Addy Doll - 35th Anniversary Edition

[mamared]

This Special Edition, 35th Anniversary Collection was released on May 4th, 2021. It’s a throwback to the original version that came out in 1993 - not exactly the same, but with a similar appearance, outfit, and accessories, adding to the nostalgia.

Here’s a photo from the store display:



And the website description:

Addy was one of the first six dolls introduced by Pleasant Company, now American Girl. We’re celebrating our 35th anniversary with this special collection, which includes:
An Addy™ doll that’s almost exactly like the one fans fell in love with in 1993! She has gold hoop earrings and brown eyes and comes with her hair in braids.
A cinnamon-pink dress with wavy white stripes and buttons down the front
A pair of white cotton drawers (what we now call underwear) trimmed with lace
A straw bonnet with a calico print blue ribbon
A blue hair ribbon that comes tied around her braid
A pair of black stockings that go up to her knees
A pair of black lace-up boots
A printed kerchief she uses to hold her belongings
A pretend water gourd
A faux cowrie shell necklace
A reproduction half dime in a paper envelope
A Meet Addy paperback book with the original book design
SKU#: HBG62 $150

Addy comes in a maroon box with a window. Her name, illustration, and year are on the front of the box, along with “The American Girls Collection” label and “Addy Walker’s 35th Anniversary Collection” note.

Inside the box, Addy is wearing her bonnet (with a protective bit of foam between that and her head). The gourd is taped to the side of the box, and the rest of her accessories are in a plastic bag behind her book. There’s also a maroon bordered commemorative tri-fold pamphlet.











I think this version of Addy is really lovely. She has dark brown eyes, line eyebrows, dark brownish-black hair that’s braided and tucked under in the back. (There’s a blue ribbon tied under the braid, but you don’t really see it most of the time.) Addy has neck strings and her fabric body seems like a nice quality, without any wrinkles from gathering at the neckline.









The cinnamon-pink dress with wavy white stripes has always been one my Addy’s favorites, and I’m glad to see it return. This version has the plastic oval vanity tag near the bottom. She’s also wearing black ribbed stockings, black lace- up boots with stitched (but not metal) grommets, and white lace-edged pantalettes that have a v-shaped panel on the front and are elastic in the back.

I haven’t taken detailed pictures of her accessories yet. At some point I’ll take this out and do more detailed comparison photos of the Pleasant Company and 35th Anniversary Edition outfit pieces and accessories.













Overall, I’d give this 35th Anniversary Edition of Addy a solid A.

I also wanted to include a few comparison shots of this 35th Addy and my BeForever Addy, who was purchased in 2017. Here they are side-by-side (BF Addy is wearing a green dress that I purchased from another board member, rather than the blue meet dress she came in, and 35th Addy is wearing the cinnamon-pink dress.)



You can see that one of the main differences other than the dress is the hairstyle. BF Addy has two French braids that tuck into each other in the back while 35th Addy has the single braid that’s tucked under. My BF’s hair has been played with and restyled back into the original style. Personally, I like BF’s hairstyle more, but I prefer 35th Addy’s cinnamon-pink dress (which I think connects way more to Addy’s story and is more practical for her life).

There is a bit of difference in the skin tone, too. BF Addy has more of a reddish undertone than 35th Addy. It doesn’t stand out as especially noticeable when looking at them separately, but it’s clear when they’re compared side-by-side.





The body cloth color is pretty similar, but 35th Addy’s is better quality, particularly when it comes to the neck area., which I noted before is smooth. I don’t know if you can see the fabric details in these close ups of the body tags.





The facial features also have some differences. 35th Addy has line eyebrows, a rounder eye shape, and more darkly painted lips. BF Addy has feathered eyebrows and her eyes are less round. I also think that there is a little less distance between BF Addy’s lower lip and the tip of her chin, although I haven’t measured it. Their profile is very similar (maybe the same).





My BF Addy is really special to me and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but I do really like the 35th Addy, too. To me, there’s just enough difference in them to look like they’re different dolls (like sisters, not twins), which makes enough room for both of them here.

FWIW, American Girl is still selling the BeForever-styled Addy (no longer under the "BeForever" branding), while also concurrently offering the 35th Anniversary Edition. I think they're both pretty great.

