Ongoing review post
Oct. 27th, 2022 12:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
impyWe're just going to do this in waves as the mood strikes and as I have time.
First up, the new holiday PJs modeled by Makena.
Merry Everything Pajamas
Note to self: Makena is going to require you to actually sit down and work at your photo taking because 4am with or even without flash ain't it.
I snagged these pajamas despite it being prior to Halloween because I thought they were cute as hell, and for 20% off? Yup. I will say they absolutely should have a hair bobble since the shoes are so fucking cheap but here we are.
The top is waffle-knit and feels very much like you shrunk a real shirt down to size, other than the fact that it velcros up the back instead of going over your head. They're dolls with fun hair so velcro works.
The design on the front is embroidered and I love it.
Back. Top velcros up, the pants obviously just slip on.
The pants are nice and thick without feeling *too* thick. I'd wear 'em, and I'm picky about such things. They're soft, too, but not like Emily's PJs, which are still the best PJs AG's ever done.
The shoes are a PITA to get on. Well. One is. One went on fairly easily but the other one required bargaining and threatening and a genuine fear I'd snap several nails. The red is also more orange and I hate everything these things choose to be. There's nothing inside to keep their shape and they didn't quite snag on my hands but I suspect that's more to do with the shower earlier in the day and less to do with the actual fabric.
I actually really like how they look on Makena. ♥
Sneak peek of the J&J stuff on Molly:
Good golly, Miss Molly.
Someone asked on the board of doom about what else Molly could wear and since I bought the J&J sweater specifically to put on Molly, I put it and the green plaid skirt (as well as the boots) on her.
The Janie and Jack collab clothes that aren't full outfits (or shoes, those still come in AG shoe boxes) come on cardboard hangers in same plastic AG's been using for their mix and match stuff since it first came out. Yes. I said cardboard hanger. I'm still not sure how I feel about this change. On the one hand, plastic is one of those things I'm having to reckon with as late BSC!Dawn lectures me in my head. On the other, I gather J&J is a bit of a higher end collab and them using cardboard on that is just... yikes. But also, how many people do keep their hangers and don't junk them? I don't know. I do know that it does seem that the money they saved from using cardboard instead does appear to have been put towards making these pieces higher quality. So, there's that.
No, I don't know why I decided 3am was the perfect time to try this and yes, I absolutely regret it but here we are. The sweater and its cardboard hanger. Oooh. Ahh.
As always, the mix and match packaging gives you ideas to try and part you from your money, but I do like seeing their ideas.
The embroidered rose is definitely a selling point for this sweater, but the rest of it is quite nice, too. The blue is nice and rich, the sweater is soft and thin without feeling chintzy and this reminds me of a top I had in high school that I really liked even though it was definitely not my usual fare.
Pardon the skirt looking washed out but it was either flash washed out or my room is the sucking void of light and everything turns weirdly yellow or washed out anyway depending. The skirt's pretty much exactly what you'd expect. The fabric is thick enough that I suspect this could stand on its own on a table but it's not itchy or scratchy. The blues match perfectly and yeah, this could very easily be a uniform skirt or stand in for one.
I do wish that AG would chill with the vanity tags or maybe put them in the back, but I get why they don't. These aren't actually all that bothersome in person.
Pardon Molly looking linebacker-esque. Hard to balance with the cat helping, y'know? Sweater Velcros up the back, skirt slides on, and neither required any real finagling.
I'm not sure I'd actually pair this particular outfit with the boots but otherwise it definitely works. I will say that it's giving me Molly's teacher vibes, particularly the sweater. I knew it would on some level but I was expecting it as a 6 on a scale of 1-10 and it's definitely a solid 8 on the grown-up scale. Or, I suppose, just preppier than anticipated. Shannon or Liz Wakefield vibes, honestly.
I'm not in love with the boots. The boot on our left is more color accurate, btw. I like the buckles (very Lila) and the color is nice, but they don't feel quite as nice as I thought they would. They're boots.
