Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Detailed Photos of 3 Maryellen Outfits on 2 Dolls


A fellow collector was kind enough to take several detailed photos of 3 outfits from Maryellen's collection and send them to me to share on the blog. These outfits will all be released on Maryellen's August 27th debut

The outfits are modeled on Caroline and Kanani so people can see what it looks like on dolls with different hair/eye/vinyl combinations. The three outfits are Maryellen's Play Outfit (from the cover of her Journey book), the Poodle Skirt, and the School Outfit.

*Please do not use these images without written permission*

Maryellen's Play Outfit (from cover of Journey Book):
Modeled on Caroline Doll


Modeled on Kanani Doll



There are no pockets, the outline is sewn on to look like there are when the shirt is worn. The waistband is elastic.

The shoes have the cherry design actually embroidered onto them, instead of printed on.

Embroidered cherries on shirt. The shirt closes in the front with velcro. The buttons are not functional. 


Overall impression: I am impressed with all of the embroidery used on this outfit, and it is definitely very cute! I wish instead of a velcro closure for the top, it had functional buttons instead. However, I understand that would be more work for little hands so the velcro makes sense even if it's not as aesthetically pleasing. 





Maryellen's Poodle Skirt Outfit:

Modeled on Kanani Doll


Modeled on Caroline Doll


The fabric for the sleeve is a lighter, more transparent material.


The skirt is quilted. The poodle looks like it is a satin piece embroidered on with embroidery for the bows and leash. The waistband is elastic.
From the owner: It’s beautiful. Soft, wonderfully textured, and the perfect weight. Probably one of the most well-made historical outfits I’ve seen.

Buttons are non functional, only for decorative purposes. The top closes in the back with velcro.

The saddle shoes are identical to Molly's Saddle Shoes which were retired in 2013, except they are black instead of navy blue. 

Here is the stock image for Molly's Saddle Shoes for comparison. You can see Molly's are navy blue while the ones that come with Maryellen are black.

Overall impression: This was the outfit I was most iffy about when I heard it was a part of Maryellen's collection since it sounded so cheesy. However, I am very pleased with the variety of materials and details, especially the sleeves, and quilted skirt with it's actual sewn on poodle design instead of a printed out poodle design. The reuse of Molly's saddle shoes was mildly disappointing, but not very much since it is accurate to the outfit and time, and the color is different.


Maryellen's School Outfit:
 
Modeled on Caroline Doll

Modeled on Kanani Doll

The buttons are non function, for decorative purposes only.

For those who don't like bows, it looks like this will be easy enough to snip off with scissors or a seam ripper.

The white dots on the dress are not printed onto the fabric, but of a different texture and give the dress a more three dimensional look. 

Hurray! The black stripe goes all the way around to the back of the dress!

This inside view gives a better idea of what I mean when I say the dots on the dress are a different texture. The dress is unlined. 

Overall Impression: I love this dress. ^_^ I loved the prototype picture of it, and I loved it when I saw the leaked photo, and now that I've seen more detailed photos I love it even more. :D The different texture of the dots on the dress was a really impressive detail that I did not expect from the current AG. I appreciate that the black trim on the bottom hem of the dress goes all the way around, since it feels like so many outfits skim on this part and only leave the front part of the outfit trimmed. I think it's an outfit that would look great on dolls with any phenotype. ^_^

One more week til Maryellen's release on August 27th! 

20 comments:

  1. Mostly I want those saddle shoes!

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    1. Word! I need saddle shoes too!

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    2. Hahaha! A 50s collection wouldn't be complete without saddle shoes! ^_^

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    3. I love Maryellen's Schooldress! American Girl rarely uses the color purple. It's too cute. Hey Lissie and Lilly, did you see the Tumblr leaks of Maryellen's whole collection? It's really interesting. Thank you for posting this!

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    4. I did see it! I love her outfits but I'm not too keen on her accessories and furniture. :/ I guess the 50s aesthetic doesn't really appeal to me. :D

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  2. it says a lot about AG these days that we are now pleasantly surprised when they -don't- take shortcuts like just printing on a design, or having that stripe detail not being just on the front of the dress.

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    1. That's true! I still can't get over the fact that the black ribbon trim on Addy's Cape Island dress doesn't go all the way around. >_<

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  3. The school dress was not my favorite at first. I do appreciate the fabric though. Looks like it is a cross between a gingham and a Swiss dot. Really neat that it is woven and not printed on. Especially since I just bought the BeForever Samantha accessories only to find out what they have listed as a locket doesn't open. Technically a locket should open. If it doesn't, then it is a necklace and not a locket. Lesley from NE

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    1. Ah! Thank you, I didn't realize the dots were called a Swiss dot. It's such a disappointment Samatha's locket doesn't open. :/ Her original locket did and came with pictures you could put inside too so it's really frustrating her new one doesn't.

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  4. I really love the play outfit. I just wish it had real pockets.

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    1. I do too, and I also wish that the buttons were real instead of velcro. But overall I think the look is super adorable! ^_^

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  5. The school outfit just sings "'50s" to me! Actually, I like all of these outfits and I would love to have them for my dolls, even though I'm not planning to buy Maryellen herself. (I recently bought #61, so I can't justify another red head with Classic mold. Now if she'd had a Marie Grace face mold...)

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    1. I was actually considering using #61 as Maryellen since I prefer her look more. :) I bet she would be lovely with a Marie-Grace face mold. Hopefully AG won't abandon the mold and reuse it in the future!

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    2. Could NOT agree more - love the Marie-Grace face mold - would buy a new doll for my little in a heart beat if they would reuse her mold.

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  6. I'm so excited!! I love those outfits! The sleeves of the poodle skirt outfit are like the same material as the sleeves/top of Rebecca's Beforever holiday outfit. Except they are pink not blue :) I just thought that was interesting, I so am gonna get some of these outfits. Thanks for sharing these pics!!
    -Lydia
    http://dollyfernfriends.blogspot.co.nz

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    1. Yes! I believe a few prototypes were actually made using the same blue fabric as Rebecca's dress. :)

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  7. I'd like the cherry top with a pair of band front elastic back shorts. Very popular style in the mid-1950s. Not so fond of capri pants. The saddle shoes are a MUST HAVE, but then my dolls have saddle shoes in at least 10 color combinations, including orange/black for Halloween.

    I may pass on the dress, but the baby doll PJs, woohoo, gotta have them. It's unfortunate that the girls version of the baby doll PJs have long pants instead of the era correct bloomers. Another of the "inspired by the Beforever outfit" attempts to update a perfectly wonderful outfit in its own right. I'm willing to bet clever dressmakers will be making matching doll/girl baby doll top and bloomer PJ outfits and I wouldn't be surprised to see Dollie & Me do it right away.

    Taffy
    http://www.taffycheerful.com

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    1. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about the puffy shorts on the PJs. :D I think the style wouldn't be popular with the current target age market, but like you said, for anyone who does want a set, there's always other brands and Etsy! ^_^

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  8. Can't wait to see advertisements..my daughter held Mary Ellen and took pics with her for the upcoming AG holiday commercial...coming up Christmas

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    1. How exciting for you and your daughter! I'm sure the photos came out wonderfully and I'm looking forward to seeing the ads!

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