Review: 1990s Twins / Dolls & Accessories

Sarah here, just back from the AG store with pix and notes about the new Twins collection.

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” The Greeks may not have been talking about us or the USPS, but it describes the way we’ve been feeling for weeks, now. The couriers are Yours Truly with her sister and mother. It’s a 1-1/2 hour drive to the store for us, but you’d be amazed at how “swift” we can be when we want to get somewhere (smile). The appointed rounds? American Girl Place in Easton (Columbus, Ohio), of course. And the Container Store, to restock supplies for our Etsy store, but I shall ignore that for now.

I don’t have to tell anyone that American Girl’s new 1990s Historical Dolls hit the stores today, or that the names of the Twins are Nicki and Isabel Hoffman. And the fact that Sis and I are identical twins added nothing to our excitement. (After all, anyone can buy two dolls and call them twins, right?) Wanna know what has kept us awake several nights (mostly worried about how high the price would be)? It’s the PIZZA HUT BOOK-IT set! We were born in 1987 and are just the right age to wallow in the nostalgia of the 1990s Book-it program. It’s the reason we went to the store today. But we’ll get to that in a later entry.

Click on any photo to enlarge. That’s a redressed Isabel on the left, Nicki on the right.

The Columbus store had all the currently available Twins items on display. I’ll post more detailed reviews and photos on everything else as quickly as possible over the next day or two. This entry is a review of the two Dolls, their Meet Outfits and Meet Accessories, and the Pet set. I know that a number of you are waiting for this review before you purchase, so I wanted to be quick about getting something up.

We haven’t been this thrilled with a doll and her collection since Blaire. We were in the store for three hours, most of the time just admiring the new stuff and making notes for these reviews. It was a very fun day, and the long ride home didn’t seem so long, what with all the chattering going on (smile).

DOLLS
THUMBS UP ALL THE WAY! Get over the fact that AG wasn’t creative enough to come up with two new names. Pick your own names for them and move on, because they’re adorable. I don’t know how you’ll decide on one or t’other. We went today with no intention of buying a doll and came home with one of each. Had to look through all 40-45 boxes, just because we’re compulsive about AG dolls, and we found two winners! We’re not impulse buyers, so that should bear witness to the fact that these dolls are irresistible! They’re so friendly and happy looking!

They look straight ahead (begging to be the one to go home with you), not down at the ground like Josefina. You all know we’re suckers for the Joss face mold, and that straight-on gaze is a big part of the draw for us. Oh, did I mention that? They’re definitely the Joss face mold. Their skin tone is the regular light #10 that you’d know from Julie, Rebecca, Corinne, et al. Don’t let AG’s retouched and/or overlit stock photos fool you — they are not the #05 pale peachy. Both of these straight wigs are fuller than you’d expect from recent AG releases and have a nice silky body about them. We think they’re pretty nice wigs (for AG wigs), not skimpy or see-through. These are two of the cutest dolls (if you like the Joss face)! If you want someone to choose the doll for you, give the Chicago AG store a call and ask for a Personal Shopper. There’s no extra charge to the buyer, and a number of people use them. It’s a service offered by that store, and the PS have good reputations.

ISABEL. I know that the majority of forum posts seems to push Nicki out in front as the favorite, but you really might consider taking another look at Isabel before you make a decision to buy just one. She’s even more adorable in person, with that unique wig (subtle two-tone blonde with a center part) and nice green decal eyes (like mid-Mattel Felicity dolls). This doll has a lot of personality that just didn’t show up in the stock photos.

You won’t be able to do much styling of the hair. She’ll definitely need a headband or hair clip at the sides to keep it from hanging in her face. And they layered a 1″ hank of hair at the front left side of the wig about an inch shorter than the rest. They were, obviously, going for that look when girls pulled their hair back and left one front hank of shorter hair hanging free and loose at the side of their faces. She has a really happy look, nothing shy or serious. Her face paint was pretty consistent (e.g., no blips on the lip paint or eye make-up).

Click any photo to enlarge.

