New Doll Hospital Gowns!

After 8 years, American Girl is finally updating the Doll Hospital Gown! The below images are from American Girl's official Instagram. The bottom images were posted a few weeks ago. (although really, they're from 2012. Camille was photoshopped into the picture in 2016, when the WellieWishers were released.) I'm excited for this new gown. It looks nice, and looks more like an actual hospital gown! 

Actually, if I'm being honest, it reminds me of the first hospital gown, from 1989-2006. I have to admit, I was getting really tired of the pink one, and now I have three. I got one from Skylar's head replacement in 2018, a second with Felicity's ear piercing and torso replacement in early 2020, and a third when I sent her back for a zip tie instead of strings in mid-2020 after the COVID-19 closures. I'd honestly thought (And slightly hoped) she'd come back with one of those paper-but-it's-not-actually-paper-it's-a-thin-fabric gowns. Heh, I have as many gowns as I do 18-inch dolls!

Looks like #57 is finally retiring from modeling for the doll hospital after 9 years of service, while brunette Bitty Baby continues his services for the 8th year. You aren't getting any compliments from me, Camille. You only worked for 4 years before retiring. Tsk, tsk. 

 

Now for a bit of history about the Doll Hospital! It was started in 1989, 3 years after the American Girls Collection was released. At the time, the only way to admit a doll was by sending a doll in with the admission form, which was available in every catalogue. Once the AG website was up and running in (I believe 1998), you could print the form from there. In 2006, the gown was changed from the classic blue striped gown. In 2012 the gown was changed again, and in 2020, the entire admission process was overhauled. Instead of filling out a form and sending the doll in with payment, you now fill out a thing online and pay there. You will then get a printable shipping label. I assume this is to prevent payment getting lost in shipping, making customers pay again. (Really, AG?! You couldn't have done this BEFORE you held Felicity for ransom?)

Photo Credit: Nethilia from the AG Wiki
1989-2006 
Each doll came with a gown, ID bracelet, Certificate of Good Health, band-aid sticker, and Get Well Soon Balloon.

Photo Credit: AG Wiki
2006-2012
Gown 2 came with all previous accessories, plus purple hair ribbon(s) were tied in her hair. Bitty Baby received a purple beanie instead of the bracelet and ribbons. (Where would they even tie it?? Their hair is molded on!)

Photo Credit: American Girl
2012-2020
Gown 3 was a bit different. Instead of closing with two ties like the previous gowns, it now closes with two small squares of velcro. The dolls no longer came with a balloon, but now received white hospital socks with a pink heart on the sides. Initially came with the sticker, but was later removed.

Photo Credit: American Girl Instagram
2020-
Gown 4 has the American Girl logo on the center of the chest instead of on the left breast. It does not say "Doll Hospital" anywhere, unlike the previous gowns. It looks nice, and much more believable as a hospital gown than the previous one, so I'd be more likely to use it. And is that a little teddy bear? Aw. I'm assuming it comes with the Bitty Babies, and possibly the WellieWishers. 

Overall, I feel like the original gown that was available for 17 years looks the most like a hospital gown, although the new one is a close second. The second and third gowns look the most stylized. 

Which is your favorite? Mine is the purple one. Hmm, now I've just got to hunt one down...

'til Next Time! - JCole

Review: Girl of the Year 2018, Luciana Vega, from American Girl

On the 15th of last month, I turned 15! And I received Luciana, Luciana's Accessories, Joss's Cheer Practice Outfit, and with birthday money I bought the WellieWishers doll Kendall! Today I'll be reviewing Luciana! Let's start off with her packaging. 

She arrives in a white box with a colorful lid. At the top, it says "✩American Girl". Below is a techno/galaxy pattern that fades from green into blue into purple, The center has Luciana's constellation logo and Luci's name logo: Luciana is written in blocky white letters, with the "i" being a satellite. Vega is written in a handwriting font, with the words fading from white into purple. Below is an image of Luciana with the "Girl of the Year" logo to the left of it.

The lid lifts up to reveal Luciana. Her book sits in a tray on top of her.

The side of the box shows the Girl of the Year logo once more, and more of the techno pattern.

The back has some information. I noticed the note about Luciana, and was quite intrigued. My sister's Joss doll's box had a similar note about Joss being available past 2020. I mean, I knew that the GotY's are available multiple years now, but I didn't expect it to be printed on the box now! 