Overall, I dig the look. It works very well for Molly (the red on her bows matches nicely) and if preppy/librarian/teacher is your thing, voila! seriously though, it's those puff sleeve shoulders that are giving the olde-timey feeling.
Next up we have the Holiday Roses bundle, which consists of the Midnight Riding Boots, Rose Red Tulle Skirt, Wintry Wool Beret, and Wrapped in Roses Party Top. We've discussed the boots previously so on to the rest.
I think the top is very cute, though it could've leaned a little wallpapery had they made the roses a bit bigger or smaller. The sleeves on this don't give quite the same teacher/librarian vibe, which is kind of funny since this is a very similar style to the sweater. I love how the skirt looks with the top though I will admit I'm a little leery of whether or not it's going to stain. AG's usually very good about such things but when they miss, they miss HARD, so I'm going to have to remember to double check the closet to see if I have Mariana standing too close to anyone else. As an outfit, it's gorgeous though I'll likely rarely use the hat.
I freely admit I'm terrible at such things but the beret was a PITA to put on and you'll notice Mariana here has stick straight hair. I don't know if curls would have helped or if it would've made everything a thousand times worse. This is also not safe because Adora was VERY interested in the pom. To be fair, the pom is beyond soft.
Back! This is probably the most color accurate, so you can tell that the red is very holiday appropriate but will also work stupidly well for Valentine's Day. The skirt pulls up, the top is obviously Velcro. And if you're one of those people who cares about the print matching, welcome to hell.
Skirt has a vanity tag that's very easily hidden for this outfit, or if you pair it with the sweater.
Overall, I'm glad I got these pieces though I'm especially glad I didn't pay full price for that hat.
Cat tax has now been paid. Adora was very interested in helping supervise...and wanted to eat the hat.
Next up, Blaire in the Tartan Plaid Outfit. I went with the redhead because this entire outfit reminds me of my grandfather and well before my time, he had red(dish?) hair.
Also, I'm forever searching for something for Blaire to wear. I had to finally take down her Meet hairstyle because the curls had come undone from the braid too much to coax back into submission, so pardon the wild hair.
I'm going to agree with the general consensus that this outfit is extremely well done. There are several pieces (the tie, socks, shoes, vest, shirt, and pants) and if you're someone who likes to fiddle with buttons, oh boy, do I have good news for you. The shirt and vest both have functional buttons and if you have nails, kiss your sanity goodbye. The bowtie Velcros in the back and takes a little tweaking to get it into position but I think I managed it in the end. There's enough room in the pants to tuck the shirt in and not have it look messy and the pants have two functional pockets in the front and two decorative pockets in the back.
Pockets can't hold much, but they could hold somethin'.
Pardon the flash, but without it you couldn't really tell the back isn't velvet like the front. Enjoy the red curls, too. Ooh. Ahh.
Apparently this was the one time in history I didn't get shots of the shoes. Whoops. Well, have a close up of the pants and the shoes sneak into the shot. They're cute loafers and add very much to the granddad feel of this whole thing.
If you skipped last year's and wanted one of the more unisex/boy outfits, I'd definitely recommend this one. I wouldn't say it'll likely fit any of the chunkier dolls, but since I heard last year's outfit was tight on even the skinniest of dolls, this one seems miles ahead better on that front. Blaire fit fine and my only issues were trying to do itty bitty buttons with nails. :P
Also, love how the green in her eyes matches the green in the outfit.
Because my memory is shit and I'm lazy, I can't remember if I reviewed Corinne when she first came in. If not, have a mini review:
Corinne! She's cute as hell, though I can understand some people's issues. Her eyes are definitely larger than other AG eyes, but unlike poor Makena (whose eyes I think are standard AG size), she doesn't have the startled expression. I love the blue underneath and her Meet hairstyle is cute and keeps her hair looking nice without having to fuss too much. It's similar to Blaire's, honestly.
