The Evolution of the AG Modern Holiday Outfit: Part One

Brace yourself for a long, long post.....

How many of you readers know that Pleasant Company was founded in 1986?

How many of you know that Pleasant Company was the original name of the corporation which owned the American Girl doll line before Mattel purchased it? 
Haha..... I hope y'all knew that....

And how many of you were actually around in 1986 to witness the beginning of AG? 

Wait...... you probably don't want to answer to that..... ;)

Well seeing that the company was founded in 1986..... 2011 is the 25th anniversary of American Girl. This is kind of a big deal. Maybe not as big a deal as say.... 50 years.... but still 25 years of awesome toys to play with is pretty fantastic. Having been around for those 25 years plus some, thinking about this anniversary has made us a little nostalgic.... as well as hopeful for what AG might have in store for us for their 25th year. Should we expect special shiny new things? Maybe, maybe not. But it is nice to dream.

So here is another quiz question for you.... 

In which year was the American Girl of Today line introduced?.....

.......

If you guessed 1995, then you are correct! It was in this year that the "modern doll" entered into the AG world. We were *cough cough* years old and ordered a #8 right away. With the intro of the AGoT came a tradition that had a slow start, but is now holding firm: AG Holiday Outfits.

What?!!? Nora is going to talk about the Holidays already??? 

 Yes, Fall has yet to really fall.... but one must start thinking about AG holidays in September folks.

If you are new to AG and you long for the 2010 Ruby Ribbons outfit thinking you have about 2 years to buy that puppy..... you are wrong. AG Holiday Outfits are now limited edition. Once they are sold out, they are gone. This typically happens before Christmas of the same year in which they are released. So be aware of this new AG fans.

We like this year's offerings (revealed in early September 2010).... the Ruby Ribbons ensemble and the Snowflake Ball Gown. We have ordered them both as well as the accessories set. Weirdly, the accessories set is labeled "Capelet & Gift Set" on the box. And clearly underneath the "Night Before Christmas" book, the earrings box, the purse, and the bracelet there is no capelet in there..... bizarre. Really, really bee-zarr.

So what came before Ruby Ribbons and Snowflake Gowns??? Well a whole bunch of outfits with just about every synonym for snow, glitter, holiday, and red in their titles. ;)

It began, on a rather ironic note, with the Hanukkah outfit in 1996. Ironic because we never see another modern outfit labeled "Hanukkah Outfit" again and the AG holiday focus is definitely on Christmas.

This puppy came with a real angora sweater. Yes. Real. Angora. Sweater. Won't see that today from AG....  and it had little crystals sewn into it! We aren't joking. The picture doesn't do it justice. Unfortunately, this outfit disappeared around 1998.

1998 introduced a flurry of Holiday outfits known as the Tree Trimming Outfits. Hence, there was also a tree for sale which came with decorations. The outfits were: The Snowball Sweater and Leggings, the Holiday Bibs Outfit, the Holiday Dress (red), and the Snowflake Jumper (black). These lasted in stock until 2000/2001.

Would we buy any of those things today? Not so much. That snowball thing is... well.... never mind. But clearly AG was entering into the modern Christmas outfit market with a bang and they planned on keeping each outfit around for about two years.

Next came 1999 with the big millennium around the corner and this warranted a new AG outfit (as well as Y2K panic... come on, don't say you don't remember that....). For an outfit that celebrated two thousand years of human achievement, we were kind of expecting something... well.... ball gown-ish. But alas, we just got something short and very, very shiny.

This was the beginning of the one-season wonders. Outfits released in the early fall that typically lasted for less than two years: 2000 Twilight outfit (looks like a navy nightgown), 2001 Pink Petal Outfit, Ice Blue Outfit, and Garnet Holiday Outfit. All of which you will not find in our collection. Though the 2001 Sugarplum coat was definitely something worth buying.

Stay tuned for Part Two of "The Evolution of the AG Modern Holiday Outfit"....