Luciana has the Josefina face mold in medium vinyl. She also has pinwheel style brown eyes, and arched eyebrows, unique to her and Lea. Unlike Lea, I really like these on Luci! I felt that they made Lea look angry. She has medium length dark brown hair with side bangs and a purple streak.

From the back, her hair is fairly even, even if it doesn't look like it. Her ends like to flip out a bit. It's very different from Truly Me 23's flip, which drove me crazy because of how much it flipped. Luci's looks nice, and behaves, so I'll leave it alone. 

Luciana also has a purple weft of hair sewn into her wig cap. In her book, she dyes it with her friend Raelyn, who has a matching streak. She calls it a "stripe of friendship". Because it's sewn on a lower layer of hair, it doesn't show often, although if you twist a section away it shows well.

Luci's bangs are actually a separate weft of hair sewn in place. I'd expected them to be like Lanie, Girl of the Year 2010's bangs, which were just a section of the wig that was cut. Although, it appears that some later editions of Luciana dolls had cut bangs instead of set bangs. I love side bangs- they're my favorite style of bangs- but Luciana's are quite difficult to maintain. They like to fall over her eye a lot, and unless you want an Emo Luci™, they can be quite frustrating to handle at first. However, once you get the hang of styling them, they look quite nice.

Luciana has the standard American Girl body, with a vinyl head and limbs and a cloth torso. You might notice that she doesn't have a body tag. I used tweezers to pull it out of the seam carefully, so it now appears that she never had one. Her hands are interesting. The two middle fingers are fused together, while the index, pinkie, and thumb are spaced apart. My Luciana has the so-called "good" body fabric. For a while, from about 2017 to late 2019, American Girl started using a different body fabric than the one they'd been using for years. The new, or "bad" fabric was a bit thinner and had a different texture, which caused the neckline to pucker horribly around the zip tie. My Felicity doll originally had that body, but it was defective and caused her head and limbs to squeak when moved, so American Girl replaced it with a better torso for free. It's sad though, because those bodies matched the vinyl better. Luciana's torso is a few shades lighter than her limbs, while Felicity's is a bit too orange-toned. If only I could have a body that didn't squeak AND matched the dolls limbs.

Starting with Lea in 2016, American Girl began attaching doll's heads with a zip tie sewn into the torso, instead of the white string that hung out the back that they had been using for decades. This was done for a number of reasons, and I'll list a few. First off, American Girl had started selling dolls in other countries, and the dolls now had to meet the toy standards of not only the United States, but also Europe, Mexico, AND the United Arab. Second, kids usually cut the strings off, making the dolls head fall off, horrifying the child and the parent who will have to pay to have it fixed. Zip ties don't fall off, and are difficult to cut off. 

Personally, I prefer zip ties, because they don't get caught in the hair or Velcro, and don't look funky when a doll wears a low-backed outfit. However, with neck strings a doll can easily be opened for repairs. Collectors often prefer them, because I guess they rip their heads off often? If you prefer either the strings or the zip ties, feel free to mention it! I'd love to talk about it. However, zip ties are often pushed sideways in the neck channel, making the neck pucker in strange places. See how the bump from the zip tie is to the right of the seam?

 One new thing that I noticed about the new dolls, is that her arms and hips now have a... secret code... serial number... thing. I'm not sure when AG implemented this, but my Felicity (August 2019) doesn't have it, while my sister's Joss (February 2020) does. It's weird, whatever it is. Her right arm says R224*, her left says L532*, her left leg says L380, and I didn't check her right leg. The stars/asterisks have been on the limbs since Mattel slimmed the limbs down, so around late 2000 to early 2001. The numbers seem to have a meaning. L and R probably mean "Left" and "Right", but the numbers meanings are completely random. 

For some reason, this is the only full picture I got of her outfit. Luciana wears a short-sleeved cotton dress that goes to just above her knees. She also wears a red purse-belt combo, and holographic boots with black soles and laces. She also has a holographic choker that matches her boots, and a red star necklace on a black cord, which is made from the same material as her shoelaces. Finally, she wears pale pink underwear with white trim. This is the outfit wears on her first day of space camp.

The necklace is supposedly adjustable, but I have had zero luck with it. Unfortunately, this means that it always hangs down to her waist when she wears it. In her book, she mentions that she received it on her first birthday from her parents, and only wears it for special events, like her first day at space camp.

