Friday, August 5, 2016

*Discussion* BeForever Clothing Collections


When I added BF Rebecca to my collection in 2014, I was very excited to see what BF items would be added to her collection. I am not a "fan" of the color coding for each doll. (Samantha - pink, Addy - blue, Rebecca - purple).

I would like to see more variety within each doll's collection. Now I have no intention of Rebecca exiting my collection, I am however frustrated that all I have for her, is her BF meet outfit, accessories and her classic PJs.

I would love to add her summer dress, lace dress, school outfit and classic meet outfit to my collection. 

This has also been the case with Samantha. I am a huge PC fan, but I purchased the BF frilly frock, special day dress, meet dress, flowering picking dress and pink travel coat. Nellie had so few clothes. I only own her meet outfit, PJ's and a knock off of her Christmas dress - I gave Nellie Samantha's BF clothing.

To date, I have no desire to add any BF clothing pieces to my collection. I'm not sure "what" it is that doesn't inspire me about BeForever clothing. I am however very excited for Melody's collection.

Opening up the discussion on BF clothing. What is your opinion? What do you like or dislike about the new line?

20 comments:

  1. There are some BeForever clothing items that I do like. However, I feel that the color coding limits the outfits for the dolls. Also, it makes the outfits historically inaccurate. My least favorite is probably the pink for Samantha. I loved the gingham meet dress that she had.

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  2. I am not a fan of the color coding either. Fortunately I have all my favorite outfits for Samantha, Molly, Kirsten, Felicity, Josefina, & Julie from before beforever. I haven't been fond of BeForever clothes in general with the exception of a few of Samantha's & 2 of Julie's. I like the leaks we've recently seen for Kit & Josefina. I wish AG would make some nice dresses for Rebecca. I don't have much for her. Same with Caroline, they retired her too soon. I love all of Maryellen's clothes, but I'll never get over that blue gingham dress not being made. I'm looking forward to Melody because after reading her first book I love her character, but I'm not sure yet how I feel about her clothes. Her coat is gorgeous though!

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    1. Forgot to say I wish I had some of Addy's old clothes, but at least she got the best beforever meet dress & special edition set (the sewing dress) in my opinion. Sad that she won't be getting anything new before she goes.

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  3. I agree I do not like the color tagging of any dolls. I would rather have accurate era clothes since after all these are historian dolls or at least they are to represent a time in history. That was what I liked about pleasant company. Some of the clothing in those days were dark and not with bright colors because that is what they had so represent it that way. I think that is why AG does not do the earlier eras any longer and poor Caroline had very little clothing. If the historian collections were properly designed and marketed they would sell better and can even be used in schools. A market AG fails to capture. I am for accurately representing the time in history clothing and props. Diana

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  4. The worst thing about the beforever line was the shift from story-driven, historically accurate clothing to clothing designed with only profit in mind. I don't care about the color tagging of the dolls, I want outfits from the stories. When you count it up, there are so many outfits in the book that aren't and never were available for the dolls. It is so sad how disconnected the books have become from the dolls. Now, instead of the books correlating with the collection, the books are now just regular books, they have nothing to do with the collection.

    This, of course, is not to say that the clothing in the beforever line is terrible, I already have several beforever outfits including Samatha's winter coat and Kaya's most recent suede and blue dress, but the shift in the way clothing is created, designed and marketed at American Girl makes me think they're starting to have some true competition.

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    1. I agree with your first statement 100%! I am a bookworm big time, so having outfits that have nothing to do with the books is not my cup of tea. I am sad that characters like Molly, Kirsten and Felicity are retired, but with the apparent mess that Beforever is making of everyone else's collections, I think they should be a little relieved that they got out in time. And as for the BRIGHT colors, I do not like that at all. Not so much the color coding, but the way the colors are just TOO bright. Earlier Historicals, Josefina especially, would not have had synthetic dyes available to them. The darker, more muted tones of her earlier PC and Classic Mattel collection are much more suited to a time period in which plant dyes provided the only color. I'm not entirely sure when synthetic dyes were invented/discovered, so Addy may or may not have had the option. But I like the older outfits better anyway.
      My other complaint is that Beforever seems to favor short sleeves or sleeveless options. Of the new meet outfits, only Rebecca's has long sleeves (Kaya doesn't count because she kept her old dress). Many of the new pajama sets, except Kit's and Rebecca's, are also short sleeved or sleeveless--some of them from a time when homes were heated by fireplace or stove and people needed all the extra warmth they could get. I speak specifically of Josefina and Addy here.
      Oh well. I guess there's always EBay for the old outfits, as well as my own standby...DIY!
      Rosie

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    2. I believe it was William Perkins who helped put synthetic aniline dye on the map circa 1856. But there was a woman from America who was credited for creating indigo dye used later in mills in Lynn Mass.for clothing. Too early for Josefina but not Addy. Prior to that most dyes came out of India via European trading companies and cargo think 1700s and Austrian court where colors were very rich and for the very rich. Not so much Josefina, unless through trade on the Santa Fe trail. However, I do see your point about the vivid, bright colors.

