I feel like what made American Girl as a brand so special is its ability to allow young girls to understand and emphasize with people through out history in all sorts of circumstances. It taught me so much, and I'm truly grateful.
As a Mexican immigrant, I wanted Josefina so bad. She has the same last name as my grandfather and looked like my family. The first time I ever cried tears of joy was the Christmas when I unwrapped her. My mom called around all of my family members, trying to get the money to buy her. I’m 20 now, and whenever my mom suggests putting her in storage, I can’t. I cannot stress how important it was that I had this doll (and her books) growing up. ❤️
This is how I feel about Samantha. Except I had to wait until I started working to get her because my single dad was too poor to get her for me when I was growing up. What a great mamma you had
This is how I feel about Rebecca :) I was really happy when I was little to get a Jewish doll because I had never seen that before and it just made me feel so seen 🥹 I rlly love American Girl for that. It's not perfect but the way it humanizes and lets us see ourselves in the dolls is really sweet
The point about Addy humanizing slavery is so important. Reading her books when I was in first grade, as a little white girl, really helped me understand, at an appropriate enough sense for a 7 year old, the horrors of slavery. I remember specifically reading a line in her first book that just tore me up inside. It was about how Addy’s grandparents (I think, it’s been more than 20 years since I read that book) weren’t going to be running away as well. Addy says to her mother, “But Esther can’t run, and she’s coming!” And her mother had to explain that no, Addy’s baby sister was also not coming with them. And that just… wow. I put the book down, ran into my mom’s bedroom crying, and we had a really long talk about slavery and racism and how evil those things were/are.
The passage where Addy's brother gets whipped made me physically sick when reading and has stuck with me as a reminder of the horrors of slavery to this day.
@@nataliemccarthy9140 when i was little my parents waited to buy me addy's books. me and my sister had an addy doll because we loved her dresses and thought she was pretty. but in 5th grade my mom let me read them and omg i cried so hard. the worst part was when they shoved the worms in her mouth. that stuck with me even today.
Addy was my favorite doll as a little white girl. I loved her clothes, her personality, and her story. I cried as an 8 year old reading her stories. My dad took her books away from me because I would “feel sorry for them”. I snuck behind his back and read them at the library. And honestly, I think her story is part of the reason I was able to grow up in a super racist house and never take that bullshit to heart the way the rest of my family did.
I love your story. Your dad sounds like a lot of the parents I knew growing up. We would have book clubs with the American Girl series, and I wanted us to read about Addy because she looked like me. But the other girls and parents said her story was too sad to read. So we never read Addy, but we could read Kristen's. It showed me that black girls' stories weren't important to a lot of the mainstream.
My dad was a single father who saved up his income to buy me a Julie doll after she was released because we shared the same name. I was twelve when she was released and I was so proud to get her. My dad took me to the AG shop where we lived to pick out outfits for her occasionally after that. I’m so glad she’s also a favorite of yours.
It was a real missed opportunity to not have Mary Ellen become visibly disabled and include mobility aids with the doll. It’s the only thing that even remotely sets her apart from the other girls and it has relatively little impact on her story or character.
Yes. I have Maryellen. I got her at 7. I loved her!! I was so interested in the polio side of her story and wanted it to be more focused on and how it impacts her life. Ofc in her books she’s bullied and she had one leg that’s a little smaller than the other and like she is often reminded of it, but it still is n my that big of a part of her story. I still love her though!
Dolls we need to see: - a colonial doll from Jamestown -another indigenous doll, maybe in a more contemporary time period -a Chinese American doll in California during the Gold Rush - has there ever been an Indian-American/ Desi character? If not, there needs to be one ( can’t think of a particular time period) Edit: there was a Girl Of The Year doll who was Indian American, but there’s never been an Indian American historical doll. - another Latina doll, maybe a Cuban immigrant in the 1950s or 60s or during the Spanish American War, or even a Puerto Rican doll moving to the mainland during the annex - a 19th century Alaska native doll - any others?
Yes, yes and a million yeses!!! Edit: I would also personally love a Filipino Historical character and doll. Along with more Asian Historical characters in general. I also think AG could what they did with Nanea and Molly again - both girls covers World War 2, but showed different events. Nanea’s books covers the Pearl Harbor bombing while Molly’s covers the tail end of the war and they were able to show more. Just something to think about.
I would have liked to read about a Vietnamese or Cambodian refugee/immigrant from the 1970s. Their stories were fascinating, from escaping their homelands to working their tails off to make new lives for themselves in America.
I wanted the big version of her sooo bad that I had Caroline as my confirmation name as a Catholic 8th grader but too embarrassed to admit it😂 I read her book series because I had her as a mini but she would have been the only blonde AGD in my childhood collection😂
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t all that impressed with the redesign of the dolls in 2014😭. My 10 year old self really wrote a letter to the company complaining about the lack of historical accuracy in the new collection💀💀
The one thing I did like about the BeForever reboot and redesigns is that Samantha was unarchived and available for purchase again. She really has some of the most interesting accessories and best looking outfits.
Felicity's was simply tragic! The brand has been going downhill for a while, sadly. My Felicity was my mom's when she was little, so I have and love many of the older accessories.
Addy was my first AG doll...I was a skinny lil' black girl visiting LA when my mom surprised me with a trip to the store and I loved her immediately. (My sister got Cecile!) Little did I know that I had more in common with Addy than I realized...WAY MORE. Addy was based on a real slave girl from North Carolina. The plantation which the real girl lived on (and where AG consulted with to make Addy) is three minutes away from me. TLDR: Addy, the real girl, and I all lived in the exact same place and are therefore connected by time and spirit.
i always wanted the actual doll. but i fell in love with addy from the books. it really did make me feel connected to my ancestors and helped me understand slavery. they didn’t miss the mark with her story.
@@biggvibess_ Saammmeee! I remember I managed to read all of the books from the school library! She's the reason why I love turnip greens and rice together so much😭😭
I remember really liking Molly bc she had glasses, and when I was a kid, dolls with glasses just were not heard of bc they didn't fit in with the beauty standard. So seeing that doll made me so happy bc I felt a connection with her. Thankfully my family managed to pull together the money to get her, because it helped me become a bit more confident in how I looked.
I cried when Ivy left Bc she was the only asian American and I loved her books, I felt like I could understand what my dad and aunt went through and the discontinuation was so sad
Remembering when I went on a rant to my mom when I found out about kit’s redesigning, I distinctly remember saying “if she’s living in poverty and her story is about overcoming hardships, why the heck is she playing mini golf in monogrammed dress?”
Well, she wasn't always living in poverty. It was implied that her family was middle to upper middle class before the depression hit and her dad lost his job. So it would make sense that she still had some of her nice clothes that she probably got before her family fell on hard times.
@@CherryFrog321 even then i feel like her clothes mightve been sold, especially if they were good quality (not saying theyd just rob their daughter of her clothes lmao)
When I saw her new nightgown and bedspread, I flipped out. She doesn't like pink or frilly things! I loved learning about her print dresses made from bags and stuff. She framed my whole perspective of what the Great Depression was like. And wasn't that the whole purpose of American Girl? Being able to relate as a 9 year old made history real to me.
That's because Molly was one of the original three dolls the American Girls produced in the 1980's. Which is the time frame that Courtney exists in, so of course she would have her own original American Girl doll.
Josefina will always be my girl. A shy Catholic kid with a big, crazy family, Josefina was the representation I needed growing up. I’m now an adult and all my AG things have been handed down to younger friends and relatives, but I still hold on to Sombrita, her baby goat.
I didn't get the Addy doll growing up, but I did read the first Addy book, and I still remember it to this day. I was probably around 7 or 8, and as an upper middle class white girl, it struck something in me. I was confused and horrified by what I saw, furious that my parents answers to my questions boiled down to "that's just how it was back then." I think I knew about slavery before that, but it's the first time that I truly understood what that meant and was disgusted by what I saw. 8 year old me wanted to go into the book, free the girl and her family and give them everything I had. I remember crying. That reaction stuck with me. I think it helped protect me from believing some of the racist dialogue I heard growing up. I'd hear an argument justifying slavery for economic reasons or trying to paint the plantation owners as victims of the civil war, and I'd think of Addy's little sister, with no real clothes, laying on a mattress on the floor in a cruel place where people were hurt and families were separated. I never forgot that image. I didn't start learning about black issues until more than a decade later (still learning), but that book did keep me from believing the apologists growing up, and I'm so glad it did.
I never really thought about that but I am too. It would've been easier (and expected) for them to make them a lightskin girl with loose curls but they didn't. Kudos to them
My jewish grandmother gave me Rebecca for my 9th birthday and we would read the book together. she'd tell me about her immigrant parents from russia and how they came in through ellis island and lived in new york before moving to chicago. So i love rebecca. And she loves theatre and my grandma and grandpa opened and owned a theatre company! she will always be #1 for me
I’m not Nez Perce (I’m lumbee) but it was such an excellent idea to make Kaya historical while also giving her modern outfits, showing that our culture transcends the centuries of attempting to suppress it. I swear I’ve seen nearly the exact same fancy dance dress at a powwow and that makes me so happy
Hey cousin! Lumbee, Iroquois, Ojibwa and Lakota! I do love kaya (acknowledging her inaccuracies) I do wish they had other tribes though. We’re not all plains! There are 570+ tribes.
I’m not Nez Perce, infact I’m Tsalagi😭. But I felt so empowered and happy when an indigenous doll was introduced into the AG historical line. I am glad others feel the same:).
I'm still sad that there hasn't been a 1920s doll, but consider that Samantha and Nellie would absolutely be flappers/bootleggers, and also the first American Girls to vote. ;)
The 1920s have such interesting options! An African American girl experiencing the Harlem Renaissance, a Chinse immigrant girl adjusting to life in America, though that could also work for great San Francisco Earth quake. Edit: A girl in rural Tennessee dealing with moon shiners and the bane on alcohol.
@@helloill672 Those are all great ideas!! Being from Harlem I would have loved the Harlem renaissance one, but also I sorta wished there was a legit Asian American AG doll too
Courtney is literally wearing my childhood wardrobe from the pouf skirt to the splatter prints to the acid wash denim to the dressing up like a tiny Madonna to the Care Bears pjs, so if by “stereotypically 80s” they mean “period accurate” then yes.
To me, Courtney on the video game side feels super fake. Since in August of the same year Metroid came out, I did not read the book but if it is the same as the short film but what a bad choice of not having chosen Mss Pacman, apart from the side of misogyny keep in mind that it was sold to an audience of children at that time and that almost Atari murders the industry, I did not read the book but if it is the same as the short film but what a bad choice of not having chosen Mss Pacman, apart from the side of misogyny keep in mind that it was sold to an audience of Boys at that time and that almost Atari ends the industry, It is not to justify the misogyny of the 80s itself that this thing was just in its first steps to become what it is today.
i would die to see you look at the "girl of the year" dolls as well. just looking at the difference between a character like chrissa (2009) and kira (2021) is so interesting, considering how quickly the 2000s have seemed to go so far. especially with the rise of internet and computer technology (not to mention AG's abrupt rebrand in 2014 which may have shifted the quality of a lot of their collections) i think looking at how AG handled topics that were relevant throughout the 2000s is fascinating. it's also fun to relive the things you might have experienced as a kid through the stories. would love to see you go through them!
Personally offended you didn’t talk about Julie’s egg chair with the real speakers and Kit’s crate scooter cause I dreamed about those for years as a kid /lh
I have sooooo many gripes with Maryellen, my grandma had polio and was a teen in the 1950s and the stories she told me would have been perfect for Maryellen. Showing more of what polio was like for survivors would have been incredible. My grandma was able to walk short distances with her brace if not very slowly, then as she became older she grew more and more reliant on her wheel chair till by time she passed she was completely wheelchair bound. She told me stories about how she got rides from a man she kinda knew with her friends to work as a telephone operator cause that was the best way to get there (though she told me in hindsight very unsafe). She told me about how although most people would go home for lunch, because of her leg the school let her eat at the school. Any of these things would have been amazing to explore, though maybe not the part about getting a ride from a stranger. Maryellen is straight clownery for me.
Kirsten was my doll as a kid because I loved her Swedish heritage. Her story with the Santa Lucia celebration and the matching dress set was my favorite!
Mine too! I’m 36 now but I remember making a little mini Santa Lucia headdress for one my my dolls out of red and green yarn and toothpicks for the candles when I was little. I thought of that immediately when she was brought up!