Luciana's underwear are pale pink with white elastic edging. They snag easily. Seriously, they were snagged when I opened her! They feel like swimsuit material. I prefer the cotton style underwear, but they are chunky and look bulky under leggings, so I like this pair to go under clothes better than the other ones. Interesting fact: Girl of the Year dolls used to arrive with unique underwear, often with their logo. This began with I believe Kailey, and ended after Lea. Odd, but interesting.

Luciana's purse belt is red, with white lining and a silver buckle. It attaches with Velcro. The purse has a little loop on the back which slides onto the belt, so it can be removed, or moved around. I like having it to the left of the buckle, where most advertisements have it on the right. In prototype images, (The most notable one being on the back of Luciana's Accessories box) the purse belt has taken on a few different looks. On the back of the accessory box, it has a metal clasp/button to close it. The actual mass produced version has no clasp and closes with a small square of Velcro.

Here, you can see the prototype Luci from the accessories box.


Overall, Luciana is a beautiful doll, and I recommend getting her before she retires, which I have a feeling will be soon. Here is my rating:
Doll: A
Meet Outfit: B+
Book: C+
Quality: A-

The doll is really cool, and I like her unique wig, but her bangs are quite difficult to manage, and at the time I'm finally writing up this post, about a month after I took the photos, the purple streak is shedding. A more minor complaint is that her torso is much lighter than her limbs, causing a strange disconnect where they meet. Her meet outfit is, unfortunately, a single-piece dress, but it mixes and matches well, and is nicely made. The boots are AMAZING. Where can I get myself a pair?! The necklace has story-significance, but unfortunately is extremely difficult to adjust the length. The choker matches her shoes, which is a neat bonus. I wish the purse was a tiny bit deeper, so that the space log from her accessories would be able to fit, and have the pouch close while it's in it. Fingers crossed that AG will release another doll with plain jeggings like Gabriela again! I haven't finished her book yet, but it's... odd. It's about robotics instead of space, and Luciana can't follow a single rule to save her life. The quality is much better than my Felicity, but her underwear came damaged, and she's losing purple hair fast.

Do you have Luci or are considering getting her?

'til Next Time! - JCole

Lissie goes to the Doll Hospital... Again.

As you probably already know from my last post, I sent my Felicity doll to the Doll Hospital in April, and they made a slight mistake (They gave her neck strings instead of a zip tie) and so I sent her back. I noticed a few changes from her initial visit. First of all, the sticker on the box is different.

The new box is on the left, and the old box is on the right. The actual box is exactly the same as the old one, but the sticker is different. The new sticker is a really pretty shade of blue, with a red heart in the center with the AG star logo in the middle of it. In the bottom right corner is the American Girl Doll Hospital logo. The old box had a pale pink sticker with white polka-dots on it, to simulate the look of a band-aid. In the center was a darker pink box. The Doll Hospital logo was in a pale pink heart in the middle of the box. 

Hmm. It appears that I didn't take any full pictures of Lissie in the box, so here's a photo from her first visit to get an idea of how she looked. Her hair was not styled in any special way, just a simple ponytail. The ribbon in her hair was much shorter than the first ribbon. It was definitely cut after it was tied in her hair. It's almost too short to put back in her hair.
The gown is nearly the same. The difference is that unlike my previous two gowns, this one had a "Made in Indonesia" tag instead of the "Made in China" tag of the previous gowns. The newest one was also poorly constructed: it was shedding bits of white thread everywhere, and the Velcro didn't seem very secure either. It was very thin, so it could stop working at any moment, but also because it felt like because it was sewn on so poorly it would actually fall off with use.

The care tips are identical to the previous box, so nothing new to comment on there.

Here's the text on the back, if you're interested in that. If you're wondering, it contains one doll.

Her feet were attached with a clear rubber band. Her ankles had a piece of foam around them to protect the socks from getting damaged by the tight band.

Her Certificate of Good Health is different from her last one. It is thinner, a bit smaller, and kind of feels like... printer paper? It was signed by Dr. Eliza.

Here is the side-by-side comparison of both certificates. The older one feels and looks nicer in my opinion. I do prefer the color scheme of the new one, though.

One notable change is that her neck was attached with a plastic...brace...thing, instead of the elastic used previously. 

Here's the brace off of her neck. My sister's Joss doll and my Luciana had this too.