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    3. Actually too early for Josefina being that she is 1824 and too early for the synthetic. But Addy was circa Civil War so factories in the north already had different dyes and materials from all over. However, class systems play a huge role in who wore what and the quality of the material and richness in color. Maybe AG is doing a Beyonce inspired upgrade for the line.

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    4. Yeah, I wasn't sure about that. I just think that doll clothes can be pretty without being eye-poppingly bright.
      Rosie

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  5. I agree with everyone. I do not like the color idea that each character has a specific color AG uses to represent the character in clothing pieces. A lot of the clothing from my collection was purchased prior to Beforever. I do like the bedtime accessories but I feel that there are not enough. More accessories that are affiliated with their individual stories would be nice.
    1. Addy new cast iron pan and pudding set with apron and corn bread.
    2. Samantha ginger bread house for Christmas and a meal for two with 1904 menu items
    3. Josefina Feliz Navidad menu items like her cookies, empanadas, and baby Jesus and Mary doll for her big night.
    4. Julie barbie head doll that was popular in the 1970s. PC made one.

    I was beyond excited when I saw Addy lunch set remake for Beforever. Now, I want more items like that for all the characters. Bring back Samantha lunch set, school outfit and sleigh. There was so much to love about PC sets. I just want the newer generation to love the quality, highly interactive pieces that made the books and dolls so special.

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    1. Julie's Barbie head was never made by PC. Mattel (Or AG) made it.

      Plus, the toy was never seen in Julie's series, despite it being mentioned as being Julie's Christmas gift.

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    2. The Barbie head that my friend has is labeled PC. This may be when the company was transitioning. She even has a Julie doll marked PC.

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    3. Plus, another difference between the older versions of AG and new is that in the older Happy New Year Julie it clearly states that she wore a velvet red jumper (p. 20) which was apart of Julie's (the doll)clothing line, while in the new BF version the text states that her dress is purple. No pictures support this in the new version. Just like in the older book Julie clutches her doll (p.31) but does not show doll so therefore transitioning AG took liberty to create whatever doll they wanted for Julie's collection. Due to PC transitioning into AG around this time in branding and in marketing products were sold with the PC label, or branding still on them. When AG introduced Beforever they made an attempt to get rid of most if not all of the books that pictured or mentioned old, retired merchandise mainly doll clothing ...Sam's Clara doll picture, Julie's jumper, Caroline's winter coat and skates, Addy's school, flower picking dress and summertime dress. I do not really remember how the Julie Barbie head was marketed, but it would be nice to see another doll as an accessory in Julie's line and not just stuffed monkeys.

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    4. In Julie's "Happy New Year" book, pg. 22, is a picture of Julie in her red jumper with white/cream shirt and Tracy in a purple outfit. On pg. 21, Tracy got a pink princess phone for Christmas. Interesting that Tracy is the one with the pink and purple in the book, not Julie. I don't remember maxi dresses in the 70's. I remember gauchos, even lucky enough to have one pair, blue, like Julie.

      The whole purpose for the BeForever doll was to teach history. There were clothing and accessories that matched the stories, with the intent that the girls could recreate the stories at home. There were even paper dolls, so the girls could play with them, maybe with the intent that if money was an issue, they girl could have something to recreate the stories. Recreating the story was important to reinforce the learning. Now that is taken away, there isn't a purpose for the doll. Marie-Grace and Cecile and now Maryellen are good examples of that. I loved Marie-Grace and Cecile, but they should have had their own story, each was so important. I was hard to follow the plot because each book was about the same story, just from another point of view, sort of. It is sad that they weren't around long. Maryellen's story doesn't really follow the older format,and I don't recall much of the history with her story. Instead I remember the skating and the green dress, painting the steps, and her sister and boyfriend.
      The current books are too much to read in one sitting, and no real stopping point, like the 6 volume books had. For example, I can pick up each of the 6 volumes and I know the basic plot of each one. The pictures helped kids visualize and make more of a connection with the story. When I was in school, I was told if the story is written well the reader will be transported into the story; they will be able to visualize it. In my opinion, the 'My Journey' book is a terrible format, stopping, deciding, and turning a page, are too many distractions to really follow the flow of the story. I know AG messed up with the name change when I told my daughter that Caroline (the first AG doll she got) was being archived. She looked at me with disbelief and said, "No, she's Be Forever (emphasizing forever)." She didn't believe it, until months later when we went to the AG store and she told an associate there that she was upset about Caroline being retired/archived. The associate explained that it was like the Disney movies, where they come back.

