How Historically Accurate are American Girl Dresses?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 พ.ค. 2023
- I've had several requests for a video on how historically accurate American Girl dresses are, so I've decided to start a new series where we go through all the dresses in my collection and take a look at their accuracy, comparing them to extant dresses and fashion plates.
Today, we're starting with the 18th century, which means Kaya, Felicity, and Elizabeth.
What do you think about this level of accuracy? Do you have any favorite American Girl outfits from this time period?
Check out more videos in the American Girl Historical Accuracy series here: • American Girl Historic...
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I felt kind of disappointed when I realized that the Elizabeth Cole doll is not an accurate representation of the character in the books, but now I feel REALLY disappointed that the dresses produced for Elizabeth’s collection were so subpar!
That was so interesting! I feel sorry for Elizabeth because her clothes aren't that accorate and oh, that awful, unpractical riding habit (although maybe she didn't like riding and didn't care). Very glad you're making this a series! And I love everybody playing dress-up in Felicity's frocks!
Oh, I know this because I did a ton of research for my mantua. Shot silk has existed since the 7th Century and actually got really popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.
It's one of those things that always doesn't sound right, like the sock knitting machine being a 16th century invention.
Ah ha, found the one I was thinking of, there aren't many (any?) plain shot gowns anymore, but the V&A has a lovely shot and brocade robe a la française 1765-70.
Oh, good to know! Maybe it was just a lot less popular than regular silk taffeta?
@Lady Rebecca Fashions I think so. It's slightly more difficult to produce, and it means you have to be conscious of grain vs. cross grain.
Loved this deep dive into these nostalgic outfits. I will say that as an adult doll collector/seamstress with an interest in historical fashion, I’m obsessed with Felicty’s collection. So much historical detail, without making play impossible or breaking the bank. Meanwhile, as a little girl, I absolutely preferred Elizabeth’s pastel, satin fabric, girly-girl looks and so did most of my friends. They were easy to put on, and so eye catching. I think over the years, AG has continued to sacrifice historical accuracy to what they know/think will appeal to little girls. Perhaps Elizabeth’s collection may have been the beginning of that? Don’t even get me started on where they are now with the Beforever monstrosities!
Thank you for these comparisons.
A little piece of me wants to see the inaccurate outfits remade to reflect historical accuracy.
That would be a pretty fun idea, tbh!
ngl, that's actually a project I'm considering tackling!
@@Skirt553 Oh, please do!
You need to make that green riding habit for yourself!! It's GORGEOUS!
It would look so lovely with her red hair too!
I have noticed a trend in historical fashion where a fashion appears first in girls clothes and then gets popular as adult wear in the next decade. I think it's a generational bias. I have noticed modern women usually like to wear what was populat when they were teans through out their lives.
I really enjoyed this video! I just got a Felicity doll and have been searching for clothes ...but i am tempted to sew them myself (they are so expensive on the secondary market). You taught me so much and I loved that you found the fashion plate to confirm the historical accuracy of that "peasanty" outfit!
Personally, I prefer to sew outfits that are just more historically accurate, like the Pemberly Threads patterns, but you're right - a lot of her collection can be quite pricey!
Rebecca, I love this video. I am older (think geriatric) and dolls and sewing for them, and displaying them are my passion. I prefer the historical dolls and your knowledge of the topic is so helpful!
I'd like to see pocket hoops come back into fashion. My pocket book can never hold enough.
I am loving all this American Girl content! I have Felicity and Kirstin from when I was a kid. My mom bought the official sewing pattern for Felicity back when they sold them and for Christmas that year, I got Felicity and a bunch of her clothes that my mom made. It was the best Christmas!
Wow, that is a HUGE wardrobe for one doll. I absolutely love the black and white over gold dress
It has been a really revealing, interesting video! 15 years ago I was asked to sew 20 costumes for American Girl, just from adapting McCalls patterns and seeing a magazine. It was a huge task for me back then.
i have a theory for why they picked a lacing closure for the school outfit, children felicity's age would be dressing themselves and its a lot easier for them to do that if they didn't have to fuss with pins and potentially prick themselves without help from their mom, older sister, etc. so i think they did it keeping her age in mind and it's hard for us to tell for sure since we know those old children's clothing would've been worn to rags being passed down or made into other things, like say a baby's dress
Sorry for the third comment - my edit feature doesn't always work correctly. I would love to see you talk about 1920's children's fashions. The outfits sold for Claudie, while very stylish, do not show us what a typical child of that era would have worn.
I agree it would be interesting to hear about what they actually wore.
