In celebration of American Girl's 35th anniversary, they did something I never imagined they would -- they re-released all of their original characters! It was such an amazing feeling to see Samantha, Addy, Josefina, Molly, Felicity, and Kirsten become available again for the first time in so many years -- and in their original outfits! The BeForever dresses are nice, but in some cases (like Samantha's), I really prefer the original meet outfits.
Back when American Girl re-released Samantha for the first time, I remember seeing her reimagined BeForever look and wondering if they would ever re-release Kirsten, too -- and if they did, what her new look might be like.
I've mentioned before that Samantha was always the one I wanted as a kid, but Kirsten was my other favorite.
Fashion First
When I was a kid, my family wasn't able to afford any of the actual American Girl dolls, but my mom, sister, and I loved flipping through the catalogs and admiring all of the detailed outfits and accessories each had.
Then came the exciting day that I got my first 18" doll, Magic Attic Club's Megan Ryder. I absolutely loved her -- I loved dressing her up, I loved imagining new adventures for her, and I loved having her with me whether I was asleep, working on homework, or anything in between.
One year, I asked for two of Kirsten's dresses to use with Megan -- Kirsten's birthday apron dress and daisy wreath, and her summer dress and straw hat. The only problem was, I had never actually seen an American Girl doll in person before, so I didn't realize that the AG dolls and the MAC dolls had different body types.
While my parents and I were surprised to find that Kirsten's dresses fit so loosely on Megan, they still looked nice on her! But even so, from then on, we decided it was better to stick to the Magic Attic Club outfits for Megan.
My Almost First American Girl Doll
I got my first American Girl doll, Isabelle Palmer (Girl of the Year), back in 2014, but about 17 years before that, Kirsten Larson almost became my first American Girl doll.
A neighbor of mine at the time had invited my sister and I over to play, and as she was showing us her room, I spotted a blue bed that I'd seen often in print, but never in person. Sure enough, our neighbor had Kirsten's bed and Kirsten herself was laying there, in her signature blue meet dress.
When I asked about the doll, my neighbor not only readily handed her over for me to look at, she asked if I wanted to keep her! She was more into sports than dolls, and felt bad that Kirsten hadn't gotten much use.
I was so tempted. Her Kirsten was in amazing condition, and now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure my neighbor never even changed her out of her original clothes!
But I couldn't do it. Knowing how expensive the doll was, and the fact that her parents hadn't signed off on this giveaway, and just imagining how my parents would react if I gave away something that expensive without asking them first, I couldn't accept.
She offered again and again, and at last said, "Okay, well then at least just take her necklace for your doll." That, I did accept.
At the time, I thought it was such a small thing, even if her parents ever found out, they likely wouldn't care. But looking back now, I sort of wonder if she's ever tried to sell the doll, and looked for that necklace, and not remembered that she gave it to me all those years ago.
Welcome, Kirsten!
Since I got Samantha, it only seemed right to get Kirsten, too, and finally have the two dolls I might've otherwise had as a kid. I don't think I even waited a day to buy her.
I really, really wish I still had a pop-up American Girl store nearby, because I would've loved to choose a Kirsten in person, but at the same time, there is something fitting about receiving her in the mail, like how the original dolls came.
Unlike the original dolls, however, some of the anniversary dolls have had some production issues. The first Kirsten I received had slightly wonky eyes that I was able to adjust into straighter position, but I couldn't get her to look straight ahead. Instead, when you looked directly at her, she looked like she was staring at your right shoulder. She also had teeth that weren't painted all the way down, so in person, you could really see the indentation in her mouth.
And I know, all of this sounds so miniscule, and so first world problems, but after waiting so many years to get a Kirsten, and the fact that she's still an expensive doll, I wanted one that I could really be happy with.
Luckily, the second one I received (pictured) is really nice! She had some slight eye wonk out of the box, but she's fine now, and she has a really sweet expression.
So, welcome, Kirsten! I'll eventually let you try on your birthday and summer dresses, but you look so cute in your meet outfit, I'm in no rush.