Goodbye Grace: Update II

With yesterday's surprise Daily Deal for much of Grace Thomas' collection even more of her items have moved to "No Longer Available" status on the website. Just this morning the Bistro Set became NLA.

An updated info graphic as of mid-morning December 7th:

Compare with the December 1st version of the info graphic here.

Good-bye Grace & Countdown to Lea Clark!

It is December which means we get to say good-bye to GOTY 2015 Grace Thomas while looking forward to the arrival of GOTY 2016 Lea Clark!

But first a quick report on the availability of Grace's Whole World--the doll, her clothes and accessories. For those of you who like a visual view, the below shows the online status of her items as of December 1st.

I am surprised by how many items, especially big ticket items, are already gone!

As of December 1 (online/website only)

Grace Thomas' Whole World - Sold Out
French Bakery (October 5)
Paris Accessories (November 10)
Pastry Cart (November 30)
Sweet Hairstyles Set (December 1)

Grace Thomas' Whole World - On Backorder
Baking Outfit (backordered until December 11)
Sightseeing Outfit (backordered until December 15)

Grace Thomas' Merchandise for Girls - Sold Out
Bracelet for Girls (November 21)
Travel Case for Girls (November 24)
Bon Voyage Stationery Set for Girls (November 27)
Dots & Bows Wristlet for Girls (on or before December 1)
Purse for Girls (on or before December 1)
Polka-Dot Apron for Girls (on or before December 1)

*Note: Not listed: William-Sonoma/AG items

I will periodically post an updated detailed list with dates as a way to archive GOTY 2015 Grace Thomas' sell out dates.

For those who may be new to the whole GOTY sell-out phenomenon, collectors and fans do their best to guess base on prior years, but Grace has broke the mold in several ways already. The first being the sell-out of her wildly expensive but much coveted French Bakery on October 5th! This was easily a month or more before many people suspected.

Also, a surprising number of Grace's items are sold out already by December 1st. In brief, if you want something from her collection, assume it will sell out without further notice. Past years I was often able to use a backorder status as an early warning sign for eminent sell-out, but some of Grace's items have moved straight from available to "no longer available."

So what is the next surprise sell-out for Grace's Whole World? Will the doll itself sell out before mid-month?

Grace's French Bakery SOLD OUT

French Bakery - Gone!

The sell out date for Grace's French Bakery has been on my mind every week now for over a month and I honestly felt a bit sheepish for voicing my doom and gloom predictions, but even I was shocked to see confirmation this morning from American Girl on Facebook that indeed the French Bakery would no longer be available.

Today American Girl confirmed via Facebook that “Grace’s French Bakery has sold out and is no longer available.” They later added that “The popularity exceeded our expectations and sold out more quickly than anticipated.”

While confirmation of the sell out was not until this morning, I am recording the online sell out date as October 3rd as the French Bakery changed from its online backorder status to its final "No longer available" status sometime on Saturday.

Note that as of 12 pm (noon) today a few of the AGP stores have the bakery in stock, but I anticipate these will be gone in a matter of days.

Charlotte – Available
Minneapolis – Limited (Unavailable as of 1:30 pm Monday)
Nashville – Available
Orlando - Available

Call and jump into your cars now, because once these last few French Bakeries are gone from the physical AG stores the only place left to find the bakery will be on the secondary market--but even there the inventory is low and the prices are high.

Since this *morning* alone on Ebay 5 French Bakeries have already been sold (completed auctions) with the selling prices ranging between $750 - $815. Before this morning, only one or two a week or less were being sold on Ebay and generally for $650 or less. I now expect the prices on Ebay for the French Bakery to jump upwards and exceed $1000 from here on until the supply on the secondary market is depleted or the Christmas season passes.

The early sell out certainly is a game changer for GOTY collectors. Last year I waited until the last minute to purchase Isabelle's Studio (I bought it within one or two days of both online and in store sell out dates). Amazingly, a year later one can still purchase Isabelle's Studio on Ebay for approximately original retail price, so one can hope waiting out the secondary market holiday frenzy on Grace's Bakery could yield a better deal.

But my new rule of thumb for GOTY is if I want something from the collection, assuming no budgeting issues, that I better not wait too long--AG is running a much leaner ship in terms of supply chain management and "while supplies last" is not merely advisory, it is simply reality.

I realize many collectors were never considering purchasing the bakery, but if you were thinking about it...Are you relieved to have this item preemptively taken off your list knowing the temptation is gone? Turning to the secondary market? Changing how you collect for GOTY and other limited edition items?