Unfortunately I won't really be able to cover Claudie or the 1920s yet, as I don't have her yet. But yeah, I wish they had actually given her a historically accurate collection!
We brought home a pair of kittens a week and a half ago. I don't know their distinct meows yet and it took me 3 pauses and a rewind to figure out it wasn't them 😂 Great video, really enjoying this series!
I am pretty sure the fabric prints for Felicity's original outfits were based on fabrics in the Colonial Williamsburg collection.
Hello Dora. You look cute with one of the dolls hat 😊. Thank you for gracing us with your presence 😊.
I had never heard of these dolls till you but still enjoyed this video. The amount of attention that went into the early outfits is very impressive. Looking forward to learning more about this
In my family, the girl's dresses were sewn with pin tucks at the waist like some pictured here. Then, as the girl grew, the pin tucks could be removed for the dress to be longer.
I made dresses for my daughter that way. We used her Dickens Fair dress for several years. I found a taffeta dress in a suitable style and started by cutting it off and setting that part aside. Then we took a tuck in the skirt and also made a deep hem. We also took a deep tuck in the center back, since it was several sizes too large at this point. She wore it over white pantaloons and a white blouse. I also had an actual vintage black straw boater hat that I added a matching ribbon to. :) The second year we let down the main hem, and put some ribbon to cover the slightly worn edge. The next year we let down the tucks and added more ribbon. Eventually, we added the cut off section back with more ribbon, and let out the back. And by that time, she was big enough to start wearing the girl sized “Abby’s School Suit” that we’d bought for her older sister! I was pretty proud of all that! LOL
This is a lot of fun to listen too! I had a Samantha doll as a kid, but didn't like history at all back then. Now I love history and historical fashion so it's fun to hear about the dolls and their clothes. My favorite era is WWII followed by Edwardian. I just finished reading Meet Molly to my kids and they really loved it. Looking forward to reading more of the American Girl books with them.
I'd love to see you make a historically accurate version of Elizabeth's summer dress! It would be cool to see a comparison between the two C:
Great video, excited for the rest of this series.
I have been waiting for a series like this! Thank you so much for your work and store of knowledge. Keep them coming!
This was a nostalgia video I didn't know I needed!! Can't wait for more!
Haven't seen the whole video yet, but regarding Kaya: When you got me into AG last year I stumbled upon a blogpost made by Native Americans where they criticized several things about Kaya and how inaccurate and stereotypical her story is despite the claim of extensive research. Can't find it right now, but it really got me thinking...
Oh no, really? I hope that's not true! I know they did a lot of research and I would have hoped they'd really have utilized it!
@@LadyRebeccaFashions On the top of my head I remember:
- Kaya's name: Her people would have thought A LOT about the best name, usually not coming up with it until days later instead of "I see a woman arranging rocks outside the tent, let's use that"
- So many other names being animal-themed which apparently wasn't really a thing and is stereotypically racist thinking
- Kaya's close relationship with her father: A father would not take interest in his daughters and his sons only after they reached a certain age. The sexes were divided
- Speaking Rain: Children like her would have been taught to work around their disabilities from a very young age, to make sure they WOULD NOT HAVE TO rely on someone their whole lives
- The portrayal of the inter-tribe sign language: It was very simple and could not translate into whole sentences, let alone almost philosophical discussions like Kaya and Two Hawks (name problem again) do
- The WHOLE story arch of her being kidnapped. Apparently it did not happen that often and one would either steal horses OR slaves. Never both at the same time and unprepred. There could have been other trials for her to overcome instead of another clichée
@@KahoriFutunaka oh wow, good to know!
@@LadyRebeccaFashions In general, the blogpost (I did link it here, could it be TH-cam deleted it?) says that the author put everything she was told into her white perspective and the narratives she was used to as a white person. I really don't understand why AG gave the series to Janet Shaw. Could you imagine the outrage if Abby had been given to a white author? Or Cécile? That said, I really look forward to your video about the mid-Victorian girls :3
@@KahoriFutunaka yikes, that's really a shame. And weird - I don't see the link at all, even in my "held for review" comments section.
Loved this. Looking forward to more!
I am SO EXCITED for all the upcoming videos!!! I have always loved historical AG books, and then dolls, and Felicity was my first. I remember ordering her using a mail away order form that I tore out of the back of her book. Fashion history is a more recent interest of mine and I'm so thankful to you for sharing all your knowledge :)
If possible for future videos, I would love to see even more photos of what you wish they'd done to be more historically accurate (learning about the mules when you brought out Elizabeth was very helpful). Loved when you showed fashion plates and paintings alongside the dresses!
