A few specific complaints:
The colors are not the worst, but I cannot imagine who thought it was a good idea to put leggings under shorts. Is this actually a trend? (EDIT: Someone in the comments mentioned that it is a new trend, and that they style leggings and shorts this way. I apologize if I caused any offense; I don't mean to cast aspersions on anyone's personal style. It's just not a style that's to my taste.) Also, why are they releasing shorts in the fall line? I may try to adjust this outfit and make a different version for Alina, but as of now I am very unimpressed.
Again, I don't hate the color, but I dislike the skirt. While the summer release was all about trendy and fashionable attire, the puffy skirt makes the dress look odd. The dress would be much more attractive if they made it a red peplum sheath dress and kept the shoulder detail.
Too much pink, not enough interesting or original details. McKenna's was much more visually appealing (and will probably become a part of Alina's wardrobe). This just reeks of bland knockoff.
Mattel, when I said that I would make Raven if you made her a better outfit than the one she comes with now, this is absolutely not what I had in mind. The headdress is overpowering, as is the cape clasp, and what is going on with those pants? The shoes are a bizarre and unattractive hybrid of open toe heels and leather boots with some studs thrown on to look more "rebellious," and I don't see the purpose of the waist chain belt and the tulle (shouldn't one be enough to define the waist?). The only redeeming factors of this debacle of an ensemble are the shirt and cape, but those aren't enough to save this mess. Mattel, would it really be so hard to make an outfit for Raven that contains colors other than black, purple, and silver? Raven would look lovely in shades of turquoise, green, and maybe even light yellow, but apparently if you're evil, you're restricted to this bland color palette.
Briar doesn't look as bad, but I don't love her outfit either. She's got too much pink in her hair, and the neck ruffle is doing her no favors. The dress (or what we can see of it) isn't the worst, but again, too much pink. Like Raven, Briar would really benefit from an expanded color palette - gold, cream, and blue would set off her complexion well.
Apple is my favorite of the three, but even she has problems. What's with that strange bun atop her head,and does she really need another crown headdress? Her color palette really works for her - we've seen before how well she pulls off white, gold, and red - but again, more color variety would be very nice.
Overall, my feeling regarding these new items is that of letdown. The American Girl items seem to be either new versions of previous designs (the Frosty Fair Isle outfit, while not half bad, reminds me too much of Chrissa's much nicer winter set, as does the Snow Much Fun set) or strange new ideas that are supposed to be trendy. After the incredible job with the summer release and even the spring one, I feel very disappointed by American Girl. With the Ever After High Legacy dolls, it feels like Mattel tried too hard to make the dolls look fancy and sophisticated and ended up making them look trite and overdone. Both doll lines this year started out very strong, but now seem to be faltering, which makes me wonder exactly what went wrong.
What are your thoughts on the newly released and revealed items?
Upon your comments of "this is too childish", I think you are forgetting that American Girl is geared toward young girls aged 6-12, not older girls and teenagers such as us.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. I'm just confused by the sudden reversion to younger-looking dresses after the trendy, almost "older" looks in the summer line.
DeleteI wear leggings under my shorts.
ReplyDeleteI'm very sorry if I offended you with my strong language regarding that trend. It was not at all my intention to insult specific people, rather to convey how deeply my tastes differ from American Girl's design.
DeleteI know, N. I'm severely unimpressed with a lot of what American Girl sends out these days, but you never know, there could be a diamond in the rough somewhere. I do wear leggings under my shorts because they are a tad too short for school, and I prefer the more modest clothing choices.
DeleteOh yeah, I didn't say in my first comment, but you can call me E. It's all ok now.
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ReplyDeleteN! You've been honored: dottiedotcrafts.blogspot.com
ReplyDeletehow do you remove a comment?
ReplyDelete- Anonymous A.
Oh.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know it was a trend!
Kanani
I am a fan of Ever After High and although I like the dolls (enough to have them in my house) I LOVE the stories. I must first say I agree with you on most things you say about the style if the outfits (not everything, such as I love Raven's belt and Apple's hair style, but that's minor), such as Raven's pants and open toed high heeled boots, I mean what WAS up with that? Anyway, since I am a fan of not only the dolls, but also their stories, I figured I could answer your question about the color schemes. Starting with Raven. Raven is NOT the Evil Queen, that was her mother. In Raven's story it says that the only clothes she had were black and purple (of course her jewelry was silver). This was because that was all her mom bought for her. Raven wanted other colors, but never got any. What would happen if she did? Who knows, but it probably would not have gone well considering that when Raven got a puppy, her mother turned it into a bone rat. Briar is the daughter of Sleeping Beauty, who's main symbol is a rose. Since red had been over used by Apple, Lizzie, and Cerise, the other common color to use was pink, hence, living up to her mother's destiny, she always wears the color pink. Lastly, with Apple (being the name Apple and the daughter of Snow White, who bit the juicy red apple) Apple wears red.
ReplyDeleteSigh, my phone wouldn't let me finish. What I was trying to say was that based on their themes, they had theme colors. In other words, Mattel is never going to change the outfit colors. I do wonder, why didn't you comment on Maddie's Legacy Day outfit? She is one of the main dolls and main characters.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! Since you hit a couple of interesting points, I'm going to number them to make sure I don't miss anything.
Delete1. I too love the stories, both by the Brothers Grimm and Shannon Hale (who has been one of my favorite authors for years). I understand Raven's conflict between her destiny to be evil and her desire to follow her own wishes, yet this color palette seems to highlight her evil background and not convey her defining trait of wanting to choose her own destiny. I'm not saying that Mattel should go all out in every color, but would it be too much to ask for a little deviation? I'm thinking something along the lines of pops of color, such as the blue in her Thronecoming ensemble, to break up the purple/black/silver and show her desire to move beyond her prescribed "evil" future. (Anyway, her mother's in jail - can't Raven get a little slack?) Regarding some of her clothing items, it's been almost a year since I posted this (and I posted while I was angry - I've long since calmed and been better able to look at the designs with a more balanced view), and my opinions have changed. While it'll take much longer for me to like the pants, the headdress has certainly grown on me.
2. I understand Mattel's color scheming and motifs - it's good marketing and makes for a more cohesive collection. The problem is that they get so stuck in colors and symbols that everything starts to look the same. Like I said with Raven, I'm not asking for a total color overhaul, just some more variation. Briar and her items don't need to be doused in Pepto-Bismol for us to know that they're hers - we just need some pink and some roses to clue us in. I didn't comment on Maddie's outfit because Legacy Maddie hadn't been released at the time I originally posted, but to me that's a step in the right direction. The color palette and design are clearly hers, yet it's got a different silhouette and isn't in-your-face obvious the way some of the other outfits are. To me it's proof that Mattel can branch out a bit and still stay within the spectrum of a character.
Thanks for reading and commenting - it's always great to hear what other people think!
Don't get me wrong, I agree with you, I just don't see it happening. Being a rebel, I think Raven should try a new color scheme, but I doubt the company will do that. If they wanted to keep the "evil" theme going though, they could've used red and black as well, right? I mean, those colors together can be goth or creepy, right?
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm practically certain it won't happen, but there's always doll customization.
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