NICKI. She’s even cuter and more personality-filled than she looks in AG’s photos, and that’s saying a lot. Her wig is about two inches longer than Chrissa’s wig with straight, un-layered, plain brown hair and a center part. The “chunky” highlights (which we didn’t like then or now) are just what you remember from the time of the millenium. If you’re into highlights, I can tell you they actually match at the part and aren’t as in-your-face as some of the colored ones. Her eyes are the light-blue pinwheel version like the current AG dolls (not the old-fashioned ice blue). Her lip color is appropriately but only slightly darker than Isabel’s, reminiscent of Grace. (Sis says you could easily replace your old Grace doll with Nicki and a quick re-wig.) Like Isabel, this doll is very happy and friendly looking.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR WHEN PICKING YOUR DOLL
ISABEL There were two different “looks” for Isabel, like many of the AG dolls have had, but it was difficult to pinpoint the differences this time. Usually we know if it’s the thin-head-round-head thing. Or the wig line. This time, though, we really couldn’t tell. Everything looked all right, and there were thin faces and round faces, but it was something else that eluded us. We looked through every box in the store and felt the stock was pretty evenly split for the two looks.  Her left eye has a bit of a problem with the socket being a taddy bit too large, so the eyeball innards tended to be slightly exposed. They’ve had dolls with worse (Kavi, for instance, is atrociously bad in the left eye). If this matters to you, then a personal shopper in Chicago might be called for here. We had no trouble finding one without the problem. This doll is a real charmer!

FWIW — We just unboxed Isabel to find out that she a wig issue. Apparently, AG took a side-part wig and put it on the doll as a center part without re-trimming it. This means that the wig runs at an angle in the back and is shorter on the left and longer on the right. We’re planning to remove the wig and put it back on where it’s supposed to be or use it on another doll. I won’t know yet until we finish all these reviews. We didn’t notice it at the store, but you barely got to see her without something on her head or one side of her hair pushed behind her back. (Perhaps the display people noticed the problem and were trying to minimize it?) Looking over all the pix we took, you can clearly see it once you know to look for it. They should have told the hairstylists at the store about their intent, because we just now fixed her hair the way we think they meant it to be and she’s even cuter than before. You could choose to trim the back to be straight or just live with it. I definitely wouldn’t let this turn you off, unless you can’t stand that stray hair hanging down in front of her face. She’s soooooo cute, oh my . . . (Mom just told Sis that if she doesn’t want it like this, Mom wants it for her “Kitty” character, wig and all.)

NICKI Aside from having the different looks that ALL American Girl dolls have in their boxes (they all want to be the one you pick, you know), Nicki was as pretty consistently nice throughout the boxes as Isabel. Her wig does not have the same part issue that we just described on Isabel. She didn’t seem to have the eye-socket trouble, but she did have lip paint inconsistencies. If you don’t mind that the top lip has one large and one small “lobe” (about 3/4 of what was in the Columbus store had this issue), then you are GOOD TO GO! If it would bother you, then you might consider a call to a personal shopper in the Chicago store.

MEET OUTFITS
The Meet Outfits are similar in quality to what’s been released over the last couple of years, like Kira’s Meet or some of the Truly Me outfits. Panties are the same small pink TM ones.

ISABEL. One-piece top, skirt, knee socks and shoes. The top is a one-piece job, with a woven blend sewn to a knit sweater bodice (front and back). There is no full blouse under the vest. Velcros up the back from the bottom of the knit to the top, but the shirt hanging below the vest just hangs open in the back. Buttons in the front are just for looks. The bottoms of the sleeves have a hem with no closure. The mini, a-line skirt is made of a thin woven fabric that velcros at the top in back. The white, stretchy knee socks look like other AG socks. The shoes have a soft vinyl top with a hard-plastic split sole (same color all around) and velcro closures on the straps. Surprisingly, she stands really well on her own in those tall shoes. (Is the height of these shoes because her book says she’s an inch taller than her sister?)

NICKI. Surprisingly Nicki’s Meet dress is actually two pieces which both velcro up the back: a full-length t-shirt with a little knit t-dress over it. (I don’t know why AG didn’t show this in their stock photo, where it appears to be one piece.) It’s one of the cutest girl-shaped t-shirts that AG’s ever made. (We’ll take photos of the rest of the Meet Outfit pieces tomorrow, if we can get some light into this eternal gloom of Central Ohio.)

The rest of Nicki’s outfit comprises a wrap-around shirt, crew socks, and blue shoes. The shirt around her waist is the same fabric as Isabel’s skirt. It’s a fully-functioning shirt, with a button-up front and sleeves that have buttoned cuffs. The socks look like previous AG runs, and the shoes are re-colored versions of the white/rainbow shoes from Joss’s Beach Jumper Outfit. Shoe tops are soft vinyl with hard-plastic soles, and the doll stands really well in them. (If anyone doesn’t want their Meet shoes from Nicki, please let us know. We might need more than one pair.)

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
AG boxed the Nicki doll with foam wrapped around her upper arms UNDER the maroon trim on the sleeves. Obviously, they’re expecting it to stain. We’ll definitely be doing a vinegar soak before Bunty wears this shirt.

Nicki’s Meet Outfit includes a shirt wrapped around her waist, like Kira’s “Adopt Don’t Shop” shirt, with longer-than-normal sleeves made to wrap around the doll’s large waist. Personally, I think the longer sleeves look more natural on the dolls when worn as a buttoned-up shirt, since most people’s sleeves bunch a little at the wrist. We just wanted you to know, though, that the sleeves will be a little longer than you’d expect them to be.

