Silver Belle Outfit + Book (2008-2009)

[agzipporah]

From AmericanGirl.com:
Silver Belle Outfit for Dolls + Book
Item# F8732
Her American Girl can be the belle of the ball in this elegant ensemble:

A dress with a brocade bodice, a sheer silver sash, and an embroidered taffeta skirt
A pair of matching ballet-flat shoes
2 shiny blue hair sticks for her ’do
The Friends on Thin Ice book

$28

I adore this dress! The colors are much nicer than the online photo shows. The bodice is a gorgeous silvery ice blue that coordinates very well with the silver sash and gray taffeta skirt. The gray of the skirt seems bluish, so everything looks well together. It went on easily and fits well on Zipporah, but she is my thinnest doll. I have not tried it on anyone else yet. It is not the same color or design as the Butterfly Brocade, however the hairsticks appear to be the same as those included with the Butterfly Brocade.

The sash ties in the back, which is my one complaint with the dress. I would have preferred it was a permanent bow that you could snap over the back velcro after dressing the doll, making it easier to have a perfect looking bow.

The embroidery on the skirt is lovely! And since it is floral, with no snowflakes or other wintry themed design this would be a great dress for any special occasion such as a recital or wedding. The colors and style help make it a great multioccasion special event dress.

The shoes are made of the same fabric as the skirt and are heeled. There are small cutouts near the toe area and a fuzzy elastic strap that is the same pretty blue as the bodice. They are very cute. Zipporah has had some difficulty standing in them, but she has loose legs and I think that is most of the problem. When I do get her to stand, she stands up straighter than usual.

I give this dress an A because it is beautiful, fits well and is great for many occasions. I highly recommend it!

[agzipporah]

Update-
I've now tried it on a PM doll with thicker limbs and body, and on a Gotz LS Tess doll. The dress fits a little snug in the body, but the real problem I encountered was in the sleeve area. With Zipporah, I could just pull the sleeves up, but on the thicker limbed dolls it got tighter and required more gentle dressing. The sleeves do fit, and allow for movement, but it is a close fit. If you just pull it up, the seam will rip. So gentle pushing/ easing it on is better.

Also, the shoes are a tighter fit on the thicker feet. And the shoes are made to be right/ left, so if you don't pay attention to that it could make getting the shoes on more difficult as well. I was able to get these shoes on a PM doll that was wearing tights.

[Keri]

Is the sash removable? It looks like it might be stitched at the sides of the bodice, but is it just tacked down or part of the bodice's seam?

[green chile supergirl]

The sash is stitched down at the side seams of the dress.

[Thimbleberry]

I bought the Silver Belle Outfit for my Jess. She doesn't normally like to wear dresses at all but she likes this one & wants to add her review. She says: " If you have to wear a dress I'd recommend this one. It's really pretty & doesn't make me feel like a poufy pink princess. I'm not used to wearing shoes with heels though so it's kind of hard to stand in them let alone walk around."

I agree with Jess & really like it too. The 3 different fabrics used are all beautiful & it could be worn any time of year.

_{*MOD EDIT to remove member's dead image links*}

[monimarine]

The colors of this dress are amazing in person as well as the detailed embroidery all the way around! I haven't found any issues with this dress so far and I definitely give it an A+ for it's design and all occasion possibilities. I think Devyn looks great in it!

[kimpa]

This dress was a Christmas gift from my sister who reminded me that this dress resembled a dress we had at Christmas some 35 years ago.

I looooooooove this dress for many reasons:

1. the richness of the 2 shades of gray
2. the embroidery throughout
3. the chinese collar (reminds me of the butterfly brocade outfit)
4. the versatility of the dress (it's not just for Christmas!!)
5. the fabric is absolutely gorgeous!

I give the outfit an A+++++ and hope AG continues making high quality outfits like this one.

[Ayla]

I just got this dress on ebay (the tag was cut out so it was super cheap!), so sans other outfit parts. But I really do like this dress, and I am pretty picky about AG-offical clothing.

I have a PM Samantha, and there are some pictures below showing how it fits her (it looks shorter on her, and the top kind of bunches up a bit maybe). The sleeves were a tight fit like said before, but they seem okay to me (no worse than other Mattel clothes fit imho).

While the embroidery is nice, I'm still undecided about whether or not I think it fits with the dress, but the colors (blue on top, not grey) are really gorgeous. I can see this dress being usable not just at holidays (I have Sammie in summer shoes!).

[EofA]

I am a fan of AG's holiday dresses and really like this one.

The bodice seems like a retread of the 2005 Butterfly Brocade dress, with some variation in the closure of the collar. I can't say I mind that much, as it is very pretty. The color combination is striking. If my daughter is any indication, it's one of those dresses that older girls of the target market age like for its sophistication and elegance. No problems at all with fit on Mattel dolls but I'd not even bother to try to put it on a PM doll.

Excuse the big-haired doll below; I had to do something to get those sticks to stay in! I can't imagine a child adeptly working the hair sticks. The heel on the shoes does cause instability for a doll standing on her own. Those two things bring the ensemble's grade down to an A- but the dress itself rocks.

[mom2princesspeas]