The next big question about Grace's Wonderful World will be how long her doll stays in production--will she survive until mid-December? It seems like in order for Grace's clothing and accessories to sell that AG needs to keep Grace the doll in stock--so I imagine AG will try to keep her available until at least December 20th. But Grace has certainly broke the expected patterns already. Also, William Sonoma has another cross promotion with American Girl Grace Thomas rolling out this week so stay tuned for some talk about that here as well.

Looking forward: It seems time to begin a proper welcome for GOTY 2016 Lea Clark! There have been many leaked pictures of prototypes over the past two months, so we can start filling in the gaps here at Poppets & Posies with our own speculations.

Additionally, while I passed over blogging about the stunning debut of Beforever Maryellen, I am definitely interested in taking a look at what we know so far about Beforever 2016 and to ask the tantalizing question (based on rumors and early cues) if if BF 2016 will debut side-by-side with GOTY 2016 Lea Clark on January 1st, 2016.

WWOG: Early Retirement or Late Restocking?

MONDAY UPDATE:  AG website was updated this morning and so far all the items seem to be available again! The rumors still persist, including the French Bakery going into backorder status soon but for now all is well in Graceland!

Hang onto your Christmas stocking those of you who have made plans to pick up some of Grace's items closer to the end of the year because Grace's Welcome Gifts, her pink Opening Night Outfit, the classic Baking Outfit, and even her new Sightseeing Outfit are all listed as "no longer available" on AG's website!

We've seen website glitches and misleading stock information on AG's website before, so perhaps Monday morning the site will update and we will see these items back in stock or at least with a backorder date. However, a few small rumors have begun to surface about Grace's collection, such as AG stores not planning to restock certain Grace items once they run out and a rumor that Grace's French Bakery may go on backorder status soon.

With BF Maryellen debuting next week and a GOTY 2016 around the corner, will AG let the stock of Grace's quite large and expanded collection slowly move into sell out status? At this point AG is probably heavily invested in making sure Maryellen does well and is merely riding out the last quarter of Grace's reign. I can imagine the Grace doll and a core of her items being deliberately made available until mid-December, but if it is the case that the four items above do not return, it will be anyone's guess what will still be available to buy late in the holiday season.

Thoughts? I will keep an eye on AG's website--will need to add a retraction come Monday morning?

AGPSF Flash: Apron Giveaway and Cupcakes Update!

There and back again!

It was a terrific morning at AGPSF. In this first of two AGPSF Flash reports I will update everyone on the initial crowds at opening, the Apron Giveaway, and an update on the Baking Outfit cupcakes print on the doll's shirt.

We arrived at AGPSF at about 8:45am and went to stand in line immediately which placed us about 30th in line. Up closer than last year--high five!

The weather was a brisk but tolerable 45 degrees and the mood of the small gathering friendly. By the time the store doors opened at 10am I estimate the total line for the store was about 150 people. The sales associates let us in a few people at a time and once inside many shoppers were in "grab and go" experience. The shoppers (many of them young girls) would make a beeline to the Grace doll or certain outfits for the dolls and once they had their stack or bag of goodies, take off right away. It seemed these shoppers were already familiar with what they wanted to purchase.

The giveaway this year for the GOTY 2015 was a cute red and black apron with a polka dotted bow detail which came in a cute envelope, which I thought was a very nice touch.

The apron giveaway also came with some small paper items: a pseudo "passport" booklet, a paper heart lock, a large postcard and doll sized postcard, and a La Patisserie Menu.

The apron has one long divided pocket at the bottom and has a velcro closing at the top of the neck straps.

This was a very cute giveaway, and I am happy to report that unlike last year where I was turned down several times before being given the giveaway Isabelle tshirt at the January 1st opening (for "girls" only I was told), that today we were handed the apron giveaway as we entered the store and without any fuss! Yay, AG. Thank you!

And now to the Baking Outfit, which in early stock pictures featured (upsettingly for many) an upside-down cupcake pattern on the teal colored shirt. Defect or mistake? Well on both the store display doll and my purchased Baking Outfit the cupcake pattern appears right-side up!

Above: store model Grace in Baking Outfit.

Above: The Baking Outfit straight out of the box. Upright cupcakes!

I will be posting later today another AGPSF Flash, and time permitting, a few first photos of the newest edition to our poppet household:  Grace Thomas!

The Wonderful! World of Grace: Color Quest

Welcome to our newest feature series on Poppets & Posies: The Wonderful! World of Grace.

In The Wonderful! World of Grace series we will be featuring weekly close up reviews and photo essays of Grace's world--the doll, her clothing, books, and doll accessories.

Our first offering is a new set of Color Quest infographics which look with more detail at the distinct color scheme of Grace's collection.