Her Meet sweater is VERY thin though and they were obviously coasting on nostalgia for how people loved the ski one back in the day because dude. You can see through this one.
The lavender tights/pants are holographic and I love them, honestly. Also, her boots are very soft and I love them as well.
Back! I kind of wish this didn't Velcro up the back, if only because I think it's obvious they cut corners elsewhere and that at least would've made it feel a little less cheap. I have no idea if it costs more to do the Velcro, so this is all very appearance based and not necessarily ~factual~ of course. As it is, the colors are nice and I wish Corinne had done better. :/
Particularly since she was kind of made to wear this Witch costume:
Yes, the blue in her hair isn't the same shade of turquoise (aqua?) as the witch costume but she still looks damn good in it. So good that she's the only AG doll currently hanging out in my room proper as she's bringing the Halloween flair.
I was a little worried that maybe I'd built up this costume too much in my mind. It did have a year to do so, y'know? But as soon as I put it on Corinne, I knew it was going to be one of my favorites. Yes, the hat is very flat but it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would, and besides that's just how AG has chosen to do witch hats. I love that we have so many pieces:
hat, gloves, dress, broom, socks, and shoes. The rainbow is fun and I like the materials used. I might try and track down a necklace or earrings for her later but as is? A++
The broom is a vast improvement over the previous witch broom they came out with. I like that it's black (it goes better with the outfit) and the handle includes something so the dolls can actually hold the broom. It works better on the left hand but you can do either.
Glitter boots! The glitter hasn't flaked off so that's nice, but these aren't the nicest feeling boots you'll ever encounter. They aren't solid lumps of plastic, however, so we appreciate them.
If you were on the fence, I'd recommend this one. It's not going to convert anyone to loving Halloween but if you wanted an outfit for Corinne, this one is pretty much perfect. I bet it'd also look nice on the camo Street Sweet doll.
Behold, so Halloween she changed the lighting to get an orange glow!
First up, the new holiday PJs modeled by Makena.
Merry Everything Pajamas
Note to self: Makena is going to require you to actually sit down and work at your photo taking because 4am with or even without flash ain't it.
I snagged these pajamas despite it being prior to Halloween because I thought they were cute as hell, and for 20% off? Yup. I will say they absolutely should have a hair bobble since the shoes are so fucking cheap but here we are.
The top is waffle-knit and feels very much like you shrunk a real shirt down to size, other than the fact that it velcros up the back instead of going over your head. They're dolls with fun hair so velcro works.
The design on the front is embroidered and I love it.
Back. Top velcros up, the pants obviously just slip on.
The pants are nice and thick without feeling *too* thick. I'd wear 'em, and I'm picky about such things. They're soft, too, but not like Emily's PJs, which are still the best PJs AG's ever done.
The shoes are a PITA to get on. Well. One is. One went on fairly easily but the other one required bargaining and threatening and a genuine fear I'd snap several nails. The red is also more orange and I hate everything these things choose to be. There's nothing inside to keep their shape and they didn't quite snag on my hands but I suspect that's more to do with the shower earlier in the day and less to do with the actual fabric. I actually really like how they look on Makena. ♥
Sneak peek of the J&J stuff on Molly:
Good golly, Miss Molly.
Someone asked on the board of doom about what else Molly could wear and since I bought the J&J sweater specifically to put on Molly, I put it and the green plaid skirt (as well as the boots) on her.
The Janie and Jack collab clothes that aren't full outfits (or shoes, those still come in AG shoe boxes) come on cardboard hangers in same plastic AG's been using for their mix and match stuff since it first came out. Yes. I said cardboard hanger. I'm still not sure how I feel about this change. On the one hand, plastic is one of those things I'm having to reckon with as late BSC!Dawn lectures me in my head. On the other, I gather J&J is a bit of a higher end collab and them using cardboard on that is just... yikes. But also, how many people do keep their hangers and don't junk them? I don't know. I do know that it does seem that the money they saved from using cardboard instead does appear to have been put towards making these pieces higher quality. So, there's that.
