Monday, December 10, 2012

My American Girl Store Visit

Yesterday my boyfriend and I ventured to the American Girl store in the Northpoint Mall in Alpharetta, GA, I've been there a couple times before, but it's been a few years.  I have never owned an American Girl doll.  I do have several other 18" dolls.  A few of them I made myself.  For the past year, I've been receiving the American Girl magazine.  It's always more impressive to see everything in person. 

There are three different categories for the American Girl dolls.  There are the historical dolls, the Girl of the Year dolls, and the My American Girl dolls.  Each is described in great detail here.


The entrance from the outside.

This is the first pair of Bitty Babies you see when you walk in from the exterior entrance.   Bitty Babies were designed for the 3 - 8 year old.  There are many different varieties and lots of clothing, furniture and accessories.

To the left of the entrance is the library.

I took a picture of this new cardboard theater set because it's one of their latest products.

This is another one of the newer products. 

I saw this car in a magazine.  It is super cute in person.

Let me stop here and say, after being in the story all of 10 mins, I was 'oooh' and 'ahhhed' out.  This after already experiencing this a few times before.  It is so hard not to get caught up in everything.  I truly understand how you can walk out of there spending tons of money.  First of all, there were no less than 200+ people in the store.  You couldn't take a step without someone else being right there.  And you didn't mind because everyone was so friendly.  Moms, dads, grandparents, kids, and everyone smiling and having a good time.  Little girls and big girls, toting their dolls around, pushing them in their strollers.  It's so amazing that dolls, these little inanimate objects, can bring about so much joy.  

American Girl began with historical characters.  You can see the history of how it all came about here.  One of the characters that was introduced was Addy Walker in 1993.  Each character has a separate window display.  I only took pictures of three of them.

This is the Kit Kittredge display.  She was introduced in 2000. 

This was another window display with Marie-Grace Gardner and Cecile Ray.  There are historical characters from New Orleans in 1853.  They were introduced in 2011.

The rest of the pictures are just of random displays throughout the store. 
I took this picture because the school desks and accessories were so cute.


Baking cupcakes and other sweets.

Making a gingerbread house.

Tennis players.

Lacrosse players.

Soccer players

Cheerleaders 


Winter display

Loved her hair, her little pjs, and the red glasses.

The stable.

This teepee was gorgeous!  

There was another display just like this with even more dolls.  This is part of the My American Girl dolls.  This is where the girl can select a doll that resembles her.  There are at least 40 different dolls to choose from.

This is the Mini-AG doll display.  They are 6" tall.  I've been tempted in the past to buy one and incorporate her in the Barbie stories.  They are cute.

I waited for the crowd to leave this area to take this picture.  It's the AG shoe department.

There are two more sections to the store.  The Doll Hair Salon and the Bistro.  At the Hair Salon, the dolls can get new hairdos, their ears pierced, a Spa package (this includes cleaning, cucumber slices, nail decals, flip flops and more).   The Bistro is where you can have brunch, lunch, or dinner, with or without your dolls.
This is the area in front of the Bistro.  It has little seats so your dolls can sit at the lunch table.  

This is the entrance to the Bistro.  

So I left the American Girl store empty handed, but full of joy.  I love seeing people happy.  One thing I found out in the midst of doing this post is that the American Girl Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel.  The woman, Pleasant Rowland, who created the American Girl in 1986, sold the company to Mattel in 1998 for $700 million.  Go Pleasant!!! 



39 comments:

  1. AG Store appears to be a very fun place to visit (for big and little girls). There is a store here, but I've never ventured there.

    Last week my sister's daughter, who is 7, asked me for an American Girl doll for Christmas. She didn't care which one "as long as it's brown." This posed a dilemma for me as well as taught me a lesson.

    I had already purchased the doll I planned to buy her for Christmas several months ago and informed my sister of this after I spoke with my niece. I asked her if she and her husband planned to buy her the brown AG. They do not.

    From now on, I will know to ask my niece what doll she wants me to buy her before I purchase one on my own. I hope she is not too disappointed that she doesn't get it for Christmas, but she is definitely going to get a brown American Girl for her birthday.

    I am still torn about this.


    dbg

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    1. DBG - I am torn, too, and it's not even my dilemma. But I can imagine the joy on your niece's face getting that brown AG on Christmas morn. Does she live near you? If so, I could then imagine you taking her to the Bistro with her brown AG doll and having lunch for her birthday. I know. I am not helping at all. Sorry. I drank the Kool-Aid when I went into that store.

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    2. DBG - I was 8 when I got my Baby Chrissy. There are only two Christmas' I really remember and treasure. That was one of them. Baby Chrissy looks a hot mess today, but she is still with me. I know. I am still not helping.