I loved Kirsten for her cats before I read her books. But now I love her stories for showing an immigrant settling in America at the time. Even though she was Swedish, she was still an American Girl and held on to her culture. I related to her social anxiety and good nature.
Can we give it up for AG having Addy not only be the first African American doll but a dark skin doll as well. Also the fact that they gave her cute outfits, cause we all know they usually do dolls of color dirty
@@littleraeofsunshine I had both and ngl sometimes would switch the clothing and have fashion shows. Cause some outfits I loved for Samantha and some of Samantha’s outfits I thought would look good on her
Honestly I've never had interest in AG because I always saw it as "cheesy stuff only bratty kids could afford" but as an adult this makes me really interested and appreciative towards the brand
I had a similar perception, but a lot of work really does go into making these dolls. Kaya, for instance, was the product of 5 years of research and cooperation with the Nez Perce tribe- it's impressive when you look into it!
I remember it being something I was really proud to have. I knew that they weren’t cheap, so I kept really good care of it. I still have it today I’m pretty much the same condition I got it in back in the early 2000s.
@@gracedesjarlais8074 Agreed. my parents did a really good job of explaining to me as a 7/8 year old that the dolls weren't cheap and that it was important to take care of them, and I'll always be grateful for that because all of them are still in really good shape 10 years later.
Growing up I read a good handful of the books and poured over the catalogues, knowing that they were way to expensive to actually buy from, so I never asked my parents for anything from it (and was super jealous of a classmate who had one of the not historical outfits they offered).
I had a lot of them Rebecca, Kanai and two my American girls plus a bitty baby my parents didn't have a lot of money but my grandparents surprised me getting the dolls for my birthday and Christmas
Aw man at my girl Kirsten being ranked in the second-from-bottom tier: I moved to the US when I was seven and I got Kirsten for Christmas that year. Her story about being an immigrant and adjusting to America culturally while still retaining parts of her Swedish culture resonated a lot with me as a kid. Rebecca wasn't out when I was that age but I've heard her story also deals a lot with cultural assimilation. Also, it's funny how you mentioned Kaya and Kirsten going to the same school of making bad choices because I'm pretty sure most (if not all) of their books were written by the same author!
I loved Kirsten when I was growing up too. I wasn't an immigrant but I was just interested in the pioneer era. I also was a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House books and liked that Kirsten was kind of similar (other than the fact that she was an immigrant).
This sounds so similar to my story. I was also an immigrant to the U.S. when I was 5, almost 6. I moved from Ukraine. I could really relate to Kirsten because I was also a European immigrant, had blonde hair that I wore in two braids, and had to learn English and American customs.
@@CherryFrog321 I never had any of the dolls. But, I always loved looking through the catalogs. Kirsten, and her different play sets, was my favorite. I suppose it is because I also loved Little House. I wished I was in a one room schoolhouse, with a split log bench. I wanted the hearty food in my lunch box, rather than the cardboard pizza that my school served. And, her bed just looked so warm and cozy!
My favorite was Kirsten not an immigrant, but I moved to a lot across the US. Also loved the frontier feeling. Living on farms yet wanting to retain some femininity really resonated with me.
I actually think that Courtney's Molly doll is a very cool feature as Molly was released in her time period which I think is a cool homage to one of the historical dolls that has now been discontinued when Courtney was released. It also shows how long American Girl has been around for & I just think it's really sweet to see.
the original 80s-2000s line is a lot better than the newer one that launched in the 2010s in my opinion. the new ones look like stereotypical representations of their decades
Yeah. I remember the end of the original historical line, when they released the new ones I was so mad. The only kinda ok new one is Nanea I think her line is really cool. But I have Elizabeth and also the original Kit
Ahhh I remember loving when I received Ivy as a kid because even though I'm Japanese, it was so exciting just holding a pretty Asian doll when most of the historical girls were white and looked nothing like me. I'm so sad she got discontinued, but I'm grateful that her release got to overlap with my time as an american girl doll fan as a kid
I remember winning Felicity and Elizabeth at Barnes and Noble raffle. I answered the house phone and a lady asked if she asked for me and told me I won the dolls. I was so excited I made my mom talk to the lady while she was on the toilet. My poor mother... lol. I had my picture taken in the paper too which was really cool. It was probably one of my favorite memories as a kid. My parents didn't really have the means to buy me AG dolls so it meant a lot to me even if I was chosen at random. I used to get the catalogs in the mail and wish I could get everything. Since it was expensive, my mom would actually make me dresses for the dolls so I could put them in different outfits. I never really thought too deeply on it but looking back I am so grateful for her effort. I also remember going to the AG store and was finally able to get my favorite doll that I wanted for years. I was able to get Nellie who I adored. I still have all 3 dolls, unfortunately play time kinda made Felicity and Elizabeth looking a bit rough but I kept Nellie in good condition and also kept her OG outfit and box. Sorry for the long comment, it just brought up so much nostalgia and good memories. Thank you for this video
Oh my gosh! I also won the set of Felicity and Elizabeth from the Barnes n Noble raffle! We would never have been able to afford them otherwise. And it was so fun because I kept Felicity and I was able to give my sister Elizabeth so we both had one. I still have them on a shelf today!!
@@simplystandout5878 My sister I gave Felicity !!! We also couldn’t afford them but always got the catalogs ! Haha did they have you take a pic with them for the paper ? My hair looked like a lion in it because I hated brushing it 😂😂
Felicity was my doll. She wasn’t the most popular, so a lot of us were probably into that hipster element. Also the Revolutionary period interested me. Her redesigned clothes did her dirty though. The purple dress is so inferiority the og print
Felicity was my first doll, I had the purple dress, it broke my heard when she was discontinued and I do wish when I was young I could have got the original dress
She had the prettiest dresses! They used to have the "dress like your doll" thing and I wanted one of her dresses so bad. I never had an AG doll though (this was in the mid 90's I think) because it was so overpriced and my parents were very money-conscious.
Addy debuted right as I was learning about my roots. My ancestors were slaves in Alabama, and reading her books helped me understand a part of what they had to deal with. My BFF recently sent me an Addy doll and I absolutely love her. I still have all the books I collected as a child.
The first dolls were by The Pleasant Company. Started by a school teacher and thus the historical books. Everything changed when Mattel bought the company. We bought Samantha, Josephine, and Kit for birthday and Christmas gifts for our daughter and then adding outfits and such later on. She would save money to buy her own doll. After she grew up, I bought myself Molly and Emily, which I let my granddaughter play with me.
When I was a little kid, I loved the American Girl historical books as a kid, I used to read them before bed. I didn't really care for the dolls, just because of their size, it wasn't my preference.
your point about courtney’s time period being about as far removed from the present as molly’s from her release sent both me and my mother into a crisis
I still remember the day when my mom broke the news to me that Kit (my fave AG) wasn't a real person - 7 year old me was going on about how I hoped that Kit was doing well, and how "she must be an old lady now," and my mom just had to go there 😆😭
Aww yeah, I was 7 when I first got into American Girl too and I thought all the girls were real people at first! If they were real people, Kit and/or Molly would the the oldest ones who might possibly still be alive (Molly would be close to 90 and Kit would be about 100!)
I remember always wanting AG growing up but my family could never afford them. Well, when my well-off aunt found out about my want she started buying me girls for the holidays. My first one she picked out for me and it was Marie-Grace. The excitement I felt opening the package wondering who was inside and seeing her. When I saw her I was so overjoyed. She looked just like me! Long brown hair (which fun fact our hair is nearly the same exact shade) and blue eyes. I was so happy and when I found out she had a best friend, Cécile, I wanted her immediately. Unfortunately by the time the next holiday rolled around she was already discontinued :( I really hope they give her and a lot of the other discontinued historical dolls another run. I would love for my Marie-Grace to finally have her friend.
I hope so too! The anniversary collection is a good start. I would love to see them reproduce some classic collection pieces too, especially Samantha's! Her BeForever stuff just definitely doesn't hit the same. But absolutely on Cecile too! Her and Marie-Grace both deserved so much more time in the spotlight. I hope AG sees how well-loved they are
My second grade teacher had an Addy doll in her classroom and read the stories about her running away as a slave to the class. She was a very important doll to me because of that.
RUDE, Kirsten was the og Cottagecore girl and I loved her looks. Also every basic boring girl I knew had Samantha, I have seen more Samanthas than every other girl combined.
Samantha is boring because all upper class women were expected to be boring then. Nellie, even though she is there to prop up Samantha, to give her a more interesting storyline, was more developed and had a more interesting story to tell. She should have been the main character.
Thank you for saying what I thought as soon as I saw their review on Kirsten! I love her aesthetic and I think the whole prairie thing is a fascinating part of American history. Kirsten didn't start out my favorite but she definitely became it!
@@brucheweinberger6863 I don't think that Samantha and upper class women back then were boring. Technically weren't they for some degree allowed to be the opposite? Like most of them had a bunch of hobbies and skills and stuff like painting, archery, riding horses, etc. I liked her stories, I just think she's one of the few dolls that goes through the least amount of suffering.
@@hlabhlabhlab Right. That's why she is boring to me. High class women then had strict gender roles, if I remember correctly, Nellie, probably out of need was "allowed" to go to a school where she would have a paying job. Of course, not a doctor or lawyer, but a job nonetheless. Samantha still had to go to that stuffy school to become a "young sophiscated lady" which did not match her personality. I did like that the aunt inspired her to become more socially aware of the needs around her, but because of what society was those days, she could never really enter that world. This is not to blame all of the "Samanthas" of that time period, just an observation.
Kirsten is one of the most sought after for collectors and her doll and collection are worth so much more, that says something... lol She deserves a higher spot for sure.
Seriously hands down one of my fav videos I ever watched on UA-cam. I love American girl especially when I was a child. I love the balance of dolls, fashion, and history. Mad respect for you making this great video + reading the books in a short period of time. For any adult who admires AG, especially the history part I recommend the American Girl podcast, it’s great! When I was a kid molly was my favorite bc she looked like me bc I wore my hair in braids and had glasses, but I never owned her as a child. Okay brb going to binge watch ur other videos 💗
When you said Molly's character was only about 40 years old upon her release, the same as Courtney... girl I did not come here to be attacked like that. Ooooof, that hurts. Molly represented my grandmother to me... my life is flashing before my eyes, I think this is the end.
Same, I'm 30 years old, and Molly was still the most "modern" of the historical characters when I was growing up. Molly was close to the same age as my grandmother too. And Julie is about the same age as my mom. I actually remember asking my mom when I was a kid if she thought they might make a historical character from the 70s when she grew up. She said no, because she thought the 70s was still a little too recent. That was around 2000. But then about 7 years later, they came out with Julie. 😂
My grandma gave her to me and told me about how her mother grew up like Molly. It is something that has always stuck with me, the fact that history isn't as distant as we think of it as being.
What I also loved about her was how even though she was rich and privileged, she wasn't spoiled or snobby. She had such a big heart and even befriended the servant girl, Nellie.
@@CherryFrog321 I had Samantha as a kid and will always remember reading her meet book where Nellie describes a girl getting her long hair getting ripped out in a factory. They did a fantastic job of portraying the horrors of the gilded age in a child friendly way, whilst simultaneously hitting first wave feminism. I never fully appreciated how good those stories were as a kid.
I never had any of the dolls, though the order catalog for them was something I flipped through at least once a week. I read many of the books from the library. Molly was always my favorite. I don't know anything about the newer dolls. But I did see Courtney when she debuted. I may be a bit biased being born in the mid 80's but I just love her outfits. And I had care bear pjs, and wore crazy Lisa Frank type clothing when I was a kid so yeah while her clothes might seems stereotypical 80's....it's pretty much stereotypical for a reason.
Molly was my favorite too 🥰 I think bc at the time, she was the most modern (I was born in 1991). Plus I have brown hair and brown eyes, and my mom always loved the name Molly so of course as a little kid I just felt like she was the most relatable to me.
@@shannonceleste5557 I was born in 1991 as well and I loved Molly! And a lot of people from our generation had grandparents who grew up during World War II. I always liked reading Molly's books because I felt like they gave me a glimpse of what my grandmother's childhood was like!
