Rating My AG Collection
Rating My American Girl Doll Collection!
*I don't play favorites, I promise*
#1
Com'on guys, you already know.
Take a guess.
It's so obvious
*cut*
Bonjour and welcome to or back to my absolutely chaotic blog that honestly? I really don't/can't remember WHY I started it! But now I mean you get to read stuff like this... so... win/win?
Today, while this is probably going to take me hours to type and y'all fifteen minutes to read, we're going to go more in depth with my AG collection! I *cough cough* totally don't play *cough* favorites but we're going to talk about which ones are perhaps slightly more preferred... get into the history... and... ya!
Also. I know I reference the burning dog meme a bit, but you know what REALLY hits home for me? Any time I've EVER used the words "it's fine" or "I'm fine" I'm really just channeling my inner Ross. Because that is SO real for me.
*can you tell I wrote this intro late at night?*
Also: Disclaimer!! Any dolls I’ve acquired over the last year I’m going to leave out, otherwise that’s just too much competition for my OGs. Like right now I will tell you Constance is my favorite but I’ve only had her… well, less than a week and I know NOTHING about her personality.
New doll reveal at the end though!! And the LAST doll I will be adding to my collection until... at least after Easter... (that's what I'm telling myself anyway)
Before I get into it!
I want to share some of my old All My Dolls photos, because... I think they're cute. And not something I can really do anymore...
Anyway! As Buzz says: "Enough of this sentimental shi--SHOW of emotion."
My Top Five AG Dolls!!
#1 Katherine “Kat” Liberty Walker
December 25th 2016
Were you expecting me to say Caspian? It's okay if you were, I was too. He and Kat are probably tied, but Kat has always been such a central part of my doll collection, she was the reason I got into dolls and she is... well she's just my childhood. So naturally, she needs to keep that first spot she's been in for so long. Kat was my third American Girl Doll, I genuinely have no recollection of asking for Grace, and Saige was a birthday gift before I'd ever even consider dolls, so Kat was definitely... she was the hook that drew me in. In case you didn't already know, she is a custom Kit!
#2 Caspian "Cassie" Jake Palmer
June 25th 2019
Now I think this is just expected. Naturally, I HAVE to like Caspian, I've put YEARS into creating him, and if I've put in that much effort but don't love the doll, what's the point? He is literally the backbone to RestlessRoseDolls, if it wasn't for him, nothing of my account or photography would exist publicly. However, it's funny, because I feel if I were to downsize, I would honestly sell him. Which I would PROBABLY regret because he's just so special to me, but hey! If I ever decide to sell and you would like Caspian, lemme know. I don't really have much else to say about him.
In my books he lives across the hall from Kanani, and down the hall from Caroline so I feel like he puts up with a LOT of girl drama... however, I'm sure he puts up with it amazingly. I mean his wife is a poet so clearly... I mean do you know how high a reader/writer's standards are? Oh! And as of recently I've decided to give him a serious sweet tooth with a particular love for red velvet and fudge so there is your Cassie fact for the day!
#3 (Have I mentioned 3 is my favorite number?)
Kanani “Nani” Pelekai
December 25th 2019
I have to list her up here too, it's too cruel if I don't. I mean let’s be real here, Kanani was my OG Grail doll. She, Iris, and Jordi are definitely my go-tos when it comes to photography, I mean I've taken over 20 pictures of Jordan, I have about 15 for Kanani, and about 15 for Iris. My other dolls are lucky if they get over ten.
Kanani was, is, and always will be, one of my dream dolls, I just, sometimes I can't get over the fact that I own her. I was SO surprised when I opened her and I have LOVED her ever since I first saw her online. I actually got her and Kirsten on the same day (which was the first time I got two dolls for Christmas) so even though in the books there's no interactions between the two of them, in my lovely doll-verse they're soul sisters and twins, I'm actually kinda planning a photoshoot for the two of them, because I love to pair them in my duplicate outfits and ya, it's this entire thing.
She has a cat named Popoki and a dog named Mâpina! And in the novels she shares an apartment with Kat and Sammy J, which is honestly an odd trio, but I LOVE how it clicks! (I haven't decided yet if the apartment complex allows dogs or if Kanani just snuck Mâpina (which means Muffin, like com'on guys) in and perhaps bribed a couple people or manipulated/somehow magically convinced the complex owner to make an exception. I think, considering her character, it makes the most sense if Mâpina isn't supposed to be there.)
