Halloween the American Girl Way: Maple's Thoughts Part Five

Hola!

Today we continue the "Maple's Thoughts" series about some of the Halloween costume offerings from American Girl.

The Ballet Outfit

Marketing this as a Halloween costume seems a bit too painful.

American Girl might as well have marketed their basketball uniform, track uniform, ice skating ensemble, gymnastics, softball, cheerleading outfits, and any other 

sporty/uniformy thing they could label as possible 'costume.'

Eight costumes right there!

Including one to be Lance Armstrong!

So the GOTY 2014 is supposed to be a ballerina.

Or a ballerina wannabe.

SPOILER ALERT!

I guess I am supposed to say that before I spoil something?

Or after?

Who knows...

If you didn't know this already, I can't help you.

Theoretically AG might be trying to move ye olde ballet outfit to make way 

for the new GOTY shinies -- which obviously won't be marketed as ballerina costumes for Halloween...

This baby says pink.

In fact it screams "PINK!!! PINK OR DIE!!!

You can take my life but you can never take my PINK!!!!!"

Which is fine if you like pink.

(We don't.)

And overall, this set looks great.

Good fabrics.

Good fit. Lots of pieces.

I just think the Ballet Outfit should be a Ballet Outfit,

and not a Halloween costume.

I for one would not look forward to skipping down the cold New England 

streets in a leotard and tights on Halloween.

Even a dancer's shrug couldn't make this outfit warm enough for

midnight in Salem Halloween activities.

But if you insist on sticking to a ballet outfit for a Halloween costume --
at least make it a show ballerina outfit,
not just a practicing in the studio outfit.

Like this baby.
Shimmer. Sequins. Feathered Tiara. Bling.
Armpit Ruffles.

Or the Swan Lake Swanny thing.

No one could say you just pulled this out of your after-school activity bag.

Show some creativity American Girl.

Man, it seems like I say that in every one of these posts....

______________

So that wraps up my "Maple's Thoughts" on 
AG's current Halloween 'costumes.'

If you want, I will continue my monologue on
Halloween-related items.

Vote below people.

Halloween the American Girl Way: Maple's Thoughts Part Four

Hola!

Today we continue the "Maple's Thoughts" series about some of the Halloween costume offerings from American Girl.

And then there is the Genie Costume...

We should know by now that I despise one-piece costumes.

The genie costume should be cool, and it sorta is -- but it is one-piece and made out of fabrics that again scream "COSTUME!"

The brocade design is neat.

But the three pieces of gold paper/plastic sewn on the front look cheapo.

The booties look cool.

Not really sure they are worth the price of the whole outfit though.

In the end, American Girl's Genie Costume makes me want to make my own version of a genie costume -- which is sorta not the point AG.

American Girl shouldn't be making costumes that 

I automatically want better versions of.

The problem is that no one else is making better costumes for the 

AG-size doll than they are.

Which is sad.

But if there was competition out there offering great costumes, 

they'd have to step up their game, maybe...

Wishcraft makes a human version that actually looks a bit more like the 

genie costume from "I Dream of Jeannie."

And it doesn't just look like a mish-mash of a genie and Disney's Jasmine, 

i.e. an Arabian princess costume,

i.e. AG's Genie Costume.

I'd like a doll version of this set below.

To me it looks way cooler.

And in general, why a genie?

That doesn't seem like a costume that kids are clamoring to wear nowadays.

Why not make something more empowering than what looks like a harem girl outfit?

Yeah, a genie is supposed to be all-powerful, but they are trapped in a bottle only to grant wishes... so...

How about other options that don't say "just sit there and look pretty?"

I totally want to shoot things with arrows.

Just in a slightly longer dress.

This is made of awesome.

Not only do I get a sword and a shield, I also get furry boots.

Nothing says empowered like having the ability to turn people to stone.

I dare you to stare at me.

Why not a redo of the ol' AG Grecian Princess costume?

This one is a Greek Goddess.

I think I could rock this.

Bring me your offerings and first-born children, people!

Nothing says slash and stab like the Three Musketeers.

This costume manages to be girly, cute, and warrior-worthy.

And then there are pirates.

Why no pirate costumes AG?

Worried we might become pirates when we grow up???

Cleopatra.

Which you would think would sell for many reasons.

But for us, dude she was a real Queen of Egypt.

I like being the Queen.

Bow to me my peons.

Another Queen/Princess costume with an edge: Viking.

Those people were warriors, man.

And the Scandinavian thing is in with the coming of Disney's "Frozen."

Another historical gem that says I rule!

The Statue of Liberty people.

Nothing says tough like being made out of metal.

One of my favs -- a sassy Bandita, i.e. A female Zorro.

About time someone did this.

Slashy-slashy, stab-stab, give me your candy!

This girl looks a little bit too sweet to be a ninja -- 

but eh, I still support anything ninja-themed.

Ninjas AG? Ever heard of them?

I for one would love to dress up like my Ninjago Lego figures... 

I mean Kenna's Ninjago Lego figures...

Nya, Sister of Fire, Weapon of Choice: Double Daggers.

http://ninjago.lego.com/en-us/world/characters/default.aspx

Ring a bell AG?

Why is it that Lego (which consistently fails at creating empowered female characters)

can have a girl ninja but you can't?

Empress Josephine.

I'm okay with being an Empress.

Crown, staff, jewels. My own Empire.

Sounds perfect.

And then there is the awesome and hilarious Faora costume, 

from the Superman stories.

Yes, someone made this for young girls.

Now AG whipping out a Faora costume would stop my heart -- but still they could do a dark-themed warrior costume. Why not?

Or how about a policewoman, a firefighter, a doctor?

A super-heroine, a knight, an explorer?

A scientist, an alien, a robot, an astronaut?

A jet pilot, a race car driver, a Sith Lord, a Transformer?

Who is making the rules here?

No one. It's a free country.

Be brave. Be bold AG. 

Be empowering.

_______________

Stay tuned for Part Five when I, 

Magnificent Warrior-Empress-Queen Stabby-Slash Maple, 

talk about the Ballet Outfit -- 

the fourth and final outfit that AG is currently marketing as possibly useable as a Halloween costume...

Halloween the American Girl Way: Maple's Thoughts Part Three

Hola!

Today we continue the "Maple's Thoughts" series about some of the Halloween costume offerings from American Girl.

So for this post we take a slight detour from assessing AG's output, for an examination of some of the Halloweenie embroidery deigns from Urban Threads.

In Part Two we talked about the Spooky Fun Outfit.

Which has an intriguing Halloween shirt included.

But you can do better people.

Just look at these examples of what Urban Threads is cooking up.

We photoshopped each design onto an AG shirt image.

Don't expect magic though. We barely know what we are doing. ;-)

And for every design we show you they have dozens more in the 

Urban Threads shop waiting for you!

Be sure to answer our polls as you go!

Which bat is your favorite?

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Which kitty is your favorite?

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Which vampire-themed image is your favorite?

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Which monster-themed image is your favorite?

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Which skull/skeleton-themed design is your fav?

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Which word-based design is your favorite?

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We love all three of these designs for their use of purple! Which is our fav color. Which of these purplie designs is your fav?

1) 

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3) 

Heart spider-web or spider bow?

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2) 

Which of these Halloweenie designs is your fav?

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Thanks for answerin' our polls everybody!
Stay tuned for Part Four of "Maple's Thoughts" for her assessment of the Genie Costume!