As you can see here, they gave Felicity a zip tie, which was the entire reason she had to go on a return trip. They also sewed the area closed, which was a pleasant surprise, and definitely not expected. Also includes a look at my blue rug. You're welcome. *bows dramatically.*

Because I forgot to share last time, here's a photo of the silver stud earrings paired with the dangly silver stars.

Overall, I'm still crabby that I had to send her again at all, but it was pretty neat seeing the new box and certificate. It appears that AG is making you purchase hospital services online instead of sending payment with the doll, so that no one else loses their money again.

'til Next Time - JCole

American Girl Doll Hospital Review

For American Girl Dolls who need a bit of extra care, or just want some extra sparkle with a pair of earrings, there is a service available for them. First, you fill out an admission form here. (Only available for Canadian or United States addresses) Once you've printed out and filled out the form, you place it and your undressed doll in a sturdy cardboard box along with payment, and ship it to the doll hospital.

 In my case, I included a money order. I taped the box shut and then my mom taped it again. A few days later, my mom received an email asking to call them because they had a few questions concerning my Felicity doll. I had sent her to get her ears pierced, and to get her defective torso fixed (It squeaked horribly whenever the head or limbs were moved) free of charge. I called and gave them my reference number. They asked if I'd like to have just the torso replaced, or the entire body. I said that just the torso was fine. They then asked if I'd like neck strings put in or a new cable tie (zip tie), as the original body had a zip tie. I said that I'd like a new zip tie. She said she'd write that down on the form. (They gave Felicity neck strings anyway... strange.) 

They then asked me how I intended on paying for the ear piercing. I then panicked and thrust the phone at my mom. Great going JCole. You're nearly 15 and can't handle someone asking about money. As it turns out, The money order was gone. WHAT?!! *sobs* I'd payed with my own money and it was gone! My mom and stepdad payed for it with their own money for me and then called the place where we got the order from if it had been cashed, but it turns out, we can't know OR get a refund without paying $15, and the order was for $16. We weren't going to pay that much just to get a dollar. *Sobbing intensifies* 

So. Sending Felicity made us lose money. I'm feeling extremely bitter towards American Girl right now. I'm glad COVID-19 has shut you almost completely down!! I'm sorry, I'm being really dramatic. I get that way sometimes.

Anyway, let's put that aside and look at my beautiful Lissie! 

I sent her March 6th, 2020, and she arrived at AG on March 11th, 2020, she was admitted on March 12th, 2020 (They couldn't admit her until we payed... ugh) and she arrived on March 16th, 2020. Overall, it took 10 days. 

Also, most of these photos are really grainy or overexposed, because I took these late at night. The overexposed ones are due to flash, and the grainy ones are due to editing the lights so you can actually see the photos.

She arrived in a plain white doll box with the Doll Hospital logo sticker stuck on. The sticker had slight damage to it, but that's fine.

After I took off the lid, I noticed that there was writing on the side of the box. In English and Spanish, it has doll care instructions. It reads:

.
CARE FOR YOUR DOLL
Caring for your American GirlⓇ doll is easy!
Follow the simple care steps below to make sure your doll stays pretty for many years to come.

Care for Straight Hair
   · Use only a wire wig hairbrush. Do not use a comb or plastic-bristle brush. 
· Take time to gently work out each tangle.
· Brush in small sections, being careful not to pull hair too hard.
· Do not use a hair dryer or curling iron.
· Washing your doll's hair is not advised.
                                                                                                                                                Care for Curly Hair
    · Finger-style curls for best results. Twirl and smooth the hair around your fingers in small sections.
· Do not use a comb or brush.
· For looser curls, use a wire pick to style your doll's hair.
· Work in small sections, being careful not to pull hair too hard.
· Washing your doll's hair is not advised.

Doll Cleaning 
· Doll can be surface-washed with warm water, mild soap, and a soft cloth.
· Doll should not be placed in water.
· Avoid getting water in your doll's eyes.

Earrings
· If your doll has pierced ears, you can remove the earring posts to add hanging earrings.

________________________________________________________________

 


I checked the box that Felicity originally came in, and it's on it too, with the minor difference of a note saying not to try taking out Josefina's or Addy's earrings, as they are permanently attached to the doll. It is also in pink ink, instead of black.

So that's what happened to the wrist tags that the dolls used to come with. It's just printed onto the box.

On the bottom of the box, there was a (nasty looking) sticker with my last name, a string of numbers, and Felicity's name.

