PWP "Grace Thomas Trio"

If you blinked you missed this fun trio of GOTY Grace Thomas inspired PWPs and Rewards outfits.

What all three outfits have in common besides being short lived surprises this month is that they all feature actual pieces or repurposed materials from 2015 GOTY Grace Thomas' collection. 

The Pale Pink & Tweed Outfit appeared during American Girl's Cyber Monday online sale for the price of $12. (If this or any of the other outfits debuted earlier, please let me know.) The outfit did not last long and sold out within a day or two. It was also seen at a few in-store locations as a special Rewards Member outfit between December 7 - 12.

It consists of Grace's silver bow sandals from her Sightseeing Outfit, a simple black tweed made out of the identical fabric from her City Outfit shorts, and a new pink tee with a sweet flower embroidery. 

I would want this outfit for the cute pale pink tee alone!

The Polka Dot Dress was not featured on Cyber Monday but rather has shown up at some stores as an exclusive Rewards offer available FREE to Rewards Members when purchasing $50 or more.

The dress itself is made out of Grace's Baking Outfit apron and the headband is also from the apron trim. Simple black flats with a pink bow are included, though I do not know if these were made from Grace materials and components as well.

The dress is simple but cute! I do not know if it is still available in the stores as a Rewards item.

Finally the Sequin Skirt Outfit was also released on Cyber Monday for $12 and sold out within a short period of time at that price.

The Sequin Skirt Outfit contains black sequin material used in Grace's Sightseeing Outfit, specifically the yoke of her top. The headband appears to be from Grace's City Outfit and the shoes may also be from materials used in the some outfit but I will need to compare in person. 

The embroidered flower is really nice, but the down home rough cotton fabric and folksy top stitched hems is miss-matched with the flashy sequined skirt--it definitely needs to be paired with a different outfit in my opinion.

And finally, thank you to Krystina for her permission to share these images of her Lea wearing the Polka Dot Dress! Many of us would not even know this outfit existed and it is sure to cause some confusion in future years when people try to place a finger on "where did THAT dress come from?"

Did you miss out? Will you be scouring the secondary market for these flash PWPs?

AGPSF Flash: Taking Stock of Grace Thomas

The rains paused and this sunny Friday afternoon I took a delightful drive up to AGPSF to take a walk-through of Grace Thomas' displays and note her in-store stock.

This is a view into Grace Thomas' main display area at the front of the store. While there is a lot still to see of her collection, there is no grand attempt to fill in the display gaps, most noticeably the huge empty space right in the middle of the floor. There is floor space to do some cartwheels!

Not only is there extra floor space, the display cases themselves are emptying out. The open teal platform long ago held the French Bakery but there was no attempt to make any other display--just a rather well-loved Grace doll with frizzy hair. The pink platform with plexiglass case on the right held the Pastry Cart display just last weekend, but now Grace stands alone in the case.

And the light blue platform case is also emptying out--no more BonBon (he was there just last week!). There are plenty of dolls for sale--but only two of the Travel Set (Luggage) left on the shelves. The Travel Coat is long gone.

Back wall left side--dolls and Welcome Gifts.

Middle back wall--a few Bistro Sets remain.

Back wall right side--Pajamas, Welcome Gifts and City Outfit. Also the Sightseeing Accessories and Sweet Hairstyling Set (left column).

Around the corner and in other display areas are additional outfits and accessories including the Baking Outfit and Opening-Night Outfit. For many Grace Thomas items, going in-store is still viable option at AGPSF.

Available at AGPSF
* indicates sold out online

Baking Outfit*
Baking Set*
Bistro Set*

City Outfit*
Opening-Night Outfit
Pajamas*
Sightseeing Accessories*
Sweet Hairstyling Set*
Travel Set (Luggage)*
Welcome Gifts

Gone Both Online and at AGPSF
French Bulldog
French Bakery
Paris Accessories (Purse)
Pastry Cart
Travel Coat

Only Available Online

Sightseeing Outfit

Goodbye Grace: Going... Going... Almost Gone!

Grace's items are quickly disappearing off the website! I was going to wait to post an update until next week, but seeing how fast things are moving into "No Longer Available" status, it makes sense to take another snapshot of the online stock.