I was born in 1992 (my sisters were born 1980 and 1982 and my old house was practically a time capsule, so the 80s were a big influence on me). Her clothes and sets are pretty accurate and I love them
The Molly/Mean Girls edit was hilarious - great job on that. Also, I loved the tier names. I think you gave great opinions and tried to do best by each girl having read her story. I never saw the connection with A Little Princess and Samantha before but that probably explains why Samantha is best girl in my book since Ilove that story. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I actually loved Josefina because I come from a Hispanic background with my family who came from a very similar upbringing to Josefina. Family is super important to us. I had all the books relating to her as well. She was also the first American Girl I heard about. It's unfortunate she is the only Latina representation so far just as Ivy was the only Asian American girl. I also really loved Ivy, big shame she was removed. My top favorites were Josefina, Ivy, Kaya, Julie, Addy, and Kirsten! For some reason I would get bored by the other girl's books but I still liked the dolls and clothes.
I’m not even hispanic (I’m half-Brazilian), but Josefina is my favorite and always will be. She looked like my mom, and I connected with her stories since they revolved around family. She’s S tier for me. Her stories (that I reread too many times to count) cultivated my love of Southwestern culture. My other favorites would have to be Kaya and Ivy.
my dad is from new mexico, i remember i dressed up as her one year for my school's Christmas across the world thing, i never got her and i'm still lowkey sad abt it
I had a Samantha growing up and I was obsessed. Her hair almost immediately got dreadlocks and I lost her locket which is so disappointing. Either way her stories are great. My friends in elementary school who also had AG dolls always slept on Samantha because they had Kit or Molly for the most part, but I definitely loved my Samantha with all of my heart.
As a Swede I didn't grow up with these dolls, but Kirsten stole my heart right away for being an immigrant from here! Over a million Swedes left for the US in the 19th century (and we're a small country, with only 10 million people today!) Which means this is a huge part of our history! I noticed she has a lot of very traditional Swedish pieces in her collection as well, and now I wanna buy her even though I don't collect dolls this size. Sad you didn't like her very much but that's why it's so great to have all these choices, to find what resonates with us personally 😊 thank you for a fun and informative video!
Of course! Even if a doll isn't my favorite, there's always someone else out there that loves her. The dedication people have to their favorites is one of my favorite things about AG!
I loved Samantha's dresses. I actually had one of her dresses (it was the red christmas dress) for a Christmas concert I had when I was 10. My grandmother had bought the material from this one place and had stitched the dress for me 🥺
I had Samantha and Molly as a kid. My family pretended that the two celebrated Hanukkah since there was no Jewish AG at the time. Bought the mini Menorah for them. I’m glad to see that Jewish girls in 2009 got someone to relate to with Rebecca though. My family probably would have bought her for me if I would have still been a kid then. It was enough for me to pretend my dolls could celebrate it with me though. If I have a daughter and they come out with a 90s AG I would probably buy it. Hopefully once that happens she’s a good representation of the time period.
Aw, man, I remember saving up every cent I had to buy myself a Kaya doll. As soon as she was announced, I knew I had to have her. It was so cool as a kid to have a doll that looked like my family.
My cousin got the full Samantha set, every single item. And when she outgrew it, I was the perfect person to pass it down to. Not only did she share my name but she looked like me. She was my first AG doll ❤️ I was beyond obsessed with every outfit and the tea party set and everything
There were 8 for me: those you named, plus Kit and Kaya. Although for some reason I always thought Kaya was Kirsten’s best friend from her books, like Nellie was to Samantha. Turns out the character I’m thinking of is Singing Bird, a Sioux girl and an entirely different character.
Same here. I first got into AG around 1999 so those were the only six dolls they had at the time. Kit and Kaya ended up coming out a little bit later while I was still into them, but I hadn't heard of any of the others until I found this video!
THIS is the American Girl content I've been looking for! Funny, nuanced analysis from an adult enthusiast. Your ranking is fantastic, I agree with you on pretty much everything.
Kirsten will always be my favorite. My mom immigrated from Sweden just like her, and it was super special to have a doll with a similar heritage. Her St. Lucia outfit is the part I remember most dearly because it was a tradition in my family that I never saw represented anywhere else! Kirsten really allowed me to connect more with my mom's childhood and family traditions that were quite a bit different from the upbringing I got in the US.
I liked Kirsten cos even though she came from Sweden, I came from Finland. Soooo close, but everyone forgets Finland... Though at the time of Kirsten's emigration to the US, Finland was part of Russia. Sweden had lost it to Russia in 1809.
Addy in the top tier as she should be! I didn’t collect the dolls or books (as much as I enjoyed looking through the catalogs), I actually got introduced to her because my 3rd grade teacher read a couple of the Addy books to us in class. Even the boys who were initially complaining about it being a “girls book” got really invested in her story!
When we were younger my mom took my sister and I to the American Girl store in LA. This was a year or so before Julie was released or even announced. My mom was chatting with one of the employees and when the employee found out that we were from SF, had divorced parents, and both played basketball she was like "i have to show you something" and took my mom, sister, and I into this secret room where they had the Julie collection displayed prior to its announcement. It was sooo cool and exciting as a little kid and a year later my mom bought the Julie doll for my sister and I to share.
Dang, that was a nostalgia trip. I remember getting one of these catalogs in the mail and immediately falling in love with Addy. So glad she made top tier. I think Elizabeth is easily my least favorite of these dolls, mostly because when they released her doll, they retconned her character as being blonde. Even all of the art in the books changed. I assumed they didn't want her getting mixed up with Samantha???
It was because the in the Felicity film the actress who plays Elizabeth was blonde. Idkw they did the retcon instead of giving the actress a brunette wig or cast an actual brunette. Either way as a natural brunette I was offended 🤷🏻♀️
samantha was my girl, i read all of her books and adored her bravery and drive and i loved her setting. i think they actually taught me a lot about class and poverty since she was so rich and her best friend nellie was impoverished and worked in the factories. i was so moved as a kid when she taught nellie how to read and her uncle and suffragette aunt took nellie and her sisters in when they were orphaned. i love samantha i still have her 😭😭😭😭
Ok, I have to be honest, I have seen a few of your videos and thought they were pretty good because you brought back some nostalgia from my childhood with your videos of Bratz and Polly Pockets... but this... you went directly to my heart. As someone who grew up to be a historian it would be no surprise to tell you that I had American Girls and loved all of them. Honestly, I immersed myself in their books and beyond to learn everything I could about their era. Frankly, I think it's so encouraging that these dolls taught children lessons of not only history but made it relatable to them. The dedication the AG team had to make some of these girls authentic to their time period is astounding. I'm still wanting these dolls just because of how unique they are! Also, you have an amazing eye for recognizing the portrayed era's fashion, you'd make a brilliant fashion historian and that's coming from a Victorian and Edwardian dress collector, I noticed you pointing out those differences. AG also came out with dolls and books for their older audiences, they were called Girls of Many Lands. These stories were hardcore as they were much darker (in my opinion) and targeted young girls from other countries. They had little displayable dolls to go along with the books. Does anybody remember these?
That's so awesome to hear- you being a historian I mean! And thank you!! Being a fashion historian is actually a bit of a pipe dream of mine. I'm a costume designer by trade, so I've studied fashion history and designed for period shows, and immersing myself in the details of historical dress and research has always been my favorite part. If I go back to school, it's a strong possibility I would pursue a Masters in Fashion or Textiles History specifically. So your compliments actually mean quite a lot to me. The thing I really loved about American Girl is that it made me realize how overlooked the demographic of young girls are in history. How it's so difficult enough to learn the perspectives of historical grown women alone, let alone girls. Their fashion, lifestyles, and relationship with their time periods beyond things such as marriage proposals or the men in their life is just not often discussed outside of specific circles, so the dedication of AG to cataloging those experiences is so incredibly important.
@@DarlingDollz "Well behaved girls rarely make history." -Eleanor Roosevelt You're right, women are hard to follow in regards to the records of the past. So many stories have been lost to time, well, except when girls did things they weren't supposed to do. Oh, I could tell you stories! That's why I love it, chasing the ghosts on paper is very enthralling. As you are also a lover of a good mystery I'm sure I don't need to explain the lure. I hope you do pursue your dream! I can tell that you have a talent and a passion for historical costume. Watching your videos I can hear that spark in your voice when you talk about fashion and that's not something I hear often in the industry. With that being said, you must follow your passion, it's a gift. But, I envy your talent of being a costume designer! I used to design costumes for my AG dolls, but I can't do that to full scale!
Ahh I remember the Girls of Many Lands! They were geared more towards older tweens/teens and the stories definitely were a lot darker/more mature. The dolls were also a lot smaller and meant for display only, and didn't come with a collection of clothes or anything. I was about 11 when those came out, and while I did still like the original historical American Girl characters at that time, I started reading the Girls of Many Lands books too, and ended up getting two of the dolls (Isabel, who was from England in the 1500s, and Kathleen, the Irish girl).
If they ever do a AG doll for 1994, I wish they create an African American character and a Korean American who both live in LA, and they learn how to work together to make their community a better place to live after the Watts riots that happened in 1992. At first, there’s tension, especially as their teacher pairs them together to do a school project, but their friendship blossoms when they get to know each other. They also get to learn about each other’s culture.
kaya is top tier for me hands down my favorite growing up. i remember well-meaning adults encouraging me to read ivy's books because we're both asian, but kaya was the doll i really connected to (as a kid i was mad that white adults were telling me to read about a chinese girl when i'm indian, they're not the same but they wanted to pretend they were because i guess no one wants to admit to a child that there aren't books about people like them). initially because we're both brown and our names rhyme, but also because of how prominent her family was and how dedicated she was to them and to doing right. as an adult, i was so relieved to know that AG did the right thing when researching for her design.
My family couldn’t really afford American Girl dolls when I was younger, but I did get really lucky and win a Julie doll at a bookstore raffle back in 2007. I was allegedly the only person who entered the raffle so it was a default win but I was still so happy 😂
Here's a rundown of what I think happened to the American Girl Dolls as they got older: Molly - Became a hospital nurse until she got married. Once her kids were big enough to go to school, she became a school nurse so she could be home in the afternoons. Currently drives her own nurses crazy. Felicity - Married Ben and was given the horse farm by a repentant and near death Jiggy Nye. Raised a bunch of foals and some kids of her own. Caroline - Had to get married to Seth in order to inherit any portion of her father's shipyard. After the law was changed, decided to keep him around anyway. Josefina - Became a nun and changed her name to Sor Maria Raphael. Opened a charity hospital that would treat any patient, human or animal. Marie-Grace - Became a Civil War nurse, took up Holy Orders after getting into some legal trouble at the Siege of New Orleans. Changed her name to Sister Agatha Grace and took over the orphanage when Sister Beatrice died. Cecile - Family moved to Washington D.C. before Louisiana succeeded and she joined an acting troupe. Joined a travelling troupe after Lincoln's assassination and reunited with her old friend in New Orleans. Kirsten - Became a teacher and then volunteer cook/laundress during the Dakota War. Found her old friend Singing Bird among the POW's and became a proponent for Sioux's rights. Addy - Became a teacher who believed it was never to late to learn. Got into a "Boston marriage" with Sarah who became a seamstress. Samantha - Went to jail for trying to vote, but eventually enjoyed the right to vote in 1920. Combined her love of art and political activism to be a political cartoonist published under the name Sam Parks. Rebecca - Became an actress under the name Ruby Carlyle and one of the first celebrities to attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Kit - Became a war correspondent in the 40's and globe trotting reporter. Eventually settled down to be an editor. Wrote her own obituary and requested donations to ACLU instead of flowers. Maryellen - Became a rocket scientist who worked at NASA. Wrote some sci fi under the name Murry Ellison and contributed to some Star Trek zines. Became a professor at Florida Institute of Technology. Melody - Got a contract with Motown and recorded some disco and R&B albums. Divorced twice, now lives in a mansion with her lover. Supports BLM and contributes to numerous food banks. Julie - Took part in a few student protests in college and became a gym teacher. Coaches girls' basketball team and teaches civics class. Married a guy with two daughters. Courtney - Developed Crystal Starshooter into a popular video game. Does more programming and developing from home. Took up homeschooling her daughter when COVID happened.
When you described Kirsten and how she ruins everyone’s lives I laughed so hard because that’s the exact reason I couldn’t stand her stories 😂 every single story almost was her screwing something up royally and causing everyone around her to suffer. She had some cute outfits, but she was absolutely insufferable.
