Clothes and Accessories Reviews: Grace's Baking Outfit (2015), Accent Braid Clips (2014), and Chic Bun (2013)

Baking, braids, and buns. Not those kind.

Oh, American Girl, I can't quit you even when I'm cussing you out and mad that your representation is lacking in the GotY line. Especially when you put things on sale. I will pay shipping to save decent amounts on stuff and store my things away to play with later. Right now and probably up to the 12th or so--it's rumored we're getting new stuff then--American Girl is clearing out stuff with a sale, the Snow Much Savings Sale, and doing sales in the store as well that I plan to take advantage of today in some part. The sale was initially loaded with WonderBread stuff upwards of half off, including the girl's sets.¹ But even if they weren't selling stuff, I'd stay--because I want them to do better, and part of having a voice in complaining is saying "look, I buy your stuff, please try not to suck."

The last major sale was during Cyber Monday '14. It was kind of a clusterfuck--if by "kind of" you mean a massive one. But it resulted in me getting quite a few outfits, books, and the last few dolly weave sets I didn't have for half off: the Chic Bun for $10 (down from $20) and the fairly new Accent Braid Clips for $7.50 (down from $15). I initially thought about getting the bun for Marisol's color, but ended up getting it for Sonali because I knew that matched. The accent clips are back up to full price, but the Chic Bun doesn't show as available anymore. And if you remember my post right after V. B. Buttercream's launch, I got Grace's Baking Outfit as soon as available all while complaining that they so could have so gone with a doll of color. More details on each of those as I review them. Outfit--let's do this.  

Formerly ButterCream's, and now Sonali's and the other's Baking Outfit.

Grace's Baking Outfit is part of the whole "Grace is a baker and also she goes to Paris have we mentioned Paris--PARIS" collection that is being pimped hard this year. The outfit comes with a blue printed t-shirt, an apron-styled dress, leggings, flats, and a headband for $34; it'll hang around until Dec 31st when it will either go away forever or end up in overstock and sold in an 2016 early "take it away" sale. The outfit is on eBay because everything is on eBay, but seriously it's been only five weeks since the set came out and it's not going to start going out of stock before November at the earliest. Don't pay high costs. Seriously I'm going to need someone to explain to me like I'm two why people are paying inflated prices for something that can be bought off the website and is in stock, unless they live somewhere that somehow can't get AG stuff sent to it.

Sonali is once again slaying all these buttercream heaux and rocking this shit. To the review.

Clothes Reviews: McKenna's Warm-Up Outfit (2012)

Warming it up--with Mellie, not McKenna. Cause I'm cool like that.

So, back on the review train. I stated that I'd stop the holiday reviews and hold those til the next holiday season, true. But I will still be doing mad reviews, cause that's one of the major drives that led to me starting my blog in the first place.¹ Honestly, most people's reviews of AG stuff falls under of "this is cute, do like" or "A+++ WOULD THROW MONEY AT AG AGAIN" without very much breakdown of the components of the outfit or good close-ups, and we need less of that. Learn how to review.

As anyone who's spent more than five seconds on this blog knows,  I really, really can't stand Isabelle, AKA WonderBread the Ballerina. But she's not the only Girl of the Year that I have had an active, twisting "fuck you" feel towards. Lemme take you back just two years to 2012, when we had, after the magnificence of Kanani, the mediocrity of McKenna Brooks, GotY for 2012. As soon as I saw her, I hated her. I hated her name because I hate names beginning with Mc. I hated her focus because I was (and still am) 100% convinced that it was to capitalize on the gymnast that was favored to win the all around at London, and then the girl didn't even make it into the competition. I hated that she was whining that she didn't care about school cause she was going to be a super famous gymnast, when you burn out on that by age 20 most of the time thanks to the compression of the sport. I hated that she was set in Seattle, because I now live in the Seattle area and I didn't want this doll associated with my region. I hated her parents. I hated her bed because it came with a tiny copy of Charlotte's Web and I wanted that book alone.² And I snarked all over her movie, because I could. She got slapped with the nickname McSeattle--only the first in a line of Refreshing Haterade names for GotY--and I have not regretted it.

