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Post by PleasantMemories on Sept 14, 2007 11:24:52 GMT -5
Felicity's Clothes Press was introduced in 1991. It was replaced with her 2-Doll Clothes Press in 2005.PC description: Colonial homes didn't have closets, so people stored clothes on the shelves and in the drawers of a clothes press An important piece of furniture in fine houses back in 1774, it's an heirloom for you to cherish today and forever. H:25", W:15", D:8"Grade B- Like everything else in Felicity’s collection, this piece is large, bulky and hard to store. Unlike the other AG doll trunks, Felicity’s clothes press doesn’t fit in most standard shelving units and almost needs to be displayed on the floor. This also by far the heaviest piece of AG furniture. I don’t trust myself carrying it more than a couple feet. Although this is a sturdy piece of furniture, it holds next to nothing. I can store less than half of my Felicity collection in her clothes press. However, on the positive side, the two drawers are quite deep and hold more than one might think. Although the clothes press is not the most practical piece of furniture designed by Pleasant Company, it is quite pretty. I really like the dark cherry or cherry type wood that they used. The piece also strongly resembles a real clothes press we have from that period, even down to the molding. Although I don’t own the new clothes press, most people who do own both say it's worth paying an extra $50-$100 to get the old version. Apparently the quality of the older one is a lot nicer and it holds more. BTW: Because of the camera glare, it looks like part of the clothes press is a little lighter than rest. In reality, it's all the same color.
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Post by horsemom on Jan 3, 2009 13:40:53 GMT -5
My Grade: B/B+
A friend of mine owns this, so I got to see it up close. It's a very pretty piece of furniture and will hold lots of clothing (if you fold them), but won't hold a ton of the other items in Felicity's collection. The downside is that by folding all the clothes, they get wrinkled. The upside is that the piece is historically accurate to the best of my knowledge and it is well made (and yep, enormous).
Personally, I don't think it's worth the price I've seen some folks pay ($400, anyone?) but it is a nice piece of furniture.
I would recommend looking around for a large jewelry wardrobe that looks like it, but isn't, given that the official one has limited capacity for storage anyway. I got my fake one from the Bombay Co. (it's on my website in the siggy). It was only $100 after it went on sale and is (in my opinion) nicer than the AG one. It's also huge and heavy, but the upside is that I needed something to store my jewelry anyway and I don't like folding Felicity's clothes so I could care less about its potential for dollie storage.
If you look around, you can find very nicely built jewelry wardrobes that look like a clothes press after Christmas on sale for cheap at nice-ish furniture stores.
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Post by skukla on Jun 1, 2009 23:48:35 GMT -5
The clothes press is very big. The knob hardware on mine is slightly different then PleasantMemories'. Mine came with the brass hardware still protected by plastic film. And needing the screws tightened too, I notice. And very full! One more thing in it and it may blow! The drawers are deep and good for socks, jewelry, shoes. caps. Comparison pic of Addy's trunk and Felicity's clothes press and Felicity's box. Ahh, that was an amazing craigslist haul!
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Mad Celtic Midwife
Historical Dreamer
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Post by Mad Celtic Midwife on Feb 22, 2012 16:20:39 GMT -5
I just purchased this from a CL seller. It is, IMO, the best piece of furniture ever made by AG. It is super heavy, and large, but the quality and workmanship is amazing. This is something that could be passed down through generations of girls, and be a high quality antique one day. As for storage value, I don't have a lot of clothing for Felicity yet, but the drawers are deep and seem like they will hold a lot. I think one could also take the shelves out and put a dowel rod in, and hang clothing instead of using the shelves. I have seen the newer style clothes presses at AGP, and this one is much better quality, and looks as if it will hold a lot more. I give it an A
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maggiedoll
Girl of Many Lands
If what you are saying is true...then I still don't care
Posts: 589
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Post by maggiedoll on Mar 20, 2012 11:43:04 GMT -5
From American Girl Playthings, Felicity is a closet pyromaniac. Clothes Press
Colonial homes didn’t have closets in them, so people folded their clothes neatly on the shelves and in the drawers of a clothes press. An important piece of furniture in fine houses back in 1774, it’s an heirloom for you to cherish today and forever. H: 251⁄2”, W: 15 1/8”, D: 8”
