Grace Thomas-Initial Thoughts

Happy New Year!

A new year full of fun AG things-super exciting! Here are some rumors I've heard swirling about:

-First, I believe that the 1950s doll we've all seen stock pictures of might be released this year. This hasn't been confirmed by American Girl so maybe not-but I am really hopeful!

-Second, it was confirmed by the company on the Facebook page that a BeForever African American doll will be released in 2016. This is incredible news and I am excited to learn what time period she is from. I am all about the historicals, not so much the GOTYs. I'm hoping for a Civil Rights Era doll. I think that would be awesome.

But of course, it is the new year, and Grace Thomas is the doll of the hour. Bye bye Isabelle, hello Grace Thomas.

And I...don't know how to react. I think she is a very pretty doll-much prettier than Isabelle was, IMO, mostly because I think we have a surfeit of blonde dolls. Her eyes are very striking and I love her freckles. I really love the side bangs-she looks very stylish and sassy, which I certainly approve of. I want this doll.

But...I was really hoping for a doll of color this year and I am, again, disappointed. This is not what I wanted. I don't really know how to react. All these years and still no African American GOTY? What, black girls aren't special enough for a LE?

Also, don't be that person that argues dolls of color don't sell. It's all about the clothes and advertising. They could make a black doll a success if they wanted. Addy is out of stock currently-when I went to Orlando in December, you couldn't buy her. With two outfit changes, she won Be Forever. I see that argument on Facebook all the time when someone complains and it makes me so angry.

But...here I go. Grace is a pretty little thing-her hair looks very nice and I like the side braid. The blue eyes with the dark hair is very striking. Her outfit is cute-the boots especially. I'd wear them and the grey color is awesome. I probably won't buy her for now-after all, I don't have all the historical dolls yet, and they are my main collection. Grace will cost $120, and the justification for her price is the charm bracelet. Last year it was the highlights, this year it is the bracelet.

These are her meet accessories. and they sell for $32.. I LOVE polka dot stuff and so I adore this purse. If they made this for humans...oh, they will be making this for people??? Interesting... Also, fingerless gloves. Maybe I need some fingerless gloves! Is it bad that I take style advice from dolls?

Anyways, Riley might end up getting this. We'll see.

This is her welcome set for when she arrives in Paris. This makes me want to barf-it seems so touristy, like something an American would certainly wear in Paris. Gross. I prefer her meet accessories to this because the meet stuff doesn't seem so...clichéd. I like to travel and I hate feeling like a naïve tourist, which is what this screams to me. This will not be bought. I just wish I could get those macaroons without the rest of this junk. Maybe I'll call in for a replacement part. This sells for $32.

This is the Opening Night outfit and it sells for $38, which is really expensive for what this is IMO. I hate this. Too pink, too frilly, too...much. Pass.

I guess she wears this to work in the bakery. Kind of cute (I especially like the pink and blue combination) but I don't think this is Riley's style. I'll have to think about this some more, but probably a no. This sells for $34, which I personally think is a bit much for what this consists of.

Now this...this I can work with. This is the City Outfit. Riley needs a Valentine's Day outfit and this is perfect for that! This is my favorite outfit of all her things. I want this. It sells for $34 and it looks like it's worth every penny. I have seen some people speculating that this won't sell well after Valentine's Day-I'll still buy it. This is the only item of her collection that is definitely going on my shopping list. The colors, the style...Riley will look like so chic in this number. I would wear this myself.

Yep, she travels. This is actually two sets-the coat ($28) and the traveling set. I don't know. You know what the coat reminds me of? The awful powder blue puffy monstrosity that was in Marie Grace's and Cecile's collection. I HATED that thing with a passion. I might end up with it, since it is my goal to have complete historical collections. But this is the same thing, just modern. Pass.

Her PJs aren't so bad, but it's doubtful I'll actually buy them. I didn't really like the PJs that went with Saige or Isabelle. These are an improvement. The only dolls who currently have PJs are Kirsten and Nellie-I tend to find them boring unless I have the bed set for scenes and stuff. These are selling for $24.

Here's her little dog Bon Bon. He's $22, which is the going rate for the animals. He's very cute but Riley needs a horse before she needs a dog. He's not even my favorite AG pet at the moment-that would be either the Himalayan kitten or the Dalmatian pup.

I actually really like this but I probably don't have room for it. This is the bistro set, which I suppose is meant to be set up outside of the bakery. This is basically what I want my own table set to look like in my home but less touristy. If I had a kid, I'd probably buy them this. It costs $85.

Then there is this. This is the actual bakery, which goes for $500! I can barely believe this. I was shocked to see the price tag on Samantha's ice cream parlor but this...this is ridiculous. It looks like plastic too, and cheap, like something I could get at Target. Like the diner for instance. Pass, for lack of desire, money, and space.

And of course, if you want to bake in your bakery, you need to pay a separate fee for this set. This costs $68. So if you want that whole bakery experience, you're going to need to pay $568.

Now this is $150 and seems much more reasonable and much better in terms of size. This I actually kind of want but, once again, space will probably prevent it from happening. As of late night Jan. 1/early morning Jan. 2, this is backordered on the website.

Anyways, those are my thoughts about Grace-how does everyone else feel?