Just found your videos. I love them. I’ve collected the historical dolls since 1987. Very interested in their clothing even though I didn’t buy a lot at the time. So thank you.
I’d absolutely love to see more from you on all the historical dolls! Thank you for the information ❤
So glad I followed your advice and watched this, can’t wait to see the other videos!!
Addy's video is coming out next week! 😉
Fascinating! I enjoyed this so much, and I cannot wait for the next video.
Have a great weekend,
xoxo's Sandie
I am so happy I found you! I wish there was more content that includes history and dolls. ❤
Love seeing all these outfits many I’ve never seen before. Thanks for all this great info. Love ♥️ your videos
These types of videos are my favorite!!! Thank you!!!
I have Addy's video coming out next week! 😉
i love that you know all the different laces and styles
Fashion! Always nice to see
This was very informative and fun. My friend's daughter had Felicity and I made several of her outfits for her. It was quite a number of years ago. I used the catalog pictures as my inspiration plus several doll patterns I have and did the best I could to make them as accurate as possible. Ironically my friend's daughter thought they were much better then the "store bought" ones. For me that was the greatest compliment I could receive.
This is such an interesting video! Felicity had some of my favorite fashions. My favorite dresses in her collection are her birthday outfit and summer outfit!
The Nez Perce doll is wearing an outfit more in line with a doll that the Nez Perce children would have played with.
That is an interesting concept.
🤔any sources or cultural affiliation? Not disputing you, just want to know how you know this.
Oh, interesting!
Okay, so I looked up the verb tenses of "wove" versus "woven." I thought maybe it was a case of language changing over time (which I find very interesting), but nope! "Wove" is apparently the correct verb tense for that sentence! "Woven" is a past participle, so it would go in a sentence like "I have woven fabric" or "The fabric was woven last year." The more you know...
Love all the historical dolls and fashions!!
This was so interesting. I really loved seeing the dolls all dressed up in their not so historically correct outfits. I was so surprised to see, was it Felicity’s work outfit, that looked so much like Kirstin’s meet outfit? Super cute and I have never seen it before. I will enjoy watching more in this series. Thank you!🙏💕
Felicity riding outfit is so beautiful I want it so bad
Great story, thank you!
Oh snap! I adore that green riding habit ❤
Just subscribed. This is the video i need most in my life
Thanks, and welcome! I have a whole playlist of all the dolls through Samantha and Nellie, too! 😉 th-cam.com/play/PLeUQ-NeEZhXxSNjtbx458nu10Br2ZxZyN.html
@@LadyRebeccaFashions I can't wait to watch them all
I love this and learned a lot. Please continue with all of the AG historical characters!
I never knew about Felicity’s undergarments. I’m so excited to add that to my Felicity.
I'm making Felicity and Elizabeth inspired outfits from the Fashion Studio!
I'd be interested in a video on the vintage girls! Loved this video! 😊
This was awesome, thank you! I personally hope you do all of them, even the vintage girls who are less interesting because, selfishly, it's still interesting to me. 😊
Not me immediately going to the American girl doll site to check out all these dolls… 👀
All of these outfits/dolls except Kaya are unfortunately retired now, but you can find everything on eBay and Mercari! Also, the American Girl wiki is great if you just wanted to know more about the collections.
I remember reading the felicity books the orginal 6 books from 1991 Elizabeth had brown hair and then when the doll was released in 2005 they changed to wear Elizabeth has blonde hair and blue eyes and American Girl changed the pictures in the updated felicity books
Loved this video! It's so cool to see the details and see the historical comparisons. I had forgotten Felicities riding habit! That was definitely one of my childhood wish items. It's so detailed and gorgeous. It really makes me sad to see how the quality and details went down. It felt like all the ones that connected to her books were great. As for Elizabeth man considering the price of the dolls and their stuff she feels like just a cash grab. The quality of her stuff is just so much lower and less researched, even if she's a very pretty doll.
Totally looking forward to Samantha, Addy and Kirsten. For vintage girls Molly is interesting and I'd love to see how they did with her. My friend had her and i remember her saying their were lots of historical details with her stuff.
Thank you! I have to admit, I don't actually have that much of Molly's collection, so if I do the vintage girls, she'd probably get combined with Kit and Maryellen. 😉
The pink riding outfit is more along the lines of our English style ,ladies started wearing bowler hats decorated at the same time as the men,but more delicate versions.But our riding outfits were darker colours for ridin.But that’s what the hat shape is.The cut of the coat is similar but the skirts were rounded and shorter at the front than the back..I hope that helps Yes it was interesting .I like dolls and period costumes,win win 🥰
I love making dolls & doll clothes, think I already told you that a couple of times. It might be fun for me to do some actual pattern sewing but my AG doll is a mini so I'd have to buy one. It was a fun vid Rebecca.