Popoki was inspired by a stuffed cat my Grandma has:
#4 Iris Mackenzie Louis
December 25th 2021
Customized November 15th 2023
Iris... I am the only person in my family that likes her, which I think is TOTALLY okay, because the amount of love Iris gets, not just from me, but from people on my Pinterest... ✨just, yes✨. I had a spare doll, and I'd wanted one with vitiligo for a REALLY long time, except I had NO idea how to go about it... then I just decided, why not use craft paint? Sooooo, ya! I used DecoArt craft paint. Uhm, I'm not completely proud of it, and it is a little bumpy, because I rushed through the process, but my motto is "if it doesn't show up on camera, it's fine" *no one needs to know, you know?* All cons aside, I love her. And I LOVE her curly wig, I NEED to take more pictures of her in that!!
*Any doll ranking after Iris is honestly subject to change depending on outfit, hairstyle, and day of the week*
But up to this point, my dolls are ranked based on childhood nostalgia or uniqueness, which obviously, Caspian and Iris (Caspian especially) are the definitions of OOAK. The rest of these, I just took glances at my doll shelves and went "okay, which ones do I currently prefer?"
#5 Jordan "Jordi" Freya Beatrice Palmer
December 25th 2021
Idk where to begin... uhm. Her repaint has come so far and it's so developed her character. I actually received her with Ty and Iris, I got them all for Christmas except my mom didn't put Jordi out, she gave me to her later. I think she was originally a JLY #23? I'm really bad with the JLY and Truly Me numbers, the people that have those memorized? I applaud you.
I don't have much to say about her! Uhm. She's definitely one of my favorites for photography, I mean, the amount of photos I have with her and Cassie... . She's pretty, I love her.
#6 Josephine "Jo" Olivia Livingston
January 2020
Jo! I don't really remember if there was any special reason why I got her, (probably as a B-day present) but I remember I'd only had her for a REALLY short period of time before I TERRIBLY stained her face... and little me struggled with her repaint so she had this weird phase... (before I discovered the AMAZINGNESS of splatter freckles) where uhm... she kinda looked like she had chicken pox... I really do cringe now. But! She's turned out fine! The staining doesn't show on camera... too much (depends on the lighting and the angle).
She was the last AG doll I was able to buy in-store... when my store shut down... guys I was heartbroken, like I LOVED going on once-in-a-blue-moon trips to the AG place... now the closest store is sitting in LA, and that's over a thousand miles away.
Uhm, I'm not gonna lie, she doesn't really have a prominent book character... Her sister (who looks JUST like her... mostly...) is the MC and Jo is mostly just that supportive unpaid therapist, you know?
Love her though! And I love her collection, even though I own like, none of it. Did anyone else watch the AG Joss series on YouTube too? I LOVED that.
And I know I'm not really adding photos, but I'm SO obsessed with this one, so....
I love doing black and white doll photography, I wish there was more of an appreciation for it.
I need like two more accounts, one dedicated to B&W and the other to Vintage filters... that would make me SO happy.
#7 Melody Valentine Watson
Every time I hear her name I think of something my dad used to sing (that I think he made up) where it mostly just goes "Melody, Melody, your name is a song" and it's so cute. It was shortly after I bought her so I think he was inspired by the name.
Anyway! Melody... she is definitely so underrated in my collection. She is one of my favorites and yet I have like NO good pictures of her... trust me I try. But for every five photoshoots I do with her, MAYBE one of them turns out... she's definitely a go-to though! Even though the results are rarely posted.
She... I perhaps overpaid for her, but that's fineeee. She is the most interesting doll I've received from Ebay, I swear she was just wrapped in layers upon layers of duck tape. I bought her in perfect condition though, so maybe the $70 bucks wasn't TOO expensive? I love how AG dolls are about $120 and yet you could present me with a new in box AG for over 50 and I'd go "ehhhh that's too expensive"
Book character wise, she's DEFINITELY my vintage girly, and I LOVE her Disney Princess vibes. She runs a ballet studio because idk, there's just something SO beautiful to me about African American ballerinas.
