Following the previous post about the Claudie Wells doll and her meet outfit, here are some pictures and thoughts about her collection. We went down on Tuesday to American Girl Place in Easton (Columbus, Ohio), arriving about two hours after the store opened. Claudie only had three closed display cases (one large one for all her outfits, one cute display near the front door, and one showing her bed). That means we couldn’t actually feel/inspect anything, so this is a visual review! For a first, the colors on their stock photos (see American Girl website) are SPOT ON. What you see (at least on our three monitors) is what you’ll get!
Click on any photo below to enlarge.
CLAUDIE’S MEET ACCESSORIES
What you’d expect by looking at the pictures, including the hat which is made of the same stuff you got on Melody’s Meet hat. The bag looked similar to the one from the Irish Truly Me Travel Accessories.
DOG
Looks like a re-colored version of the old Sugar.
PAJAMAS
Cute one-piece PJs fit nicely and were long enough, but the fabric was similar to the Love Shack Fancy mix-n-match or Rebecca’s Beforever white nightgown. Velcros up the back. Expect wrinkles out of the box. Thin satin-like HEAD WRAP looks like there might be an insert of batting or something that padded it out on the top. Where it all joined together in the front at a bow was a bit of a mess on both display dolls (not like in the stock photos). SLIPPERS would have been nicer with a better “faux fur” (these don’t look like fur).
JAZZ PERFORMANCE OUTFIT
(NB: AG describes this as a “purple satin”. Definitely not. It’s a nice wine-red color, and the black is very black. If this were mine, I would not leave my doll in it for extended periods. It looks like a real stainer.)
The tight-fitting dress’s satiny fabric is similar to Rebecca’s Beforever pink pajamas. Bow headband matches. Expect wrinkles out of the box. The shoes are . . . well . . . let’s just say your doll won’t stand up in these weird-looking vinyl “taps”. They didn’t have any sparkle, just silver vinyl. And Eleanor Powell and Shirley Temple could not have danced in them. The heels on these shoes are even worse than Ruthie’s Meet shoes. Even the display person at the store had to just suspend the doll in a big waist stand. Definitely no replacement for Gabby’s tap shoes.
JAZZ DRESS-UP ACCESSORIES
The HAT looked like the same stiff felt as on Melody’s Meet hat. It’s never shown on the doll on AG’s website or in this display. We all agreed that it looked too small to fit on Claudie’s head. The HAT BOX is very cute and will probably be fine if you don’t play with it. (Dollar Tree makes a similar box in their gift-box department from a similar cardstock, just for comparison.) The FAUX FUR STOLE looked nice and fit well. The BAG, TIGHTS, and NECKLACE were what you’d expect.
HARLEM FASHION ROW Outfits
NB: I would not recommend these at all for kids. In my opinion, even adults will have to exercise extreme caution when dressing and undressing. These fabrics and Velcro closures are sworn enemies, with the fabric the loser every time.
The store had these on display only, so we couldn’t feel them, and they weren’t available for purchase. If you’re looking for a 21st-century version of outfits seen in the 1936 film “The Great Ziegfeld”, then these are for you. The outfits were very classy looking, especially standing there together. The Jazzy Flapper dress needed a bit of fringe instead of the embossed eyelet treatment. The shoes were cute but a little lesser quality than the outfits themselves. The shoes from the Sparkly Skirt outfit have a slice of a heel like the old PC Mary Janes; the other two have kitten heels. The clothes fit the dolls really well in the displays. Mom’s Janie would like the gold gown for her dress-up box, but the price would have to come WAY down. The quality of materials really should have put them in the $28-36 price bracket, where they would probably have sold well. I would say that given their price bracket plus the fact that they don’t look modern OR 1920s, they’re geared for a small niche market. Meanwhile, Janie’s hoping for that sale!
BED
The usual composition pressed-wood with printed paper covering it like Nanea’s surfboard. VERY short from the floor. I would definitely say it needed longer legs and probably will look weird next to any of the other AG beds.
SCOOTER & BAKERY
They weren’t there to see. No display.
My Opinion on This Collection
For what it’s worth, all three of us came away with the feeling of having viewed a very uninspired collection. I think Claudie was one of AG’s best opportunities in years to do something that would have actually engaged a wide range of shoppers. There’s a lot of potential with Claudie’s printed story, considering the aspects of baking, newspaper reporting, puppet shows, music, etc. It’s a shame that AG didn’t build the collection on Claudie’s story, rather than going for the adult jazz/flapper theme again that has nothing to do with her actual story. (FWIW, in Claudie’s first book, part of the story is that she’s not very good at dancing so concentrates on her puppeteering skills to help with the fundraising.) It would have been nicer if they had produced more “everyday” outfits for her. And the 1920s-1940s is MY era! Mom always says that Sis and I were born in the 1920s and live in the 1930s-40s. Our family’s interests all revolve around various historic times. That said, I’d like to say that there is a total lack of 1920s in Claudie’s collection to date. The 1920s clothing profile is completely missing, the dresses being way too fitted to Claudie’s body for that era. Her Jazz Dress should have been much looser and lower at the waist to get even close to historical accuracy. These styles really belong in the 1930s. (Specifically, these styles look like the 1934-1936 years.) Think Shirley Temple movies. Think Myrna Loy in the first Thin Man movie. Think “The Great Ziegfeld” with William Powell. (Even Claudie’s book reads like a re-run of Shirley Temple’s “Just Around the Corner” movie from 1938.) Personally, I prefer this 1930s look — but I’d say that this collection, as a whole, will suit Kit super well!
Stay tuned for another entry shortly, this time comparing Claudie’s face mold to the other AG doll molds. Wig photos will follow that!
Thanks for the review! Worth noting that Black folks usually call the head scarf a “bonnet” or a “head wrap,” not a turban 😉
Thanks for taking the time to leave the kind words and information. I love learning something new (head wrap instead of turban) and have already corrected the post. Again, thanks!