Review: AG & "Artfully Inspired" by Maplelea

Character development of Z is taking a whole new direction and it includes our first outfit from Maplelea!

The Artfully Inspired outfit comes with a pink asymmetrical top, purple leggings and a yellow infinity scarf in a light waffle weave fabric. The top has a velcro back closing and the infinity scarf also has a velcro closure. The outfit does not come with shoes, and considering the fit of Maplelea clothing and shoes on American Girl dolls is not always assured, I was happy to pair this outfit with AG shoes (see below).

The Maplelea top and leggings are a light stretch knit and fit snuggly but not too tight on our AG poppet. Maplelea dolls are a smidgen taller and a smidgen more slender, but this outfit works.

Very cute Inuit themed decals as a decorative trim.

Z paired this outfit with the hiking boots from a retired TM Hiking Outfit.

Overall, I really like the outfit. Terrific colors, darling Inuit details love the yellow stitching, soft fabric. I am not sure how sturdy the outfit would be for a lot of play, but for display dolls it is terrific.

Since Maplelea is a Canadian company, the downside is price can be expensive with shipping. Some Maplelea outfits are available from Amazon, which can save on shipping, but this outfit I bought straight from the Canadian site since it was not yet available at the time via Amazon. Plus, it does not come with shoes for the price.

Overall grade is B+ but with many hearts!

Can you guess where poppet Z's story is going? She will be receiving a whole new non-canon name, background, wardrobe and story.

Stars and Moons! Seeking Luciana

Who is Luciana? Where is she from? What will be her themes, stories, and adventures? Her wardrobe and accessories?

Could this tee be for Luciana?

Photocredit @butik_boneka_andfir

In favor for it being Luciana's tee is that the building facades look like the old style "Spanish" facades from places like San Antonio. The stars, while an American Girl nod to their own logo, also point toward this tee depicting Texas which often uses the star in its logos and themes.

Two big states for space industry are Florida and Texas, but considering we recently have Maryellen from Florida, having Luciana's story set in Texas makes a whole lot of sense!

Finally, with a big thank you to "dollsbetweenus"--Luciana is Spanish origin and means "light of the moon." How perfect! It all seems to fit together that perhaps is Luciana is not only of Hispanic and/or Spanish heritage and that she loves space, space travel, astronomy--but that her story takes place in a state where Spanish and Hispanic culture is so integral to its history.

Luciana! Luciana! Luciana! GOTY 2018!

Looks promising!!!

Photocredit @butik_boneka_andfir

Luciana Vega. Space theme. 2018.

The author of the GOTY 2018 books is Erin Teagan, a children's book author who holds a masters degree in science (unspecified) and has worked in a biochemistry lab.

Will AG knock this last GOTY into outer space? Big and bold? I hope so!

Tenney's Whole World Collage

Updating Tenney's collage with her new summer release outfit!

Nanea Mini Stock Image

This stock image of Nanea Mini has been floating around forever but I just found it for myself on the AG publisher site. Yay. Now I can add it to Nanea's page (link on top nav bar).

Nanea Play Dress and Music Bag

Busy catching up with all of the images, leaks, and videos featuring Nanea.

From a "Z" video we have these stills of a darling ruffled hem play dress and her pup, Mele.

My current plan is to not get Nanea. I have a gorgeous Kanani doll who does not get much time to shine in our very full poppet house and my thoughts are to pick and choose some of the items from Nanea's collection to fill out Kanani's world. The above dress would be a terrific retro-look for Kanani.

Also in the Z video is a nice clear view of Nanea's woven bag filled with traditional music instruments.

Are you going to get Nanea? Are you already a fan or are you on the fence?

Be sure to also check out the dedicated Nanea page in the top nav bar where all her early peeks are archived in one spot!

Nanea Updates

Nanea will be released soon though it is not clear exactly her debut date. For a short time it was rumored her release would be pushed off until later fall, but now the dates of August 21 or August 24 are most common.

A sneak peek of Nanea's Market was spotted on a Good Morning America segment. Some screen shots!

The screen shots are blurry but what we can make out is the market is bright pink, lime and a burnt orange. It may be a tri-fold construction. It seems to include a cash register.

Like some of the other recent structures (Grand Hotel), the height of the piece is a bit low, barely taller than the doll itself. The saving grace is the Market has a decorative center front piece wall that is taller which helps to add impact, but I really hope AG stops scrimping on structure heights.

My note about the colors. Many will argue that Hawaii buildings are often pink--but I think AG missed out on a chance to make the Market appear like a "real" building with quaint features that just happen to be painted pink. Instead, the Market looks like it lacks details and surface textures and is a bunch of flat, plastic surfaces in bright colors.

It matters to add detailing grooves to the plastic molds to simulate wood, wood joints, nail holes, and other subtle touches to the molds vs just a bunch of flat shiny plastic surfaces. The details make the plastic bearable--for a good example check out the molded details of Tenney's "wooden" floor of her stage:

Unfortunately, so far it looks like the Market is missing these kinds of details. I hope I am wrong!

Sneak peek wise I am disappointed. Too small, too short, too "toy" like in appearance, and probably lacking in subtle details to bring more realism into the set piece.

Whole World $$$ - Gabriela vs Tenney

With the summer release of new items for Gabriela and Tenney how do their Whole World price tags line up? When I looked at all the modern dolls released in 2017 (Contemporary Characters and GOTY) I was surprised...

I thought for sure Tenney'w Whole World would have the largest price tag but Gabriela's world is a bit more expensive. With the addition of Gabriela's Loft, her Chair & Ottoman, and her new Taking Flight Outfit, she takes top spot for the first time this year.

However, if we collapse Logan's world into Tenney's world, Tenney would come out on top.

I have to say, having the largest/most expensive world is not necessarily the best honors--personally I prefer much of Tenney's collection because of the uniqueness of her collection (no rehashed and recolored repeats).

For first time viewers, please note that "Whole World" calculations I use includes the 18" doll and the clothing and accessories made at that scale which the doll itself would be able to wear or use. A second note is since the "Noteable Earring" are used by both Gabriela and Tenney I did not include the price in either column.

Gabriela's new Whole World collage is included below. Will she receive more items before retiring?

And finally an updated GOTY chart. The downward trend is still evident but Gabriela is now in the middle of the pack with her added new items.