Does anyone remember American Girl? I first received the catalogue from Pleasant Company back in the mid-1990s (before Mattel acquired it), and fell in love with Samantha.
Now there are so many characters I couldn’t keep track of them, but the ones that were in my catalogue were Felicity, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, and Molly. I guess that’s why no matter how many more dolls are added to the collection, those five will always be my idea of the American Girls.
But the dolls cost $80, and clothes, furniture, and accessories cost more than what I spend on myself (true to this day!). I knew there was no way that Mom would ever spend $100 on a doll, so I never bothered to ask (yes, even as a kid I was realistic), but I loved that catalogue. I think I’ve gotten more joy out of flipping the pages, and looking at the pictures, and making up stories in my head that I could’ve with an actual doll (or at least that’s what I kept telling myself…).
I actually considered ordering a catalogue now, just for a walk down memory lane. But I refrained. I mean, it’s not like I want to PLAY WITH DOLLS at my age. You know, now that I’m an adult and all.
(On second thought, I’m just tryin’ to keep the child in me alive.)
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I loved Samantha too! haha I never asked for the dolls either, knowing they were ridiculously expensive. Have you seen American Girl Place in NYC? it’s insane – kids can take their dolls to the hair salon to get their hair done, or to the ‘hospital’ if there’s something wrong, on top of the millions of outfits and accessories and furniture available. Eek.
I have a Samantha with all her stuff (clothing, trunk, bedroom set, etc). The only problem is that now that I am older, I don’t know what to do with it! All that stuff requires a lot of storage space (which I do not have!).
Great memories. AG is also good for some historical education and they have great books to help girls cope with growing up.
Of course I remember!! My favorites were Samantha and Felicity…I loved Felicity’s red hair! I think that was the most extravagant thing I ever asked my parents for. I knew it was too much money, but I figured they’d say no anyway and it was worth a shot (they did say no).
Sounds hokey, but what I did like was that tie to historical education…you could immerse yourself in a period of American history, and still be entertained as an 8 year old! lol. I haven’t looked too closely lately, but I have a feeling that original feel and intent has been lost. (Its kind of like how I can’t stand the whole “princesses” thing….they’ve taken something that used to be sweet and turned it into a money making machine!)
I had/have Kirsten and Samantha. I think I read all of the Kirsten books. I remember not liking it when they added the ‘new’ dolls back in the day. I still have both of them, and their stuff, at my dad’s house. Hopefully I’ll have a girl someday and I can pass it along to her and avoid having to buy it myself!
I had an AG (Addy) doll and read several of the books. I loved dolls growing up and had all the accessories for my AG doll. Thinking of this has brought back pleasant childhood memories…
I have one of the first 100 American Girl dolls ever made – Samantha, and she has the number and the creator’s signature on her stomach.
Ummmm, that MIGHT be worth something today, except that my mom was in favor of her children actually playing with their toys, which means she let me unbraid Samantha’s hair, lose one of the shoes and I think both socks …
Kind of a personal finance lesson, I guess: Would I be happier now having that thing in mint condition, or the many hours of playing I had with it? Definitely the latter. Besides, neither my mom nor I knew then how huge AG would become!!
I had Felicity. I got a decent amount of her outfits (and of course read all the books!), but I had a handmade bed and plenty of assorted clothes from craft fairs (those outfits were really popular at those sorts of sales back then).
I definitely liked the historical lessons…wasn’t a fan when someone died (as tends to happen in history), but it was cool!
And I recently found out that one of the brief events they include in Felicity’s life is actually based on something that Susan Boudinot, a young girl during the Revolutionary war, did.
Pretty cute!
AG has a special place in my heart! I always wanted one, especially Molly, but my parents wouldn’t shell out that much for a doll. They told me that I was free to buy her if I saved up my allowance. So I saved my $2 every week for a year to buy Molly and the little starter set (the beret and a few other little things). She’s still one of my prized possessions!
I checked out all of the books for all of the dolls (the ones that were around when I was that age, at least), and loved every one. Hopefully I’ll have a little girl one day and can enjoy all that stuff again.
Me too!!! I loved reading the books that went with the dolls. I read every one that the library had.
I had never even heard of American Girl until I watched Jon and Kate + 8 and they went to an American Girl store. Guess thats what happens when you’re Canadian!
I definitely loved the American dolls growing up. I had Samantha and some clothes, but I remember always being jealous of my friend who had like 3 of them along with all of their clothes, furniture and accessories. Now my 7 year old cousin is into them and got one that “looks like her” with blone hair and blue eyes. She also got matching outfits for her and her doll.
