Holiday Ball Gown

[cami713]

This outfit was worn by Elizabeth in the DVD Felicity: An American Girl Adventure. It was released in 2005 and retired with archival in 2010.

Elizabeth's best gown is printed with flowers and trimmed in satin ribbon, piping, and lace. Slip on her ribbon headband, braided choker, and slippers, and she's ready to dance!


Waited a few months after the "It doesn't fit right" period to get one that would fit right.

The Good: It's gorgeous. The colors are lovely, the print is lovely.

The Bad?: Headband is kind of odd, and it's hard to get on perfectly. Shoes are definitely weird. I like them, but they look very...elfish. Might make a nice addition to a fantasy costume at some point. Nothing really wrong with the outfit, mine fit's fine.

Rating: ****1/2, A

[horsemom]

Just thought I'd add- I bought this thinking I'd want it for my PM Felicity. I ended up returning it. My Felicity was too fat and though I could get the dress on, it was straining at the seams and made poor Lissie look like a stuffed sausage. Also, the new gowns are a bit too short. It was an inch shorter than my old gowns. Drove me nuts to see Lissie's ankles!

And I do agree about the shoes- they are soft, like slippers. They have no real shape to them, and it makes it hard for the doll to stand on her own. They were kind of elfish, now that I think about it! LOL

[marilyn2222]

I give the dress a C. It is a very pretty dress, but I have some problems with it. 1. It is too tight. Also I can't seemto get the sheer fabric to lay right. 2. It is too short. 3. I don't like the hair band. I wish it was just a ribbon that you tie yourself, like the original dolls. 4. I hate the shoes. I know they are supposed to be dancing slippers, but wouldn't they have some kind of sole. 5. the rouching band does not go all the way around the dress. It is only in the front. 6. The feaux skirt underneath doesn't go all the way around. I wish it was separate articles of clothing like Felicity's.

That being said, it is a pretty gown and Marisol does look pretty in it.

[agfan123]

I give the dress an A, but I give the accessories a C. The shoes are very strange, I still haven't succeeded in getting her headband on, but the choker is SO cute! The dress is really pretty. It is my fave of Lizzie's, after her Meet dress.

[pidgetgirl]

I have this dress, and it fits great on my Mary (aka PM Samantha). No snugness. However, I hate the headband and the shoes. The headband is impossible to get on, and I would suggest using Addy's green headband from her Striped Dress instead. The shoes ARE elfish; that's exactly what I thought when I saw them. I'm not a fan of the look. Also, I'm not a big colonial outfit collector, but aren't colonial dresses supposed to have slits on the sides for the undergarment pockets? That is what I wondered with this dress, since it has no slits.

Anyway, though, the dress is really pretty; I do like the overall design of the gown.

Overall grade: B+

[merry]

I got this dress for my birthday so I thought I'd add my two cents as a colonial reenactor. The length was okay for me since gowns did not tend to be floorlength at that time. I actually think Elizabeth's gowns make her look very cute and French. (French fashions of the time were shorter than other styles, sometimes reaching to the mid-calf.) The choker is adorable andd oh so correct.

The shoes suck. They are not accurate and not sensible either. You can barely get them on her feet. I ended up using my mother's Felicity's meet shoes for the dress. It looks much nicer that way. The headband (despite being period correct unlike the shoes) took me thirty minutes to put on and I was so afraid I was going to muss up her hair. (I am very ocd about doll hair.) If it weren't for the shoes and headband the outfit would be perfect.

[scandia]

I was fascinated with this outfit from the moment I saw it at AGPC. The gown itself is the best. I love the fabric's shine, pattern, and colors. The design is ravishing. The headband I put it around her braid, and it still works like that. The shoes would not stay on- hence I don't use it. The gold necklace I use as a bracelet instead. I will give it an A+ for the gown, A for the outfit with all its components.

[mollygirl1944]

Just got this outfit and I don't have any fit problems (except fot the weird shoes). Love everything about the dress, even the headband looks good! Especially love the necklace!

[Ishiguro]

I love it. I don't have Elizabeth, but Amathia likes it just fine.

I did not put her shoes on. In stead i left Nellie's Holiday dress shoes on her.

The headband was easy to get on. It comes off with the slightest pull so I had to be very careful. They should have made a green bow like Nellie's meet bow. I have managed to get the gown to the floor. The gown looks more like its from the Elizabethan/ Marie Antoinette era. Someone told me that Felicity's era or time they did not wear underwear?

_{Mod edit to remove dead image links}

[mollygirl1944]

Some of my favorite pics of Elizabeth dressed up for the holidays:

[American Girl Rescue]

Elizabeth’s Holiday Gown
Item# F4675
$28 (raised to $32 in 2009)

Elizabeth is ready to dance in this outfit, featuring:

* A gown printed with flowers and trimmed in satin ribbon, piping, and lace
* A sweet faux petticoat that peeks out from the pleated skirt
* A ribbon headband, braided choker, and slippers

I'd like to add my pretty Elizabeth in her Holiday gown to this review:

I think this outfit is beautiful. The choker is just a ribbon but it adds so much elegance to the outfit. The little golden dancing slippers are very dainty and perfect. Grade A.

