American Girl Caroline Abbott Doll Review

As promised, here is my review of the Caroline Abbott doll I bought at the American Girl Place on February 1st. :)

Caroline in her box, waiting to be opened.  Believe it or not, I actually did not take her out of the box until I got all the way back home!  I wanted to get really good review pictures of her, and I also knew she would make the long journey home better in her box rather than out of it.  I have to admit, though, it was VERY hard to wait!! ;)

Caroline's name on the front of the box.

Side view

Back view

Side view #2 ;)

Almost ready to come out! :)

Caroline has such a beautiful face. :)

She comes with a paperback copy of her first book, "Meet Caroline".  I have not had a chance to read any of the other books in the series, but I really enjoyed this first one.  Caroline's book personality reminds me a lot of Oldest Gal. :)  The illustrations in the book are stunning, which is a welcome relief after the disappointing illustrations from the Cecile and Marie-Grace books.  Sorry if any of you are fans of those illustrations, but my artistic side found them flat and unnatural-looking.

Brand new American Girl dolls are held in place by an elastic band around their neck which attaches to a plastic hook on either side of their neck.  A piece of soft, foam-like material is between their neck and the elastic band, presumably to protect the plastic from getting rub marks or other damage.  

The dolls are also held in place by a rubber band around their ankles, but I forgot to get a picture of that. :}

Removing the elastic from the neck is simple...you simply unhook the elastic loop from the plastic hook.

Then you can pull off the foamy material.

Here she is, finally free! :)

Caroline came with a little doll hair care tag attached to her wrist.

The inside has basic instructions for how to care for your doll.

Here she is without her hair care paperwork in front...

...and in back.  

Her dress is pale pink and a linen-like material that wrinkles easily.  

This was what her dress looked like after lifting it up for pictures! 

A view from the back.

I wasn't all that into her meet dress at first, but I have to admit, it's grown on me.  The color really does suit her, and it's got some nice detail.

The ruffle at Caroline's collar.

The pretty embroidered flowers on her waistband.

Sleeve detail

A look at her dress hem.

She comes with lace-trimmed pantalettes and white ribbed-knit stockings that go to her knees.  She does not have any other undergarments.

Her pink slip-on shoes match her dress.

I was very concerned when I first deboxed my Caroline, because her left leg was so tight that it tilted inward.  I could still get her to stand by repositioning her leg, but I was worried that this might affect her ability to stand for long periods of time.  I started looking up doll return policies on the American Girl website and started kicking myself for not opening her at the store. :}  This was also when I decided that having a personal shopper the next time I went to the American Girl Place would be preferable.  Thankfully, within a day or so, her leg loosened on its own, so all was well. :)

Her hair came in a hairnet to protect the curls.

This was what it looked like when I first took it out of the hairnet, in front...

...and in back.  I just love her long curls! :)

Caroline's eyes are a beautiful blue-green color, almost a minty green.  They are a new eye color that has (so far) only been used for Caroline.

My Caroline has a small, shiny mark under her left eye that is sometimes visible in pictures.  I was a little disappointed that I missed this at first, but she is still a gorgeous doll, and it's not enough of an issue to make me want to return her.

So now I'm basically going to bombard you with an incredible amount of Caroline pictures, just because she's so gorgeous. :)  I always enjoy the first photo shoot with a new doll, discovering her best angles and how well she photographs.  Caroline was no exception. :)

Hayden was very excited to pose for a picture with Caroline. ;)  My Caroline will be renamed Coral Brenna Copeland, and will be a sister to my mom's Saige doll, as well as a cousin to the Hathaways (Emma, Hayden, and Charlie) and the Ellisons (Piper, Alice, and Ruthie).  I'm looking forward to working out all the details of her backstory. :) 

After I'd taken the initial review pictures for this post, I decided to play with Caroline/Coral's hair a bit.  I was a little concerned that her hair would be difficult to manage because of all of the curls.  Thankfully, her hair was no more difficult than Hayden's.  I spritzed it with my little mini spritzer bottle, then carefully brushed it out one small strand at a time, and finished it off by finger curling.  Then I decided to put part of it up in a messy bun.  I'm very pleased with the results. :)

I believe I mentioned that one of the other things I purchased at the AG Place was Addy's Blue Dress.  This was originally known as "Addy's Kite-Flying Dress" and came with a kite and a large, plaid hair ribbon.  Then, it was changed to "Addy's Flower Picking Dress" and came with a bouquet of flowers and the same ribbon.  Now, it's simply "Addy's Blue Dress" and comes with just the ribbon.  I've had my eye on this one for a long time, and I thought it would look great on my Caroline doll, so I decided to snag one while I was down there. :)  I left Caroline in her original pantalettes and then put her in Cecile's meet boots.

The ribbon included with the dress.  I didn't use it with the dress because I didn't feel it matched very well. :}

The pale blue is great with Caroline/Coral's coloring. :) 

A closer look at the dress.

I forgot to take a picture of the back of the dress when it was on my doll, but here's a picture I took when I first got home.  As you can see, the back has Velcro closure.

Bodice detail...

...and skirt detail.

Cecile's boots look great with the dress. :)

Oh my goodness, she is so incredibly pretty in blue!!! :D

So, overall thoughts?  I give Caroline a 5 out of 5.  I would recommend her completely to adults or careful younger collectors.  Her hair might be problematic for younger doll enthusiasts, depending on the child, because the length and the curls will take more maintenance than a doll with straight or shorter hair.  However, my two older girls, both in the target age range (eight and up), are careful enough that this doll could work for them.  If your little doll lover has a mommy or grandma who is willing to help with hair, then this could still work for a younger kiddo.  You could also simply keep the hair in a braid or a ponytail, but I know for many girls, playing with the hair is the most fun part of having a doll. ;)  

Caroline's coloring is beautiful, and she takes incredible photos.  I'm already looking forward to future photo shoots with her. :)  Her dress does wrinkle pretty easily, but the wrinkles also come out fairly quickly, too.  After a day or two of displaying her in a standing position, the wrinkles were much less noticeable.  

Hope you enjoyed the review. :)  If you have any specific questions or I missed a detail you'd like to know about, feel free to leave me a comment. :)

To visit Caroline's product page on the American Girl website, click HERE. 

Next up, a review of the Disney Animator's Collection Kristoff doll, followed by a review of Toddler Anna and Elsa from the Disney Store. :)