tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post343865576368258904..comments2024-03-14T09:30:43.895-07:00Comments on Never Grow Up: A Mom's Guide to Dolls and More: Some Thoughts on BeForeverHannah Prewett (beastsbelle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15635091328769986946noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-52282307743054097752014-09-01T21:44:01.271-07:002014-09-01T21:44:01.271-07:00Lol, I agree. I'll definitely be keeping an e...Lol, I agree. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out at thrift stores and such as well. ;) <br /><br />Glad you found the review helpful. :)Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15635091328769986946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-77398717309185206172014-09-01T18:32:29.879-07:002014-09-01T18:32:29.879-07:00What a thought out and helpful review, beastsbelle...What a thought out and helpful review, beastsbelle...thanks so much for taking the time to put this together as it was very helpful! I have mixed feelings about the new line, but thank goodness for ebay, lol ;)Farrah Lilyhttp://www.cozycomfortsanddolls.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-38359398824099415922014-09-01T10:23:59.230-07:002014-09-01T10:23:59.230-07:00When you first mentioned that the historical line ...When you first mentioned that the historical line has been updated, I got so exited. I was happy to see Samantha again, but I am over all disappointed with this line. To me, the meet outfits seem cheaper, especially Kit's. I loved her old floral skirt and pale purple sweater, but now she has a bright, unappealing dress. I would like Julie's meet outfit a lot, had it not been for the peace sign. The girl outfits look pretty cute. I really like Kit's and Samantha's girl outfits, but they are MUCH to short for me. <br />I noticed a few of they girl outfits weren't dresses this time like Kaya's and Julie's. It was nice to see this change, even though I don't wear pants. <br /><br />It sounds like you have some little writers. They have such great vocabulary! It's been great hearing from them! <br /><br />I hope you had a great summer! I know I did. I went to Bible camp for a week, visited my dad for a whole month, went to Florida with my family, got to see my nephew, who is now five, moved to the state of Louisiana, And best of all, my best friend became my step sister.<br /><br />Have a wonderful day!<br />GraceGraciehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14615826174799639157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-18845450835737157182014-09-01T08:56:57.958-07:002014-09-01T08:56:57.958-07:00I finally have some time to come back and respond....I finally have some time to come back and respond. :}<br /><br />Hi Manta! I'm sorry you're so disappointed in BeForever. I do understand. <br /><br />I wanted to stay calm and non-extreme at this point in the game. ;) Like I said, there are things I'm definitely disappointed about, but since I'll be seeing things in person later this month, I wanted to wait to give a definite opinion. ;) <br /><br />Barb, thanks for stopping by. I can understand your frustration. I do see a major difference in the styles and also feel they are more "historically inspired" than historically accurate, as I mentioned. <br /><br />I completely agree with you on the whole "Holiday/Christmas" dress issue. I have to say I'm not surprised, though. They've called all of the Christmas dresses "Holiday dresses" for a while now. I wish they felt the freedom to call them "Christmas dresses", like they did before, at least for the dolls that specifically celebrated Christmas (like Samantha and others). I also noticed that with the revamp Rebecca's Hanukkah dress has been renamed her "Holiday Dress", too. She specifically DIDN'T celebrate Christmas, so I would assume she wouldn't feel comfortable with her dress being called a Holiday dress, either. :{<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by, Paige. :) I'm glad you found the girls' reviews fun...I did, too! ;)<br /><br />Hi Nina! Good to hear from you. It's interesting to see the differences in opinon. I'm glad you're happy with the line. <br /><br />Hi Hayden! It was fun reading through your thoughts. I'm disappointed about the books, too.<br /><br />It will be interesting to see how this line does, and what it will mean for the future of the historical line. <br /><br />Aileen, thanks for the picture. The Frilly Frock does look better in your pic than it does in the stock photos (surprise, surprise). ;) I still don't know that I'm going to be a fan, but I'm willing to hold off further judgement until I see it in person. ;)<br /><br />Sydelps, I'll miss some of the best friends dolls too. I think they just weren't selling well enough to make it profitable to make them anymore. :( I think the BF doll I'll miss the most is Ruthie. Thankfully, my mom has her, so I can still see her. ;)<br /><br />I'm sorry I have so many disappointed readers. I do feel the pain of those who are so disgusted with and disappointed in the BeForever line. It is very different, and historical accuracy does not seem to be as important of a factor for them at this point. (I dread going to my next doll club meeting, because I know there will be a lot of disappointment and some irritation there about the changes, too.) As I mentioned in the post, though, it's possible that the whole historical line would have been completely discontinued without the revamp. I know some of you might prefer that to BeForever, but I personally would hate to see the line disappear entirely. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens and where this takes the company. <br /><br />Thank you for sharing your thoughts, everyone.Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15635091328769986946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-13872415075109722632014-08-31T05:23:39.445-07:002014-08-31T05:23:39.445-07:00I'm a bit disappointed that they won't be ...I'm a bit disappointed that they won't be making the best friend dolls anymore. :/ Emily was my first AG doll and I still love her. :3 I haven't played with my dolls in a long time, so I probably won't be buying any of the new outfits. :) Sydelpshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03817909196747343432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-48242113549709767132014-08-30T20:35:14.432-07:002014-08-30T20:35:14.432-07:00How funny that Samantha's Frilly Frock was you...How funny that Samantha's Frilly Frock was your least favorite outfit. I just love that thing! lol I went to the AG store today and I just fell in love with Samantha and her frilly frock. Unfortunately I can't afford to buy her. I'll post a pic I took with her on your Facebook page. Bye!Aileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17118807604282642787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-75415280139414230042014-08-30T17:00:20.356-07:002014-08-30T17:00:20.356-07:00Okay...wow. Commenting on this even though I haven...Okay...wow. Commenting on this even though I haven't gotten American Girl stuff in years, because AG is pretty much my childhood and I still go to the website occasionally and show myself all the things I'm going to buy when I one day have little girls to shower them on, haha. (Not that I'll probably have the money...but...)<br /><br />The Good: the Garden Blooms outfit for girls is adorable, although the skirt is too short :(<br /><br />Samantha's back!! Enough said about that... :D<br /><br />Some of the outfits I love: Rebecca's holiday outfit. Caroline's Party outfits. LOOOVE. it does look like Cinderella's :)Kit's photography outfit. I'm a sucker for sweaters :)<br /><br />The bad? WHAT'S WITH THE TWO BOOKS AND NO ILLUSTRATIONS??? ugh, ugh, ugh<br /><br />Kit's new dress. Why??? Her old dress was CLASSIC. That outfit has sooo many memories. (<br /><br />Overall? Aside from the gorgeous holiday/party outfits and the return of Samantha Parkington (who should never have left in the first place!) I'm not a big fan of this new line. I never cared for most of the modern day stuff- both now and as a little girl I loved the historical-ness of everything. Just not super pleased with the direction the company is going :(<br />Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463147465564735374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-46346619089476077772014-08-30T16:05:34.904-07:002014-08-30T16:05:34.904-07:00I love BeForever! I think it's so creative and...I love BeForever! I think it's so creative and fun! I love how the outfits are bright and fun, yet still historically accurate. And I'm disappointed the dresses are too short for my family's taste, but I think my cousins and I could wear them with leggings. All in all, I love BeForever and I can't wait to see what's in store!:DNinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08500954167902297662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-68939225539173895042014-08-30T14:10:33.162-07:002014-08-30T14:10:33.162-07:00Totally agree with Barb.Totally agree with Barb.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-34342463827690180812014-08-30T13:25:14.132-07:002014-08-30T13:25:14.132-07:00I haven't followed AG in a long time, but did ...I haven't followed AG in a long time, but did as a little girl. I never did have a doll, but read most of the older books, pored over catalogs and played with the paper dolls my friends had. In any case, I didn't even know they archived some of the historical dolls! As you were saying, it is disappointing, since AG was originally started to make history fun. Hopefully this reboot will do well and not stray too far from accuracy! :)<br />Oh, and the girls' reviews were very fun and insightful. ;)Paigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17315980708870871308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-3867110421557911622014-08-30T12:32:51.339-07:002014-08-30T12:32:51.339-07:00I am majorly disappointed by BeForever. Samantha h...I am majorly disappointed by BeForever. Samantha has always been my favorite AG, because her time period is my favorite of the historicals. Am I an an absolute expert on this time period? No. But I have spent almost 20 years looking at books, fashion magazines, contemporary photos, extant pieces of clothing, from Samantha's particular era. I've put in enough studying that I think I have more input than somebody who hasn't studied that period at all. Samantha's new line is "historically based." It is NOT historically accurate. The only dress that comes close in the new line up is her Christmas dress, and even then, there should have been some solid material under the lace yoke. I can't see the details of the boots well enough to talk about them.<br /><br />Speaking of Christmas dresses, I'm annoyed that Samantha's Christmas dress has been become her "holiday" dress. Maybe it's become too politically incorrect to say today, but Samantha would really have celebrated CHRISTMAS, hard as it may be to believe.<br /><br />So why does this historical stuff matter? I guess it only matters if accuracy is important to you. If you're content to have a shallow and superficial knowledge of history, that's your choice. But once upon a time, the historical characters existed to teach something about what it really was like to live in that time period. Samantha has become 1904 Barbie. I wish if they weren't going to do this right, they wouldn't have done it at all.Barb the Evil Geniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04635449477605703171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7646962372158228871.post-32428179206270240462014-08-30T11:46:01.362-07:002014-08-30T11:46:01.362-07:00I'm still not a fan...AT ALL.:P Lol Although ...I'm still not a fan...AT ALL.:P Lol Although I think I'm just going to go on my merry way and not worry about it;)<br /><br />I like how you just said everything about BeForever just like 'well, this is this and that is that', all the actual facts, without saying "WOW BEFOREVER IS AWESOME!" or "ICK BEFOREVER IS HORRIBLE!" :) Mantahttp://thedolldwelling.boardhost.com/noreply@blogger.com