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    3. DBG - And she asked for the brown one.... I know. Still not helping.

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    4. Girl... I was just about to pick up the phone to call my sister to see which My American Girl she thought I should order because this is haunting me. My sister, who never really cared about dolls, doesn't get the importance of a little girl waking on on Christmas morning having the doll she specifically asked her Aunt Debbie for... her Aunt Debbie, who she knows is very enthusiastic about black dolls. I think she would be crushed if she receives V.I.P. Chyna instead of a brown American Girl. Receiving Chyna along with a Brown American Girl will no doubt delight her. My second dilemma is which brown My AG should I order? There is a version with short curly hair (that probably cannot be combed) and two versions with long straight hair. One of the straight haired versions has more textured hair than the other. Both long-haired versions' hair can be combed. You and I know that little girls love combing their doll's hair, so I am leaning toward one of these. I prefer the one with the textured hair but she has the original Addy face. The other one with the bone straight hair has the newest face (the same face as the new character Cecile Ray). I like that face but would prefer textured straight hair. By textured I mean it has the appearance and feel of African American hair that has been either blow dried or straightened with a "warm comb." I need to make a decision fast. Help me!

      Oh, in answer to your question, they live in Virginia, which is why I have to make a decision fast.

      dbg

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    5. I solved my own problem by ordering Cecile Ray. She can't comb her hair, but she can comb Chyna's.

      dbg

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    6. DBG - I am thrilled for your niece! Cecile-Rey is a great choice. Sunday was my first time seeing her. There is an AG store at Tyson's Corner Mall. Maybe one day her mom will take her there to have lunch with her dolly.

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  2. What a joyful place - they cover everyone's wish list for a dolly, no wonder it had you in awe. I especially love the theatre set, to me a dio brings a doll to life. Thanks for treating us to a report on your lovely outing with your boyfriend.

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    1. Roville - I could have stayed in there for hours just walking around touching everything and ooohing and ahhhing. Luckily with the BF with me, I had to keep it moving. He did let me have plenty of time in there. He's such a sweetheart.

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  3. Hello from Spain: in my country this doll collection is not for sale in stores. A friend of mine bought an American Girl in New York. She told me that these dolls are very nice clothes and many accessories. I see in your photos that is quite an wonderful collection. If ever I travel to America I'm sure I'm going to buy an American Girl. Do you know if these dolls are very expensive? How can cost of American girls? ... Keep in touch

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    1. Marta - The New York store was one of the first three stores to open. The very first one was in Chicago. If you go to their website www.americangirl.com, you can see all the particulars about pricing. The dolls range in price, but I think the 18" ones start at $105. The mini ones (6") are $26.

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  4. I'd love to visit an American Girl store too!

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    1. Sergio - It's a wonderful place to just go hang out and get ideas.

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  5. You are very lucky to visit the American Girl store and to share this pictures with us, thank you so much !

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    1. Shasarignis - You are welcome. It's always a great time when I go.

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  6. I always loved American Girl dolls. I used to buy the catalogs so my students and I could oooh and ahh over them during independent reading time. They had never heard of them but I was determined to introduce them to all sorts of things.
    Thanks
    P.S My girls were into Cabbage Patch Dolls. We went to the Cabbage Patch General Hospital in Cleveland Ga...twice LOL

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    1. Grandmommy - Can you believe I have yet to make it to the Cabbage Patch place? My sister-in-law and I have been planning to go for some time, but haven't made it. I will definitely do that in 2013.

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    2. I did not know that there was a Cabbage Patch Store. I have much traveling to do: The National Black Doll Museum, The American Girl Store, the Cabbage Patch store and the Barbie Doll Convention. I did not realize that there were more than one American Girl Store, SMH...Once again, Thanks for Sharing!

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  7. Very nice recap of the store. I have gone there only twice and ooh and ahh both times. It is so much in there.

    My doll club had an off site meeting there last year and we had lunch in the Bistro. I wasn't that impressed with the food, but most of the members were. They allowed us to choose dolls to sit at the table with us. They had the cutest little booster seats for the dolls to sit in. It is a delightful place for a little girl to visit. I'm glad you had a nice visit with your BF. ; )

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    1. Georgia Girl - That was a great idea for an off site meeting. I was wondering if the dolls in the booster seats were available for use. Nice touch.

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  8. Hi Vanessa,

    Sounds like you had a great time. I had never visited the American Girl store in Northpoint until last year. I bought the first book in Cecile Ray's series but nothing else -- too rich for my blood.

    Was the hair salon too busy for you to get a photo there? For me that is the most over-the-top thing about the store. You can take your American Girl there to have her hair styled!

