AG review: Brocade Holiday Dress

[impy]

Brocade Holiday Dress for Dolls + Charm
Item# F6169 $36
Make her doll's season bright! This outfit is perfect for those shimmering holiday festivities, and includes:

A cream-and-gold brocade party dress, featuring a velvet ribbon and mesh rosettes at the waist
A matching flower-trimmed headband
Cream-colored tights
Golden shoes, to dance the evening away
A "Kind" heart charm for the doll's charm-keeper necklace



I'll be up front and say this: I would not spend more than $36 on this dress. I didn't because of free shipping and the first round of present roulette. I didn't like spending $36 on it to begin with because I feel this tells AG I'm okay with this nonsense and I am very much NOT. That said...

It was a holiday dress that was neither red nor blue/silver, so... I kinda had to. I don't really remember thinking too much of this at the store beyond "well... that's kind of more blah than I was expecting" but I saw some pictures on Playthings that made me rethink the dress. Especially the thought of trying it on Sonali or Kanani.

Still, I was a little worried since I'd already seen it in person and found it kind of blah. Once I opened the box, however, I was in love. Stars and hearts in my eyes in love. The dress is much softer than I would have imagined (maybe because when I think doll brocade I think really stiff for some reason?) and it's very understated in its sparkle. If you're the type to like the feel of velvet, there is that stripe around the waist that I may or may not absentmindedly pet because it's super soft and very soothing to touch. *cough*



Because irishgypsie was the first to chime in, we went with Sonali as our model. Contrast and all. ;) That said, I can't think of too many dolls where this wouldn't look good, contrast be damned. I think Saige would look fabulous in it (the red and the gold, think of the possibilities!) and I kinda want to plunk McKenna in it to see if her brand of blonde looks good. Maybe the really, really light blondes would look washed out? But I can also see that as an appealing look to some. Perhaps Molly wouldn't be best served by the dress but in general I think it's bound to be a flattering dress to any doll who can fit into it.
Yes, the dress is tight enough that I don't think it'll fit Sam or HTA (who are my chubby Pre-Mattel girls) so for those PM or chubbier Mattel dolls, you might be hosed.


The back of the dress. The velvet stripe goes all the way around. Woo! Not that this was in doubt but still. Not sure if this is the sort of velcro to catch and snag everything and I didn't feel like potentially damaging the outfit just to find out. :P


The tights are pretty thick (in a good way) and go on easily. So those get a thumbs up. The shoes, however, are dreadfully dull. Even though they're cream and technically go with the dress, they feel so plain that it's very mismatched. I feel they require sparkle and I'm pretty sure that's not just my inner child demanding the shoes sparkle OR ELSE. I think the dress could withstand a dose of shoe sparkle and still be elegant.


The colors on this are wonky; this is mostly just so that you can see the design. It's not blue in person but this is what happens when you take pictures at twilight!

The catalog shows the headband going both ways (with the design on either the right or left side of her head) but mine is angled so that it wouldn't look right on the left side.

The outfit needs something for the hair but this headband is lacking in a couple of ways. One, the band is too short. If you start to fix Sonali's hair because, I dunno, shoving a headband down into it might mess it up, the headband will pop up and then off. If you try and use the headband to push the hair back, it's not long enough to withstand the hair and will try and pop off. Neither option is very fun.


See? Trying to pop off. Anyway, worse still is the tag they attached to this. It is incredibly long and pretty darn huge. You're left with three choices:
1) Rip it off.
2) Leave it on and out and have it look ridiculous.
3) Wind it around the band and then tape it til you decide to rip it off. :P


Let's go on to the good stuff, shall we?


The mesh rosettes and the super soft velvet band at the waist add some fun to the dress without being overly fussy or too much. You'll also note the gold stars which are mentioned in the outfit description but that I somehow missed until opening the box.


Underside of the dress is more gold because, y'know, inverted from the design on the front. I wish the pictures came out better because the flashes of gold are really, really pretty.


Messy hair is messy, but this is pretty true to the color of the dress.


The flash brings out the stars as it washes other things out.



A wild Zma runs by, hopped up on 'nip.

Comments

[irishgypsie.livejournal.com]

I think it's pretty, but it still features the one design flaw that I really, really hate about AG dolls - that damn garish neck seam. And do all the dolls have big strings coming out the back of the neck? What are those for?

I wish AG would either find a way to get rid of the horrible seam or simply stop making clothing that displays it so obviously. Or sell more necklaces/chokers to disguise the seam.

That said, I'll probably end up passing on this one. The Springfield collection has quite a few fancy dresses that have nice high necks so the ugly seam won't be an issue. And they're about 1/3 the cost of AG clothing.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to get my first (and I still haven't even decided if my first will be Rebecca, Josefina, or Cecile) but it will happen at some point! :D

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

The neck seam is so very unprettiful but I prefer it to the shoulders. *twitch* I believe I tend to counter mine with Lizbeth's necklace from her accessories, Cecile's necklace from her special occasion dress, and Josefina's got her heirloom accessories that have a black choker. I'd imagine a trip to any craft store or something would also yield loads of possibilities to keep the seam from showing in much cheaper options.

I figured the sooner I did this review, the sooner you could decide whether you liked the dress enough to keep it on your want list. ;)

Are you planning to pick out your doll in person (are you close enough to the store?) or getting her the old fashioned way and having her arrive via the mail?

[irishgypsie.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to have to do it the old fashioned way and get her through the mail. The nearest AG store is up in Santa Monica, which is a good two hour drive away, and I hate driving. Plus it's always exciting to have stuff arrive in the mail!

[luxken27]

If I recall correctly, I think I liked this dress when you first posted it - and it does look great here! I agree that it needs glitter-sparkly shoes to truly feel like a ~holiday~ dress. Kudos for the attention to detail!

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

Yay, it's not just me thinking that then! :D Holiday shoes need to be glossy or glittery, or fancy in some way. It's a law.