No, I don't know why I decided 3am was the perfect time to try this and yes, I absolutely regret it but here we are. The sweater and its cardboard hanger. Oooh. Ahh.
As always, the mix and match packaging gives you ideas to try and part you from your money, but I do like seeing their ideas.
The embroidered rose is definitely a selling point for this sweater, but the rest of it is quite nice, too. The blue is nice and rich, the sweater is soft and thin without feeling chintzy and this reminds me of a top I had in high school that I really liked even though it was definitely not my usual fare.
Pardon the skirt looking washed out but it was either flash washed out or my room is the sucking void of light and everything turns weirdly yellow or washed out anyway depending. The skirt's pretty much exactly what you'd expect. The fabric is thick enough that I suspect this could stand on its own on a table but it's not itchy or scratchy. The blues match perfectly and yeah, this could very easily be a uniform skirt or stand in for one.
I do wish that AG would chill with the vanity tags or maybe put them in the back, but I get why they don't. These aren't actually all that bothersome in person.
Pardon Molly looking linebacker-esque. Hard to balance with the cat helping, y'know? Sweater Velcros up the back, skirt slides on, and neither required any real finagling.
I'm not sure I'd actually pair this particular outfit with the boots but otherwise it definitely works. I will say that it's giving me Molly's teacher vibes, particularly the sweater. I knew it would on some level but I was expecting it as a 6 on a scale of 1-10 and it's definitely a solid 8 on the grown-up scale. Or, I suppose, just preppier than anticipated. Shannon or Liz Wakefield vibes, honestly.
I'm not in love with the boots. The boot on our left is more color accurate, btw. I like the buckles (very Lila) and the color is nice, but they don't feel quite as nice as I thought they would. They're boots.
Overall, I dig the look. It works very well for Molly (the red on her bows matches nicely) and if preppy/librarian/teacher is your thing, voila! seriously though, it's those puff sleeve shoulders that are giving the olde-timey feeling.
Next up we have the Holiday Roses bundle, which consists of the Midnight Riding Boots, Rose Red Tulle Skirt, Wintry Wool Beret, and Wrapped in Roses Party Top. We've discussed the boots previously so on to the rest.
I think the top is very cute, though it could've leaned a little wallpapery had they made the roses a bit bigger or smaller. The sleeves on this don't give quite the same teacher/librarian vibe, which is kind of funny since this is a very similar style to the sweater. I love how the skirt looks with the top though I will admit I'm a little leery of whether or not it's going to stain. AG's usually very good about such things but when they miss, they miss HARD, so I'm going to have to remember to double check the closet to see if I have Mariana standing too close to anyone else. As an outfit, it's gorgeous though I'll likely rarely use the hat.
I freely admit I'm terrible at such things but the beret was a PITA to put on and you'll notice Mariana here has stick straight hair. I don't know if curls would have helped or if it would've made everything a thousand times worse. This is also not safe because Adora was VERY interested in the pom. To be fair, the pom is beyond soft.
Back! This is probably the most color accurate, so you can tell that the red is very holiday appropriate but will also work stupidly well for Valentine's Day. The skirt pulls up, the top is obviously Velcro. And if you're one of those people who cares about the print matching, welcome to hell.
Skirt has a vanity tag that's very easily hidden for this outfit, or if you pair it with the sweater.
Overall, I'm glad I got these pieces though I'm especially glad I didn't pay full price for that hat.
Cat tax has now been paid. Adora was very interested in helping supervise...and wanted to eat the hat.
Next up, Blaire in the Tartan Plaid Outfit. I went with the redhead because this entire outfit reminds me of my grandfather and well before my time, he had red(dish?) hair.
