Waiting for Grace: A First Look!

This has been the moment I have been waiting for--out first photograph hint of Grace Thomas! Her mini doll version was spotted for sale on Taobao.com.

She has long dark brown hair with side bangs and what appears to be blue eyes. She has freckles and her face mold is most likely to be the Josefina mold, but that is hard to confirm from the mini doll's face.

Her meet outfit seems to consist of a flared raspberry skirt with a dark blue bow, the cutest ankle boots with side tassels, and a white tshirt with an Eiffel tower decal. While the mini doll appears to have her hair pulled back into a pony tail, the small book cover shows her with long hair. The book cover also shows her wearing a beret with a heart detail--I bet we see this item in her accessories.

It seems from the book's cover that indeed, as a I predicted, Grace will have a black and white French bulldog. And that red chair set sure seems to be seated outside of a bistro or bakery!

Her Meet Outfit does not have any hint of the 2015 color of the year, the earthy wine tone Marsala. However, pale Aquamarine is hinted at in her tshirt decal and Classic Blue seems to be an anchor for her outfit as seen in her boots and the bow on her skirt. I predict that the blue hues will be featured in the rest of her wardrobe. Not to mention that Grace's blue eyes really sparkle. But what about that bright raspberry skirt?

Could her raspberry skirt be a throwback to the 2014 color of the year Radiant Orchid? It sure seems close, but the other blue hues of the 2014, Dazzling Blue and Placid Blue, lack the punch of the updated 2015 blues.

More than likely the raspberry skirt color was selected as a complementary knockout color to contrast again the blues in the new 2015 color fashion report line up. While the prominence of the raspberry does not bode well for Marsala showing up in her wardrobe, that is not entirely unexpected considering this line of clothing is for kids and their dolls.

I still need to wait and see the full sized 18" version of Grace Thomas before making any real judgements on what I think of her, but so far, I am pleasantly pleased by her design. While being distinctive looking, her overall design (both doll features and wardrobe) does not appear to radically break away from previous GOTY dolls. 

Samantha's Bicycling Outfit: A Beforever Review

Samantha's new Bicyling Outfit was on the top of my favorites when visiting the store for the Beforever launch. And while the debates continue on the blogs and forums on how historically accurate such an outfit might be for Samantha, this outfit quietly made its way home.

Her outfit comes with an embroidered blouse, houndstooth-checked bloomers, gaiters, a hat,  and a pink bow for her hair.

I love all the pieces but have mixed feelings about the gaiters. The felted material is sturdy but I am uncertain how well the gaiters will keep their shape. 

Additionally, when I dressed Samantha with the gaiters I kept catching the velcro strip on the back of the gaiters on her white tights (not included). I may need to stock up on Samantha's tights! However, the pearlized buttons on the gaiters are very lovely.

The embroidery on the blouse is absolutely adorable. While the blouse could be said to harken back to the style of some Victorian shirts for women, it does seem to be more "inspired by history" rather than a painstaking recreation of an actual historical item. The embroidery seems a bit quaint and folksy and the teal trim at the neckline is actually an elastic strip, both which take away from any claim of strict historicity. But the overall design of the blouse is so adorable that I am able to overlook it.

Her hat is adorable as well, if a bit gigantic. But somehow Samantha makes it work!

Many outfits from AG do not look as cute from the back as from the front, but with the cute peplum flair of the blouse and the pink bow, Samantha's outfit is 360 degrees of charm.

Samantha's Bicycling outfit is sweet yet infused with a bit of jaunty independence. Faithful readers of Samantha's canon stories may just wish to imagine that Samantha spends a lot of time with her delightful Aunt Cornelia who dresses Samantha with a little more flair than her Grandmary.

While my irrational love for this outfit insists I award it an A+, I must exercise a hint of restraint and consider my entire review and award it an A-.