Inspiration: Crewcuts Fall Catalog And Some Thoughts on "New" AG Stuff

We did the Halloween Costume Inspiration post with lots of pics of human costumes for y'all to look at and this time we'd like to show you pics from the Fall Crewcuts catalog we received. Crewcuts is the J.Crew kids' clothing line, just fyi.

We like a lot of what is offered for girls as far as styles. There are a lot of mix-and-match type of pieces. But we actually prefer the colors they use for the boys' clothing. We tend to look for darker colors in general, less pastels, less pinks, and we tend to avoid peaches. So that is why we show you both girls' and boys' outfits in today's post.

We wanted to just put some ideas on the table sew-to-speak, for seamstresses out there, as we start formulating our opinions of AG's newest modern clothing releases (we have only bought two modern outfits from them since the summer).

So we'll do some stand-alone pics with commentary and some slideshows in this post..... warning: long post, lots of pics...

First off, here is the catalog cover and it highlights something that I think seamstresses should really think about.... backpacks. Liberty Jane offers the Sew Urban designed backpack pattern for $3.99: http://libertyjanepatterns.com/2011/07/the-urban-backpack-for-ag-dolls.html.

When we saw it we thought how awesome it would be to make a limited edition line of back-to-school backpacks, each with different fabrics used. Perhaps with a custom logo on some. And of course you can always design your own pattern if you want a different look.

The AG backpack that was released this summer was so popular it is already backordered.... http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/item/id/184654/ctc/SI. So backpacks can definitely be hot items if designed and marketed well.

If you need fabric and color scheme ideas, you can always peruse the Land's End and L.L. Bean websites -- two companies that pride themselves on offering a variety of backpacks every autumn. Shots of L.L. Bean backpacks from their Fall kids' catalog are below.... we suggest trying combinations of blues, greens, purples, and plaids with greys, blacks, and chocolate browns....



Moving on.... our favorite look from the whole Crewcuts catalog.... what we wish AG had made instead of the pink Cozy Sweater outfit: A grey sweater dress, shawl collar, brown belt, long-sleeve navy and white striped shirt, navy leggings, ankle boots. Tiny bow pin accent to pull it all together.... so cute.....

If there are seamstresses/knitters out there with the ability/fabric to make tunic sweaters and sweater dresses, you might want to try to sell some this fall. If you are knitting, make sure the yarn isn't bulky -- something like sock yarn would work. And try to offer them in colors other than pink since AG is already selling that color. Also, the cross-over collar of the AG outfit is awesome, fyi. Of course, if you are awesome at creating knitting patterns -- making one for the "Cozy" sweater and one for the "Cozy" sweater boots would be a great idea in our opinion.
Next a slideshow of tops, pants, skirts, shoes and sweaters Crewcuts is selling this autumn... again the colors aren't all calling to us personally -- but we like some of them, as well as the designs and some of the embellishment ideas. 
We especially like the various types of layered, ruffled skirts and the cream-colored long sleeve shirts with "Parisian" graphics. In addition the AG market tends to lack cardigans (of varying lengths) so those would be nice to see more of -- especially the longer belted ones.

More cute dresses they are offering besides the awesome grey sweater-dress we showed you above... we think some of these have potential.....

And various looks they are pitching.... not so sure about some of their color combos... for instance the outfit with the orange skirt... but still we generally like what they are putting together... and the fact that they are using orange..... go orange!

A pic of their cashmere sweaters and one for their cords... we show them to you because they highlight the types of colors we love....

Various boy outfits that we'd totally put on our girl dolls because they are awesome....

And if you are already thinking ahead to the cooler months.... the puff and quilted vest and coat are in this year... 

Though the "puff" attire theoretically could make an AG doll look like a giant marshmallow --- you could do coats and vests with two layers of fabric, a thin layer of batting in between, and quilted detailing. This is essentially what AG has done for the popular red vest in their new "Sporty Winter" outfit.... (Most people are probably buying this outfit for the vest... and maybe the boots.... so we think this type of vest might sell well.)
Oky doky... that's all for today. Thanks for visiting us and stay tuned for more posts soon -- there is a lot of stuff in the works!
And be sure to enter our Sept/Oct Giveaways and check out our current Photo Contest!The winner of the Photo Contest gets a $20 AG Gift Card!