Just today Grace's French Bulldog BonBon and Sightseeing Accessories became NLA and yesterday her Pajamas.

I hope to go to AGPSF to see firsthand how in-store stock is faring for Grace's collection. Stay tuned!

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.

AGPSF Flash: Hello & Goodbye to Grace's Store Stock

American Girl Place San Francisco had brisk business this Sunday! The store was full with shoppers young and old and many of their red shopping bags were stuffed with AG goodies. My brief visual survey saw that the shopping traffic was very doll-clothing-and-accessories oriented as I saw very few shoppers making 18" doll purchases today.

I wanted to check out Grace Thomas' in-store stock in light of the surprise AG Daily Deal spotlighting her collection--nine items up to 30% off, including the Grace Thomas doll offered at $84! As items become "No Longer Available" (NLA) on AG's website, how would stock at the local store compare?

Plenty of Grace dolls on the floor!

However, both on the website and at AGPSF, Grace's powder blue Travel Coat is NLA. The Travel Set (Luggage) is gone from the website now, but there are still plenty of her luggage sets at the store.

Missed out on the Sweet Hairstyling Set online? AGPSF has plenty in stock.

Grace's Charm Bracelet for Girls disappeared off of the website several days ago, but AGPSF has quite a few left for now.

Also, the Baking Outfit which has been bouncing off and on backorder status online has healthy stock at the store. Other items gone online but that can be still found at the store include the Baking Set (Mixer) and the Polka Dot Apron for Girls.

The only big observation to make on Grace's stock seems to be the obvious one--get what you absolutely want now before it is gone. With the 20% off all regularly priced items through December 12th plus the one day 30% off Daily Deal for Grace Thomas and a huge portion of her collection, the rush is on! 

A quick summary of the highlights:

Baking Outfit 

AGPSF: In Stock
Website: Back Ordered

Baking Set (Mixer)
AGPSF: In Stock
Website: NLA

Sightseeing Outfit
AGPSF: Out of Stock
Website: Back Ordered

Sweet Hairstyles
AGPSF: In Stock
Website: NLA

Travel Coat
AGPSF: Out of Stock
Website: NLA

Travel Set (Luggage)
AGPSF: In Stock
Website: NLA

Bracelet for Girls
AGPSF: In Stock
Website: NLA

Polka-Dot Apron for Girls
AGPSF: In Stock
Website: NLA

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?

Storage Wars: Grace's Travel Case vs. Luggage

With the newly released Travel Case for Girls there is now a bigger and better option for storing Grace's accessories. In fact, until I put the Travel Case and Luggage pieces side by side, I had not noticed how rather limited the Luggage was in terms of storage.

As noted in my previous review of Grace Thomas's Travel Case for Girls, the case fits 2 - 3 outfits on the top compartment and an additional 4 - 5 outfits in the lower compartment.

Grace's Luggage, on the other hand, is smaller than the top compartment of the case.

The Luggage almost completely fits inside the top compartment.

While the Travel Case can store a minimum of six full outfits, the Luggage can barely fit one accessory set!

Grace's Sightseeing Accessories (boots, shrug and sunglasses) fit inside of the Luggage--but just barely.

An alternative storage option is the paperboard "suitcase" from the new Bon Voyage Stationery Set for Grace Thomas. The bright red case from set is smaller than the zippered Travel Case and does not have separate storage compartments like the zippered Travel Case, but the smaller price tag could give the paperboard suitcase the edge for those looking for a more affordable storage option.

In terms of total storage, the Travel Case for Girls wins hands down in a one-on-one battle with the Grace's Luggage, though the paperboard suitcase from the Bon Voyage Stationery Set is an affordable option for those looking for a middle ground. 

Grace Thomas's Travel Case for Girls

A squee of delight for Grace Thomas's Travel Case for Girls. It is rare that I bring home items specifically made for girls, but this one was too wonderful to pass up. 

The case is made of a faux-leather, which is really just another way to say it is made of a nice and supple vinyl material. It sports two zippered compartments and a faux-leather carry handle. The teal satin bow is purely decorative and tied onto the handle.