So I do remember her inadvertently causing her family's log cabin to burn down in the "Changes for Kirsten" book. But what exactly did she do in the other books to ruin people's lives? lol I don't really remember.
@@mintpanda1747 Dude she was a poor immigrant who had to travel out west then live on the prairie after her best friend Martha died of Cholera. Have some respect.
@@victoire614 Hiii! Sorry if it came off that way. I one hundred percent respect what those people went through I just found Kirsten personally to be a very hard character to like. I found myself liking side or background characters in her book more than the main character. Same with Molly. I loved her books but she didn't have many positive personality traits. Sorry if I offended you and hope this can clear things up. Have a lovely day!
Firstly, personally, I would move Josafina up a tier, because I feel like this historical aspects are really well done. Secondly, my mom passed down her og samantha doll to me, and I completely agree that her og outfits are stunning, and I wish I could have her birthday set
I still have my Kirsten from around 1990. I was really into pioneer stories😂 But I can't wait until my baby niece is old enough for me to buy her an American Girl doll. There's so many more options for her.
I had Marrie Grace as a kid and I loved her and her books. I had a bunch of random off brand clothes for her. I remember wanting the Cecil doll so bad but by the time I got Marrie Grace the Cecil dolls were sold out, and resellers had way too high of prices for a doll.
I just purchased Marie-Grace cause I found her for only $50 resale on eBay. I'm holding out for a Cecile doll someday, but all the ones I've found are too expensive 😢
I have both of the dolls my Cecile doll has been through some stuffbut was very well loved when I was young I remember balling when I found out they were getting discontinued and my grandma bringing me to the store to buy the stuff before it was gone. My personal favorite part of their collection was their Mardi Gras dresses I’m really sad he didn’t mention them because I think they were gorgeous and really highlight tbh.
kit meant a lot to me as a kid- i was a young tomboy whose family was living in poverty and so it was really meaningful to see a doll who was just like me :-) i didn't have the doll because they were... so expensive, but i watched her movie on youtube almost every day as a kid 😭 kit kittredge my BELOVED
I’ve never been interested in dolls in recent years, but this video brought back so much nostalgia for the books I adored and the dolls I played with constantly. I’d love to see more AG content, especially coverage of the new dolls or videos discussing AG’s successes or failures with their dolls-you’re a great narrator and so nice to listen to
So much effort went into this video, I love it 💜 As a kid I had a Josephina doll, I liked her so much I wore the doll out. One eye stuck when closing, I brushed her hair so much it wouldn’t cooperate, one of her legs was loose, and she was losing pigment in some areas. She was my only doll but I loved looking thru the catalogs.
my favorites forever and always be miss rebecca rubin, samantha parkington & felicity merriman. i read all the historical books as a young girl and i really looked to these stories as an escape from everything going on in my life. i recently flipped through an AG magazine & was SHOCKED by how different everything is. i guess things change with time but i will always feel bad for the young kids who don’t get to experience the american girl franchise in the way that we all did. i really liked this video 🤍 it brought me back to being 10 years old. i started off with a look alike back in 2005 and remember being so excited picking out the doll that looked just like me in the catalog. this franchise really shaped my childhood & i still find myself as a woman in my 20s leaning back toward it for comfort.
I never got attached to the dolls but LOVED the books growing up, they were great. Some of the outfits the girls have I'd wear as a 27 year old woman. Cecile and Marie Grace made me think that Cecile would have been the main girl and Marie Grace was the best friend that they released at the same time. It feels kind of weird to have two at once.
Seeing Kaya again made me so happy, I still have her belt on an old stuffed animal. It's nice to hear there was actual collaboration in her design process!
I was pretty poor from around age 5 to 9, when I was really getting into AG. I was never able to get one until later in life (I got the Felicity redesign, worst decision of my life) and this video brought back so many memories of seven year old me sitting in my room and reading the magazines that came in the mail, trying to decide which doll I wanted to get when I had the money to go to the closest AG store (Ny). Fun times.
I owe a lot to the American girl doll books. They are the reason I love history so much. I have 4 dolls, three of them historical. Rebecca (got her for my 7th birthday. I’m not Jewish, but I am seventh day Adventist, so I thought it was cool to have a doll who also keeps the Sabbath.) Caroline (I thought she was sooo pretty, that I saved up my money to buy her myself. I also learned more about the War of 1812 through her books. I was sad when they discontinued her.) Maryellen (I love fifty’s stuff, so I was in love with her outfits.) And the other doll I had was Isabelle.
I was in the american girl doll pageant in the early 2000's my sisters and I were really excited to be apart of it. I got kit, j got Felicity, and b is latina and got Josefina. However there was a lot of racism towards my sister for not being white and we ended up having to pull out of the pageant on the day of. I loved your list and absolutely agree with you. My favorite part about AG dolls is sending them to the "hospital". They come back with a new outfit and information about her time there. I was unfortunately the messy little sister who broke everything or had things broken by older sisters due to petty arguments. My favorite set was the school set you got a heavy cast iron desk. And I did have a green beach chair however I can't remember what set that was from. My favorite outfits were the first set of rain cloths AG came out with. Kit looked so adorable.
can't believe you only mentioned the girls' animals once; those were always the first things i wanted for my dolls!! this brought so many great memories of reading the books and drooling over all the great accessories i was never gonna get when the magazines showed up. really loved this video, probably gonna go read a bunch of their books now.
Molly used to be my absolute favourite, I’m from the uk and she was soo expensive especially when buying from a uk reseller. When she retired it broke my 10 yr old heart, now that I’m older I’ve always wanted to please the child inside me and finally get my hands on her
The fact that the girls’ games on the website weren’t considered in their rankings is criminal 😤 (I’m mostly kidding but also that’s absolutely how I got so attached to certain dolls lol)
The originals aren't available on the website anymore! But if he could have played them you would be absolutely right :P Kit's egg-selling game and Kaya's escape game were two of my faves. Plus Addy's mancala and all of the mahjong... what a time it was to be a kid 😌
I have a sister who was a kid in the 80's and the clothes that Courtney wears are the same kind of clothes she and her friends wore, especially the Care Bears pajama shirt.
The young girl in my hurts seeing Felicity and Elizabeth so low as those were the dolls I had as a child. Granted I never read the books because I'll be honest I didn't want to read about a horse girl. My family could also only afford the dolls and I was happy with my two. My sister also had some but I forget which ones, I think one was Samantha. We honestly had more fun playing with them and making up our own stories. And I was honestly more attached to Elizabeth since I had her for I believe four years until I was given Felicity.
Elizabeth was my first and favorite doll. when i heard about Felicity getting discontinued, i did make sure to ask for her that coming Christmas :/ i never read the books or knew more about them than theyre from the American revolution, it was interesting to find out that they were actually on opposing sides of the war. elizabeth was the side girl but i just loved her look in the catalog so much... princess peach vibes
This is such a wonderfully researched video, I keep finding myself coming back to it whenever I start feeling nostalgic for AG. I was obsessed with American Girl’s historical dolls as a child, because history was my jam, and the AG dolls were such a wellspring of amazing historical details and information. I had the Felicity doll as a child and later saved up for Josefina, but Kirsten was my absolute favorite, even though I never got her doll. I still read her “Kirsten’s Surprise” story with my students for Christmas today! You’re right about the darkness of them though - I clearly remember being traumatized in second grade after reading about the death of a named, heavily featured child character in her first book. Even though we have very different tastes when it comes to which dolls are the best, I so appreciate the work and research that you put in to making this video. You touched on every aspect of the girls, from their stories to their clothes to accessories, and it’s so fun to revisit! The only downside to this video is that it introduced me to the BeForever rebrand, which was pretty gut-wrenching to see. Still, thanks for the trip down memory lane!
I will never not be mad that American Girl abandoned the historical angle in order to be "hip and trendy".
Same the historical aspect is what I loved. I'm a huge history buff and that was the best aspects of the dolls and books.
I mean they still have that, but they don’t promote it as much
I agree I had all the books up to Kit (I started growing out of them) and learning about history thru a young girls eyes was one of my favorite parts
I feel like what made American Girl as a brand so special is its ability to allow young girls to understand and emphasize with people through out history in all sorts of circumstances. It taught me so much, and I'm truly grateful.
they dropped the ball with the new book cover illustrations, and new storylines.its not like how it used to be.
As a Mexican immigrant, I wanted Josefina so bad. She has the same last name as my grandfather and looked like my family. The first time I ever cried tears of joy was the Christmas when I unwrapped her. My mom called around all of my family members, trying to get the money to buy her. I’m 20 now, and whenever my mom suggests putting her in storage, I can’t. I cannot stress how important it was that I had this doll (and her books) growing up. ❤️
I know I'm a few years late but this was a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it!
I’m years late too but omg that touched my heart
This is how I feel about Samantha. Except I had to wait until I started working to get her because my single dad was too poor to get her for me when I was growing up. What a great mamma you had
That is a precious story. Thank you for sharing it with us.
This is how I feel about Rebecca :) I was really happy when I was little to get a Jewish doll because I had never seen that before and it just made me feel so seen 🥹 I rlly love American Girl for that. It's not perfect but the way it humanizes and lets us see ourselves in the dolls is really sweet
The point about Addy humanizing slavery is so important. Reading her books when I was in first grade, as a little white girl, really helped me understand, at an appropriate enough sense for a 7 year old, the horrors of slavery. I remember specifically reading a line in her first book that just tore me up inside. It was about how Addy’s grandparents (I think, it’s been more than 20 years since I read that book) weren’t going to be running away as well. Addy says to her mother, “But Esther can’t run, and she’s coming!” And her mother had to explain that no, Addy’s baby sister was also not coming with them. And that just… wow. I put the book down, ran into my mom’s bedroom crying, and we had a really long talk about slavery and racism and how evil those things were/are.
This is so touching, it really shows the impact representation has
The passage where Addy's brother gets whipped made me physically sick when reading and has stuck with me as a reminder of the horrors of slavery to this day.
@@nataliemccarthy9140 when i was little my parents waited to buy me addy's books. me and my sister had an addy doll because we loved her dresses and thought she was pretty. but in 5th grade my mom let me read them and omg i cried so hard. the worst part was when they shoved the worms in her mouth. that stuck with me even today.
@Anna Midkiff omg i remember that scene so well. I also remember being so so frustrated and sad.
I loved the books. I read it to my then (I think?) 8 year old daughter and 6 year old son, and we really lived it.
Addy was my favorite doll as a little white girl. I loved her clothes, her personality, and her story. I cried as an 8 year old reading her stories. My dad took her books away from me because I would “feel sorry for them”. I snuck behind his back and read them at the library. And honestly, I think her story is part of the reason I was able to grow up in a super racist house and never take that bullshit to heart the way the rest of my family did.
I love your story. Your dad sounds like a lot of the parents I knew growing up. We would have book clubs with the American Girl series, and I wanted us to read about Addy because she looked like me. But the other girls and parents said her story was too sad to read. So we never read Addy, but we could read Kristen's. It showed me that black girls' stories weren't important to a lot of the mainstream.
@@GAshoneybear That makes me sad for little you, I wish they would've read Addy too.
My dad was a single father who saved up his income to buy me a Julie doll after she was released because we shared the same name. I was twelve when she was released and I was so proud to get her. My dad took me to the AG shop where we lived to pick out outfits for her occasionally after that. I’m so glad she’s also a favorite of yours.
that’s so wholesome 🥺
aww that’s cute
So sweet
I love this
That’s why I had Elizabeth. Although our names are spelled differently.
Imagine in 40 years when AG makes a 2020 line with tiny facemasks, hand sanitizer and zoom school
Omg I haven’t thought about that yet. I would honestly love it though. I’d totally buy a doll from a time period I actually loved through.
LMAO and a little toy phone with tiktok on it and tiny doll masks
they did already haha, their names are makena and evette i think?
It was a real missed opportunity to not have Mary Ellen become visibly disabled and include mobility aids with the doll. It’s the only thing that even remotely sets her apart from the other girls and it has relatively little impact on her story or character.
Yes. I have Maryellen. I got her at 7. I loved her!! I was so interested in the polio side of her story and wanted it to be more focused on and how it impacts her life. Ofc in her books she’s bullied and she had one leg that’s a little smaller than the other and like she is often reminded of it, but it still is n my that big of a part of her story. I still love her though!