But I at least liked a good portion of her clothes, which is more than I can say for Wonderbread. Over the course of the year I got my hands on McSeattle's pajamas, school set, and umbrella and rain boots--which I proceeded to give all of them to the mods, especially Mellie. The only other outfit I liked enough was her Warm-up Outfit: a jacket, windbreaker pants, sneakers, ponytail holders, and the new hotness in McKenna's clothes sets: a card on how to do her hairstyles her sets showed, this one being #1: Fishtail Braids.  There was just one problem with trying to get my hands on it easily, and that that was that it only came with her starter collection as a bonus. And I was not about to pay $185 for a doll I hated, her starter accessories, the two books I had already, and her practice uniform just to get a single outfit.³ Instead, I patiently waited for the eBay Fates to put one up for a decent not -stupid price--and I hit it in 2013 with a cost of $34.99 plus low shipping. eBay costs have jumped, however, into the $50+ range. This is straight up bullshit, don't do it.

Naturally, since Mellie Croom has made it her life goal to look twice as good in McKenna's clothes than she ever could, she's modeling this set. Mellie is about the closest I'll ever get to a AG me, in that she has my face shape, my semi-curls, and wears glasses. I actually took these pics before Mellie changed into holiday wear. I'm skilled like that.

Clothes and Accessories Reviews: The Western Riding Outfit (2010), Braided Headband, Curly Ponytail Set, and Bright Highlights Set (2013)

Dolly weave and western wear, courtesy of Sonali Matthews.

It's a whole new month! Which means maybe, with the lack of going out of town and the whole less drama for a while and some, I can get some reviews done. It helps that I got some new things at AG Seattle Saturday, and decided to play beauty parlor with Sonali--who, by the way, is forever styling on most of these heaux.

Today is a double review: An entire outfit and dolly weave¹! This is probably the fastest I've gone from "item out by AG" to "I am reviewing it." Don't get used to it. A lot of my stuff is old, and I like to take my time reviewing stuff. Moving along. Not only will I be reviewing the Braided Headband, Curly Ponytail Set, and Bright Highlights Set,² I will be tackling the Western Riding Outfit. There is not much to say about the hair stuff that won't be said in review, so let's talk about the outfit for a bit.

The Western Riding Outfit, all by itself.

The Western Riding Outfit was released in 2010, and is still out--though seeing as it's three years old at this point it'll be going into retirement sooner rather than later. AG tends to always have something equestrian in their moddie collection at any given time, capitalizing on the fact that most girls have a pony stage about the same time they have a doll stage (both stages I have never quite outgrown, as can be attested by my collection foci). This was also a few years post Nicki Fleming, who was pimped out as a horse rider and all over ranch girl by AG. So since her, AG has started adding a little more western riding into their horse riding collections. The cost of the full outfit--shirt, boots, skirt, and bracelet--is $30. Like most things on the AG secondary market I fully expect that price to make stupid spikes after this retires. Even right now the eBay auctions have the price jacked up to the $40-50s, even while it can still be ordered directly from AG. The set also included the "Loyal" heart charm but I have no idea where my charms are, and if I ever do review the ones I have they will get their own post.

My Sonali, despite her being a witch,³ is a bit horse crazy. To the point she has her own horse and wears all my horse riding stuff in my collection. I never got the accompanying hat, but eh. I can find a decent cowboy hat that's not made of straw. So anytime I review my western and horse riding stuff, we'll be doing it with her. She'll also be doing the hair reviews, since she's the best moddie for the job today.

Outfit first, dolly weave second.

Braid Spray and the Ingratitude of the AG Fandom

Tara and Abbi know damn straight how braid spray can make a girl look good.

As a woman with 25 AG gang members--and many other dolls and ponies and other things with silky hair that can go rogue--I tend to invest time into their hair care regiment. And one of the centerpieces of my hair care is a big old bottle of braid spray. Not that the AG community at large really appreciates that I introduced this into the fandom. So this post is part basic care, part backstory, and part bitchiness.