I was drawn to the storage capabilities of the case for doll accessories rather than any use as an overnight bag for girl-sized toiletries or make-up. In fact, the case seems almost too small for heavy use as a girl-sized item and seems tailor made to accommodate items for the poppets.

The design of the case is exciting and fresh. I love the faux-leather patches.

The metal tag on the Eiffel Tower is classy and smart.

So the real question is how well does it store Grace's items!? Here is a sneak peak of that question: pictured above is the top section packed with her City Outfit and her Pajamas. The two outfits fit into the top section of the case with plenty of breathing room. In theory, a third outfit or a few small accessories could fit into this upper space as well.

Considering this top zippered section is about 1/3 of the total storage space, it seems reasonable that the bottom section could hold 4 - 5 outfits depending on how tightly one wishes to pack the clothing.

Overall, this gets a five-star cute-cute-cute-cute-cute rating! Well constructed, delightful design, and a perfect size for storing lots of doll items. A++

WWOG: A Big Ticket Tally

Grace's midsummer release items are now searchable on American Girl's website and it looks to be a fabulous set of items, for both girls and poppets everywhere. No official word on the release date, but the most popular guess is June 25th.

So a big drumroll for Grace's Whole World price tag tally (excluding dvd, books, and items for girls):

New for Grace Thomas (upper right of infographic) will be a Sightseeing Outfit (black-and-white striped top paired with a white skirt), her Sightseeing Accessories (red shrug, black boots and blue sunglasses), and her Sweet Hairstyles Set (bows and hair pins). This is a 1-2-3 win for AG, and I anticipate bringing all three home. 

Last fall I doubt many thought Grace's Whole World would climb above $1300 (we were so naive as we can see here). And I must reiterate: this $1307 price tag tally is for just Grace Thomas, her clothing and accessories. I deliberately left out some store exclusives for Grace, such as the doll sized Chef's Hat, Bonbon Tee, and Cupcakes that can be purchased only as an add-on when booking a Party-of-6 at an American Girl Bistro. Items for girls (books, dvds, clothing for girls, jewelry for girls, etc.) not included in the tally!

And it is rumored there are some more doll sized food items, though no details or images yet.

But let's not forget the terrific items for girls--this is probably my favorite GOTY release for girls! Anticipated midsummer items for girls that are now searchable/findable on AG's website are Grace Thomas's Sparkle Bow Tee and Grace Thomas's Puppy Tee, a delightful Grace's Bracelet with travel charms, a bright pink Eiffel Tower-themed Jewelry and Photo Keeper, a new book activity kit called Baking with Grace, the Grace Stirs Up Success soundtrack and dvd, and my absolute must-have from the girl sized range, the Parisian-themed Travel Case for Girls. 

Yes, the Travel Case is coming home with me immediately--as soon as I can verify the release date! What is on your wish list?

WWOG: Midsummer Report

So much to note about GOTY Grace this summer: her third book, her movie, rumored new clothing and accessories, and more!

On May 21, her third book Grace Makes it Great was released. 

Will the above outfit be part of an upcoming midsummer outfit for Grace? The striped top and white skirt has been seen on the grey market (Taobao.com), which makes this outfit a likely candidate. Also spotted was black boots with Grace's swooped heart design embroidered on them. Perhaps a boot-and-umbrella combo to coordinate with her Travel Coat? But when will these speculated items arrive?

How about on June 23, when her movie Grace Stirs Up Success launches?

And now the newly announced partnership with Williams-Sonoma also features Grace:  

Join Williams-Sonoma and American Girl® for a hands-on baking class inspired by Grace™—the 2015 Girl of the Year™! Each student will learn Grace’s favorite French Madeleine recipe, then finish the pastries with dark chocolate, white chocolate, and a few other toppings. We’ll also make and decorate sugar cookies from scratch. Each child will take home a special American Girl® goodie bag! $30 per child.

As for Grace's current offerings, GOTY Grace still has us waiting…as her items continue to be placed on backorder online and the in-store availability of her items also continues to fluctuate.

