Mini Tenney Doll - New Photos

I really like the look of Mini Tenney and was happy to see more candids of the doll today.

Mini Tenney comes in her meet outfit but without the sleeveless jean jacket--I am sure it is a cost issue and I am not bothered by it not being included. Though it would have been cute I would be tempted to re-dress the mini anyhow.

I have had mixed feelings about AG Mini dolls. We have Mini Josefina, Mini Caroline, Mini Grace, Mini Samantha (BF) and Mini Rebecca (BF) and I think half are cute and the other half a bit too bucked-toothed and awkward looking. Sorry mini girls! But I like the look of Mini Tenney so I think she will be joining our household.

Truly Me Customizable Dolls

This is everywhere already on social media! Love It or Pass?

Me? Pass for now. My friends? A mix of both Love It and Pass.

I have such a full house of poppets that customization is not a priority or needed. Doubly so if the Customized Doll line is perma-panty. However, I could see doing a full 180 on this if the perma-panty and other quality issues were straightened out. How about you?

The Backside of the Story

Remember the "B" side of vinyl albums?

With all the rolling changes in the cloth torso construction and design it is now the new normal to take a look at the backside of the dolls to note any changes.

For my Tenney and Logan dolls it was not so much the construction or design of the torso that changed but for one doll, the fabric itself.

My Tenney doll, bought on debut day, features the familiar classic cloth torso with backside horizontal darts for a rounded firm shape. Her cloth is the familiar course weave.

My Logan doll, also bought on debut day, features the classic torso design with horizontal darts--but the fabric seems slightly different. The end of the dart (the furthest point from the vertical center seam) actually puckers and is more pointy with the new fabric and gives Logan's side-cheeks a less rounded shape and transition around the side. 

Upon inspection, the Logan fabric seems slicker and closer to a polyester feel as well as potentially thinner though I make no claims on the comparative strength or longevity between the two fabrics. (Note the color variation in the two photos is more due to camera lighting issues.)

Most noticeable is that instead of the clearly defined cross-hatched weave of Tenney's torso (left) Logan's weave is much tighter.

I did a quick comparison between Tenney and one of my more recent dolls, Samantha who was bought in 2013. Tenney's fabric weave and weight matches my Samantha doll's torso fabric. Logan's fabric is something new.

Late addition: Several people on other boards are identifying the new fabric being used as polished cotton broadcloth which is what OG seems to use. Consensus is that this fabric is less durable.

Tenney and Logan Homecoming

Fun at AGPSF at the Tenney and Logan debut!

And at the end of all of and returning with us home is... tah-dah!

I was surprised it all fit in the one America Girl shopping bag. The majority of the purchase today was Tenney and Logan and accessories, but Kit and Maryellen also each got a new outfit as well. 

While Tenney was planned, I honestly did not make the final decision to purchase Logan until this morning as my husband and I drove together to the store. I was talking out loud in the car about the pros and cons of getting Logan, the two main set of issues being "I don't need a Logan. I am already buying a lot today. I could live with not getting a Logan." vs "Logan may not be around long. He's pretty special being the first boy. I think he would make a great manager (not canon, renamed, etc.) for Tenney's career."

So after all this babbling I turned to my husband as he was driving and asked him straight up if I should get Logan. He just smiled and chuckled and said yes, I probably should get Logan. Lol.

There are more outfits I hope to get for Tenney and Logan, especially the unreleased outfits seen in some of the American Girl marketing materials. Logan needs the bomber jacket and Tenney needs that black sequin dress!

Look at those cute faces! I can't wait to get them out of their boxes.

A Tenney Country Countdown!

Less than 12 hours until Tenney and Logan and Felicity GO LIVE!!

Wednesday 5:02PM CST

Felicity images used by permission of owner

Wednesday 4:51PM CST

Early look at Kit's Mini Golf Dress--it comes in a real box with tissues! Thank you, Joy Coomer!

Wednesday 2:44PM CST

More stock images and scenes keep appearing!

I am curious to find out the price of Tenney's Teal Guitar. I was guessing $48, but then in AG's Live Presentation on Facebook yesterday it seemed the guitar also plays a recorded song and that has me mentally bumping up the price even higher. 