#8 Dylan Wesley Tate
October 4th 2023
A Marie-Grace mold... on a guy... how can he not be in my top ten? And that's all I have to say about it. Love you Dylan Tate! Getting him was a HUGE check off my bucket list.
In the books he is best friends with AD, plays the piano and the violin, and Samantha has the MOST MASSIVE crush on him, and required the help of Melody and AD to win him over because, as Sammy says "I always get the things I want" (I think her other most common quote is probably: "I'm too pretty for this")
#9 Corinne “Cori” St. John
December 25th 2023
I forgot I listed her in my top ten and I had to do a double take like "huh? I ranked her this high???" I'm shocked.
But I think I probably did because she's my brother's favorite (or is it second favorite?) Idk, she and Dalia are up there for him. She was my very first Asian mold though! So she's definitely special!
I went through this phase where I ONLY bought colored doll wigs... and now they just sit in a trunk and Cori is my only doll with colored hair (Olive doesn't really count, because brown and white isn't the same as bright blue).
Maybe I just like the last name St. John. She and Cielo get lots of extra cool points for that. (Sometimes I think maybe my dolls are ranked simply on how much I love their name. Like Magnolia, Cielo, Constance, Fatima, Indigo... this was DEFINITELY the year of beautiful doll names!)
#10 Gracie Elizabeth Thomas
December 25th 2015
What can I say? Her repaint got her here. I'm happy she finally gets a spotlight, she's gone overlooked for... *casually trying to remember when she was GOTY and subtracting that number from my age* Ahem. Roughly 10 years. I haven't taken a math course in over a year y'all... my brain is a little tired. Take statistics though!! I LOVED Statistics!!! It's practical!
My ✨VERY✨ honorable mentions!
#11 Kirsten Edith Andersson !!
December 25th 2019
I think I love her book character and friendship with Magnolia more than the doll.
She is PC though! I love it, I have a PC Kirsten and a PC Molly... (well... technically, I kinda customized the Molly)
She works at a bakery and has this entire baby blue aesthetic thing... and I LOVE it.
#12 Kaya Revere
Sometime in 2018
She's one of my mom's favorites, it seemed too rude to place her any lower. Besides. She looks SO cute in that Janie and Jack sweater!
Kaya is Pleasant Company and my mom found her for $4 at Goodwill. Mom was so afraid that someone was going to stop her and go "uhm, actually, we've realized this doll is valuable, and we're raising the price, sorry you can't take her." 😂😂
I could go off about her gold eyeshadow for DAYS. It is SUCH a compliment to her eyes and skin tone, no I don't take suggestions. She and Luci are my only dolls with eyeshadow.
#13 Tyreek "Ty" *we're brainstorming his last name as we speak* I'm leaning towards St. Brown
December 25th 2021
Ty.... Ty is special in the sense that... well... okay. *Ahem* I love him. Truly I do. But he is definitely more of a display-only doll, which is why I never talk about him, and, aside from the Christmas photo with Iris, I don't photograph him. My mom customized him for me, and whenever we played dolls when I was little, she ALWAYS played Ty, so even if I did want to photograph him (which I kinda do intend to) I always hear her voice (VERY playfully) in the back of my head of I didn't do his hair right or he'd be ashamed to be photographed in that outfit... so! I love him, he has a lot of sentimental value to me, but since he's a display doll and not THAT unique, he doesn't make the top ten.
Update: his last name is now McDanielz-Lillard, off of my mom's favorite basketball player 😭😂 (my dad chose the McDanielz)
#14 Lindsey Abigail Whittaker
Pre-March 2020
Can we talk about how cute Lindsey's hair is? Like she seems so underrated for no good reason and it really makes me sad.
She grew up in a lighthouse in my book which I think is so super cool and definitely explains a lot about her personality! She's a writer, and I definitely gave her my writer personality. She's REALLY good friends with Jordan, best friends with Nellie, and she runs a portable bookstore, (which I think would be so cute)!
I bought her at an antique store, and I was actually able to get a discount on her because little middle school me pointed out that she wasn't in her original outfit even though she was labeled as such. Her limbs were also falling off.... so I think I paid.... I won't even try to guess. In the 70s I think? Little me paid WAYYYY too much for AG. The doll I just bought is the most expensive doll I've bought in awhile and I paid $43 for her.