Dolls we need to see:
- a colonial doll from Jamestown
-another indigenous doll, maybe in a more contemporary time period
-a Chinese American doll in California during the Gold Rush
- has there ever been an Indian-American/ Desi character? If not, there needs to be one ( can’t think of a particular time period) Edit: there was a Girl Of The Year doll who was Indian American, but there’s never been an Indian American historical doll.
- another Latina doll, maybe a Cuban immigrant in the 1950s or 60s or during the Spanish American War, or even a Puerto Rican doll moving to the mainland during the annex
- a 19th century Alaska native doll
- any others?
Yes, yes and a million yeses!!!
Edit: I would also personally love a Filipino Historical character and doll. Along with more Asian Historical characters in general.
I also think AG could what they did with Nanea and Molly again - both girls covers World War 2, but showed different events. Nanea’s books covers the Pearl Harbor bombing while Molly’s covers the tail end of the war and they were able to show more. Just something to think about.
ABSOLUTELY
Yes omg
more asian american girls!
I would have liked to read about a Vietnamese or Cambodian refugee/immigrant from the 1970s. Their stories were fascinating, from escaping their homelands to working their tails off to make new lives for themselves in America.
To quote my girlfriend about Caroline: "WHY DO Y'ALL SLEEP ON HER?! SHE HAD A FRICKING BOAT!"
AND A COW
I wanted the big version of her sooo bad that I had Caroline as my confirmation name as a Catholic 8th grader but too embarrassed to admit it😂 I read her book series because I had her as a mini but she would have been the only blonde AGD in my childhood collection😂
Christina Kleman I have Samantha as a mini because we have the same name
she’s the only one i had
YES put some respect on my girlie caroline's name!!
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t all that impressed with the redesign of the dolls in 2014😭. My 10 year old self really wrote a letter to the company complaining about the lack of historical accuracy in the new collection💀💀
YOU DID NOT 😭-
It didn't occur to me to write a letter but I was definitely disappointed in the redesign, too.
AS YOU SHOULD 💅
The one thing I did like about the BeForever reboot and redesigns is that Samantha was unarchived and available for purchase again. She really has some of the most interesting accessories and best looking outfits.
Felicity's was simply tragic! The brand has been going downhill for a while, sadly. My Felicity was my mom's when she was little, so I have and love many of the older accessories.
Addy was my first AG doll...I was a skinny lil' black girl visiting LA when my mom surprised me with a trip to the store and I loved her immediately. (My sister got Cecile!)
Little did I know that I had more in common with Addy than I realized...WAY MORE.
Addy was based on a real slave girl from North Carolina. The plantation which the real girl lived on (and where AG consulted with to make Addy) is three minutes away from me.
TLDR: Addy, the real girl, and I all lived in the exact same place and are therefore connected by time and spirit.
we also both love fashion and clothes ;)
i always wanted the actual doll. but i fell in love with addy from the books. it really did make me feel connected to my ancestors and helped me understand slavery. they didn’t miss the mark with her story.
@@biggvibess_ Saammmeee! I remember I managed to read all of the books from the school library! She's the reason why I love turnip greens and rice together so much😭😭
Love!
What's the real girls name?
I remember really liking Molly bc she had glasses, and when I was a kid, dolls with glasses just were not heard of bc they didn't fit in with the beauty standard. So seeing that doll made me so happy bc I felt a connection with her. Thankfully my family managed to pull together the money to get her, because it helped me become a bit more confident in how I looked.
I loved her glasses, her braids, and her knee socks XD but we were too poor to afford her, unfortunately.
me too!! as silly as it is it made me connect with her so much just because she came with glasses
Who do you think has the most tragic story Kristen or addy
Both.
I cried when Ivy left Bc she was the only asian American and I loved her books, I felt like I could understand what my dad and aunt went through and the discontinuation was so sad
I would go the American girl doll store and just stare at them
Ivy was one of the girls I remember wanting when I was older and most people my age had moved on from AG. Sad I never got her.
There's an Asain astronaut now I think, idk what her name is though. I stopped obsessing over them after Gabriella.
There should be another one that isn’t just a best friend but a main character
@@livywithane she was Hispanic I think
Remembering when I went on a rant to my mom when I found out about kit’s redesigning, I distinctly remember saying “if she’s living in poverty and her story is about overcoming hardships, why the heck is she playing mini golf in monogrammed dress?”
Well, she wasn't always living in poverty. It was implied that her family was middle to upper middle class before the depression hit and her dad lost his job. So it would make sense that she still had some of her nice clothes that she probably got before her family fell on hard times.
@@CherryFrog321 even then i feel like her clothes mightve been sold, especially if they were good quality (not saying theyd just rob their daughter of her clothes lmao)
When I saw her new nightgown and bedspread, I flipped out. She doesn't like pink or frilly things! I loved learning about her print dresses made from bags and stuff. She framed my whole perspective of what the Great Depression was like. And wasn't that the whole purpose of American Girl? Being able to relate as a 9 year old made history real to me.
yes to the golf but monogramming a dress isnt that hard
The wave of nostalgia when I saw that blue dress Kit wears. I spent the whole video trying to remember if I had her and bam that was my answer.
Ks
Ssssssskss
Hi Tama!
I was always drawn to Kit when looking through my daughter’s catalogs.
I cane never see the name kit the same way after..... That person 🤮
The fact that Courtney- an American Girl doll- has an American Girl doll of her own is like totally mind-blowing!!!
Yess
Dollception
That's because Molly was one of the original three dolls the American Girls produced in the 1980's. Which is the time frame that Courtney exists in, so of course she would have her own original American Girl doll.
@@brianaschmidt910 I know, but still--- trippy.
Josefina will always be my girl. A shy Catholic kid with a big, crazy family, Josefina was the representation I needed growing up. I’m now an adult and all my AG things have been handed down to younger friends and relatives, but I still hold on to Sombrita, her baby goat.
YES! Glad someone else loved her as much as I did
I really wanted Sombrita as a kid, I didn’t care about the dolls themselves I just wanted the animals lol. I really wanted Kaya’s horse
@@iamphoenixfire Kayla was my personal favorite doll. But I never got her but I did get her horse ^^
Omg I have that goat :D it’s so cute and fuzzy! And mine has a little bell on its neck!
same josefina was my first one that wasnt a truley me and I love her so much
I didn't get the Addy doll growing up, but I did read the first Addy book, and I still remember it to this day. I was probably around 7 or 8, and as an upper middle class white girl, it struck something in me. I was confused and horrified by what I saw, furious that my parents answers to my questions boiled down to "that's just how it was back then." I think I knew about slavery before that, but it's the first time that I truly understood what that meant and was disgusted by what I saw. 8 year old me wanted to go into the book, free the girl and her family and give them everything I had. I remember crying.
That reaction stuck with me. I think it helped protect me from believing some of the racist dialogue I heard growing up. I'd hear an argument justifying slavery for economic reasons or trying to paint the plantation owners as victims of the civil war, and I'd think of Addy's little sister, with no real clothes, laying on a mattress on the floor in a cruel place where people were hurt and families were separated. I never forgot that image. I didn't start learning about black issues until more than a decade later (still learning), but that book did keep me from believing the apologists growing up, and I'm so glad it did.
I loved the fact that they made Addie dark. They actually made Addie actually dark skinned, and that made me really happy as a kid.
I never really thought about that but I am too. It would've been easier (and expected) for them to make them a lightskin girl with loose curls but they didn't. Kudos to them
Very refreshing. Colorism is black female representation is tiring
My jewish grandmother gave me Rebecca for my 9th birthday and we would read the book together. she'd tell me about her immigrant parents from russia and how they came in through ellis island and lived in new york before moving to chicago. So i love rebecca. And she loves theatre and my grandma and grandpa opened and owned a theatre company! she will always be #1 for me
my best friend loves rebecca for almost the exact same reason!!!! her family immigrated from germany through ellis island!!!
I’m not Nez Perce (I’m lumbee) but it was such an excellent idea to make Kaya historical while also giving her modern outfits, showing that our culture transcends the centuries of attempting to suppress it. I swear I’ve seen nearly the exact same fancy dance dress at a powwow and that makes me so happy
I’m lumbee too!
Hey cousin!
Lumbee, Iroquois, Ojibwa and Lakota!
I do love kaya (acknowledging her inaccuracies)
I do wish they had other tribes though. We’re not all plains! There are 570+ tribes.
I’m not Nez Perce, infact I’m Tsalagi😭. But I felt so empowered and happy when an indigenous doll was introduced into the AG historical line. I am glad others feel the same:).
I'm still sad that there hasn't been a 1920s doll, but consider that Samantha and Nellie would absolutely be flappers/bootleggers, and also the first American Girls to vote. ;)
The 1920s have such interesting options! An African American girl experiencing the Harlem Renaissance, a Chinse immigrant girl adjusting to life in America, though that could also work for great San Francisco Earth quake.
Edit: A girl in rural Tennessee dealing with moon shiners and the bane on alcohol.
And send Eddie Ryland off to WWI. So many options.
@@helloill672 I love the idea of an Chinese immigrant 1920s doll
@@helloill672 Those are all great ideas!! Being from Harlem I would have loved the Harlem renaissance one, but also I sorta wished there was a legit Asian American AG doll too
Imagine the crossover possibilities
Courtney is literally wearing my childhood wardrobe from the pouf skirt to the splatter prints to the acid wash denim to the dressing up like a tiny Madonna to the Care Bears pjs, so if by “stereotypically 80s” they mean “period accurate” then yes.
i mean she’s supposed to be 9 so it’s not like she’s gonna wear like brat pack type shit
@@molls127 tho brat pack fashion word been way cooler
I swear I had the real version of her Care Bears sleeping bag and pajamas. Honestly had basically the same hairstyle too as a little kid
To me, Courtney on the video game side feels super fake. Since in August of the same year Metroid came out, I did not read the book but if it is the same as the short film but what a bad choice of not having chosen Mss Pacman, apart from the side of misogyny keep in mind that it was sold to an audience of children at that time and that almost Atari murders the industry, I did not read the book but if it is the same as the short film but what a bad choice of not having chosen Mss Pacman, apart from the side of misogyny keep in mind that it was sold to an audience of Boys at that time and that almost Atari ends the industry, It is not to justify the misogyny of the 80s itself that this thing was just in its first steps to become what it is today.
i would die to see you look at the "girl of the year" dolls as well. just looking at the difference between a character like chrissa (2009) and kira (2021) is so interesting, considering how quickly the 2000s have seemed to go so far. especially with the rise of internet and computer technology (not to mention AG's abrupt rebrand in 2014 which may have shifted the quality of a lot of their collections) i think looking at how AG handled topics that were relevant throughout the 2000s is fascinating. it's also fun to relive the things you might have experienced as a kid through the stories. would love to see you go through them!
I second this!
Personally offended you didn’t talk about Julie’s egg chair with the real speakers and Kit’s crate scooter cause I dreamed about those for years as a kid /lh
I always wanted Kits scooter And Her treehouse
im literally putting an egg chair in my room now because of julie's. cultural reset.
The scooter!!!
ME TOO LOL
Words cannot express just how badly I wanted Julie's egg chair haha
I have sooooo many gripes with Maryellen, my grandma had polio and was a teen in the 1950s and the stories she told me would have been perfect for Maryellen. Showing more of what polio was like for survivors would have been incredible. My grandma was able to walk short distances with her brace if not very slowly, then as she became older she grew more and more reliant on her wheel chair till by time she passed she was completely wheelchair bound. She told me stories about how she got rides from a man she kinda knew with her friends to work as a telephone operator cause that was the best way to get there (though she told me in hindsight very unsafe). She told me about how although most people would go home for lunch, because of her leg the school let her eat at the school. Any of these things would have been amazing to explore, though maybe not the part about getting a ride from a stranger. Maryellen is straight clownery for me.
can we PLEASE take a moment to appreciate how good these tier names are omg 😭
lol yes
Kirsten was my doll as a kid because I loved her Swedish heritage. Her story with the Santa Lucia celebration and the matching dress set was my favorite!
Mine too! I’m 36 now but I remember making a little mini Santa Lucia headdress for one my my dolls out of red and green yarn and toothpicks for the candles when I was little. I thought of that immediately when she was brought up!