Wednesday 2:40PM CST

Poppets & Posies plans to be at the American Girl Store tomorrow to enjoy the debut, take pictures, and melt her credit cards from overuse.

Keep tuned! Any and all late breaking news will be added to this post.

Tenney Mini Doll

I am not in love with the clothing quality other than the tee but the doll does look like she could be cute.

It looks to me looks like the skirt has been accidentally placed on backwards. The full sized doll has the pleats (which flare out the skirt) facing to the front and the flat side facing to the back but the mini seems to have that reversed. So the outfit may look marginally better if the skirt was put on properly.

I do like her face--though in the picture above her painted teeth are off-centered and the mini may be a factory second. However, I think a "factory first" Tenney mini will eventually make her way to our home.

Tenney & Me Matching Outfits?

This may just be a photoshoot advert of no consequence, but it looks like a matching Tenney Meet Outfit for Girls. Sweet!

Tenney's Spotlight Stage

Tenney's Spotlight Stage and Dressing Room is one of the last pieces to officially be revealed.

The Spotlight Stage and Dressing Room is rumored to retail for $225. The front is as pictured and the back of the set piece is a dressing room with furniture accessories--a leather-like plum colored arm chair and a matching vanity and mirror.

The stage walls are a tri-fold construction and the wooden stage floor either folds up or detaches for compact storage.

I have seen other leaked photos and is not clear if the microphone stand, amplifier, dark paisley green and plum dressing robe and other pieces are part of the bundled stage set, but it looks probable.

We'll know all in just 24 hours!

Banjo! Banjo! Banjo!

Banjo alert! I have been waiting forever for this one!

Honestly, I think it might be the banjo that tips me over into getting this collection. I can't quite explain it. I don't even play the banjo myself.

Tenney Country: More Outfits!

A flashy sequined dress and silver sandals for Tenney! (Must have!)

And Logan gets a leather-like bomber jacket!

Nanea: A New Face

Let's talk about Nanea's new face mold!

First some of the larger strokes--I love Nanea's silhouette graphic. From this graphic and banner we see the hibiscus flower as one of her repeated motifs, but we see other themes emerging in the little tiki huts in her shirt and the decidedly nautical touches in the styling of her white shorts with the blue pocket stripes (not seen here) and placement of the dark navy blue buttons.

As for the face mold itself the two most striking features (among many) are the larger open and rounded eyes with a slight side notch and the the overall rounded-heart-shaped face.

As pointed out elsewhere, the general impression of the Nanea mold seems related to the WellieWisher face molds. Is American Girl making a strategic move toward dolls with big eyes and heart shaped faces? If so, it is one of the stronger changes in the overall aesthetic of the American Girl "look."

Do note that American Girl may have altered or Photoshopped this image and thus some details may be enhanced or downplayed (such as the white reflective spots in her eyes appearing like two little "hearts")--but there are some details to discuss.

Does Nanea have painted lower lashes and some additional painted upper lashes? 

New eyebrow shape.

Notched eyes (my favorite touch).

Her lips and smile are a new shape as well and her lip color looks new and custom to Nanea's coloring.

No way of knowing just yet if her decal iris eyes (I strongly prefer the decal iris eyes!) are a new hazel color, but in her unique mold and unique coloring, they seem new regardless.

I do see Nanea as doing well as a BeForever poppet. She features a new face mold, she is a doll representing cultural and racial diversity, she offers a different perspective on the WWII experience than the previous 1940s doll (Molly), and Nanea's meet outfit looks playful and fresh. 

 

Nanea and Z!

Gabriela, Z Yang, Felicity, Nanea, Tenney and Logan

Nanea Mitchell, BeForever (1941 Hawaii)

Does Nanea have a new face mold?

I am sure there were will much enthusiasm over the new face mold as well as complaints. But at least the complaints are about slight issues of preference or the odd sensation of trying to get used to a new design rather than the shocking changes of late which have been about cost cutting measures or changes which are geared toward AG's expansion plans into retail stores and overseas.