MEET ACCESSORIES

ISABEL. The adorable little beret is a re-make of the Janie and Jack blue one from Christmas 2022 and the France Travel Outfit that’s still available. Bunty really needs one of these (plus a pink one from the Travel outfit). I don’t normally buy doll Meet Accessories, but this beret really spoke to me! They come with two small shankless buttons (like Grin Pins), tacked onto the front with thread, which look really nice. However, they can be easily removed (Bunty has sheep buttons, of course) and used elsewhere, if you want a solid-color beret. The pink sunglasses and plastic beaded necklace are pretty cheap and not worth describing. The “backpack” is a pure ’90s see-through jelly bag, like you’d find holding soap or lotion in any beauty-supply aisle. One display doll at the store had it on the doll, but it looked too small and short (backpack was up at the back of her neck). It has a handle, however, so the doll can hold/carry it like a bag. A small paper “journal” (waiting to be filled in, with a few pages started) and two sheets of stickers complete the set.

NICKI. The light-blue baseball cap has elastic at the back and two buttons sewn on it that look like the old grin pins. The old Girl of Today logo is embroidered on the front panel in white thread. The black sunglasses and shoulder bag are really nice. My Nanea has these same glasses in red (don’t know where I got them), and they look classy and fit really nicely. The faux-patent, very shiny vinyl purse looked really good, better than a lot of the earlier bags. The choker is as cheap-looking as Isabel’s Meet necklace (think pet leash with velcro at the ends). Worse than the way it looks, though, is the fact that they used a very cheap BLACK ribbon that will probably stain the doll. A small paper “journal” and one sheet of sticky “Grin Pins” complete the set.

PETS
The kitten and puppy are sold as a set in one box. They’re non-poseable plush, just like previous “named pets”. As a plush expert (we had more than a thousand in our time), I think AG missed the mark trying to sell these as pets. They are REALLY cute plushies that would be perfect for a ’90s set-up. As you know, the 1990s was probably the high point in plush, with makers like Dakin, Russ, and Gund. Most of our friends had baskets and mounds of plush animals, and this AG set reminds me SO much of what we had back then. The quality of these “pets” is surprisingly nice, if you buy them as plushies, and just the right size.

Thought you’d like to see a few shots of our new Kitty and Zale dolls. (You might recognize them as Isabel and Nicki Hoffman.) We just brought them home yesterday so haven’t had time to re-wig Zale, but it’s enough to give you an idea of what these dolls look like when you remove the Meet outfits and do even something small with their hair.

Kitty has been a long-time character on Islandshire, affectionately known for being so . . . shall we say . . . um, interested in everything that’s going on around Islandshire. (We don’t want to use the “g” word, but she is who you tell something to when you want everyone to know right away.) Kitty has always been a bit of a problem, though, because she was a #74 boy with a #5 red banged wig, and she just didn’t look friendly or perky enough. The minute we pulled Elizabeth’s Isabel out of the box, Mom and I both said “Kitty. Wow!” Mom told Sis that if she didn’t end up wanting the new doll, Mom would like to replace Kitty with this one. Elizabeth pointed out that the green “cat” eyes were perfect for Kitty, and it was all settled. Just like that. Meet Kitty.

Funny how things work out. We bought one of each of these dolls yesterday. Sis has been waiting for years to have Felicity-green eyes in a Joss face, so we took the trip down to the store expecting for her to come home with an Isabel. I wasn’t sure that I wanted one of the new dolls, but I really liked the blue eyes in the Joss head, and Mom thought we should just find a nice one for me and bring it home. I didn’t have any plans for another doll, but Nicki was awfully filled with personality. And they both looked so cheery!

So, what’s happened? (The three of us work like this in everything, actually.) Mom got Elizabeth’s Isabel for Kitty, and my Nicki was a fabulous replacement for Elizabeth’s Zale. The chunky highlights aren’t anyone’s thing here (then or ever), but Nicki’s wig is so full that we tried to get Sis to keep it on Zale. But Sis has an aversion to keeping dolls the way they come out of the box, so she’s not interested in keeping the wig. Since the water-blue eyes are just what she wants for Zale (who runs the dive shop on Islandshire), the only thing left to change is the hair. Zale will most likely become a blonde, because we don’t really have but a couple of those in the house. Would you like to see how cute the Nicki doll is, though, out of the Meet Outfit? (Zale’s wig is off now, so I’ll post photos of the “new look” in the next day or two, if we get some brightness around here.)

Stay tuned tomorrow for more reviews of the new 1990s Historical Dolls Collection from American Girl.