Thanks! You can find them really cheaply on Facebook marketplace and even eBay, though it can be a slippery slope!
That was cool. I would be interested in seeing you talk about your later 20th century American Girl dolls (I'm not sure how many you have), as well as your other historical dolls.
loved the video!! kit is my favorite, i really hope she gets a video! i also have a first/early edition kit with the blonde eyebrows and false skin part in her wig! i believe mine may have gotten a cloth body replacement at some point as she had the zip tie and tensioning parts on the limb elastic typical of like 2005-10 doll hospital cared dolls. i love researching for kits era and have found several sewing patterns that inspired some of her outfits!
Wait, your Kit has an exposed wig cap in the back, you mean? I thought they stopped doing that around Felicity's release!
@@LadyRebeccaFashions no, youre right, they did stop with the band in the back of the wig around ‘91! my kit has the plastic rooted part line that addy and josefina have! i believe they stopped doing the false skin on kits wig somewhere before beforever? i had a ~2009-10 kit and she had the sewn part that’s typical now
there is a whole world of historically accurate sewing patterns for AG dolls out there did you know? I made a few myself
Yep! I have several patterns already, but I've only made a few by Pemberly Threads.
@@LadyRebeccaFashions The ones i made are from Thimbles and Acorns and I love them
Y’all not talking enough about how beautiful Addy looked in Felicity’s tea lesson dress for me 😍
I enjoyed watching. As I expected, I learned a few things. Will watch future episodes after you find time to redress the dolls. That actually worked really well though.
This was extremely interesting to watch! I love how many of Felicitys outfits were actually accurate. Poor Elizabeth tho... what I would love to do is take Felicitys patterns and make Elizabeth some historically accurate outfits. Like for Elizabeth's Christmas dress or meet dress just take Felicity's Christmas dress pattern and make it in Elizabeth's colors. (this would also give Elizabeth the pocket slits as Felicitys patterns include them) so I guess I've found some new projects to do, as if I didn't have enough already! 🤣 seriously tho, I loved this and can't wait to see the rest! Especially on addy as she has some of my favorite outfits 🥰
My felicity doll came in the purple meet dress when she and Elizabeth came out in 2005
To All,
“Thank You” for your videos on American Girl! The videos are an inspiration for me to get going with my dolls. (Life gets in the way.) Again, as an adult you are interested in the era of the dolls--but little girls may or may not be--I think that the doll clothing and shoes might be made with the play in mind. Boots might be hard for girls to get off the dolls. Without a doubt as the years have gone by the quality has changed a little, but not too much--and where quality has changed it’s because of ever increasing costs to do it. Also, I didn’t catch what the name of your kitty was--but awesome addition to video!!!!
I’ve seen tucks in medieval girls clothing. They just make sense.
I don’t think the floral apron of felicity’s birthday dress is accurate. The woman who does all of the historical clothing at the 18th century fort where I reenact says that floral aprons were not really a thing. They were either solid colored or striped most of the time.
That's very true too. But even the floral pattern itself isn't accurate either!
hahaha, Dora wanted her attention, there she got it :D i really like the education that you provide, thank you so much ^_^
When Dora spoke I thought one of my cats wanted something.
The shot silk, Burnkey and Trowbridge has a video somewhere talking about the changeable silks they had in stock, so it looks like something approaching shot silk was a thing, though whether or not it was common or done in the same way, I'm not sure. I've wanted to make a changeable silk dress from that era, though I'm not sure of the style. I thought that would be a fun detail to share, since it was featured. I just wish I could remember where I saw them talking about it, but it was probably a year or two ago.
Felicity is one of my favorites from American Girl
I have sone of the historical dolls but my fav I own are Cecile and Marie grace 💜
When did you get your Felicity doll? Mine did not come with stays and pocket hoops, only the shift for an undergarment. I want to say mine was purchased around 1995-1996?
Yeah, she didn't come with those - it was a separate set you could purchase.
I would love to see up to Molly and Emily for future review videos!
I keep hearing 'meat dress' 😆 I assume it's 'meet' as in meeting friends? idk 🤷😁
I keep picturing a dress made of steaks .
Perhaps as in Sunday go to meeting like Church
The "Meet" dresses are the ones that the dolls normally come with, and match the cover of their respective "Meet" books iirc ("Meet Felicity," "Meet Kaya," "Meet Elizabeth").
