Luciana & Pantone Color of the Year 2018

I always enjoy looking at the intersection between Pantone's Color of the Year and American Girl's own Girl of the Year.

Pantone Color of the Year for 2018 is Ultra Violet.

Remind you of anything?

Yes, Luciana's purple hair streak!

Allure Magazine calls it a "vivid-yet-not-quite-neon purple hue" and notes that it may convince even more people to try out purple hair this year. Check out the Allure link for more images of this shiny hue as found in hair and makeup products.

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: 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. 

Waiting for Grace: Color Quest Update

We finally have Pantone's color of the year for 2015: Marsala! I have been following Pantone's color reports for GOTY wardrobe speculations since discovering through my own research (see Color Quest posts for Isabelle, Saige, McKenna, Kanani, and Lanie) the strong influence of the color fashion reports in the recent GOTY wardrobes.

Marsala is quite a deep and earthy tone, so it is possible that it will not have much influence on Grace Thomas' wardrobe. However, Marsala would make a beautiful leather color for boots, belts, and even a purse, so I am not ready to count it out yet just.

Will Marsala be too mature a color to appear in Grace's wardrobe? I am hoping for at least a hint of Marsala to ground the color palette, though it still remains to be seen if any of Pantone 2015 Color Fashion Report colors will be featured in her wardrobe.

Waiting for Grace: "Sweet" Accessories?

My anticipation for more news on GOTY 2015: Grace Thomas only grows. What will be her major accessories? We know quite a few of her passions and activities from her book descriptions. We can probably expect...

* A puppy! Pets are now a near obligatory GOTY accessory. I am betting an adorable  black and white French bulldog.

* Travel accessories for her trip Paris. Maybe a darling vintage suitcase in one of the anticipated colors for this spring such as Pantone's delicious Strawberry Ice?

* A baking business and oodles of baking accessories. Perhaps a kitchen with a stove and oven, or maybe a bakery counter?

How will AG match the "wow" factor of a hot air balloon or a sewing studio of previous GOTY big ticket items? Grace wants to save her grandparents' failing business--how about a bakery business (cupcakes, please!) on wheels ala the new gourmet food truck trend? 

A bakery themed food truck would combine the fun of a camper on wheels (GOTY Lanie's Camper) with the high playability factor of a shop (GOTY Kanani's Shaved Ice Stand) while avoiding being too much of a repeat of newly available Ice Cream Shop (BeForever Samantha).

What do you want to see offered for Grace's bakery business?

GOTY 2015: Grace's Color Palette

The rumors are flying and speculation about 2015 Girl of the Year is in progress! If the book listing about GOTY 2015 in the Library of Congress is to be believed, our GOTY 2015 will be named Grace.

Further, it has been revealed that the storyline of Book 1, titled "Grace," is set in the summer and has her traveling to Paris! Will Grace's Meet Outfit be a traveling outfit? Will her Meet Outfit read more American or Parisian?

Considering the summertime setting, it seems that it is likely that Grace's color palette may reflect the Pantone Spring 2015 Fashion Color Report (rather than the Fall 2014 palette). So let's take a look and speculate!

Perhaps some Breton stripes (aka "sailor" stripes) in Classic Blue for a very classic Parisian look? Or a breezy outfit combining Aquamarine and Scuba for a casual seaside outfit?

Marsala is probably the most striking and distinct color anchoring the light, natural, and oceanic color palette--so if one of Grace's outfits incorporates this rustic and earthy tone into her wardrobe I will be convinced once and for all that we can look to Pantone reports for GOTY wardrobe predictions.

Color Quest: Lanie's Color Palette

Lanie was GOTY for 2010, and her wardrobe is bright and bold with stripes and plaids!

While Lanie's wardrobe design only takes three of the hot colors of the Spring 2010 season--Ampero Blue, Aurora (yellow), and Tomato Puree (red)--it uses them enthusiastically. The wardrobe pieces stick almost entirely to the this primary color triad, and when adding other colors, the designers chose bright secondary colors (green and orange) for contrast.

Though one has to look at the meet shoes to really get the blue/yellow hit in her Meet Outfit.

Her nightgown repeats the blue and yellow pairing.

The bold Tomato Puree makes a splash in her Butterfly Outfit.

Ampero Blue is in this plaid, but really, plaid is the main event in her Garden Outfit.

And rounding out her wardrobe is her Nature Outfit, which capitalizes on the bright and bold combination of Ampero Blue and Aurora.

Next week in Color Quest:  Chrissa & Friends!

Kanani's Color Palate

Over the past few weeks I have been sharing my observations of the possible connection between Pantone's Fall or Spring Fashion Color Reports with the color design of wardrobes of the respective Girl of the Year (released between the two seasons on New Year's Day). Some GOTY color palettes seem to look back to the prior fall season, like Saige, and others, like Isabelle, look forward to the spring colors of the upcoming year.

Kanani's color palette, while definitely showing a connection to the spring color forecast of her release year, does not show as strong of a correlation as new GOTY releases, prompting the need for further analysis. (It should be noted, the Fall 2010 color forecast fared even worse against her Hawaiian themed wardrobe.)