      So far, the best non-historical doll for recreating stories is GOTY Grace. They liked the baking accessories and classes. The apron for the doll and themselves. They played cooking shows with the doll baking set. It was great. Today and yesterday they have been playing that the dolls went to Paris with Grace as their tour guide. They talked about making a doll sized French dictionary. I think AG really missed the boat with Lea. Being that she's from St. Louis, where the Lewis and Clark expedition started, and her last name is Clark. It would have been a great opportunity to work with the National Park Service, which is celebrating 100 years(?). They could have issued a special 'passport' that the kids could get stamped or something if they went to place (park/museum) where they learned about an explorer or something, and turned into AG and received a small prize, like a commemorative coin, bracelet, or whatever small trinket. Maybe even a doll t-shirt with the national park 100 celebration? Wasn't it in Kit's story that her brother helped construct the wall in Glacier National Park? But then I thought, no way to make money off of that, which is the most important thing with Mattel, not learning.
      I am so looking forward to Melody's story. The ladies in the video promo sound super excited about the story, and that makes me want to read it even more.

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    5. Pleasant Roland sold the company to Mattel in 1998, and the name changed to American Girl, but dolls and accessories were still marked Pleasant Co. until after 2005.

      I much prefer the Pleasant Co. items, although some of the earlier Mattel ones (1998-2007) are nice. I don't like the BeForever items at all. :P

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  6. I like the color tagging as long as it's not overdone. It can coordinate the wardrobes well. I think it was overdone with Rebecca in particular.

    As for Samantha, too many fancy dresses for in her BF collection. Looks like you have quite a bit of BF outfits there looking at what you have for Sam.

    Nellie isn't going to have a whole lot because AG simply did not make much for her as a BF, and that pink dress of hers is redundant to the blue one in terms of when to wear. Wish AG had made an everyday dress for her.

    Rebecca did not get much from BF. The holiday dress which is a periwinkle, not that frank purple like the swim suit and meet outfit. It's a lovely dress from that time period, though I like her pre BF holiday dress better and it seems to be more what she would have worn in her situation. Didn't care much for Rebecca's wardrobe even before BF, and really all she got was the swim suit, holiday dress and new PJs from BF. I hope she gets something more for everyday, and please let it not be purple.

    I think that's it for Addy, and I think we all get it that her color was blue. Glad that the school outfit was a light shade with a touch of aqua and her aproned sewing dress had some purple in it. A lot of her earlier things are easily available on Ebay and other secondary markets for reasonable prices.

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    1. Yes, Samantha is the only doll I have the most BF outfits for. When she re-launched I bought her stuff out of curiosity and well, she was "back" so I jumped on the bandwagon. I remember the fuss over the Frilly Frock and boots, but I ended up liking this outfit. However that being said I PREFER PC and the older Mattel items. I like Kit's BF meet outfit - just not for Kit! And I much prefer Josie's classic meet. I DO NOT like what is available so far for Rebecca, too much purple. (Ha! And I like purple)

      As far as Maryellen and Melody, they ARE BF dolls not PC so we are getting their collections based on this new marketing format. There ARE some pieces from both that I dislike and as others have previously commented, I am hoping more will come out based on story lines. (Still not sure why ME is getting a pink fridge instead of a silver airstream.....)

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  7. It feels that the historical line is not as important to American Girl as it should be. Maryellen was given a skating dress, but I don't think it resembles the outfit in the book. She needed a bathing suit as she spent a lot of time on the beach in Florida but American girl didn't make one. I think only the Bitty Baby and Lea got one this year. I like Samantha's red plaid Christmas dress but I wouldn't pay $75 for it. I liked the earlier outfits much more. Madelon

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  8. Rebeccas collection I liked before BF came out. I don't like her Christmas dress.

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  9. I might be a little late in this. (Been away all weekend) However, I totally agree with you! I do have a few of the Beforever dolls including Rebecca and Samantha. I adored Samantha's original collection. And haven't been overly fond of her new one. I've slowly been collecting alot of the historical outfits for Samantha. If you search, you can find these at decent prices sometimes. The same goes for the other historical doll outfits.

    While I believe the new outfits are authentic, the coloring in the outfits make them seem more modern. Pink, in Samantha's time period was not worn as much as it is today.

    My biggest beef with Rebecca is that her father was a shoe repairer not a banker! It feels as if Rebecca's collections has been to made to look like Samantha's. Half of the items she has, she would not have had. Including that bed. Though I do adore it. The bed itself, just does not seem to fit the character.

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