I considered giving her my old doll, but when I pulled it out of the attic, I remembered why it went in there in the first place – I cut her hair. Oops!
I don’t remember ever asking for/wanting the dolls. We did have a lot of the books though, and I loved those. We also had some sort of script for a play by AG, set in some old fashioned time.
I don’t know why I never wanted the dolls though. I had a lot of dolls, but maybe by the time I discovered the books (4th grade?) I was “too old” to want dolls
I used to LOVE AG. I couldn’t wait for the catalogs to come in. I was so into the girl’s stories and the food that they ate. LOL. I had all of the Addy books. My best friend actually got an Addy doll. As a matter of fact she still has it…never removed from the box…wonder if it’s worth anything??? *Off to check ebay…lol*
I was the same as you – never had the dolls, but I loved the catalogs and I also would get the books from the libraries. I did have the “put on a play” kits though, which came with scripts, directors’ notes, etc. Every time I got a gift certificate to a bookstore (for birthdays, Christmas, etc) I would get one of those.
I read the books, but had no interest in the dolls when I was younger, dolls just creeped me out. Recently, though, my boss dragged me into an AG store to show me all their “cool stuff” …. that was kind of weird.
Here in NYC, we have the American Girl Cafe — a restaurant/store where little girls and their dolls can have (expensive) tea parties. It’s painfully cute — even the dolls get special chairs and tiny teacups. My favorite part: The cafe serves alcohol for harried moms. Just rosé, from what I remember, but still: awesome.
I actually had one of those when I was younger. My mom had bough me the Addy doll and I was so in love with her! I had her for a few months, then my mom’s car was stolen and my doll was in it! I hope I have a little girl one day so I can buy a new doll for me…err…her. Molly is my absolute favorite! And all of the books are so awesome.
I used to love the American Girl dolls! My first one was Kirsten and my sister had Samantha, since the dolls resembled us physically (me with blonde hair and my sister with darker hair). And then a few years later I finally got Felicity for Christmas, for the historical aspect. While I loved Kirsten, I really loved Felicity’s time period.
I can’t believe how many dolls there are now, and it does seem, as someone said earlier, it’s not so much historical now. Dallas also has this huge American Girl store and cafe, and my Mom and I have chatted about checking it out for curiosity and nostalgia’s sake, but haven’t in the few times I’ve visited. I can only imagine it’s similar to the NYC store. I can’t imagine it’s gotten so huge like that.
I had Samantha and my sister had Kirsten. I got my doll the year my parents split up. It was guilt Christmas central. I got the doll, the matching dress for me, and god knows what else. After Christmas, my parents told us they were separating. We all know what happens after that!
I still have my doll. I had a decent amount of stuff for her, although nowhere near all of it. A few years ago I did have her head replaced due to too much love over the years. I have often thought about getting the complete collection, just to have it. But that seems silly.
i loved the american girl series too! i remembered kirsten or maybe it was felicity? the pioneer girl, and then samantha and molly. they started adding on girls just as i was outgrowing the books. as much as i wanted a doll i too was well aware my mom would never pay that much for a doll so i indulged my american girls obsession by reading and re-reading all the books. my favorite was samantha! ahh…memories
I had Samantha!! My sister had Kirsten, we loved them. =)
When I was in 4th grade, my best friend had a Molly doll, and I wanted Samantha sooooo badly, but there was no way my parents could afford such an expensive doll.
Later, for my 15th birthday 9 of my friends all chipped in and got me the Samantha doll. It was the coolest thing. Though I was too old to play with dolls at that age, I was still fascinated with collecting them. To this day, I still have my Samantha doll, (packed away in a box) and I still want to one day collect her outfits and fellow dolls. I did buy her accessory package, but I’ve never bought any other outfits for the doll — somehow they never seem to be a big priority in the budget.
I don’t know if the American dolls are worth that much as collectors items, since there are so many of them in existence. I did notice, upon visiting the AG store in Chicago a few years back, that the quality of the clothing/accessories has gone down quite a bit since the 90s, so I’m guessing if you have one of the original Molly, Samantha or Kirsten dolls, it may be worth a decent amount.
I wanted one very badly, but my parents said there was no way in hell they would spend that much money on a doll. Now I get my fix on Blythe dolls.
They’re an acquired taste. Plus I like supporting Etsy crafters in buying their clothes.