Since the early weeks of her release in January, we have seen many of her items bounce in and out of backorder status. As of today, four of her items once again show up on the website as temporarily out of stock:

Grace’s Travel Set – backordered until June 19

Grace’s Pajamas – backordered until June 26

Grace’s City Outfit – backordered until July 2

Grace’s French Bakery – backordered until July 10

On my last visit to AGPSF on May 23, Grace's Travel Set was out of stock and its mini display left empty. And I can't remember the last time I've seen the French Bakery displayed or available in store.

Since her debut month, almost every outfit and accessory for Grace has shown up at least once as backordered. This began in January when her big ticket item, the French Bakery was temporarily out of stock in stores and online and her Pastry Cart soon followed.

Some fans have met this ongoing backordered status of Grace's collection with skepticism—could AG be manipulating buyer purchasing behaviors by making the items seem in high demand? Or perhaps it is a matter of AG being more conservative on how much stock they manufacture, store and stock—after all, on December 31st of this year Grace officially retires and any leftover stock becomes a financial liability.

(Above: Travel Coat but no luggage!)

For myself, the constant changing status of item availability of Grace’s items has affected my purchasing timeline. With GOTY Isabelle, I did not worry about completing my collection until early December of her year. With GOTY Grace, while logically I am confident that her wardrobe and smaller accessories will remain available into the first weeks of December, I have made the majority of my purchases much earlier in the year and I may complete them when her next release of items arrive this summer (not confirmed, but highly anticipated).

Interestingly, the box Grace now comes in has a small design change. Like the new Truly Me doll boxes, her box now features a picture label on the lower right hand corner.

For fans of Grace and/or her collection, when do you plan to complete your list of GOTY 2015 related purchases this year? Are you excited about the possible new summer release items for Grace, or are you already"burnt" out on Grace's World?

And finally a question I barely dare to ask...when will we discover the first hints of GOTY 2016? Are we ready for and enthused about another round to begin sometime in the coming months?

WWOG: Paris Accessories

Grace Thomas' collection is somewhat unique in that it has two clothing based accessory sets. The first is the Welcome Gifts set which features Grace's pink beret. The other accessory set is her Paris Accessories set which features her polka-dot purse. While there are things to like in each set, neither is a major hit here--at the end of this post I will mix and match for a hypothetical perfect set.

The polka-dot purse construction and design are both great. The faux-leather strap is sturdy and the buckle construction looks realistic (though uses velcro for closure).

The purse is even lined and I very much appreciate that extra touch. I also appreciate how big and roomy this purse is--it feels like a purse made for travel. One could fit a map, a book, a camera, and all sorts of other touristy needs in it. 

However, my one complaint about the purse is that it is made of cotton, perhaps mimicking the coated cotton trend in upscale purses--but this polka-dot purse is primarily white and I am concerned about its ability to stay bright and white.

The Paris Accessories also comes with fingerless gloves with a bow detail.

The coin purse is underwhelming and cheaply constructed with a regular ribbon as a wristband. The coin purse does not close, so it is not a very realistic or practical mini purse. Even the metro pass barely fits into it.

I enjoy the credit card like metro pass as well as other similarly constructed offerings from AG such their library cards and bus passes.

Finally the set includes her lip gloss. I can not determine how or why it is that her lip gloss has her name on it. The cap does not come off, so this is a prop only. 

The lip gloss is cute, but it is primarily something to toss into her purse and forget... Though to be fair, when I was ten years old I was fairly obsessed with lip gloss. Anyone remember the giant sticks of Lip-Smackers by Bonne Bell in about ten thousand different flavors? How about the lip gloss sticks that came with attached chains and could be worn like necklaces?

The Paris Accessories are underwhelming overall, though the polka-dot purse is striking. In a similar way, I was also underwhelmed by Welcome Gifts set. If I could create a perfect small accessories set for Grace Thomas, it would consist of

*raspberry colored beret (matching Grace's Meet skirt and similar to Ivy's beret)

*raspberry or gray infinity scarf

*polka-dot purse

*working wallet or better constructed coin purse

*Metro card & euros

As is, with both of Grace's accessory sets I almost can create this perfect set. I am off to Etsy to search for an infinity scarf!