I recieved Molly for Christmas of 2006, and I have to say that I am absolutely in love with her. She has bright gray eyes and long brown hair that comes in two tight braids which have bright red bows at the end, which I found look cutest draped over her shoulders.
There are reviews of the meet outfit elsewhere, so I won't dwell on that for long. Only some of the parts that weren't in that review. First, the glasses that Molly comes with.
I am told that in the PM Mollys, the glasses are definitely round. As you can see here, and in the following pictures, the glasses have a new contour to them that closely resembles the AGoT lilac glasses.
*mod edit to remove multiple dead image links in this post*
Glasses sitting down.
Glasses folded up. You can see the new shape more clearly.
I actually prefer this shape to the old rounds. Why, you might ask? One of the biggest complaints I had about Liz's old glasses and I think other people had them about Molly's glasses is they didn't want to stay on, making them easy to lose and easier to break. With Molly's new glasses, you can do this:
It's sort of hard to see, but I am holding her at an over 45 degree angle off the top of a beaureu, which is about five feet high. Her glasses, as you can see, aren't moving an inch. Between the sides of them fitting more tightly on the sides of her head (actually, I have found the bows tend to go into her hair rather than over her ears) and the shape molding into the contours of her face, the glasses are now very secure.
The glasses case the glasses came with. It is made of red felt with green threading. What's hard to see in the picture is the white elastic that kept them attached to Molly's hand when she arrived. I am not sure if you buy spare historical glasses the case has this. I have found that, unlike the AGoT glasses cases, these are no good for cleaning the glasses, though.
Here is Molly without her glasses (she has her locket and bag from her meet accessories, covered elsewhere. I forgot to take them off for this pic). I am forever amazed at how different Molly looks with and without her glasses. It's like she's a completely different girl (unlike, say, Liz, who looks more or less the same with or without her glasses). I think Molly looks a lot cuter with her glasses on, but without them she is still very pretty and I can see why some people prefer her without.
And now, working our way down and away from her face, some people have wondered about the "dickey". Here is a picture of how it works:
Basically, it's a collar with some velcro at the top, but with a strip of cloth (that should be tucked into the skirt, but I pulled it out to show off) to keep it straight and in place. I would rather she have another shirt under her sweater, but I can see where that would be difficult, so I find this a cute alternative.
Molly's panties. These seem a little too "old fashioned" for the 40s, but I am told that they apparently did get to be a bit in style then. Interestingly, these are the same as the panties that come with Samantha's meet outfit.
Molly's shoes and socks. I didn't notice until I was putting Molly back into my room that the shoes actually have have a little molded fake clasp into the side where the Mary Janes would clasp. I am not entirely sure if that's cheap or cute, though. At any rate, she comes with patent Mary Janes, which are actually made out of plastic or vinyl and are all one piece (and don't go one and off as easily as I'd like. I gave up fighting with them) and white socks. As you can see, the one on her right foot (her right, our left) has a tendency to fall down, which I stopped fixing. I figure it's kind of a cute quirk (leave it to me to take an annoying flaw and decide it's easier to write off as a cute quirk than complain about it).
I'll be covering her accessories soon, but here are my grades for Molly, as you get her straight out of the box, and her various components that come with her:
Molly Doll -
A+. I find her absolutely adorable and darling. In the face of all my modern dolls, she ends up becoming my shy girl, but I adore her unique eye color (well, unique now that no AGoTs have gray eyes) and her braids and even her new Mattel face sculpt and make-up.
Meet Outfit -
A. I love the darker colors of the meet outfit, as compared to some of the brighter colored outfits that are found everywhere else (I like dark colors more than bright). Plus it feels very warm and comfortable, good since she's trapped in the frigid north with me. Of all of my dolls, Molly is my grandmother's favorite, and her outfit is a big part of it (although my grandmother grew up in the 50s and 60s, she says she wore something similar when she was Molly's age).
Shoes and Socks - Shoes are a
B-, for being so hard to get off and put on and because I don't like how they are all one plastic piece so much. It just feels like, especially compared to the boots and stuff some of the dolls come with, she should have better. The socks get an
A-, if just because they're basic white and versitile.
Panties and "dickey"- I am sort of indifferent toward the panties. I tend to not care about doll undies as much as some people do, I give them my generic grade of general approval, a
B. The "dickey" is a cute idea and the outfit looks much better with the collar, so that gets an
A.
Glasses and case - I give the case a
B-. Although I like that Molly can hold it, it doesn't have much use to me like the AGoT ones do (which can be used to clean the glasses), so it basically just sits around my room. The glasses themselves get an
A+. I know some people would beg to differ, but I like how they stay put and won't fall off, even if you are playing with the dolls or holding her the wrong way. This is good for kids who like her glasses but have a tendency to lose the glasses as they play with Molly. If you have a Molly sans specs and want her to have glasses again, but are on the fence because AG only sells the new shaped glasses, I'd recommend these because you won't lose them again unless you pull them off yourself.
Overall Rating of Molly Doll -
A. She's a must have for any collector and anyone who is on the fence. She's one of the original AGs, she's absolutely adorable and unique, and you will not regret getting her.
I love her hair - it was very wavy when I look it out of her braids, and a year and a half later, the waves are still there. My Molly doesn't usually wear glasses or dress in historical clothes. She looks adorable in modern clothes, though. My grade: A+
