquoise instead of the cliché pink.
I have to take a point away for the use of snagging Velcro, though. I could see the satin getting very snagged if one wasn’t careful.
Front
Back
Tights – A+
Very standard AG tights. They’re a light shade of turquoise that complement the leotard. They’re suitably thick and fit 19” Odette very well (and I'm sure they'd do even better on an 18" doll). They might have some mix and match potential if you’re interested in going that route.
Shoes – A+
I’ll start by saying that I’ve never done ballet and know absolutely nothing about ballet shoes. With that perspective in mind, I really like these. They look vaguely like they’re trying to imitate pointe shoes and are made of a lovely turquoise satin. The straps are made of elastic and cross over once before “tying” around the leg. They go midway up the leg and are very easy to slide on over the tights.
Headband – A+
This is a stretchy velour sort of material with sparkly blue fabric on one side. The sparkly part is surprisingly soft. The flower is a nice accent to tie it in with the leotard. Instead of being a normal headband, it goes around the whole head, sitting securely, I imagine, during play. I really like this piece.
I also love that it doesn’t have one of those big honking tags attached to it.
Program and Ticket – B
These are fine. The program is a very standard piece of heavy gloss paper folded in half with “Dance Recital 2016” (is this outfit really that old?!?!) printed on the front and a list of dances on the inside. The ticket is, well, a ticket? There are several (I haven’t opened the packet they came in) printed on stiff, cardboard-like paper. The construction of both pieces is fine, but I wonder what they really add to the set. I don’t see myself having much use of them for display reasons and I have a hard time imagining kids getting much play value out of them. They feel like they were added just to pad the outfit out.
Good Value?
I paid the full $34 for this and I wish I’d waited – as of December 2019, it’s on sale. It’s not necessarily a bad value – I feel like the ballet outfit itself is substantial and well made – but I do think it’s slightly overpriced for what it is, especially since the only “extras” are the program and tickets, the usefulness of both I call into question.
Overall - A
This is a very pretty ballet outfit. I love that they went with a shade of blue instead of pink or white and the style/cut is very flattering. It looks beautiful on Odette and is very appealing as a dance costume. I think it stands out among AG’s previous ballet offerings and is a worthy addition to my collection. I think it’ll hold up well to play with all pieces staying on the doll, which, while not very important to adult-me, would have mattered to me as a kid.
This is a lovely turquoise leotard with elastic straps and pink/turquoise flowers and rhinestones sprinkled across the front. The cut across the front is very flattering (especially on a doll with a vinyl chest plate like Odette). The tutu is made of four layers of soft tulle. The bottom two layers are light turquoise, the middle one is darker, and the top layer has sparkles. I can’t speak to how authentic this is as a ballet outfit, but it looks very nice on a doll. I love that it’s turquoise instead of the cliché pink.
I have to take a point away for the use of snagging Velcro, though. I could see the satin getting very snagged if one wasn’t careful.
Front
Back
Tights – A+
Very standard AG tights. They’re a light shade of turquoise that complement the leotard. They’re suitably thick and fit 19” Odette very well (and I'm sure they'd do even better on an 18" doll). They might have some mix and match potential if you’re interested in going that route.
Shoes – A+
I’ll start by saying that I’ve never done ballet and know absolutely nothing about ballet shoes. With that perspective in mind, I really like these. They look vaguely like they’re trying to imitate pointe shoes and are made of a lovely turquoise satin. The straps are made of elastic and cross over once before “tying” around the leg. They go midway up the leg and are very easy to slide on over the tights.
Headband – A+
This is a stretchy velour sort of material with sparkly blue fabric on one side. The sparkly part is surprisingly soft. The flower is a nice accent to tie it in with the leotard. Instead of being a normal headband, it goes around the whole head, sitting securely, I imagine, during play. I really like this piece.
I also love that it doesn’t have one of those big honking tags attached to it.
Program and Ticket – B
These are fine. The program is a very standard piece of heavy gloss paper folded in half with “Dance Recital 2016” (is this outfit really that old?!?!) printed on the front and a list of dances on the inside. The ticket is, well, a ticket? There are several (I haven’t opened the packet they came in) printed on stiff, cardboard-like paper. The construction of both pieces is fine, but I wonder what they really add to the set. I don’t see myself having much use of them for display reasons and I have a hard time imagining kids getting much play value out of them. They feel like they were added just to pad the outfit out.
Good Value?
I paid the full $34 for this and I wish I’d waited – as of December 2019, it’s on sale. It’s not necessarily a bad value – I feel like the ballet outfit itself is substantial and well made – but I do think it’s slightly overpriced for what it is, especially since the only “extras” are the program and tickets, the usefulness of both I call into question.
Overall - A
This is a very pretty ballet outfit. I love that they went with a shade of blue instead of pink or white and the style/cut is very flattering. It looks beautiful on Odette and is very appealing as a dance costume. I think it stands out among AG’s previous ballet offerings and is a worthy addition to my collection. I think it’ll hold up well to play with all pieces staying on the doll, which, while not very important to adult-me, would have mattered to me as a kid.