In defense of Nanea's face mold for any early nay-sayers would be to assert that her face mold looks both new as well as related to the spectrum of AG face molds. It is neither too timid nor too bold a change in the big picture of AG face molds. Whether one "likes" the face or expression is a preference thing, not a failure of design, effort, or execution--which is a huge relief all considered.

I will give AG a win so far on Nanea. If she comes with a quality torso (underwear that is not attached) and good vinyl quality, I will seriously take a look at this poppet. Here's to hoping!

AGPSF Flash: Peeking for Perma-Panties

While I need to write a few longer posts on PantyGate, for tonight I want to give a short update on American Girl Place San Francisco and the presence or non-presence of perma-panties.

In brief, as of this Monday evening, AGPSF seems to still be primarily stocked with the older versions of the 18" dolls--no obvious signs of perma-panty dolls. I was only able to open a few boxes, such as the TM 55 pictured above and below.

It was surprising how happy I was to see the removable panties on the TM doll!

I peeked in a few more boxes in the TM area and then opened one Julie box and was pleased to see she was still sporting removable panties as well.

So now a on worrying note--the store was quiet, there were plenty of assistants doing what looked like stocking and arranging--but the # of doll boxes on the shelves in the BeForever area seemed extremely sparse. 

Where I might normally see BeForever doll boxes lined up in each character kiosk area at least 2 deep and all the way across I now saw boxes only 1 deep and not all the way across. My (irrational?) fear is that for the big debut of Tenney & Logan on Thursday that AG is also planning to pull, re-box, and "debut "the BeForever girls in some new atrocious full-window style box.

Note that AG has been known to pull out and re-box store-stock dolls in the past. For the big Truly Me debut launch in May 2015 the Visual Department at AGPSF took ALL the modern dolls out of their old boxes, redressed them in what we know as the current Lilac Dress, and then re-box them in the new Truly Me box. (I overheard some of this while in the store the morning of the Truly Me debut in 2015 and also managed to get a few behind the scenes tidbits of info when I found a chatty employee who told me that Visual hd been up until 4am making those very changes the night before.)

TL;DR

*AGPSF still has older dolls with removable underwear in stock. Go soon to avoid perma-panties.

*The BeForever box could change without warning and Thursday's debut is one possible (but not confirmed) switch-a-roo point.

Article Alert: The Problems With "Never Nudes"

A strong and thoughtful response to the American Girl decision to sew their dolls permanently into underwear and the concerns it brings up. Highest recommendation! Please read and share!

American Girl Dolls Have Just Been Made Into "Never Nudes" by Holly Peterson

Excerpt:

For all the messages of self-esteem and girl power we Gen-Xers have received through the years, I still have feelings of embarrassment about my body -- thanks, in part, to all the other messages I've heard my entire life telling me I should be. I keep hoping that our daughters will grow up with a different outlook -- that our culture is progressing into a place where young women aren't afraid to be natural, aren't ashamed of their bodies, and don't think periods are "gross." We've made a lot of progress in this area ... that's why I was shocked to hear that American Girl brand dolls are taking a bold and regressive move to put permanent underwear on its Truly Me dolls and a few dolls in the BeForever collection, essentially turning them into "Never Nudes."

Julie's Groovy Bathroom

Let's take a tour!

Julie's Groovy Bathroom $175

Spring 2017: Truly Me Releases!

Beautiful stock images of Truly Me offerings are starting to surface! Starting with my must-have is the new ballet practice set.

Ballet Class Outfit $28

Bright Blooms Dress $28

Star Player Volleyball Outfit $34

Beach Cooler Set $28

Spring 2017: BeForever Releases!

Updated with prices and a second dress for Kit!

AG designers have a win with the new BeForever outfits and accessories! Starting with my absolute favorite...

Kit's Play Dress $28

(This goes straight into my shopping bag!)

Kit's Golf Outfit with Monogram

Kit's Mini Golf Set $48

Maryellen's Flamingo Swimsuit Set $34

Julie's Peasant Top Outfit $32

Julie's Floral Accessories $24

Julie's Basketball Uniform $34

Rebecca's Play Dress $32

I will add/edit as more information surfaces. Look for these BeForever offerings to potentially be part of the February 16th release bonanza!