Saturday, June 11, 2016

Photos of Samantha Red Dress, Prototype or Re-release?

For the past few weeks, this outfit has been showing up quite a few times on eBay. It appears to be Samantha's dress from her Beforever Holiday Set which retired from the website at the end of last year, with a slight change to the fabric. Prototypes and frankenoutfits (AG pattern outfits made with scraps of other left over fabric) have been known to appear on eBay so I initially didn't pay it much mind. However, this outfit has now appeared multiple times, to the extent that I wonder if AG is planning on re-releasing this outfit, slightly changed and selling it by itself without the matching tea set that the old holiday set was bundled with. 

A wonderful fellow AG fan who purchased one of these altered dresses took multiple photos comparing it with the red plaid dress that was part of Samantha's Beforever Holiday Set bundle, and kindly gave us permission to share the photos. I have posted them below with some of her comments and observations included in the captions.

*Do not copy/repost/claim/use these photos without written permission.*

Comparison Photos of Samantha's Red Dress:
Here are the two dresses side by side. Samantha on the left is wearing the revised dress that leaked on eBay, and Marie-Grace on the right is wearing the original dress that was bundled in the Holiday Set. Both dresses are the same length and same cut with a different fabric. It also seems the sleeve of the original dress (on Marie-Grace) is lined and the revised dress on Samantha is not. 

According to the lady who took the photos, the color is similar to the color of Samantha's Beforever hairbow (that comes with her meet outfit). The red hairbow that came with Nellie's Holiday Outfit is a bit more "true red" in comparison to this dress. Her outfit came with just the red shoes, no hair accessory or white tights, though it is possible if this outfit is re-released, it will come with these additional accessories. 

Front of Dress
She describes the fabric texture similar to Cecile and Marie-Grace's summer dresses (which I believe is taffeta, like the material for a windbreaker jacket). Samantha's earliest Cranberry Christmas Dress feels a bit softer in comparison. 

Back of Dress
It has a velcro closure and pre-tied bow. 

The outfit came with the red shoes that the doll is currently wearing, but their color is slightly off and just a bit too bright. The lady who purchased the outfit believes it could possibly be a case where the seller just included the shoes because the seller thought it would match, not that necessarily the final version of this outfit will include these shoes. 

The shoes included by the seller are compared to the shoes from her Special Day Dress, which are more of a dusty rose/mauve. In the first photo and the last two photos, Samantha is wearing the black shoes from Rebecca's Holiday Outfit.

As stated previous, the lace at the wrist cuffs are not lined in this outfit. It looks from the photos like the two lace patterns on the cuffs are different, but they are the same, The fold on one of them is a little off (which might be the reason this outfit could be a factory reject).


Overall, I have always liked this dress and I think it will be nice for people who missed out on Samantha's Holiday Set to be able to pick up this version. However, I doubt that I personally will be picking up this outfit since I already have the plaid version bundled with the Holiday Set. Hopefully AG won't be bundling it with anything this time as I think the higher prices of the bundle set is a deterrent for those who only want part of the bundle. 




Link to eBay Auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Doll-Clothes-for-American-girl-18-inch-red-dress-suit-/191887959696

34 comments:

  1. I like this dress better without the plaid. Might get it for my Sam- the ribbon on her original red dress is snagged and frayed in some places. (Darn it, 7-year-old me.)

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    1. The lace on the original dress is really easily to snag, even for someone twice that age! :D

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  2. I WANT THE PLAID BACK! *bawls because I was dumb and bought Grace last year*

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    1. I'm sure you'll be able to find it on eBay. :)

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  3. It's adorable! I like it without the plaid. :)

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    1. I do like the style, though I prefer the plaid myself since I have the original holiday dress. :)

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  4. I dislike the taffeta fabric, because it looks so wrinkly and crinkly. The previous plaid atleast covered up said wrinkles. I already bought the original plaid set, so I'll be skipping this one. But it is cool for the people who didn't want to pay $64 for a doll dress and a tea set. I'm thinking this will ne released along with Melody and the holiday outfits.