@@barbaraferron7994 lady gagas dress from the 2010 MTV awards.
@@TracksAtChristieRoad LOL
Have you ever made a outfit for the dolls that are historically accurate? I did make a sacque dress for Felicity but i am sure the fabric isn't correct, but i like the way it came out anyway.
Not 100% accurate, but more so than these. I've done three of the Pemberly Threads patterns, which are quite accurate. If you go back to videos from March, you'll find the most recent one.
Do you have Caroline Outfits?! I love the Regency or the War of 1812, as the case may be! Caroline's outfits are cute!
Yep, she'll be in the next video in the series!
Kit is my favorite American girl so I would love to see her
I think AG used richer colors for Elizabeth regardless of history to highlight her wealth status as opposed to Felicity
I was absolutely riveted! Thank you so much for your awesomely presented video!
I much prefer pattens such as those in the fourteenth century which had wood fore and back. I think they look more stable than those metal ones.
Definitely agree!
I really enjoy watching people geek out on stuff they love, and this video was no exception. Some of those outfits were lovely- and the details on some- chef’s kiss. That being said, dolls make me extremely uncomfortable, so that has me here wondering- are there any stuffed animals around that size 🤔💭. Thank you so much for sharing your love for these dolls.
I'm sure there must be! Or maybe get a build a bear, but don't stuff it all the way?
How can I order the phillisty doll ❤
If you need anything modelled, she is happy to do so.
Cat: *throws off hat* No!
So cute
@ladyrebeccafashions what is the name of that fashion plate Felicity’s town fair outfit is based on?
I don't think it really has a name, but it's this one: pin.it/58jaBzL2g
@@LadyRebeccaFashions thank you so much! I love watching your videos!
@@camilledothanks!
Shot silk was historically accurate 😊
I want to see all the dolls historical accurate outfits ❤
Have you seen the other videos in the series yet? I've gotten through Samantha so far.
@@LadyRebeccaFashionsI found the playlist shortly after I commented 😂 I was able to watch the next two with Caroline and Josephina and Kirsten, Marie grace and Cecile! I’m about to watch Addy’s I’m so excited! ☺️
I wish you would comment on the 70's-90's "historical" dolls
My opinion is that they're accurate but for the wrong time. The 1986 doll is really more 1994 and the 1999 dolls are really more 2003
Yeah, I pretty much agree!
I meant the felicity doll!
You'll have to see if you can find one secondhand on eBay or Mercari. Unfortunately American Girl doesn't sell her anymore.
If you look at the picture of the English gown you show, you will see the bodice pleats found in the traveling gown.
But it's a different kind of bodice than in the traveling gown, which is more of a round gown style.
@@LadyRebeccaFashions True. I was just struck by the top and how it looked the same.
You know Elizabeth moved to the colonies from England before felicity stories even began maybe that’s why her clothing was different cause she brought it here from England I might be wrong I’m no historian but that does make sense plus I would love if you checked out the felicity movie for the clothing to see if it’s accurate also loved the video
Yes, Elizabeth is from England, but her stuff would still be inaccurate for England as well.
Ouch what did they do to her
man, Mattel just did NOT care😂
Hi👋
I'm curious what's 'heinous' about the Beforever outfit?
Oh, it's so bad. I recommend checking out a pic, but the silhouette and colors are all wrong.
@@LadyRebeccaFashions Ok. Despite watching historical costube I'd never be able to pick out which bits are wrong.
@@LadyRebeccaFashions Is it accurate? Not really, however, the Beforever undergarments really do improve the silhouette. It makes it about as passable as the worst of Elizabeth's outfits. Mattel just doesn't care as much about accuracy as they do about price point. For them, not the consumer. In defense of the embroidered organza on Elizabeth's tea gown, I believe it would have been tambor work, embroidered by Elizabeth or her mother or sister at home. The mass produced version of accurate. Play line adequate?
How can I get a dolly made for a loved one
American Girl does create-your-own dolls too.
Elizabeth fashion I don't think they tried. Kaya is accurate I can say that being part first nation person. Felicity 1980s doll are accurate in fashion unlike the early 2000s
How much studying went to make one doll. The company was amazing before Mattel.
You forgot Kirsten
This video is just 18th century, I'm sure Kirsten will be in the next video
Yep, as Solveig said, this is just 18th c, so her collection will be in the next video in this series.
Me, a Lady Gaga stan: ….meat dress?
Can we bring separate Pockets back? 'Cause Modern Pockets are a disgrace, honestly!
Tbh, I prefer my pockets to be attached, but I do like big pockets!