The Evolution of American Girl

Hello everyone! Bella here. Today I have a different kind of post. The evolution of American Girl. American Girl started in the fall of 1986. It was started by Pleasant Rowland and was named Pleasant Company.(Sometimes I'm going to abbreviate it PC.) The first three dolls were Molly McIntire, Samantha Parkington, and Kirsten Larson. (Notice how all of them (well, not Samantha anymore, but she changed.) are retired?) I thought that it was interesting that the original dolls are retired. Felicity Merriman and Addy Walker were added later. The dolls had white bodies and soft eyelashes.
                                                      The Torso

(I'm not sure who's picture this is. If it is your, please let me know and I will take it down.)

Here is a picture of a first edition Molly doll. She has the white body. (She is also signed by Pleasant Rowland which makes her even more a collectible.)

Some dolls have artist marks. (I'll talk about that in a later post.)

Dolls made from 1986 to somewhere in 1991 had white bodies. They also didn't have any tags. Another thing about them was they were made in Germany, not China. Tan bodies where introduced when Felicity came out in 1991. They also started having tags on the body in 1998. Somewhere in the 90s' they were made in China. 

The Head

The eyelashes. 

(Click *Here* for a great comparison between Pleasant Company dolls and American Girl) 

These are the eyelashes of a PC doll.

(These are not my pictures. Full credit to *this* blog. Click on the link above the picture for the post they came from)

These are the eyelashes of an AG doll. You can't tell from the pictures, but the PC eyelashes are nice and soft, while the AG one's are just hard.

The vinyl of PC dolls are squishier, Their faces seem to be more chubby also. 

Now that we established the difference, I will go on to the history.

In 1998 Mattel bought Pleasant Company from Pleasant Rowland. After Mattel bought the company the name was changed to American Girl. The quality of their products slowly went down. Pleasant Rowland retired from the board in 2000.

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I decided at the last minute that I should say that if you have a doll, like I have Katrina, and her neck says Pleasant Company, it is not Pleasant Company. She has a tag on her body that says American Girl made in China 2008. Also, if you have a Kaya doll that says Pleasant Company 2002, it is not Pleasant Company. Dolls from 1986-1997 are genuine PC dolls.

There you have it! The evolution of American Girl! Thank you so much for reading!

Do you have any genuine Pleasant Company dolls?

<3Bella

Tia in Purple {An AGPS}

Hey! This is Katrina! Oops! Bella told me I'm using too many exclamation points. Sorry. I'll try and keep it down. Today I have a photo-shoot of the one and only Tia! Enjoy!

I love this picture! (Notice the ribbon blowing in the wind? When Bella took these pictures it was super windy!)

Her fancy hair style. (She had it done at the American Girl store.)

I like this one too!

Which was your favorite picture?

Have any of your dolls gotten their hair done at an AG store?

Playing Cars {AGPS}

Hello guys! Samantha here. If you remember, Tia had stayed with us dolls for about week. Within that week we did a lot with her! One day we decided to play cars. I was going to make a photo-story out of them, but I thought it would be fun if you used your imagination. :)  

(Katrina has been practicing yoga. She has gotten more flexible!)

Katrina was the saddest when Tia had to go back home to the library.

Look at the range of hair color! 

Which was your favorite picture?

If you'd like comment below what you think the pictures mean!

Arizona Girl {An AGPS} {Part 1}

Hello! This is Samantha. Today I have a photo-shoot of me in Arizona. There was this very pretty lake in the neighborhood and of course I had to do a photo-shoot. :) Unfortunately Bella only had her iPhone camera and she hasn't able to take to really nice camera which she always uses. :( These pictures aren't up to the usual standard, but I still like them. :)

I had to get a picture with a palm tree! They are so cool! (It was the first time I traveled and saw a palm tree! :) )

I really like this picture! More palm trees!

Which was your favorite picture?

Have you ever seen something for the first time and thought "That's awesome!" (Like palm trees for me! :) ) I think I have an obsession with palm trees. I'll be signing off for now and I won't mention palm trees, for a little while. :)

AGP Part 1 {Lea Clark}

Hey! This is Bella. As you may or may not know, Samantha and I went to Arizona on urgent family business. My awesome dad took me (and Samantha) to the American Girl doll store in Scottsdale. I took a lot of pictures so I will put them into parts. This part is Lea Clark! 

(If there are any bad pictures that is because I took them with my iPhone.)

I love her little sloth!

Samantha working in the stand. :)

Lea's exclusive collection.

Lea's hiking outfit and accessories.  

Just her accessories.

And her hiking outfit.

Lea's dress and bag for girls.

Her meet accessories.

Her earrings.

Her pajamas and rain-forest hut.

And her beach accessories.

And kayak.

I didn't realize how many pictures I actually took of Lea Clark! I love her so much!

What is your  favorite item from Lea's collection?

Have you ever been to an AG store? If so which one?

<3Bella