I'm Finnish, so it's *so* close lol
I loved Kirsten for her cats before I read her books. But now I love her stories for showing an immigrant settling in America at the time. Even though she was Swedish, she was still an American Girl and held on to her culture. I related to her social anxiety and good nature.
I loved her stories
Can we give it up for AG having Addy not only be the first African American doll but a dark skin doll as well. Also the fact that they gave her cute outfits, cause we all know they usually do dolls of color dirty
I had Samantha but loooooooved the Addy dresses. They were amazing!
@@littleraeofsunshine I had both and ngl sometimes would switch the clothing and have fashion shows. Cause some outfits I loved for Samantha and some of Samantha’s outfits I thought would look good on her
As a military child I found Molly really relatable to the emotional and familial hardships of deployment.
Probably why she appeals to me too
Honestly I've never had interest in AG because I always saw it as "cheesy stuff only bratty kids could afford" but as an adult this makes me really interested and appreciative towards the brand
I had a similar perception, but a lot of work really does go into making these dolls. Kaya, for instance, was the product of 5 years of research and cooperation with the Nez Perce tribe- it's impressive when you look into it!
I remember it being something I was really proud to have. I knew that they weren’t cheap, so I kept really good care of it. I still have it today I’m pretty much the same condition I got it in back in the early 2000s.
@@gracedesjarlais8074 Agreed. my parents did a really good job of explaining to me as a 7/8 year old that the dolls weren't cheap and that it was important to take care of them, and I'll always be grateful for that because all of them are still in really good shape 10 years later.
Growing up I read a good handful of the books and poured over the catalogues, knowing that they were way to expensive to actually buy from, so I never asked my parents for anything from it (and was super jealous of a classmate who had one of the not historical outfits they offered).
I had a lot of them Rebecca, Kanai and two my American girls plus a bitty baby my parents didn't have a lot of money but my grandparents surprised me getting the dolls for my birthday and Christmas
The fact that Courtney has a mini Molly doll with a mini catalogue with items circled in it WON MY HEART ♥️😢
Aw man at my girl Kirsten being ranked in the second-from-bottom tier: I moved to the US when I was seven and I got Kirsten for Christmas that year. Her story about being an immigrant and adjusting to America culturally while still retaining parts of her Swedish culture resonated a lot with me as a kid. Rebecca wasn't out when I was that age but I've heard her story also deals a lot with cultural assimilation. Also, it's funny how you mentioned Kaya and Kirsten going to the same school of making bad choices because I'm pretty sure most (if not all) of their books were written by the same author!
I loved Kirsten when I was growing up too. I wasn't an immigrant but I was just interested in the pioneer era. I also was a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House books and liked that Kirsten was kind of similar (other than the fact that she was an immigrant).
I still have my Kirsten doll 💜
Loved that doll to death as a kid, and no matter where she got ranked her is is top tier in my heart.
This sounds so similar to my story. I was also an immigrant to the U.S. when I was 5, almost 6. I moved from Ukraine. I could really relate to Kirsten because I was also a European immigrant, had blonde hair that I wore in two braids, and had to learn English and American customs.
@@CherryFrog321 I never had any of the dolls. But, I always loved looking through the catalogs. Kirsten, and her different play sets, was my favorite.
I suppose it is because I also loved Little House. I wished I was in a one room schoolhouse, with a split log bench. I wanted the hearty food in my lunch box, rather than the cardboard pizza that my school served. And, her bed just looked so warm and cozy!
My favorite was Kirsten not an immigrant, but I moved to a lot across the US. Also loved the frontier feeling. Living on farms yet wanting to retain some femininity really resonated with me.
I actually think that Courtney's Molly doll is a very cool feature as Molly was released in her time period which I think is a cool homage to one of the historical dolls that has now been discontinued when Courtney was released. It also shows how long American Girl has been around for & I just think it's really sweet to see.
For some reason it made me emotiomal because so many kids grew up with these dolls
the original 80s-2000s line is a lot better than the newer one that launched in the 2010s in my opinion. the new ones look like stereotypical representations of their decades
Agreed, especially Maryellen being just the safe, "exactly what you'd expect" design of the 1950s, I agree with the OP.
Completely agree. Makes me feel lucky for growing up with the OG.
Yeah. I remember the end of the original historical line, when they released the new ones I was so mad. The only kinda ok new one is Nanea I think her line is really cool. But I have Elizabeth and also the original Kit
they did kinda ditch the beforever line but even with courtney, she looks like how pop culture sees the 80s rather than a more realistic depiction
@@iwakeupandboomimarat lol really? My mom says it’s completely accurate.
Ahhh I remember loving when I received Ivy as a kid because even though I'm Japanese, it was so exciting just holding a pretty Asian doll when most of the historical girls were white and looked nothing like me. I'm so sad she got discontinued, but I'm grateful that her release got to overlap with my time as an american girl doll fan as a kid
The Mean Girls, Molly edit had me rolling 😂
Lmao same. I liked and subscribed immediately
2:55 lol
SAME
Same, I was dying 😂
I remember winning Felicity and Elizabeth at Barnes and Noble raffle. I answered the house phone and a lady asked if she asked for me and told me I won the dolls. I was so excited I made my mom talk to the lady while she was on the toilet. My poor mother... lol. I had my picture taken in the paper too which was really cool. It was probably one of my favorite memories as a kid. My parents didn't really have the means to buy me AG dolls so it meant a lot to me even if I was chosen at random. I used to get the catalogs in the mail and wish I could get everything. Since it was expensive, my mom would actually make me dresses for the dolls so I could put them in different outfits. I never really thought too deeply on it but looking back I am so grateful for her effort. I also remember going to the AG store and was finally able to get my favorite doll that I wanted for years. I was able to get Nellie who I adored. I still have all 3 dolls, unfortunately play time kinda made Felicity and Elizabeth looking a bit rough but I kept Nellie in good condition and also kept her OG outfit and box.
Sorry for the long comment, it just brought up so much nostalgia and good memories. Thank you for this video
Oh my gosh! I also won the set of Felicity and Elizabeth from the Barnes n Noble raffle! We would never have been able to afford them otherwise. And it was so fun because I kept Felicity and I was able to give my sister Elizabeth so we both had one. I still have them on a shelf today!!
@@simplystandout5878 My sister I gave Felicity !!! We also couldn’t afford them but always got the catalogs ! Haha did they have you take a pic with them for the paper ? My hair looked like a lion in it because I hated brushing it 😂😂
Rebecca meant so much to me as a kid, I loved reading her books as a 3d generation ashkenazi jew
She came out when I was older but I definitely would’ve gotten her. Being a Jew it was really cool to see them come out with one:)
I was like "As a kid? Didn't she come out in 2009?" And then I remembered 2009 was almost 13 years ago. God I'm old.
Felicity was my doll. She wasn’t the most popular, so a lot of us were probably into that hipster element. Also the Revolutionary period interested me. Her redesigned clothes did her dirty though. The purple dress is so inferiority the og print
Felicity was my first doll, I had the purple dress, it broke my heard when she was discontinued and I do wish when I was young I could have got the original dress
my sibling and i had felicity and elizabeth (can't remember who's was who's) i have a very vague memory of opening them, and it was great
@@crowthebro my sister got Elizabeth and I got Felicity lol, we picked who got what by who looked like the other more
She had the prettiest dresses! They used to have the "dress like your doll" thing and I wanted one of her dresses so bad. I never had an AG doll though (this was in the mid 90's I think) because it was so overpriced and my parents were very money-conscious.
That was my first doll! I loved her but I wish I got Samantha ; n ; I relate to her the most.
Addy debuted right as I was learning about my roots. My ancestors were slaves in Alabama, and reading her books helped me understand a part of what they had to deal with. My BFF recently sent me an Addy doll and I absolutely love her. I still have all the books I collected as a child.
The first dolls were by The Pleasant Company. Started by a school teacher and thus the historical books. Everything changed when Mattel bought the company.
We bought Samantha, Josephine, and Kit for birthday and Christmas gifts for our daughter and then adding outfits and such later on. She would save money to buy her own doll. After she grew up, I bought myself Molly and Emily, which I let my granddaughter play with me.
When I was a little kid, I loved the American Girl historical books as a kid, I used to read them before bed. I didn't really care for the dolls, just because of their size, it wasn't my preference.
your point about courtney’s time period being about as far removed from the present as molly’s from her release sent both me and my mother into a crisis
For real though. It's mind blowing to think that the 80s are as far away now as the 40s were in the 80s.
Have I ever owned one of these dolls? No.
Do I intend to ever buy dolls? No.
Did I thoroughly enjoy this entire video? Absolutely
I still remember the day when my mom broke the news to me that Kit (my fave AG) wasn't a real person - 7 year old me was going on about how I hoped that Kit was doing well, and how "she must be an old lady now," and my mom just had to go there 😆😭
Aww yeah, I was 7 when I first got into American Girl too and I thought all the girls were real people at first! If they were real people, Kit and/or Molly would the the oldest ones who might possibly still be alive (Molly would be close to 90 and Kit would be about 100!)
I remember always wanting AG growing up but my family could never afford them. Well, when my well-off aunt found out about my want she started buying me girls for the holidays. My first one she picked out for me and it was Marie-Grace. The excitement I felt opening the package wondering who was inside and seeing her. When I saw her I was so overjoyed. She looked just like me! Long brown hair (which fun fact our hair is nearly the same exact shade) and blue eyes. I was so happy and when I found out she had a best friend, Cécile, I wanted her immediately. Unfortunately by the time the next holiday rolled around she was already discontinued :(
I really hope they give her and a lot of the other discontinued historical dolls another run. I would love for my Marie-Grace to finally have her friend.
I hope so too! The anniversary collection is a good start. I would love to see them reproduce some classic collection pieces too, especially Samantha's! Her BeForever stuff just definitely doesn't hit the same.
But absolutely on Cecile too! Her and Marie-Grace both deserved so much more time in the spotlight. I hope AG sees how well-loved they are
i always found it sorta ....odd that they discounted one of the few dolls of color along with ivy but we have so many white dolls
I have Marie-Grace too, I brushed her hair so much her head went loose and her braid is all frizzy
My second grade teacher had an Addy doll in her classroom and read the stories about her running away as a slave to the class. She was a very important doll to me because of that.
RUDE, Kirsten was the og Cottagecore girl and I loved her looks. Also every basic boring girl I knew had Samantha, I have seen more Samanthas than every other girl combined.
YAAASSSSS team Kirsten!!
Samantha is boring because all upper class women were expected to be boring then. Nellie, even though she is there to prop up Samantha, to give her a more interesting storyline, was more developed and had a more interesting story to tell. She should have been the main character.
Thank you for saying what I thought as soon as I saw their review on Kirsten! I love her aesthetic and I think the whole prairie thing is a fascinating part of American history. Kirsten didn't start out my favorite but she definitely became it!
@@brucheweinberger6863 I don't think that Samantha and upper class women back then were boring. Technically weren't they for some degree allowed to be the opposite? Like most of them had a bunch of hobbies and skills and stuff like painting, archery, riding horses, etc. I liked her stories, I just think she's one of the few dolls that goes through the least amount of suffering.
@@hlabhlabhlab Right. That's why she is boring to me. High class women then had strict gender roles, if I remember correctly, Nellie, probably out of need was "allowed" to go to a school where she would have a paying job. Of course, not a doctor or lawyer, but a job nonetheless. Samantha still had to go to that stuffy school to become a "young sophiscated lady" which did not match her personality. I did like that the aunt inspired her to become more socially aware of the needs around her, but because of what society was those days, she could never really enter that world. This is not to blame all of the "Samanthas" of that time period, just an observation.
Putting Kirsten that low ESPECIALLY with Felicity is criminal… but all else is pretty accurate
Kirsten is one of the most sought after for collectors and her doll and collection are worth so much more, that says something... lol She deserves a higher spot for sure.
I adore Kirsten. Maybe because I was literally Swedish living in Minnesota and celebrated all these things, but...
Yes, it was the only one I completely disagreed with. Prairie life is so awesome with a doll!
I wanted that sweater more than anything.
@@keladry12 I live in Minnesota too and have Swedish ancestors and Kirsten was also my first doll!
