Clay and I like to watch Project Runway together. We're probably 2 of the 7 people who still do, actually. But never you mind that.
Last week's ep had the designers creating an outfit for real 9-year-old girls and their matching American Girl dolls. Ohhh, did this bring me back to my third grade self. I was not a baby doll girl or a Barbie girl or a (I can't even come up with another doll type), but oh ho ho did I love my Samantha. Now did I play with her? No. I distinctly remember staring at her and all those delightful tiny pencils and books and shoes and wondering...and I do what, exactly? Should I make her talk (in a strange Victorian accent, oh yes I tried)? Should I pretend I'm her, doing old fashioned homework in a notebook? It all seemed absurd and embarrassing; I was born jaded, yo.
But I loved just, well, having her. And collecting her tiny little accoutrements. And looking at the catalog and circling the next set of accoutrements I wanted. And looking at the other dolls and scorning them. (WHO WOULD CHOOSE MOLLY?! Now of course I think she's a fun little hipster, though nevermind! She doesn't even exist anymore! But back then... oh, I judged.)
So one of the designers (Kini!) had to modernize the vision for my homegirl Samantha. But he kept describing her so strangely. "Uh, she's an orphan who was adopted by her grandmother and had no friends and a lot of money and liked to buy things."
How dare you, Kini.
Samantha once helped a servant girl! She was a human rights activist! That's all I can remember. Sorry, Sam.
The best part of the American Girl franchise (to me) has always been the companion books. Each girl comes from a particular time period and along with miniature petticoats and butterfly nets, you can collect skinny volumes filled with drama and historical details and drama and some lovely illustrations. So while I didn't play probably ever with my doll, I looked at her lovingly from across the room while I nerded out over Victorian social activism.
And the point of all this is...Harper needs one, right? But who but who but who? (And do I really need to wait till Christmas?)
LOL! This post totally cracked me up! I was VERY into dolls as a kid, but being a Mainer, we didn't know about awesome amazing things like American Girl dolls. Seriously, I swear I didn't know a single freaking name brand until I went to college. And then I sounded like a total moron because I was all like, what is this Coach everyone speaks of??? Oh the shame! ;)
ReplyDeleteAnnnnyway, now that I DO know about AG, I'm totally obsessed on behalf of my children :) Lilah is very much into it now, but doesn't even actually have a real AG doll yet. I'd totally get her one, but whenever we try to pick one out for her bday or xmas, she chooses based on the outfits/accessories. I try to explain that she can get the outfits for ANY of the dolls though. So since she doesn't seem particularly obsessed with one, I'm saving myself the $$$ and waiting for her to ask for a specific doll. In the meantime, she has another doll that fits into all the same stuff, so win win!
Also, for the record, Samantha is my favorite of the dolls! Do you still have yours? If you do (and you're cool with sharing her), you can bring her to the store and the hair salon will clean her up and make her like new and you could hand her down to H!
Ha! I love that you didn't know about them! And then you went to BU...woah culture shock. I knew barely any brands, but definitely got bombarded by the catalog and there was no un-knowing :) Love the tip about the salon! I think that's a great idea, especially as who knows how much she'll be into it. She'll love the clothes, too, and will enjoy the books -- so why not pass on the actual doll and save some moneys??
DeleteEXACTLY!!!! I had Samantha too, and I remember the year I asked for her, my Christmas list went something like this: "The American Girl doll Samantha. That is all I will ever want." And then I snooped around in my parents' room and found her hidden away, like, a month before Christmas, so I VISITED her every day and just stared at her in her box.
ReplyDeletei LOVE that story. it's like a dickens novel... you and samantha...separated by a thin plastic veneer... What the hell is it about Samantha? You know, they've "retired" the other original dolls except for her. they know she's magic.
Delete