#15 Saige AnnMarie Williams
January 2013
For both Saige and Lindsey it's the same. Days I like them, days I don't.
She was my first AG doll, and idk, probably an unpopular opinion but I don't think little girls should really own AG? I mean the way I BUTCHERED Saige's hair... (but maybe that's just me being a tomboy child)
Her updated repaint got her to number 15, if I would've done this two days sooner, she'd been sitting in the "Others" section.
And… well… the “I appreciate that I have you” dolls 😂
#16 Samantha-Jane "Sammy J" Mitchell
December 25th 2018
My favorite thing about her, is in the books she has absolutely goth parents, but her and her little sister are the definition of pink and femininity. We LOVE supportive parents.
I've finally taken a good picture of her...
#17 Eleanor “Ellen” Siobhan O’Malley
December 24th 2023
*she gets SERIOUS middle name points even though I always forget how to pronounce it*
Ahem, we went back to Google and: "The key is realizing 'Siobhan' is pronouced 'shiv-AWN'.
And now that that's been addressed! 😂😂😂
I've been calling her Nellie for forever, but do you know how much more sense Ellen makes? Like honestly. Ellen-or... Ellen... yup. It's a thing now.
Don't get me wrong, I love her. She's the only doll I have with her hair color, and I love the oddness of her book character, I mean, the girl is in love with a ghost and I think that's probably the only unique aspect of her personality. There's some days she definitely makes my top ten, I just haven't really felt that deep a connection with her over the last... idk maybe a month? But I was overjoyed when I got her a year ago.
#18 Luci Maria Santos
Very early 2019
I picked her out and she was my congratulations present for getting my black belt in TaeKwonDo so I can't exactly part with her... uhm... the updated repaint moved her up from my "Others" section into the "Appreciation" section, so maybe over the next few months she'll keep moving up farther!
She's also the only doll I have that isn't a character in any of my books. She's... well she's just her. I think that's probably why I can't connect with her. However! She does love TMNT and that theme song is kinda my ringtone... I've been meaning to change it but uhm, can't really bring myself to. I haven't watched the shows since my brother was little, but man do I love that theme song.
#19 Caroline Athena Tucker
September 3rd 2023
Welp.
Idk man. In the books I don’t really have a job for her yet, so Caspian's joke is that she’s quote unquote "self employed". But uhm… she loves thrifting, shopping, throwing AMAZING themed parties, and falling in love. Oh! And forcing her way into Caspian's life ANY time she gets the chance.
As far as the doll goes.... IF I took good pictures of her? I just know she'd be top ten. I would LOVE her. But right now, I don't have anything good photo-wise, so she's chillin down here.
I love her GREEN eyes though. For anyone who wants to get technical, they are pastel pistachio green, but still GREEN.
Actually... I did take this picture of her last year for Valentine's day, and it always makes me laugh a little bit...
Others:
Jude
July 13th 2023
AD
Annalise
Lily
Julie
August 7th 2023
The dolls of 2024, ranked in order of adoration (but again. No favorites)
Constance Ivory Fallon
December 25th 2024
Cielo St. John (SOOOO many name points)
November 26th 2024
(Cielo is LITERALLY me on virtually EVERY level.)
Magnolia Leilani Clark
September 19th 2024
Dalia Priti
January 29th 2024
Indigo Frida Montoya (Princess Bride anyone? Anyone see what I did there?)
November 7th 2024
Fatima Marigold Luna
May 25th 2024
*ones I purposely left out for specific reasons that won’t be disclosed*
Adam Bentley Moore
&
Olive Guinevere Mercury
New Doll Reveal!!!
Just kidding.
That’s a separate blog post.
Enjoy another picture of Kat, because this has gone on for long enough.
Loved this. <3 I would definitely enjoy a part 2!
ReplyDeleteI'm so down for you calling your Nellie "Ellen." I mean, "E" stands for something, obviously. 😉 I kinda have to love e names, but ya that one especially.
Thanks! 😂 If I get around to a part 2 I might make that my *official* new doll reveal.
DeleteI've been looking for a new nickname for Nellie for... awhile now. Then I recently found a Pinterest board called "Ellen's AG Pins" and I went "omg! I need to call her Ellen!" 😂