Seriously hands down one of my fav videos I ever watched on UA-cam. I love American girl especially when I was a child. I love the balance of dolls, fashion, and history. Mad respect for you making this great video + reading the books in a short period of time. For any adult who admires AG, especially the history part I recommend the American Girl podcast, it’s great! When I was a kid molly was my favorite bc she looked like me bc I wore my hair in braids and had glasses, but I never owned her as a child. Okay brb going to binge watch ur other videos 💗
Omg, I HAVE to check out this podcast 👀
ty though!! I'm happy you enjoyed it! (And hope you enjoy my other videos lol)
When you said Molly's character was only about 40 years old upon her release, the same as Courtney... girl I did not come here to be attacked like that. Ooooof, that hurts. Molly represented my grandmother to me... my life is flashing before my eyes, I think this is the end.
I feel this
Same, I'm 30 years old, and Molly was still the most "modern" of the historical characters when I was growing up. Molly was close to the same age as my grandmother too. And Julie is about the same age as my mom. I actually remember asking my mom when I was a kid if she thought they might make a historical character from the 70s when she grew up. She said no, because she thought the 70s was still a little too recent. That was around 2000. But then about 7 years later, they came out with Julie. 😂
My grandma gave her to me and told me about how her mother grew up like Molly. It is something that has always stuck with me, the fact that history isn't as distant as we think of it as being.
Please do more tier lists! Maybe one with the MH or EAH characters next?
I might! This one was really fun
@@DarlingDollz please do! Its a great idea!
Yes!!
EVER AFTER HIGH PLEASEEE
LIZZIE HEART'S FITS??
@@DarlingDollz do omg next pls 💅💅💅💅💅💅
Samantha is literally the best. She was rich, had beautiful clothes, and was living her BEST LIFE
What I also loved about her was how even though she was rich and privileged, she wasn't spoiled or snobby. She had such a big heart and even befriended the servant girl, Nellie.
@@CherryFrog321 I had Samantha as a kid and will always remember reading her meet book where Nellie describes a girl getting her long hair getting ripped out in a factory. They did a fantastic job of portraying the horrors of the gilded age in a child friendly way, whilst simultaneously hitting first wave feminism. I never fully appreciated how good those stories were as a kid.
and she was an anti-capitalist queen!!
I hated how my friends used to see her as a spoiled rich girl when she actually wasn’t spoiled
ikr?! I'm still mad I never got the OG version~
I never had any of the dolls, though the order catalog for them was something I flipped through at least once a week. I read many of the books from the library. Molly was always my favorite.
I don't know anything about the newer dolls. But I did see Courtney when she debuted. I may be a bit biased being born in the mid 80's but I just love her outfits. And I had care bear pjs, and wore crazy Lisa Frank type clothing when I was a kid so yeah while her clothes might seems stereotypical 80's....it's pretty much stereotypical for a reason.
Molly was my favorite too 🥰 I think bc at the time, she was the most modern (I was born in 1991). Plus I have brown hair and brown eyes, and my mom always loved the name Molly so of course as a little kid I just felt like she was the most relatable to me.
@@shannonceleste5557 I was born in 1991 as well and I loved Molly! And a lot of people from our generation had grandparents who grew up during World War II. I always liked reading Molly's books because I felt like they gave me a glimpse of what my grandmother's childhood was like!
I was born in 1992 (my sisters were born 1980 and 1982 and my old house was practically a time capsule, so the 80s were a big influence on me). Her clothes and sets are pretty accurate and I love them
The Molly/Mean Girls edit was hilarious - great job on that. Also, I loved the tier names. I think you gave great opinions and tried to do best by each girl having read her story. I never saw the connection with A Little Princess and Samantha before but that probably explains why Samantha is best girl in my book since Ilove that story. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I actually loved Josefina because I come from a Hispanic background with my family who came from a very similar upbringing to Josefina. Family is super important to us. I had all the books relating to her as well. She was also the first American Girl I heard about.
It's unfortunate she is the only Latina representation so far just as Ivy was the only Asian American girl. I also really loved Ivy, big shame she was removed.
My top favorites were Josefina, Ivy, Kaya, Julie, Addy, and Kirsten! For some reason I would get bored by the other girl's books but I still liked the dolls and clothes.
I’m not even hispanic (I’m half-Brazilian), but Josefina is my favorite and always will be. She looked like my mom, and I connected with her stories since they revolved around family. She’s S tier for me. Her stories (that I reread too many times to count) cultivated my love of Southwestern culture. My other favorites would have to be Kaya and Ivy.
my dad is from new mexico, i remember i dressed up as her one year for my school's Christmas across the world thing, i never got her and i'm still lowkey sad abt it
i really hope they add more poc dolls soon, especially since there are rumours/leaks of a 1920s doll coming soon
I'm old....I lived through the 80's and Courtney is a VERY historically accurate representation of that era.
I think the sausage curls throw off the accuracy
I had a Samantha growing up and I was obsessed. Her hair almost immediately got dreadlocks and I lost her locket which is so disappointing. Either way her stories are great. My friends in elementary school who also had AG dolls always slept on Samantha because they had Kit or Molly for the most part, but I definitely loved my Samantha with all of my heart.
As a Swede I didn't grow up with these dolls, but Kirsten stole my heart right away for being an immigrant from here! Over a million Swedes left for the US in the 19th century (and we're a small country, with only 10 million people today!) Which means this is a huge part of our history! I noticed she has a lot of very traditional Swedish pieces in her collection as well, and now I wanna buy her even though I don't collect dolls this size. Sad you didn't like her very much but that's why it's so great to have all these choices, to find what resonates with us personally 😊 thank you for a fun and informative video!
Of course! Even if a doll isn't my favorite, there's always someone else out there that loves her. The dedication people have to their favorites is one of my favorite things about AG!
As a person living in Michigan who had blonde hair, freckles, and green eyes, I would DIE for Kit. I’ve been stanning Kit since day one.
lol my mom got me kit specifically because we are from the cincinnati area and i too had freckles and her exact haircut at that time
I loved Samantha's dresses. I actually had one of her dresses (it was the red christmas dress) for a Christmas concert I had when I was 10. My grandmother had bought the material from this one place and had stitched the dress for me 🥺
I had Samantha and Molly as a kid. My family pretended that the two celebrated Hanukkah since there was no Jewish AG at the time. Bought the mini Menorah for them. I’m glad to see that Jewish girls in 2009 got someone to relate to with Rebecca though. My family probably would have bought her for me if I would have still been a kid then. It was enough for me to pretend my dolls could celebrate it with me though. If I have a daughter and they come out with a 90s AG I would probably buy it. Hopefully once that happens she’s a good representation of the time period.
Hey! The 90s dolls are out now and they’re actually Jewish, too!
Aw, man, I remember saving up every cent I had to buy myself a Kaya doll. As soon as she was announced, I knew I had to have her. It was so cool as a kid to have a doll that looked like my family.
My cousin got the full Samantha set, every single item. And when she outgrew it, I was the perfect person to pass it down to. Not only did she share my name but she looked like me. She was my first AG doll ❤️ I was beyond obsessed with every outfit and the tea party set and everything
Geez, there are so many of them now. When I was a kid there were only 6: Felicity, Addy, Kirsten, Samantha, Mollie and Josephina.
There were 8 for me: those you named, plus Kit and Kaya.
Although for some reason I always thought Kaya was Kirsten’s best friend from her books, like Nellie was to Samantha. Turns out the character I’m thinking of is Singing Bird, a Sioux girl and an entirely different character.
Same here. I first got into AG around 1999 so those were the only six dolls they had at the time. Kit and Kaya ended up coming out a little bit later while I was still into them, but I hadn't heard of any of the others until I found this video!
THIS is the American Girl content I've been looking for! Funny, nuanced analysis from an adult enthusiast. Your ranking is fantastic, I agree with you on pretty much everything.
Kirsten will always be my favorite. My mom immigrated from Sweden just like her, and it was super special to have a doll with a similar heritage. Her St. Lucia outfit is the part I remember most dearly because it was a tradition in my family that I never saw represented anywhere else! Kirsten really allowed me to connect more with my mom's childhood and family traditions that were quite a bit different from the upbringing I got in the US.
I liked Kirsten cos even though she came from Sweden, I came from Finland. Soooo close, but everyone forgets Finland... Though at the time of Kirsten's emigration to the US, Finland was part of Russia. Sweden had lost it to Russia in 1809.
Addy in the top tier as she should be! I didn’t collect the dolls or books (as much as I enjoyed looking through the catalogs), I actually got introduced to her because my 3rd grade teacher read a couple of the Addy books to us in class. Even the boys who were initially complaining about it being a “girls book” got really invested in her story!
When we were younger my mom took my sister and I to the American Girl store in LA. This was a year or so before Julie was released or even announced. My mom was chatting with one of the employees and when the employee found out that we were from SF, had divorced parents, and both played basketball she was like "i have to show you something" and took my mom, sister, and I into this secret room where they had the Julie collection displayed prior to its announcement. It was sooo cool and exciting as a little kid and a year later my mom bought the Julie doll for my sister and I to share.
Dang, that was a nostalgia trip. I remember getting one of these catalogs in the mail and immediately falling in love with Addy. So glad she made top tier.
I think Elizabeth is easily my least favorite of these dolls, mostly because when they released her doll, they retconned her character as being blonde. Even all of the art in the books changed. I assumed they didn't want her getting mixed up with Samantha???
It was because the in the Felicity film the actress who plays Elizabeth was blonde. Idkw they did the retcon instead of giving the actress a brunette wig or cast an actual brunette. Either way as a natural brunette I was offended 🤷🏻♀️
samantha was my girl, i read all of her books and adored her bravery and drive and i loved her setting. i think they actually taught me a lot about class and poverty since she was so rich and her best friend nellie was impoverished and worked in the factories. i was so moved as a kid when she taught nellie how to read and her uncle and suffragette aunt took nellie and her sisters in when they were orphaned. i love samantha i still have her 😭😭😭😭
Samantha is my favorite!! Got when I was 10 in the eighties. Loved her. Still have her.
Ok, I have to be honest, I have seen a few of your videos and thought they were pretty good because you brought back some nostalgia from my childhood with your videos of Bratz and Polly Pockets... but this... you went directly to my heart.
As someone who grew up to be a historian it would be no surprise to tell you that I had American Girls and loved all of them. Honestly, I immersed myself in their books and beyond to learn everything I could about their era. Frankly, I think it's so encouraging that these dolls taught children lessons of not only history but made it relatable to them. The dedication the AG team had to make some of these girls authentic to their time period is astounding. I'm still wanting these dolls just because of how unique they are!
Also, you have an amazing eye for recognizing the portrayed era's fashion, you'd make a brilliant fashion historian and that's coming from a Victorian and Edwardian dress collector, I noticed you pointing out those differences.
AG also came out with dolls and books for their older audiences, they were called Girls of Many Lands. These stories were hardcore as they were much darker (in my opinion) and targeted young girls from other countries. They had little displayable dolls to go along with the books. Does anybody remember these?
That's so awesome to hear- you being a historian I mean! And thank you!! Being a fashion historian is actually a bit of a pipe dream of mine. I'm a costume designer by trade, so I've studied fashion history and designed for period shows, and immersing myself in the details of historical dress and research has always been my favorite part. If I go back to school, it's a strong possibility I would pursue a Masters in Fashion or Textiles History specifically. So your compliments actually mean quite a lot to me.
The thing I really loved about American Girl is that it made me realize how overlooked the demographic of young girls are in history. How it's so difficult enough to learn the perspectives of historical grown women alone, let alone girls. Their fashion, lifestyles, and relationship with their time periods beyond things such as marriage proposals or the men in their life is just not often discussed outside of specific circles, so the dedication of AG to cataloging those experiences is so incredibly important.
@@DarlingDollz "Well behaved girls rarely make history." -Eleanor Roosevelt
You're right, women are hard to follow in regards to the records of the past. So many stories have been lost to time, well, except when girls did things they weren't supposed to do. Oh, I could tell you stories! That's why I love it, chasing the ghosts on paper is very enthralling. As you are also a lover of a good mystery I'm sure I don't need to explain the lure.
I hope you do pursue your dream! I can tell that you have a talent and a passion for historical costume. Watching your videos I can hear that spark in your voice when you talk about fashion and that's not something I hear often in the industry. With that being said, you must follow your passion, it's a gift.
But, I envy your talent of being a costume designer! I used to design costumes for my AG dolls, but I can't do that to full scale!