Above is last week's infographic now with Grace's wardrobe pieces included. As discussed previously, Grace's colors do not quote directly from Pantone's Fashion Color Report (left) and instead offer a bright and bold neapolitan inspired palette.

Even Grace's accessories--including her dog, Bonbon--closely follow Grace's color scheme.

And the French Bakery! And Bistro! And Pastry Cart Accessories! I simply adore what I see with these sets. While the colors quite bright, especially with the large colorful surfaces of the gigantic French Bakery, its design still seems grounded in reality, such as suggestion of gray slate tiles on the rooftop and other distinctly French architectural details.

I plan to be up early and drive up to Palo Alto in time for the store opening, so later in the afternoon look for an AGPSF Flash update and perhaps some first photos of Grace!

Waiting for Grace: Holiday Dress Up

We are enjoying the last few days of holiday festivities with another poppet getting dressed for New Year's Eve. 

Ingabrittaa, who just a few weeks ago was wearing a Saint Lucia dress, has selected a party dress for the big night. Because multiple poppets live in my home, keeping them all dressed for the appropriate seasons, especially if there are multiple outfit changes within a season, is really quite time consuming! 

My usual path to sanity is to change the outfits of only one or maybe two dolls a week. But this month has been a special time with our Waiting for Grace series and wanting to properly welcome GOTY 2015 with a blog post per day during the month of December!

Ingabritta is modeling the Sparkle Party Dress from 2013.

The dress comes with cream colored tights, ruby red shoe, and a headband. The dress itself features a mesh overlay which is artfully fashioned into a "bubble skirt" style.

The satiny ribbon waistband features fabric rosettes.

The dress also features a deep cranberry colored rose fixed to the shoulder.

These glittery ruby red slippers could definitely be used in a "Dorothy" outfit!

And the final touch is a headband with a row of faux-diamonds.

Ingabritta, a MyAG 56, is really a rather charming and energetic poppet, even though her hair is ridiculously unruly. We have done our best with the short notice of her outfit change and photoshoot! I prefer her in dresses and outfits that seem younger, and the Sparkle Party Dress has a baby-doll silhouette.

I do not have a single complaint about this outfit--I love the design, the fabric choices, and the color. This dress is a quiet classic well suited for the younger set. A+

Waiting for Grace: Paris & Patisserie Colors

With images publicly accessible (though yet to be linked to AG's store front) we now know the predominant colors of Grace's whole world--her outfits, accessories, and furniture pieces.

For the past several GOTYs the AG design team seems to have lined up the collection with Pantone's Fashion Color Report for that year. The colors seen on the fashion runways were also the colors showing up in the GOTY. But for GOTY 2015 there is a marked break from the fashion colors and American Girl instead chose a bold and unique color palette to brand Grace Thomas and her Paris & Patisserie world.

The infographic below allows comparison of the two color schemes.

There is absolutely no correlation between Pantone's colors and Grace's color palette--AG has gone bold with frothy candy colors paired with even more bold accent colors. In many ways, Grace's color palette reminds me of neapolitan colors but with a kick. 

AG also pairs or groups the colors in Grace's outfits and accessories for maximum impact. Teal and black. Pink and black. Red, teal, and black. 

In other words, there is no mistaking the look of Grace's world--this new color scheme is unique to her.

Are you excited by this dramatic change up in colors and design direction for GOTY 2015?

Waiting for Grace: Treasure Chests Galore

We are down to single digits! Only 9 more days until GOTY 2015 arrives.

Deciding to blog daily the entire month of December as part of my "Waiting for Grace" series has been both exciting and challenging. I have a new appreciation for the hard work that goes into a daily blog--I made a promise to have a post every day and the work behind the scenes to make that happen has been eye opening! What began as a lark of an idea has turned into a true labor of love.

While the "Waiting for Grace" series was created entirely for the fun and pleasure of playing with dolls and sharing it with others, I have also developed several of my skills. In the process of creating new content every day I have become even more familiar with Photoshop and InDesign and I am just beginning to scratch the surface of discovering what it takes to compose and capture the charming essence of the 18" doll so many of us adore.

I have also begun looking for new ways to pose my poppets for photoshoots and have started experimenting with making my own backdrops and sets. In service of this quest I ended up at my local craft store. And look at what I found!

I love photo boxes. I use them to store everything except photos. These Paris themed memory boxes ($3.99 each by Recollections) seem perfect for storing Grace Thomas' to-be-discovered accessories.

There are two complementary design styles, one with an ornate black and off-white design that seems to be inspired by the fleur de lys and the other which features more of the parchment and letter writing theme.

Sneak peeks of Grace Thomas' mini doll show her wearing an Eifel Tower tshirt, and considering both box lids feature the Eifel tower, one could hardly choose wrong.