[bingandnelsonfan]

After a bit of waiting on FedEx, Mom's new 35th Anniversary Addy doll has arrived! This was a fun set of photos to take, because Addy was my very first American Girl doll back in 1995. My original Addy doesn't get many chances to pose for photos these days, so she was excited to volunteer for this review.
The original review is posted on my doll blog here with even more photos than posted in this forum review:
islandshiregazette.weebly.com/blog/comparing-anniversary-addy-with-1995-pc-addy

While we did order a couple of Anniversary Addy dolls in order to have multiples to choose from, we hadn't planned on ending up with quite this many. Due to a shipping mess up, we ended up with six​ of them! Here they are in their boxes and PC Addy saying 'hello':









The following photos are just some all-around photos of Addy in her meet dress and nude. She has the good quality eyes (clear posts), body fabric and even neck strings! While the strings are a bit short compared to the original Pleasant Company strings, they are a very nice quality soft cord. Her body tag is the 2017 version. Later in this entry, there will be photos specifically comparing her meet outfit to the 1995 PC version.















Book, Bonnet and Accessories
I never had Addy's accessories from the 1990s, so I'm not able to compare those. However, I tried to take a lot of pictures of the bonnet (in particular) for others to use as comparison. It seems very nice and fits the doll well. The tie ribbon is a thin cotton fabric. A sheet of foam comes inside the bonnet to protect the doll's hair while in the box. ​The gourd is plastic, as is the shell necklace.



















1995 PC Addy vs. 35th Anniversary Addy

Now it's time to move on to the two sweet dolls here! In the comparison photos below, 1995 PC Addy is always on the left, while Anniversary Addy is on the right.

My PC Addy was ordered in Summer 1995. She's still wearing her orignal hair style (though the net has been replaced) and her complete meet -- now slightly faded with time.



Anniversary Addy definitely has her own unique skin tone which appears to be Mattel's very successful effort to simulate the vinyl tone of the old PC Addy dolls. While it's not exactly the same, it's very similar. It's redder and darker in tone than the classic AG dark vinyl (think Melody or TM #58, etc.), but not as deep as the new dark tone available on CYO dolls, TM #80 or 85.

It's always difficult to get accurate photos of vinyl tones, but here are multiple shots of the two dolls that will, hopefully, show the difference.





The first photo above was taken without a camera flash. It shows the general tone well, but the red is drained a bit. The second photo was taken with a camera flash, and while the dolls appear darker than when seen in real life, the red tones are more visible.
Anniversary Addy has the new modified Addy face mold, so I tried to capture some close-ups to show the difference that gives. Personally, I think both dolls are precious while being very different. First is PC Addy, second picture is Anniversary Addy.

PC Addy has the old "light brown" eye color (same as the original AGOT #18 dolls), while Anniversary Addy has the current dark brown pinwheel eyes.





The mouth area is quite different in both mold style and paint (though PC Addy's face paint has mostly faded now over the years). The teeth on Anniversary Addy are definitely larger than the PC mold.
[Note: This next photo makes Anniversary Addy's face look very round, but it's definitely on the thin side. In fact, all six of the Anniversary dolls we have here are very thin-faced dolls.]



Both dolls have the non-removable gold hoop earrings. Anniversary Addy's earrings seem to be slightly larger than PC Addy's, and they do not come up quite as close behind the ear. Color is pretty much the exact same.



While the hairstyle is similar, I am guessing that Anniversary Addy looks more like the early Mattel Addy dolls, because her braid is a lower braid that is more folded up in the back than tucked into a tighter, shorter bun like PC Addy's hair. It's also interesting that Anniversary Addy's braid is done in a way that leaves the hair along the front of her face much flatter against the head than either PC or Beforever Addy (whose hairstyles pull the hair up from the temples). This give Anniversary Addy a completely different look that resembles Josefina from the front. It quite suits the texture of the new wig.





There is quite a difference in hair texture between the two dolls. PC Addy's hair is much coarser with a very noticeable textured effect. It feels a bit drier than I remember it being in the 1990s, but it was never soft hair. Anniversary Addy has slightly darker, shiner hair (though the color difference may be due to some age fading, not sure) that is definitely not as coarse or textured. This is soft like the textured hair of TM #80 and the newer dolls. It almost looks a bit softer than BeForever Addy's hair.





Comparing Meet Outfits



The meet outfit on Anniversary Addy looks so precious, and I'm rather partial to this particular outfit anyway. However, there are quite a few differences, if you're specifically wanting a Pleasant Company style outfit. The dress on Anniversary Addy is slightly longer than PC Addy, so you don't see the lace edging on the bloomers peeking below the hemline like you do on the original. While the dress itself is not skimpy in the least and fits the new Addy very well, it certainly is not the size of PC Addy's original. Now, my 1995 Addy is a real tank, so it's not surprising that the new dress doesn't fit her -- it may fit some PC dolls, but I wouldn't necessarily count on it.