I read those books and loved them 😁
Ahh I remember the Girls of Many Lands! They were geared more towards older tweens/teens and the stories definitely were a lot darker/more mature. The dolls were also a lot smaller and meant for display only, and didn't come with a collection of clothes or anything. I was about 11 when those came out, and while I did still like the original historical American Girl characters at that time, I started reading the Girls of Many Lands books too, and ended up getting two of the dolls (Isabel, who was from England in the 1500s, and Kathleen, the Irish girl).
@@CherryFrog321 Did they ever have one from Finland? I'm gonna have to look into that.
If they ever do a AG doll for 1994, I wish they create an African American character and a Korean American who both live in LA, and they learn how to work together to make their community a better place to live after the Watts riots that happened in 1992. At first, there’s tension, especially as their teacher pairs them together to do a school project, but their friendship blossoms when they get to know each other. They also get to learn about each other’s culture.
kaya is top tier for me hands down my favorite growing up. i remember well-meaning adults encouraging me to read ivy's books because we're both asian, but kaya was the doll i really connected to (as a kid i was mad that white adults were telling me to read about a chinese girl when i'm indian, they're not the same but they wanted to pretend they were because i guess no one wants to admit to a child that there aren't books about people like them). initially because we're both brown and our names rhyme, but also because of how prominent her family was and how dedicated she was to them and to doing right. as an adult, i was so relieved to know that AG did the right thing when researching for her design.
This made me very happy to read :). Thank you for sharing.
My family couldn’t really afford American Girl dolls when I was younger, but I did get really lucky and win a Julie doll at a bookstore raffle back in 2007. I was allegedly the only person who entered the raffle so it was a default win but I was still so happy 😂
Here's a rundown of what I think happened to the American Girl Dolls as they got older:
Molly - Became a hospital nurse until she got married. Once her kids were big enough to go to school, she became a school nurse so she could be home in the afternoons. Currently drives her own nurses crazy.
Felicity - Married Ben and was given the horse farm by a repentant and near death Jiggy Nye. Raised a bunch of foals and some kids of her own.
Caroline - Had to get married to Seth in order to inherit any portion of her father's shipyard. After the law was changed, decided to keep him around anyway.
Josefina - Became a nun and changed her name to Sor Maria Raphael. Opened a charity hospital that would treat any patient, human or animal.
Marie-Grace - Became a Civil War nurse, took up Holy Orders after getting into some legal trouble at the Siege of New Orleans. Changed her name to Sister Agatha Grace and took over the orphanage when Sister Beatrice died.
Cecile - Family moved to Washington D.C. before Louisiana succeeded and she joined an acting troupe. Joined a travelling troupe after Lincoln's assassination and reunited with her old friend in New Orleans.
Kirsten - Became a teacher and then volunteer cook/laundress during the Dakota War. Found her old friend Singing Bird among the POW's and became a proponent for Sioux's rights.
Addy - Became a teacher who believed it was never to late to learn. Got into a "Boston marriage" with Sarah who became a seamstress.
Samantha - Went to jail for trying to vote, but eventually enjoyed the right to vote in 1920. Combined her love of art and political activism to be a political cartoonist published under the name Sam Parks.
Rebecca - Became an actress under the name Ruby Carlyle and one of the first celebrities to attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Kit - Became a war correspondent in the 40's and globe trotting reporter. Eventually settled down to be an editor. Wrote her own obituary and requested donations to ACLU instead of flowers.
Maryellen - Became a rocket scientist who worked at NASA. Wrote some sci fi under the name Murry Ellison and contributed to some Star Trek zines. Became a professor at Florida Institute of Technology.
Melody - Got a contract with Motown and recorded some disco and R&B albums. Divorced twice, now lives in a mansion with her lover. Supports BLM and contributes to numerous food banks.
Julie - Took part in a few student protests in college and became a gym teacher. Coaches girls' basketball team and teaches civics class. Married a guy with two daughters.
Courtney - Developed Crystal Starshooter into a popular video game. Does more programming and developing from home. Took up homeschooling her daughter when COVID happened.
My sister and I also really shipped Felicity and Ben 😂
This needs more likes
When you described Kirsten and how she ruins everyone’s lives I laughed so hard because that’s the exact reason I couldn’t stand her stories 😂 every single story almost was her screwing something up royally and causing everyone around her to suffer. She had some cute outfits, but she was absolutely insufferable.
So I do remember her inadvertently causing her family's log cabin to burn down in the "Changes for Kirsten" book. But what exactly did she do in the other books to ruin people's lives? lol I don't really remember.
I agree. She was a little jerk who would act all shocked when things go wrong.
@@mintpanda1747 Dude she was a poor immigrant who had to travel out west then live on the prairie after her best friend Martha died of Cholera. Have some respect.
@@victoire614 Hiii! Sorry if it came off that way. I one hundred percent respect what those people went through I just found Kirsten personally to be a very hard character to like. I found myself liking side or background characters in her book more than the main character. Same with Molly. I loved her books but she didn't have many positive personality traits. Sorry if I offended you and hope this can clear things up. Have a lovely day!
Me looking at my Kirsten and Felicity dolls: "Well I guess it'll be my job to love you." 🤣
Lol same here along with both book series
Firstly, personally, I would move Josafina up a tier, because I feel like this historical aspects are really well done. Secondly, my mom passed down her og samantha doll to me, and I completely agree that her og outfits are stunning, and I wish I could have her birthday set
I still have my Kirsten from around 1990. I was really into pioneer stories😂 But I can't wait until my baby niece is old enough for me to buy her an American Girl doll. There's so many more options for her.
I had Marrie Grace as a kid and I loved her and her books. I had a bunch of random off brand clothes for her. I remember wanting the Cecil doll so bad but by the time I got Marrie Grace the Cecil dolls were sold out, and resellers had way too high of prices for a doll.
I just purchased Marie-Grace cause I found her for only $50 resale on eBay. I'm holding out for a Cecile doll someday, but all the ones I've found are too expensive 😢
I have both of the dolls my Cecile doll has been through some stuffbut was very well loved when I was young I remember balling when I found out they were getting discontinued and my grandma bringing me to the store to buy the stuff before it was gone. My personal favorite part of their collection was their Mardi Gras dresses I’m really sad he didn’t mention them because I think they were gorgeous and really highlight tbh.
love u for putting cecile in the top tier, i own her whole collection 😎
I'm so jealous!!
i had ceciles book!! i wanted her so bad and i was genuinely so upset when i learnt she was discontinued
as someone who only has kit and ruthie from when i was a kid, I'm so glad they were ranked high, they really were an integral part of my childhood
kit meant a lot to me as a kid- i was a young tomboy whose family was living in poverty and so it was really meaningful to see a doll who was just like me :-) i didn't have the doll because they were... so expensive, but i watched her movie on youtube almost every day as a kid 😭 kit kittredge my BELOVED
I’ve never been interested in dolls in recent years, but this video brought back so much nostalgia for the books I adored and the dolls I played with constantly. I’d love to see more AG content, especially coverage of the new dolls or videos discussing AG’s successes or failures with their dolls-you’re a great narrator and so nice to listen to
So much effort went into this video, I love it 💜
As a kid I had a Josephina doll, I liked her so much I wore the doll out. One eye stuck when closing, I brushed her hair so much it wouldn’t cooperate, one of her legs was loose, and she was losing pigment in some areas. She was my only doll but I loved looking thru the catalogs.
Lol awwh you showed her so much love! Adorable
my favorites forever and always be miss rebecca rubin, samantha parkington & felicity merriman. i read all the historical books as a young girl and i really looked to these stories as an escape from everything going on in my life. i recently flipped through an AG magazine & was SHOCKED by how different everything is. i guess things change with time but i will always feel bad for the young kids who don’t get to experience the american girl franchise in the way that we all did. i really liked this video 🤍 it brought me back to being 10 years old. i started off with a look alike back in 2005 and remember being so excited picking out the doll that looked just like me in the catalog. this franchise really shaped my childhood & i still find myself as a woman in my 20s leaning back toward it for comfort.
I never got attached to the dolls but LOVED the books growing up, they were great. Some of the outfits the girls have I'd wear as a 27 year old woman.
Cecile and Marie Grace made me think that Cecile would have been the main girl and Marie Grace was the best friend that they released at the same time. It feels kind of weird to have two at once.
Seeing Kaya again made me so happy, I still have her belt on an old stuffed animal. It's nice to hear there was actual collaboration in her design process!
I was pretty poor from around age 5 to 9, when I was really getting into AG. I was never able to get one until later in life (I got the Felicity redesign, worst decision of my life) and this video brought back so many memories of seven year old me sitting in my room and reading the magazines that came in the mail, trying to decide which doll I wanted to get when I had the money to go to the closest AG store (Ny). Fun times.
I owe a lot to the American girl doll books. They are the reason I love history so much.
I have 4 dolls, three of them historical.
Rebecca (got her for my 7th birthday. I’m not Jewish, but I am seventh day Adventist, so I thought it was cool to have a doll who also keeps the Sabbath.)
Caroline (I thought she was sooo pretty, that I saved up my money to buy her myself. I also learned more about the War of 1812 through her books. I was sad when they discontinued her.)
Maryellen (I love fifty’s stuff, so I was in love with her outfits.)
And the other doll I had was Isabelle.
I was in the american girl doll pageant in the early 2000's my sisters and I were really excited to be apart of it. I got kit, j got Felicity, and b is latina and got Josefina. However there was a lot of racism towards my sister for not being white and we ended up having to pull out of the pageant on the day of. I loved your list and absolutely agree with you. My favorite part about AG dolls is sending them to the "hospital". They come back with a new outfit and information about her time there. I was unfortunately the messy little sister who broke everything or had things broken by older sisters due to petty arguments. My favorite set was the school set you got a heavy cast iron desk. And I did have a green beach chair however I can't remember what set that was from. My favorite outfits were the first set of rain cloths AG came out with. Kit looked so adorable.
can't believe you only mentioned the girls' animals once; those were always the first things i wanted for my dolls!! this brought so many great memories of reading the books and drooling over all the great accessories i was never gonna get when the magazines showed up. really loved this video, probably gonna go read a bunch of their books now.
Molly used to be my absolute favourite, I’m from the uk and she was soo expensive especially when buying from a uk reseller. When she retired it broke my 10 yr old heart, now that I’m older I’ve always wanted to please the child inside me and finally get my hands on her
The fact that the girls’ games on the website weren’t considered in their rankings is criminal 😤
(I’m mostly kidding but also that’s absolutely how I got so attached to certain dolls lol)
The originals aren't available on the website anymore! But if he could have played them you would be absolutely right :P Kit's egg-selling game and Kaya's escape game were two of my faves. Plus Addy's mancala and all of the mahjong... what a time it was to be a kid 😌
I have a sister who was a kid in the 80's and the clothes that Courtney wears are the same kind of clothes she and her friends wore, especially the Care Bears pajama shirt.
The young girl in my hurts seeing Felicity and Elizabeth so low as those were the dolls I had as a child. Granted I never read the books because I'll be honest I didn't want to read about a horse girl. My family could also only afford the dolls and I was happy with my two. My sister also had some but I forget which ones, I think one was Samantha. We honestly had more fun playing with them and making up our own stories. And I was honestly more attached to Elizabeth since I had her for I believe four years until I was given Felicity.
Elizabeth was my first and favorite doll. when i heard about Felicity getting discontinued, i did make sure to ask for her that coming Christmas :/ i never read the books or knew more about them than theyre from the American revolution, it was interesting to find out that they were actually on opposing sides of the war. elizabeth was the side girl but i just loved her look in the catalog so much... princess peach vibes
This is such a wonderfully researched video, I keep finding myself coming back to it whenever I start feeling nostalgic for AG. I was obsessed with American Girl’s historical dolls as a child, because history was my jam, and the AG dolls were such a wellspring of amazing historical details and information. I had the Felicity doll as a child and later saved up for Josefina, but Kirsten was my absolute favorite, even though I never got her doll. I still read her “Kirsten’s Surprise” story with my students for Christmas today! You’re right about the darkness of them though - I clearly remember being traumatized in second grade after reading about the death of a named, heavily featured child character in her first book.
Even though we have very different tastes when it comes to which dolls are the best, I so appreciate the work and research that you put in to making this video. You touched on every aspect of the girls, from their stories to their clothes to accessories, and it’s so fun to revisit! The only downside to this video is that it introduced me to the BeForever rebrand, which was pretty gut-wrenching to see. Still, thanks for the trip down memory lane!