Also, I'm forever searching for something for Blaire to wear. I had to finally take down her Meet hairstyle because the curls had come undone from the braid too much to coax back into submission, so pardon the wild hair.
I'm going to agree with the general consensus that this outfit is extremely well done. There are several pieces (the tie, socks, shoes, vest, shirt, and pants) and if you're someone who likes to fiddle with buttons, oh boy, do I have good news for you. The shirt and vest both have functional buttons and if you have nails, kiss your sanity goodbye. The bowtie Velcros in the back and takes a little tweaking to get it into position but I think I managed it in the end. There's enough room in the pants to tuck the shirt in and not have it look messy and the pants have two functional pockets in the front and two decorative pockets in the back.
Pockets can't hold much, but they could hold somethin'.
Pardon the flash, but without it you couldn't really tell the back isn't velvet like the front. Enjoy the red curls, too. Ooh. Ahh.
Apparently this was the one time in history I didn't get shots of the shoes. Whoops. Well, have a close up of the pants and the shoes sneak into the shot. They're cute loafers and add very much to the granddad feel of this whole thing.
If you skipped last year's and wanted one of the more unisex/boy outfits, I'd definitely recommend this one. I wouldn't say it'll likely fit any of the chunkier dolls, but since I heard last year's outfit was tight on even the skinniest of dolls, this one seems miles ahead better on that front. Blaire fit fine and my only issues were trying to do itty bitty buttons with nails. :P
Also, love how the green in her eyes matches the green in the outfit.
Because my memory is shit and I'm lazy, I can't remember if I reviewed Corinne when she first came in. If not, have a mini review:
Corinne! She's cute as hell, though I can understand some people's issues. Her eyes are definitely larger than other AG eyes, but unlike poor Makena (whose eyes I think are standard AG size), she doesn't have the startled expression. I love the blue underneath and her Meet hairstyle is cute and keeps her hair looking nice without having to fuss too much. It's similar to Blaire's, honestly.
Her Meet sweater is VERY thin though and they were obviously coasting on nostalgia for how people loved the ski one back in the day because dude. You can see through this one.
The lavender tights/pants are holographic and I love them, honestly. Also, her boots are very soft and I love them as well.
Back! I kind of wish this didn't Velcro up the back, if only because I think it's obvious they cut corners elsewhere and that at least would've made it feel a little less cheap. I have no idea if it costs more to do the Velcro, so this is all very appearance based and not necessarily ~factual~ of course. As it is, the colors are nice and I wish Corinne had done better. :/
Particularly since she was kind of made to wear this Witch costume:
Yes, the blue in her hair isn't the same shade of turquoise (aqua?) as the witch costume but she still looks damn good in it. So good that she's the only AG doll currently hanging out in my room proper as she's bringing the Halloween flair.
I was a little worried that maybe I'd built up this costume too much in my mind. It did have a year to do so, y'know? But as soon as I put it on Corinne, I knew it was going to be one of my favorites. Yes, the hat is very flat but it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would, and besides that's just how AG has chosen to do witch hats. I love that we have so many pieces:
hat, gloves, dress, broom, socks, and shoes. The rainbow is fun and I like the materials used. I might try and track down a necklace or earrings for her later but as is? A++
The broom is a vast improvement over the previous witch broom they came out with. I like that it's black (it goes better with the outfit) and the handle includes something so the dolls can actually hold the broom. It works better on the left hand but you can do either.
Glitter boots! The glitter hasn't flaked off so that's nice, but these aren't the nicest feeling boots you'll ever encounter. They aren't solid lumps of plastic, however, so we appreciate them.
If you were on the fence, I'd recommend this one. It's not going to convert anyone to loving Halloween but if you wanted an outfit for Corinne, this one is pretty much perfect. I bet it'd also look nice on the camo Street Sweet doll.
Behold, so Halloween she changed the lighting to get an orange glow!