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?