Roaming the craft store I also came upon a complete treasure of treasure chests--and I was transported to being eight years old again. I wanted an Elsa or Anna doll right then and there if only to have an excuse to bring home one (or two! or five!) of their little chests.

The three chests pictured below are part of Disney's Frozen Nested Dome Trunks and at the craft store were sold separately--but they are designed to nest. They are part of a 5-trunk bundle which includes two smaller chests (one for Sven and the tiniest one again featuring Elsa and Anna). 

For those who have been dressing up their AG dolls in Frozen inspired clothing or customizing their own Elsa, Anna, or Sven from AG dolls, these trunks are an adorable way to store their outfits and accessories.

The Frozen treasure chests are made out of very sturdy cardboard with a glossy coating. The latch is made of metal for a very solid closure.

Each chest comes with satin look-and-feel twisted rope handles which elevate the overall quality of what is essentially a fancy cardboard box.

Even the interior of each chest is lined with patterned paper.

At the craft store the prices range from $15 - $25 depending on the size. I found the entire 5-set of nesting trunks online with a bundled price averaging around $65. I consider this to be an inexpensive set of trunks for the sheer volume of storage they offer for the price and especially when comparing them to many AG storage options.

I love Frozen and will be perfectly thrilled if the popularity of the franchise continues well into next year or even into the 2015 holiday season if only to be able to enjoy both the darling official merchandise and perhaps even more the customizations of AG dolls into Frozen characters by other bloggers, collectors and doll enthusiasts. 

The trip to the craft store really inspired me to consider some new projects for Poppets & Posies well into the new year. I will be returning to the craft store soon!

Waiting for Grace: Vintage Velvet

Today's poppet model is Freyja, also known as the gorgeous GOTY 2011 Kanani. She has selected a vintage gown to wear this holiday season and is modeling Starry Night from 2002.

  

The long black velvet dress features beautiful cranberry and silver embroidery.  

The black shoes have straps that crisscross around the ankle and fasten with snaps behind the leg. The black stockings go to the knees and have a waffle like weave.

The satin bow on the back of the dress is not seen when worn by poppets with long hair (unless styled up or away), but it is a spectacular detail. I particularly enjoy the effect of the contrasting textures of the satin bow against the velvet. It should be noted that the back of the dress does not use velcro--the back of the dress is secured by metal snaps.

The Starry Night Accessories could be purchased separately and it included a satin silver purse with decorative sequins and beads. Freya is dangling the small purse by her wrist for best viewing, but we all here agree that wearing a purse by the wrist is a bit too prim. So instead, Freyja demonstrates in the following picture how easily the silver chain can be tucked inside of the purse and then be carried like a small clutch under the arm. Far more elegant!

The accessories also came with two matching hair combs with sequin rosettes and a small gift (a silver box with a snow globe inside).

And a few final poses (that glorious hair!).

Starry Night is probably one of the most elegant gowns ever made by American Girl. The long silhouette of the black velvet gown is simple, yet refined and the embroidery is exquisite. I half expect this gown to be selected every year by one of my girls as I haven't seen a poppet who did not look lovely in it. Because the gown is more mature, I enjoy it more on my dolls who have older personalities. Perhaps I should also mention that this is another holiday dress of which I have two copies!

Freyja sends warm holiday greeting and much love to her soon-to-be-revealed sister poppet, GOTY 2015. <3

Waiting for Grace: Vintage Visions

The holidays are in full swing around the house now and the girls are all trying to decide which dress or outfit to wear for their upcoming group photo. One of their favorite holiday dresses is the Brocade Holiday Dress from 2013. Lilja volunteered to model the dress today in our vintage holiday highlight.

But her dress from 2013 is only a year old, isn't that stretching the definition of "vintage" even by American Girl and Pleasant Company history? Well, Lilja is posing next to Tree & Trimmings, Holiday Ornaments, and Perfect Presents from 1998. Totally last century, last millenium, even!

I could look at this dress all day. The pattern of the brocade is particularly clever as the gold highlights are actually tiny stars, a nod toward AG branding.

My favorite detail is the rosettes and velvet ribbon.

The sequined headband is a bit oversized but the florette of sparkle has grown on me over time.

Cream colored tights and classic AG slipper style cream colored shoes with a silver bow finish the ensemble.

The Brocade Holiday Dress has a coordinating off-white faux fur shrug as part of the Holiday Accessories. This satin lined shrug also coordinated with the other tea length holiday dress from 2013, the ruby-red Sparkle Holiday Dress with a mesh "bubble skirt."

The brocade dress is simply stunning and has looked charming on every girl who has worn it. The girls have two of them in the closet just for this reason.