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    1. You're right, the taffeta does wrinkle easily, though I think it evens out with a steaming. :)

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  5. I think the dress without the plaid looks more grown up while the plaid dress seems younger girlish if you know what I mean :)

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    1. I see what you mean, especially since some of the school outfits we`ve seen ( Molly`s and Maryellen`s) are plaid. With Saamantha`s though, I think the plaid made it look fancy, whereas the new dress looks unfinished

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    2. For me, since I have the original dress, the plaid added some visual diversity in the line. ^_^

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  6. I like it better without the plaid.

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    1. I'm surprised so many people like it without the plaid, but I think that's a good sign if they do re-release it! ^_^

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  7. I love the plaid version! I just never got it because I didn't like the bundle. For the price of the bundled set, they could've at least given us two tea cups and petit fours that weren't stuck together. I feel like the plain dress is too much like the original cranberry party dress. It'll probably grow on me! I'm sure of it. I wish AG would consider making Samantha a green holiday dress. Not all holiday dresses are red.

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    1. Yes! I always disliked that it only came with one tea cup. >_<

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  8. I actually like the new version better! The plaid on the other one grabbed all your attention, so you didn't really notice the other pretty details like the lace and stuff.

    This version is also closer to the pre-BF one without the plaid.

    Lissie
    lissiesdollstories.blogspot.com

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    1. I agree it's closer to the pre-BF version. :) Since I already have that one, I feel comfortable passing on this one.

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  9. I have the plaid dress and love it! I bought it off Ebay with the tea set it was supposed to come with and I could not be happier! Finally something that was not pink! The dress is very pretty on Samantha and the tea set is SO well made. I actually threw the boots away that came with it they bled all over her tights and even on my fingers! I just use her Meet shoes and it looks great. I just bought off of someone on facebook the Red Version and I cannot wait to get it to compare

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    1. I didn't know the boots bled! Thanks for the head's up on that. I'll have to be careful not to keep that outfit on her for too long. >_<

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  10. Actually, I think AG Customer Service told me that the dress will be TEMPORARILY unavailable for sale at this time. The item might come back at the end of the year.

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    1. If it's not on the website, it is considered retired, regardless of whether or not it is available at a store. If an item is temporarily unavailable, they do not pull it from the website, it willjust say backordered.

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    2. Correction: the dress does not show up in Samantha's page, but a Google search will show that the dress is in stock.

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    3. That would be great for those who missed on the plaid set, or didn't want it in the bundle. :)

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  11. I personally prefer the plaid one. I dunno, it just seems more wintry to me. :)
    -Nova ♡

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    1. I do as well, because I like how it looks different visually. ^_^

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    2. I actually prefer the plaid too! Plaid at Christmastime seems like a staple of Samantha's era.

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  12. https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Sticker-Collection-American-Collections/dp/1465449221/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=61TS93aMGFL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR248%2C320_&refRID=Z10WRVY3JP80595HMDEP

    https://www.amazon.com/American-Girl-Ultimate-Visual-Guide/dp/1465444963/ref=pd_sim_14_10?ie=UTF8&dpID=61X9T4tbjFL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR134%2C160_&refRID=HDJ9ACW4QPHFTQ0H7M3F

    Some new books coming out. The sticker book has some upcoming outfits on the front cover.

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    1. Thank you for the links! I'm excited about the visual guide! :D

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  13. I agree that dress does look a little too wrinkly. I always liked the plaid dress and the one they had for Pleasant Company Samantha-which was her Cranberry dress. I even like Nellie's Holiday dress too (glad I got that) :)

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    1. I loved Nellie's holiday dress! It was such a nice design and beautiful on her! :D

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  14. I prefer Samantha's original cranberry dress over either of these. Of these two? I'd go with the solid red...

    Overall, my tastes are probably more simple. Combining two busy patterns like Samantha's 'Fancy' Coat and that red plaid dress doesn't do it for me. One solid and one patterned combo works better, IMO.

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    1. I think since I already have her original cranberry dress, I like the plaid for the new version just to change it up.

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  15. So I just saw several listings on eBay that show this specific dress coming in a box along with a BeForever Samantha, her book, and her new winter coat. It looked like one of the typical Costco Bundles. So I'm thinking that this was the Costco version of the plaid one?

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    1. Yes! Someone on FB was kind enough to send me some photos but I've just been so busy this semester that I haven't had time to post them yet! ^_^

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