Felicity arrived in a white doll box, with her neck attached with an elastic cord, and her legs with a rubber band. Both her neck and ankles had foam around them to avoid damage from the tight bands.

She is wearing a white hospital gown with the Doll Hospital logo on the top right side. All over the gown are butterflies, flowers, and band-aids. This gown is the third edition, released in 2012. It closes with two small squares of Velcro. She also has on a pair of white socks with a heart on the sides. These feel different than the ones that Skylar came with when I sent her in 2018. A bit thinner, maybe? She has a Doll Hospital band on her left wrist. Finally, she is wearing a pink ribbon tied in her hair around her ponytail.

Here is a closeup of the Doll Hospital decal. It feels sleek and slippery. Honestly, it feels like like an iron-on decal. Luckily, it doesn't peel off or crack. 

The socks are definitely a bit thinner than the older pair. I actually prefer these, as they might actually be used with other outfits now. The older pair was too thick to use with any shoes.

Her hair came styled in what appeared to be a ponytail flip, and was tied off with both a clear elastic and a pale pink ribbon. The ribbon began fraying very quickly, but after a quick run-in with a lighter, it stopped fraying. Don't use lighters kiddos, I had my mom do it.

Here's a closer look, if anyone's interested.

I also opted to have her ears pierced, which lost us nearly 40$. She came with a pair of blue studs in her ears, and a pack of extra earrings. Included were a pair of blue gems, (So you'll have two pairs) a pair of silver studs, and two pairs of dangles to put on the ends of the studs. There are a pair of hoops, and a pair of stars. I personally think that the dangles look best with the silver earrings, and the blue gems look best alone.

Her old torso was defective, so American Girl replaced it for free. Here is the (Very long) body tag. I removed it entirely from the seam, so that it will not be in the way, and so it appears there was never a tag in the first place, so I can't take any better photos.

*GASP* NECK STRINGS?! I hath asked for a zip tie!! Apparently, the lady misheard me, and wrote down that I wanted strings, so that's what she was given. I told my mom about it, and said that it wasn't a huge deal, that I could replace it myself because I had a few extra, and she said that AG should have to fix their mistake, and because the Doll Hospital is currently closed due to COVID-19, they'll contact us once they open. They'll send us a shipping label so that we don't have to pay anything. Also, they said that they'd move her to the front of the line!! Normally, AG opens dolls in the order they were received, but they said that they'd fix her as soon as they receive her!  So that's exciting! Lissie will just hang out with us until they're ready. More doll boxes are always welcome!

Here is the Certificate of Good Health. Thanks to Doctor... Lindy? I can't read that very well. Let's all just assume it says Dr. Lindy.

There was also a tiny doll-sized Get Well Soon card.

Inside it says "From your friends at American Girl".

Around her wrist was a white ID band. It says: ❤ ☆American Girl DOLL HOSPITAL  ❤ and wraps around the wrist, and tucks into a loop, so it can be re-used, unlike real hospital bands. I've always had to cut those off.

I decided to take her hair down. It was really pretty, but it was caught in the box, and the stray hairs were driving me crazy. Once I took out the ribbon, I noticed that her hairstyle was not a flipped ponytail, but a... braid... ponytail? I know that Elizabeth's hair came styled similarly to this. Also, this photo is extremely overexposed. Sorry about that.

Her new torso no longer wrinkles at the neckline, but now there is a massive gap between her neck and head. That is really bothering me. Hopefully a zip tie will make her head closer to the torso.

Unfortunately, this is the only before picture I was able to take, both of her ear, and her torso.

Oh wait! Here's a picture from September. It appears she always had that gap. Wrinkly doll necks don't normally bother me, but in Lissie's case, it just reminded me of her defects.

Overall thoughts? The Doll Hospital is a wonderful idea, and I'm glad the service is available, except for a few issues. I was particularly upset that they LOST THE FREAKING MONEY ORDER oh also they held felicity hostage until we payed again. Isn't that wonderful? 
The storage box, outfit, and accessories are wonderful to have, and particularly the socks have improved since the last time I used the DH. I do feel that AG should've taken responsibility for losing the money, and not CLAIMING WE DIDN'T SEND ANY. Either way, I'm glad Felicity is back... for now at least. I'll make a follow-up post when we send her again, and another review with better pictures once she comes back again.

'til Next Time!  - JCole