$150 ET Retired OMG I finally own this! I've wanted this clothes press for almost twenty years, and finally got lucky last December. The clothes press is made of very heavy, solid wood that is held together by stapler-like nails. The top and sides of the clothes press are very nice, thick and smooth wood while the back, doors, and bottom are made of a lighter, softer plywood feeling wood. How, may one ask, do I know the wood so well? [*Mod edit to remove dead image links throughout the review*] This is how my clothes press came home to me. Yeah, I cried. For all it's solidness, the clothes press is not the most hardy piece of furniture ever made. It was not just the wood, but the brass details were damaged in the delivery. However, aside from the bottom the clothes press came together reasonably well with a bottle of wood glue and some hot glue. A liberal partial refund also made the clothes press more palatable. My clothes press did not come with shelves, which helped in it's price. Without the shelves one can see how roomy the main part of the press is. See, a doll can easily fit into her clothes press but the doors will not close on her. Taking the shelves out may be a possibly for those having trouble making everything fit. Not the best photo, but one can see how dresses can fit into the press. All my Felicity's clothes (besides the separates) are folded and stacked in the press in two piles. Felicity has a lot of clothes but they barely half filled the press. There is a wrinkle problem, especially for things that get stuck at the bottom and are only worn once or twice a year. However, it is not any worse than clothes stored in a trunk like Kit's. An added bonus is that it is easy to find the wanted dress, unlike a trunk like Samantha. Getting the dress out may be an issue. Even when I finally get around getting her shelves, I still think she will have plenty room to grow. This image also shows the clothes press in relation to Felicity. The clothes press is almost two Felicities. Perhaps Lissie will need a stool? The drawers are roomy. The bottom holds Felicity's spare shift, night shift and cap, all her other caps and her four pairs of stockings while the top holds her three outfits that are two pieces. If the drawers are too full, clothes may fall out or get stuck and may be difficult to get out. The drawers have pretty brass handles that are functional as well as pretty. They are however kept on the press by tiny nails, which can loosen over the years. I had to hot glue a couple of handles back onto the press. In my fantasy about this, I always imagined that the top of the clothes press would barely hold Felicity's hats. I was very happy to realize that the top will support the hats and several more things. Due to the overhang of the top, the clothes press does not completely rest against the wall. If would be nice if it was possible to hang something on the top overhang. The clothes press in the context of my closet. As one can see it dwarfs Kit’s furniture but it is perfect for Felicity’s furniture in matching and scale. Another plus for me is that it looks like in belongs in Felicity’s room, unlike say the doll sized trunks kept by the other dolls. Pleasant Company promised that the clothes press would be an heirloom to treasure forever. Compared to my 2007 Addy trunk and c 2001-2007 Kit trunk it has aged very well. The brass has not dulled as much as Kit’s and has not nicked as easily as Addy’s. In fact if the shipping incident had not happened I think the clothes press would have been in excellent to new condition. It may take a while to find one in excellent condition on a budget but factor in higher shipping, and I would say go with an experienced seller. I went with a newbie and was very lucky it ended as well as it did. I would highly recommend the Clothes Press as a solid, well-made and historically accurate piece that would make any doll proud to keep her wrinkled clothes in. A+
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Post by bornahorse on Jan 5, 2017 22:00:26 GMT -5
A
This piece is amazing. It is rather big, and a bit unwieldy to carry, unlike the other girl's trunks. But it doubles as usable furniture for the doll to add to a very charming colonial scene.
It has some pretty solid construction, and high quality wood and finish. Part of my right door has sort of popped apart, the glue holding the mitered corners wasn't adequate for the job. With a dab of glue, however, it's good as new! It really is heirloom quality.
I can fit most of Felicity's stuff in it, though I bag all of her clothes in baggies and squeeze all the air out to fit more. I use only 3 shelves, and can fit Felicity's green trunk in one of the shelves. The drawers hold her food items, dishes, etc. I could fit more in it if I didn't wrap the breakables up in bubble wrap.
The price can be a bit crazy, especially the shipping because of the weight, so if you see this on CL my advice is snap it up quick! I was lucky to score this in a big lot, so I can't remember how much I paid for it. $100 would be a steal for this, and $2-300 decently reasonable, IMHO.
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Post by keeperofthepast on Jun 25, 2023 16:50:51 GMT -5
A friend has this. This is lovely piece and holds quite a bit. It looks really nice in a scene and mimics really life furniture. The only thing is Felicity's gown get a bit wrinkled.
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