I will start by saying that I still remember Kanani's release in 2011. I was not in the market for a GOTY doll, but each year the hype around GOTY seemed to increase and like many AG fans, I was very eager to see the new doll and her wardrobe. My first impressions were "Wow, that is a lot of purple and fushia," and "I guess that is what little girls like." To be completely honest, I thought maybe the AG design team had tossed up their hands and decided to deliver a "crowd pleasing" (for young girls) purple-and-fushia bonanza.

So is there a correlation between Kanani's colors and the Spring 2011 color forecast? Or did AG designers unleash a purple-and-fushia blitz? Maybe a little of both. More analysis below.

Let's start with an outfit with the purple-fushia mashup, her Hawaiian Lu'au Outfit.

As you can see, I did not select any of the Spring 2011 colors as being specifically alluded to by Kanani's outfit. Pantone's versions of pink (Honeysuckle) and purple (Lavender) in the Spring forecast are far too light and muted to be considered as showing up in this outfit.

Examining Kanani's meet outfit offers very little correlation, either, though the case can be made for the Regatta blue found in her dress--a  blue that appears extensively in her collection.

One might be ready to decide that the designers of Kanani's wardrobe palette went rogue that year--until looking at her pajamas!

Blue Curacao sleeveless tunic! Regatta leggings! Peapod slippers! Jackpot! This combination is just unique enough to indicate a deliberate nod to the spring season's hot colors.

Regatta shows up strong both in her Party Dress above and her Beach Outfit below.

So is the Pajama Outfit a convincing enough nod toward the Spring 2011 color forecast? Or did AG just pick colors that evoked the blues of the Hawaiian ocean waters and the purples and fushias of its gorgeous native flowers? I am inclined to believe it was a combination of the two, where the stunning natural setting of Kanani's home needed to trump the color palette offerings of the year--but without totally abandoning the forecast, either. And a bit of purple whimsy never hurts. 

Color Quest: McKenna's Color Palette

I have had several requests to look back into the color palettes of previous Girl of the Year dolls. Next up, McKenna Brooks from 2012!

I compared McKenna's wardrobe to Pantone's Fashion Color Report for Fall 2011 (with McKenna's release just a few months later on January 1st, 2012).

The teal is definitely featured in the Meet Outfit, though somewhat lightened. This seems a reasonable accommodation of the color palette since McKenna's dress is such a small canvas!

This darling sweater from McKenna's School Outfit is an exact match for Phlox! The vibrant violet-plum color is an unforgettable hue.

Wow, Bamboo!

McKenna's Warm-Up suit uses the Fall 2011 forecasted colors paired with a light lavender that has shown up in several of her other outfits. The Bamboo peaks through in the details on her tennis shoes.

And all together now:  McKenna's leotard seems a direct echoing of the trending fall fashion colors from 2011.

What do you all think? As my earlier blog posts reveal, the Girl of the Year line represented by Isabelle (2014), Saige (2013), and McKenna (2012) seems to have a strong tie to the larger color trends in fashion and design. Shall we take a look back to Kanani (2011)? Will this popular doll also reveal the same design planning strategy?

Meet Isabelle! A Spring-tastic Bouquet!

Isabelle Palmer has arrived on the American Girl website, and as promised, here are Isabelle's outfits lined up against Pantone's Fashion Color Report for Spring 2014. Unlike Saige, whose color palette seemed to slightly follow the forecast (a 2013 Saige premiere using a 2012 Fall color palette), Isabelle's palette literally springs forward into 2014!

Isabelle's Meet Outfit coral tee seems to sing a pretty Cayenne note and the material of the jeans evoke a blend of Placid Blue and Paloma.

Isabelle's Mix & Match #2 repeats the Cayenne in the leg warmers and uses Sand tone in the rosette and tutu.

Isabelle's Mix & Match #4 hits the almost all the same color notes as #2.

Mix & Match #5 offers a blast of Freesia!

Mix & Match #6 plays up Radiant Orchid and adds a lot of silver bling.

Isabelle's Metallic Dress! Right on hue!

And that is Poppets & Posies' look ahead to the 2014 Spring Colors--and our first detailed look at Isabelle! Keep an eye out for a report on my trip to American Girl Place San Francisco!

A Colorful Look Back at Girl of the Year 2013: Saige Copeland

Saige Copeland has been a beautiful offering from American Girl as their Girl of the Year 2013. A final "colorful" look back on her wardrobe reveals that while her range of clothing was clearly inspired by southwestern themes and colors, that Saige's wardrobe may also been influenced by color forecasting in the larger fashion industry. How well did Saige's wardrobe line up with the color trends of this past year? Let's compare her outfits with Pantone's Fashion Color Report release in the months leading up to her premiere.

Ever wonder where that unusual palette of colors came from in Saige's Pajamas?

Or how about her Meet Dress? Was that simply southwestern colors, or perhaps riding the color waves noted in Pantone's Fall 2012 color report?

Sparkle Dress seems spot on trend.

Even the Sweater Outfit picks up on the same colors.

What do you think? Was Saige's wardrobe right on color trend?

There have been several sneak peaks of Isabelle Palmer's wardrobe online--her wardrobe colors seem to be looking ahead to Pantone's Fashion Color Report for Spring 2014. Stay tuned for a color comparison once Isabelle and her wardrobe is released on January 1st, 2014!