Isabelle's Mix and Match Clothing: Genius!

Some of you may be poo-pooing the 

Isabelle Mix and Match items.

But not us.

We like it.

We think it is genius.

Way to Go American Girl!

You did something right!

Mix and Match Clothing Items 

are something we have been asking for for years. 

Maybe American Girl finally listened to us 

when planning GOTY 2014, back in 2011-2ish.

They certainly pretended to have listened

 when they presented the new

Mix and Match Outfits last year:

But they are sold as 3 Mix and Match Outfits, 

not Items, not Separates.

And the three outfits together are $90. Yikes.

(And they are ugly. Just fyi.)

Separates is the key.

The Key I Tell You!

(As well as non-ugliness,

but we probably didn't have to say that.)

Offering separates allows your customers to make the outfit 

that they want to purchase, 

instead of being stuck with items they don't want to own.

So while Isabelle is Lanie 2.0/split personality 

(as will be discussed here tomorrow at The DW), 

we still give Isabelle's collection two thumbs up 

because of the Mix and Match Items.

It allows you to buy multiples of an item easily, 

without investing in multiples of things you don't need.

Like let's say you wanted to do a whole class of ballet dancers -- 

you could easily set them up with 

matching leotards without having to buy 700 outfits.

Five dancers.

Five rosette leotards.

$50.

vs.

Five Performance Sets.

$190.

And American Girl smartly displayed many of the possible 

mix and match outfits on their website, 

even setting up pre-packaged listings for easy purchase.

#7 

#11

#16

#19

Overall, when items are sold separately, 

we end up buying more of them, and spending more money. 

Perhaps not exactly good for our wallet. 

But good for AG.

For example, we wouldn't have an issue with getting more than one...

wrap sweater...

$14 

...or scrunch pants...

$12 

...and especially, tutu...

$14 

...as well as either of the leotards.

$12 

$10 

Paying $10-14 for a mix and match item 

is a lot easier to accept 

psychologically then paying 

$30+ per mix and match outfit.

Whenever we shop on Etsy, 

we feel better about buying 10 listings of separates rather than 

dropping a whole bunch of money on one listing. 

We may be spending the same amount of money, 

but psychologically it feels better to be buying 

a whole bunch of items at smaller prices.

It may sound insane, 

but that is how we roll.

We tend to buy tons of separates on Etsy.

Whole outfits?

Not as many.

We rarely purchase them.

And usually our Etsy outfit purchases 

are custom-ordered outfits or dresses.

The only thing we would like to see on the AG website 

is the Mix and Match items 

coordinated with the other Isabelle outfits -- 

her Meet Outfit, Accessories, Performance Set, PJs, and Metallic Dress.

Being able to see the 

Mix and Match possibilities 

before you buy the outfits is fun and cool 

as well as awesome!

But we understand that might have been confusing to purchasers.

Still, it would have been cool.

Maybe it is somewhere on 

their website???

Yes, they do have that Mix and Match online game.

But 

a) It looks weird

and 

b) It looks weird.

Not the real doll, not the doll clothing, just drawings.

Poopies.

But the Mix and Match game 

does show several things that are not actually for sale.

Maybe they will be released in the summer?

You can do the multiple outfits Mix and Match in the game,

but it just doesn't do the job.

Such as this Meet and Scrunch Combo:

It could look awesome on the doll, 

but we really can't tell from this image.

Bizarre/Terrifying drawings don't work AG.

So we'll have to play around with that 

when we have everything in person,

which, of course, not everyone can do. :-/