Sarah here.
In this entry, we’re going to review the Bedroom & Pajama pieces from the new 1990s Historical collection for the Nicki & Isabel Hoffman dolls. The Columbus AG store had most items displayed in cubes, so we couldn’t touch anything but the big-ticket item pieces. This is a visual review, based on our having handled most previous American Girl pieces (smile).
BEDS
Similar to Claudie’s bed in construction (MDF composition pressed-wood and short legs), the beds are identical. (It’s the same bed with different bedding.) They look really nice as a pair with a timeless feel (pretty basic and nothing that screams ’90s). They’re probably going to be popular with the younger playing crowd. We don’t recommend pairing the two beds with the Computer Desk to separate them until you’ve read our Review for the Computer Desk set, but the three sets do match each other nicely in a whole-room setting. You’d be looking at $445 (plus tax/shipping) for the trio, which isn’t too bad in today’s world for the amount of AG stuff you get here. I can imagine this is going to be a big hit at Christmas time. Remember, though, you need to buy both of the Bedroom Accessories sets to get the look you see in the catalog.
1990s TWINS IDEAS How about a quick online search for 18″ doll bunk beds? Bunk beds would be very ’90s, and twins often share a double bed or have bunk beds. For a lot less money, you might find a set of bunks that could even come down to a pair of “twin” beds. Get it? Twin beds for twins? Sorry. That’s a bit of twin humor. Anyway, there are scads of online websites selling bunks made of REAL WOOD (pine, not composition MDF), and they look EXACTLY like what Sis and I slept in during the ’90s. And we bought it new, so it was definitely a ’90s look!
For $225, Courtney’s bed is a nice two-doll option for a 1990s collection! It takes up half the space and looks a lot more period then white post beds.
ISABEL. The bedding is a woven fabric, probably a poly/cotton blend, comparable to other recent bed sets. It comes with one bed pillow and a replica of the AGOT mini Miss AG Bear in her nightshirt.
NICKI. The bedding is a woven fabric, probably a poly/cotton blend, comparable to other recent bed sets. It comes with one zebra bed pillow, one zebra throw pillow, and two plush throw pillows (four pillows).
BEDROOM ACCESSORIES
If you look at these two sets long enough, you can’t help but notice that Nicki got the lion’s share of nice, cool stuff. Poor Isabel looks like they just pulled a couple of things out of Nicki’s set and tried to split what was probably designed to be one large set into two. Just a thought.
1990s TWINS IDEA If you have either the 1997-2000 black-and-white Nightstand from the Girl of Today collection or the 1986-2006 Nightstand from Molly’s collection, it might work with these beds. My only concern is that the beds might have been higher off the ground back then, so you’d want to measure before investing in a nightstand that’s too tall. We’ve got the AGOT stand, and it measures 8″ from floor to top of black frame and 6-1/2″ from floor to table top. Maybe someone can measure Molly’s nightstand for us. Anyway, if you don’t buy the computer desk set, you’ll want to find something to put Nicki’s clock radio on. The display person at the Columbus store made a really darling, perfectly sized nightstand for between the two beds out of foam core. This is the best photo we could get of it, but you get the idea. You could even use one of the crates (which is what Sis and I actually had) that we have in our Etsy store for between the beds. Put on your Creative hat, even if you aren’t a twin . . .
ISABEL. The pink “lounge pillow” is a huge plush version of the smaller ones that you see in the big-box stores. Personally, we have quite a few of these (non-AG brands), and they’re absolutely wonderful for keeping the dolls sitting without falling backwards. The smaller plush throw pillow should have been part of the bed set, like the four that Nicki got, but it does match the bedding nicely. The mini AG Magazine and paper wall poster are just what they look like. The diary comes with a removable pom-pom pen, and it’s where you find out that the Hoffman twins rented their movies from Blockbuster. The hanging string of butterfly lights was designed to hang from the bedposts, but it’s way too long. The store display people put it on the footboard, where it dangled on the floor. If you put it on the headboard, you probably couldn’t use any pillows (if it didn’t even touch your doll’s head). Looked to me like it could easily be cut down to a good length. You’re probably buying this set for the ’90s Tamagotchi, anyway (smile). It’s non-operating, with a lenticular/holographic image on the front, that’s much nicer in person than photos. It looked like a little better quality than a lot of AG’s plastic pieces. Sis and I didn’t have them as kids, but the one in the set looked pretty cute to us.
Click on any image to enlarge.
NICKI. You seem to get a lot for $50 in this set of plastic accessories, compared to other sets that AG sells. The inflatable chair doesn’t look like it would hold the weight of a doll for very long (think Jess’s kayak), but the novelty of it will have nostalgic value for a lot of you. There’s a pretend bedside clock radio (don’t know where you’re supposed to put it without buying the computer desk or making a nightstand, but it’s cute enough). There’s a Walkman with headphones that opens and closes but doesn’t play and two CDs in cases to put in it. You get Nicki’s “zine” (a homemade magazine, popular in the ’90s). The Grin Pins poster is a paper replica of the original cloth banner that PC sold. (Since so many people have asked, it does not have the missing sticker pins to stick on, that we could find. It appears to be just a paper poster.)
PAJAMAS
Isabel. I’m lost for words. Very thin cotton/poly woven blend. One of those embarrassing moments for AG. I do not recommend them. At any price. Sorry. Just my opinion. (This is why we don’t accept free merchandise in exchange for reviews. We get to give an honest opinion.) Who knows? This might just be the time to support some Etsy seller who makes old-fashioned pajamas like this. Or buy Courtney’s Care Bear Pajamas (complete with slouch socks and hair scrunchee) for your 1990s doll . Courtney’s nighty and socks are exactly what we wore as 10-year-olds in the ’90s. Either one of these seems a better option to me!
Nicki. Very cute and just right for the period (like Courtney’s). A nice t-shirt-knit fabric with really cute monkey slippers. If I were into jammies for my dolls, I’d buy this and/or Courtney’s Care Bears for both dolls. The only issue we saw was that this nightshirt is very short (not like ’90s versions), so you’d probably want to add shorts or pants under it for a real ’90s look.
1990s TWINS IDEA As twins who grew up in the ’90s, Sis and I want to say that LICENSED was the ticket of the day. While Nicki’s PJs are authentically cute, both of us would have wanted the Care Bears nightshirts from Courney’s set. Whether you’re staying with twins theme or just outfitting two dolls, then you could buy two sets of Nicki’s PJs and/or two sets of Courtney’s PJs, and the dolls could match in a 1990s kind of vibe. We grew up with a lot of non-identical twins (as well as friends) who dressed alike. It would be really cute to try this!
(FWIW — Sis and I grew up wearing pajamas we liked, and they did not have to match our bedding. Thank goodness for that, because we slept under antique quilts and wool blankets. And we would not have liked wearing old wool pajamas.)
Stay tuned for more reviews . . .