Tonner Strawberry Cupcake Mimi and Fall Flowers Lilah Dolls

Since the last time I posted about my Tonner 10", or "tenner," line, I've acquired two new dolls. The first is named Strawberry Cupcake Mimi, not to be confused with the more recent release, Strawberry Cupcake Patsy. The second doll is Ann Estelle's baby sister, Lilah. She's 9" according to Tonner's website. I wanted to get a Mimi and a Babette from the Petite Filles line for my tenner collection; there were only a few styles of each doll produced, and the faces are unique, except for a couple of dolls made in Dr. Seuss styles for a Tonner convention. And of course the convention ones are even rarer.

Mimi's hair is wonky, in that her curls on each side don't really match.

Mimi's body is a mix between the old and new 10" dolls. Her arms are the same as Ann Estelle.

Her knees bend like those in the new Patsy doll line.

Her pantaloons have some faint brownish stains on the legs. I'll try soaking them in Biz detergent.

She has a flaw in the inside corner of her right eye.

Here Mimi is with two of her 10" friends, from the Mary Englebreit and Patsy lines. They each have very unique faces. Sophie's face is also different from Ann Estelle's, but I didn't want to mess around with that many dolls in the picture just then. I'll take a picture of the whole gang sometime.

Lilah dolls are relatively hard to find as well. From what I found, there were only three different Lilah dolls produced, and one of those was also a convention doll, and came riding a large seahorse at that, so her value is much higher. I got my Lilah at just above original retail price, however, so it seems she is not hot in the doll market right now. I still like her. :)

Lilah is described by Tonner as being in a seated leg position. I guess that means she's not old enough to stand up on her own yet. I did stand her up for a couple of pictures, but she doesn't really stand well.

Ann likes being a big sister.

I think the onesie would have been cuter with sleeves.

However, the dress underneath the sweater does not have sleeves. The dress is cute, but there is one flaw. In the bottom right of the picture below, you can see a black thread in between the two layers of bodice fabric. At some point I may try to take the dress apart at the waist to get in and get that thread out. It's not like I have to worry too much about ruining the dress; it's unwearable by itself in this state.

There's also something rattling somewhere in Lilah's body. I may try to get her head off at some point and investigate that.

There are more faces I would like to get for my 10" collection, but I'm not on eBay nearly as much as I used to be, so that might be an issue. I'll talk about the eBay thing sometime soon. In the meantime, I'm glad I expanded my collection of little girls.

American Girl Doll Caroline

I got my American Girl Samantha doll in the mid-1990s. I loved her clothes, accessories, and time period. I never got the opportunity to pick up many of her accessories, since that was also when we were starting our family. And Samantha has been the only 18" girl doll that I have owned ever since. However, I found myself attracted to Caroline Abbott, who was released in 2012. After only three years, she's being archived, so I had to buy her now, if I was going to. And so Samantha finally got a friend.

One of the things that I liked about Caroline was her curly hair. The curls are not stiffly gelled, and so there's some frizzing of individual hairs not part of a curl. Stiff hair can be annoying, but I imagine this hair would not fare well with rough play.

When I part her hair, the back of the wig looks matted. I haven't investigated this too much yet, because I don't want to mess up her hairstyle. I could have sworn that I bought an AG wire hair brush at some point, but I can't find it. I know I need to get a proper wire wig brush to care for her  hair.

Here are Caroline and Samantha together. Caroline stands better than Samantha does, possibly because she does not have the overstuffed body of the Pleasant Company era. You have to balance the weight of Samantha's head against the weight of her torso, and balance both of those onto her legs, which weigh much less comparatively. Also, Caroline's limb joints seem stiffer. I don't know if that has to do with Samantha's age, or slightly different manufacturing. In any case, that also helps Caroline stand better.

A comparison of the new and older faces. The eyes look different to me. There is less white showing in Caroline's, which may account for it. Also, Samantha's eyebrows are solid lines, while Caroline's are feathered. Also, if you look at the picture below, you can see that there is a gap between Caroline's neck, and her stuffed body.

Samantha's neck and body come together much cleaner. Is this gap common with the newer AG dolls? If you have a newer AG doll, does she have this gap?

One of the things which drew me to Caroline specifically was her outfit. It's fairly true to her time period of 1812, and for some reason, it really appeals to me. Mini Caroline is also one of my favorite minis. Here is Caroline holding Mini Caroline.

One of the advantages that American Girl has in making clothes for the mini AGs, is that they have a factory where they can order things like a smaller scaled version of the ribbon sash around Caroline's waist. Looking closer, though, the eyelet embroidery on the hem of the girls' pantaloons looks to be the same size, although Caroline's is a lovely bright white. Poor Mini Caroline's fabric looks yellowed in comparison. And here's a short few paragraphs talking about the difference between pantaloons and pantalettes. I'm not sure if these specifics applied as far back as the Regency, but I'm using them here.

One of the things that I wish had been done differently with Caroline's story was having it take place somewhere besides New York state. This is not only because there are now three AG historicals who come from New York (the other two being Samantha and Rebecca), but because Lake Erie was home to an important naval battle during the War of 1812, that being the Battle of Lake Erie. If you are from the US, you may recognize a famous quote from this battle, by then master commandant Oliver Perry: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." Caroline's story does revolve around her father's shipyard, but there was also a great deal of important ship building in Erie, PA. I'm biased myself, because I love Lake Erie and its history, but really, AG, we did not need another doll from New York state. :)

In Cleveland, the War of 1812 and Commodore Perry are still remembered, in various ways. :)

Here's a question for you: if a historical doll's history was set in your home area, what notable period of time could she live in? Cleveland was important in the industrialization period of the mid to late 1800s, and many of these industrialists lived at various times on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. Known as Millionaire's Row, it was at one time called the most beautiful street in America. Our girl's story could focus on a specific industrial advancement, or even touch on monopolies. (!) Or maybe in the mid 1900s, an American Girl's father could be involved in medical advancements at the Cleveland Clinic. Tell me your story ideas!