There aren't going to be any new pictures of these dolls. I bought them back in 2015, so even if you saw the posts when I reviewed the dolls, you've probably forgotten about them, and what they looked like. I reviewed them in great detail; unfortunately, there were a lot of flaws in the dolls, clothes, and box art. If you're interested, check out Germany and Ireland here, and Italy, Kenya and Russia here.
Here are the five dolls together.
Top from left to right: Italy, Russia, Kenya
Bottom from left to right: Germany, Ireland
The Germany doll, who I named Gretel, is wearing mini AG Felicity's dress, because her own outfit is just horrible. The shirt was too short, and the lederhosen were too baggy, and the straps were too tight when I tried to sit Gretel down. Plus her shoes were huge on her, as opposed to the other dolls. I guess that's because she came wearing stockings, which none of the other dolls did.
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| So ein Pech |
The girls' clothes also had huge tags in them, that could stick out from the outfit.
When I re-read my reviews, I didn't remember how much I had really savaged some of the aspects of these dolls. However, I only paid $10 or so for each doll, and overall they *are* cute. They kind of remind of dolls like the Kruselings, only about 2" or 5cm shorter. I think I like my dolls' overall look better, actually. It's just too bad that Madame Alexander, a doll manufacturer name associated with quality, produced dolls with so many issues. This type of doll, which they also tried to use for a princess line, and a NASCAR line (so odd!) didn't sell very well, and few doll styles made it to stores.
Total dolls: 82
I don't think I read your original reviews, so these dolls are brand new to me. When I hear the name "Madame Alexander" these aren't the kind of dolls that come to mind, as I associate the brand with larger dolls with a lot of attention to detail. They are cute and seem to be OK for the price point, despite the flaws. They do remind me of some other playline doll line, but now I just can't figure out which one.
ReplyDeleteWish you a great weekend ahead!
I think Madame Alexander was trying to expand its playline market. As far as I can tell, the company was more successful with the 18" American Girl type dolls and outfits they produced. Part of the reason these small dolls didn't take off is probably because they originally cost more than $10. I got all of my dolls through clearance sales. I hope you have a productive and creative weekend.
DeleteYou can almost feel the lack of commitment the manufacturer had to these dolls. But they still look cute. Almost like the dolls' personalities set to work against the manufacturer's indifference: "Yeah, we're going to register as 'Cute' just to spite you." SMH.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really great way of putting it. I'm happy to have these cute dolls in my collection, for sure.
DeleteThese girls look really cute, but they don’t look like the kind of quality, that you hear of Madame Alexander dolls. It’s kind of cool that they can fit the mini AG clothes though.
ReplyDeleteOh! This was /is Rachael, I don’t know why it says anonymous
DeleteI know; they are cute dolls but the quality makes me wonder what Madame Alexander was thinking. These dolls, the mini AGs, and my Madeline dolls can all share clothes, which is fantastic. You probably got logged out of your Blogger account at some point. Thanks for identifying yourself, and for stopping in. :)
DeleteI love these little dolls. I have India, Ireland, and China, and an Alice. I debated on getting the French one, and nearly bought the German one BECAUSE Of the lederhosen. I thought they were really cute. Ultimately she lost out to one of the others though.
ReplyDeleteThe lederhosen looks cute on her, but the outfit is just so poorly made. I don't remember seeing any other dolls besides the Travel Friends ones in stores, so it's great that you found an Alice, since I know you like to collect them.
DeleteThat's too bad, seems like it would've been a very cute concept if the outcome were better. I love dolls that are themed by different countries (like the Hearts for Hearts dolls).
ReplyDeleteYes, Madame Alexander might have had something there, not sure what went wrong. It is fun to have dolls themed by different countries, but the description on the back of Germany's box was so messed up, it makes me wonder how much incorrect information was on some of the other boxes.
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