The fabric design and feel is as close to a perfect match as you can get. My PC Addy's dress is slightly faded with time, but the color would have been an exact match. Design is the same. Also, the buttons down the front appear the same, as do the velcro closures on the back of the dress and the cuffs.





The bloomers are very similar. Photos above show close-ups of the waistbands and the lace trim on the bottom of the legs. The waistband is a Princess-style non-elastic front with elastic at the back. Anniversary Addy's bloomers are quite a bit smaller than the old PC style. The lace trim on the leg bottoms is practically the very same on both.





The black socks are the extra-tall above-the-knee style and remarkably similar. The only different is at the top of the sock, but the elasticity has stretched out of PC Addy's original socks, so they were probably pretty similar back in 1995.













The boots on Anniversary Addy give the same general "feel", but they are quite different from the original pair. All of the photos in the slideshow above show the PC boot(s) on the left and Anniversary on the right. The vinyl of the boot is a very similar thickness and feel, though the newer boots almost appear to the eye as a dark navy blue, rather than the very black tone of the PC pair. I think the new boots would be accurately described as a "blue black".
The laces on PC Addy's boots are about half-again as long as the new ones, and the lace wholes have grommets rather than the new embroidered holes of the Anniversary edition. For design and solde differences, I think the photos do a pretty good job.
The new boots are quite a bit shorter than the old Pleasant Company boots. I was able to put the new ones onto PC Addy's foot with the knee sock on, but it only just managed to fit.

Vinyl Skin Tone Comparisons
To end the comparisons, here are some photos showing Anniversary Addy's skin tone compared to PC Addy and other dark AG dolls. While it's definitely a unique skin tone, it is almost like a cross between the two dark tones offered by American Girl​ right now.



The photo above shows PC Addy (left) and Anniversary Addy (right) in natural light. They're a very similar tone, though my PC Addy is slightly​ lighter. The natural lighting does not do full justice to the tones, though, as the red is not really showing fully.



This photo shows the same arms under the camera flash, which is perhaps a little truer to the slight difference despite being washed out in tone.









And the photos above shows comparison (with and without camera flash) between TM #85 (left) and Anniversary Addy (right). They are very similar in tone. Depending on the lighting, they can look almost the same -- however, TM #85 is certainly redder in tone than Addy. She also has darker, browner lip paint -- where Addy's is lighter and more on the red side.



An interesting note here is Anniversary Addy's eyelids. They are the color used on TM #85, so while they are not a bad match, they certainly are not a perfect one -- being on the red side as seen above.









Compared to Beforever Addy's uniquely reddish tone (personally, one of my favorite Addy types), this new Addy is much more on the classic dark brown side. When the two stand side-by-side you get the feeling that Anniversary Addy is almost lacking in the red tones, though the following photos will show that it's just a visual thing. The first two pictures above are taken without a flash and are pretty true to color. The last two have flash and do a better job of showing the difference in red undertones.

Another small note here -- we have two Beforever Addy dolls, and their eye sockets are definitely smaller than the sockets on Anniversary Addy or TM #85.

-----------------------------------------------

And to finish up, here are a couple of shots showing a variety of AG Addy-mold dark skin dolls. This really helps to see the differences between the various tones.
Top photo taken without flash, bottom one taken with flash.



Dolls left to right:
JLY #1 (c. 2002), TM #85, customized TM #58 with Melody wig (c. 2017),
Anniversary Addy, JLY #45 (c. 2010), Beforever Addy, 1995 PC Addy



Well, I hope this helps anyone trying to decide which Addy is perfect for them. We were very pleased with Anniversary Addy, and she's definitely a beautiful doll. If you've always dreamed of having an original Pleasant Company Addy doll, then she's not a replacement for that. But if you'd always wanted a beautiful Addy with her original style meet outfit, then she's a perfect choice. It was also interesting to see six of them all at once like this, because there is very little difference between dolls. Quality control on this run seems to be much higher than some other AG dolls.

[kittyreed]

I got my Addy two days before she sold out! I visited the Charlotte store with my family, which was a great experience by itself. Addy is perfect. I am so in love with her face mold. I liked the face on mini 25th Anniversary Addy, but was not prepared for how precious the Addy mold would be on a full-size girl! Since I already have a mini Addy, this one will be Esther, Addy's sister.
The bonnet is very sturdy, and comes with foam in the back to protect the hair during shipping. I love her boots, as they feel well-made and accurate for the time. I am keeping Esther's hairnet on.
I feel so in love and connected to her already. I love all my dolls and bond with them, but Esther feels extra-special. She will be loved very much.