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    1. limbe dolls - I almost bought one of the mini dolls because they can sort of fit in with the Barbies. The hair salon was very busy and I didn't just want to take a picture of the ladies behind the counter without their permission. The hair salon is one of my favorite areas. I did include a link directly to the hair salon above, so hopefully those who were interested in seeing more, clicked it.

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  9. Hi Vanessa I also wanted to be there!

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    1. Gabi-5mates - It's a great place to get totally lost in the world of dolls.

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  10. Hi Vanessa, don't worry eventually you will cave! I have never been to the AG store here in Va- it is in Tyson's corner, but I love the products. The minidolls are wonderful for 1:6 scale children, and make great playmates for Skipper, Stacey, Kelly and chelsea. I think myself they add more variety to the children in the dios. I currently have mini Felicity, Rebecca, Kit and Emily. I have mini Kirsten on the way and will be ordering mini molly and mini Nellie soon.

    There is also a forum for the dolls called AG Playthings, they are nice forums and they keep up with all the products, free shipping codes and offers in the stores. You learn alot there.They also do doll reviews, and alot of people on there customize and do photostories with the dolls. there is also a mini doll forum there.
    http://agplaythings.proboards.com/index.cgi?

    Marta, the 18 inch American girls vary in price- $94 to $124 if you wish the doll to have her 'meet accessories'. They have a large selection- I love the historicals the most. The clothing, furniture and accessories are still top quality. Two of my dolls were purchased from Ebay and were made when the company was Pleasant Company, my other doll is from the company after Mattel purchased it. There is a difference in the dolls, I like the Pleasant Company myself. More huggable you could say. I highly recommend connecting on this forum if you wish to buy a doll because you will learn alot of what to look for- I belonged to the forum before purchasing my Felicity and my Rebecca.
    They do retire some of the dolls each year, in all the lines- the historicals they are the slowest to retire. They have recently retired Felicity & Elizabeth, Samantha and Nellie, Kirsten, and Molly is the next one they think will be projected to be on the retirement block.

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    1. Lisa - Thanks for all the wonderful information. I'm surprised you haven't ventured to the store yet. You REALLY should. Especially since you have them in your collection. You guys will be the first to know if I cave on the mini AGs. I wouldn't considering caving, though, since I had planned to buy one when they first came out. It was already on the list.

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  11. Thank you for you photos and comments. I found by chance one of this dolls in a flee market in barcelona, which is really unusual because I think none of these dolls are sold in Europe. I bought it and, though it's is not exactly my type, I think it's very interesting. I hope someday I can visit one of this paradise doll lover's shops in the US someday. Regards!

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    1. cyborgdoll - That's incredible that one showed up in the flea market there. I'm sure there's an interesting story behind that. Too bad we will never know what it is.

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  12. Thank you Vanessa. I have stopped myself from visiting because it would be like going to a potato chip store- you can't stop at one. I have held back on the meetups some of the people have at the store for that reason- I know I would not be able to explain to hubby why the dolls have yet more furniture!lol...and the minis are irresistble, they are really sweet to play with, and cute to take in yoru purse for photo ops.

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    1. Lisa - I completely understand. I've been there myself with the Barbies.

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  13. Thanks for sharing your visit with us, Vanessa. American Girl dolls aren't available here either but there are other similar dolls like the Toys'R'Us Journey Girls. The American Girl store looks amazing.

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    1. Carrickters - We have the Journey Girls, too. They are super cute. If I were still collecting dolls, I'm sure I would have bought one or two by now. Love their accessories, too. The 18" furniture is just so big.

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  14. You've got a good man! I would have waited for you at the Bistro!

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    1. Kenya - Yes I do have a good man. He was the one who suggested we go. I would have dragged your butt with me all through that store.

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  15. Vanessa,
    I have thoroughly enjoyed this post from your personal comments in regards to the photographs you took during your visit to The American Girl Store, your response to peoples comments in reference to your blog, reply from others and a bit of AG history you shared. Just what I needed as a Doll Collector, Thanks again!

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    1. Sandra - Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad I could entice you to put an AG visit on your list. You will not be disappointed. There are quite a few AG stores and they seem to be adding more each year. Babyland General is the name of the Cabbage Patch place in Cleveland, GA. Here is a link. Seems like another impressive place. I will be visiting it soon. http://www.cabbagepatchkids.com/

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  16. I don't own any doll of that type, but visiting that store must be a great experience, as I guess from your lovely photos!

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    1. Rossetti - I think you would still enjoy the store, even without having dolls this size. All those smiling little faces, real and plastic, and you can't help but smile.

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