[libbysey]

I really like this dress. The pale green is beautiful. Like all of Elizabeth's outfits, it does not have any pocket slits (unfortunately). The gold petticoat goes all the way around, which was a pleasant surprise, as I was expecting a faux-petticoat like her summer gown. It is not a separate piece though, it is attached at the back seem. That helps so that girls don't lose it, I guess.
The choker is very nice and I love the headband. I did not have the problems that some of the other reviewers had with putting it on.
The thing that I don't like is the slippers. The fact that they have a soft bottom does not bother me as much as the fact that they are pointy, which is what makes them look like elf shoes. They are tight also.

Overall, I would give this outfit a B+. An A+ if the shoes were better and it had pocket slits.

[libbysey]

It is true that girls in Felicity's time did not wear underwear.

If the gown looks like it is from Marie Antoinette's era than they got it right, because Marie Antoinette became queen of France in 1774. Elizabethan was much earlier-late 1500's through the early 1600's/Renaissance.

[Tess]

This is a beautiful outfit! It comes with the beautiful green dress, a gold choker, gold slippers, and a green headband.

The dress-A+: No complaints whatsoever. It is such a beautiful dress! And it is so silky!
The choker-A+: At first glance, it looks a little hard to get on, but I figured it out very quickly.
The shoes-A: They are very cute, but they are big! So, naturally, they will slip off.
The headband-C: Aw. It is so cute, but IMPOSSIBLE to get on! I tried so many different ways to get it on, and...nothing. Maybe you need some hairpins...?

All-in-all: A+. The only real problem is the headband, but the outfit still looks beautiful without it.

By the way...it costs $32.

[orkira]

I absolutely love this dress. I put mine on Kirsten and give the whole outfit an A+.

[skukla]

I just purchased this for Felicity, I paired it with her Summer Gown cap and her Birthday Outfit socks:


I was prepared to be put off by all the shiny, actually. My first surprise was how heavy the gown is, it feel substantial and the petticoat particularly, which is a simulated raw silk, is very nice. The gown and petticoat are both fully fashioned. The 2 are attached by a seam down the back, and the petticoat of course has no pocket slits. The gown was fashioned for pocket hoops, but the petticoat is an a-line and doesn't fit over hoops. Because the gown and petticoat are attached, the hoops can not be worn, which is too bad:


ETA: I managed to coax the petticoat down over her pocket hoops, it kind of puckers up the seam at the back, and shortens the dress by about an inch:


Back view of puckeryness caused by pocket hoops:


Next surprise is the detail work on the gown, which is very well done. The folded zig zag decorations on the skirt of the gown are separate pieces of fabric appliqued on and edged with green piping. Each sleeve has a matching folded and piping detail. The piping matches the hair ribbon that comes with the outfit. The ruffle on the hem of the petticoat is made from the fabric of the gown. The ruffle does not go all the way around the petticoat, only where it shows. It seems to be that way for fit, not to scimp on fabric:


Even the lace, (I hate lace often on doll clothes,) is ok. Since ruffles on sleeves were detachable on Colonial gowns, I may end up switching these out to ones that match the tucker at the neck:


More details on the bodice, The glittery choker is about as scratchy as you would imagine. It fits snugly at the neck and has no stretch, so it takes some effort to get it closed with the hook and eye findings:


And a back view, you can see the neck to ankle seam where the velcro is placed(nice, non-stickery velcro it is too. It goes from neck to bum.) That seam is how the petticoat and gown are sewn together. The green hair ribbon is pre-tied and one piece, it has stretch at the back for fitting onto a doll's head:



Now about the elf shoes! I believe they are constructed to reference these slippers, which were made both heeled and flat:


Most unfortunately they look like this and have a fabric sole, which is wrong:


I will be purchasing the Gala Gown shoes for this dress, which I think are truer to what one would have worn.

[jsmith]

I bought Elizabeth's Holiday Dress for my daughter's #39 used from ebay. It came in the burgundy Pleasant Company box. I did not get the hair ribbon. I think it looks really nice, but everyone else is right...the shoes are terrible.

[chernayakoshka]

I got this outfit as part of a lot when I purchased my Caroline in 2017. I only got the dress without any accessories, so I can't comment on those. As for the dress itself, I really like it! The fabric is thick and carefully designed. The flowered print reminds me more of spring than winter, so I use the dress as a spring dress.

If you buy this dress for your PC Felicity, I advise that this dress fits snugly. I have it on Marie Grace (who stands in as Marya Gregoryavna, a Russian aristocrat) and it's tight on her. The dress fits her, but I could see it giving the chunkier PC dolls some trouble. Which is a shame since I feel that the colours could suite a variety of dolls, from Felicity to Elizabeth to Marie Grace and any other doll you might want to put the dress on. The rich colours are very flattering and the gown itself is very well made. I'd give it an A, only because it seems that the accessories are more mixed and I don't have those.