Samantha's Birthday Outfit & Book
- wingedmermaid
- May 2
- 3 min read
Updated: May 3
The absolute joy I get from American Girl's re-releases cannot be measured. They don't even have to be things I'm planning to buy -- as long as they're items from American Girl's past, I am coursing with dopamine! It feels like someone traveled to the past, got a huge shipment of the wonderful things that used to be available, brought them back to present day, and said, "Here you go! Enjoy!" I felt that way about the 35th anniversary dolls and now with the "American Girls Collection" of re-released outfits.
The first three became available last year. Kirsten, Addy, and Josefina each received re-releases of their birthday outfits, accompanied by their books. I unfortunately don't have Addy or Josefina or I probably would've jumped on their birthday outfits. I already have both Kirsten's birthday outfit and her birthday book -- they were actually the first outfit and one of the first books I got from American Girl, which was Pleasant Company then.
If I remember correctly, I got Kirsten's birthday outfit and then her summer dress, and quickly realized that neither one seemed to fit my Magic Attic Club Megan doll very well. Up to that point, I'd had some other American Girl outfits on my wishlist, like Felicity's summer outfit and Samantha's birthday outfit. But because I knew my doll would likely be swimming in them, I decided to stick to Magic Attic Club outfits from then on (though I did often borrow my sister's Samantha middy dress and that seemed to work well, being a little oversized to begin with).
I was hoping American Girl would do more re-releases this year, and they did! They recently came out with the return of Addy's school outfit, Kirsten's school outfit, and Samantha's birthday outfit! As the items started to become available in AG stores, I began watching the AG site like a hawk, ready to swoop in and grab Samantha's birthday dress as soon as it became available. As an added bonus, I was able to use my AG Rewards points, so even with shipping, I spent less than full price to get the outfit.
The outfit arrived a few days early -- TODAY! I wasted no time in putting it on Mia. I could've put it on my Samantha, but I'm really hesitant to take her or Kirsten out of them meet outfits, so Mia and Emma are their sort of stand-ins.
I am SO HAPPY to have this outfit! It's everything I dreamed it would be!
In the past, I've thought about attempting to sew this dress for my dolls, and now I'm so happy I didn't! I don't think mine would turn out as nice as this! The apron is so detailed and delicate-looking. It's wispy and elegant. The taffeta dress isn't thick or stiff at all. The bodice and neck are nice and smooth and the sleeves puff up wonderfully! The sock are so dainty and cute, and the shoes are a lot nicer than the rubbery plastic ones Samantha originally comes with. I do wish they'd given her white shoes, but maybe this is a way for them to keep costs down. The ribbon flower headband is so pretty. I didn't expect it to be one completely connected piece, but it was easy enough to put on.
I love love LOVE this outfit! It's well-made, it looks to be the same proportions as the original dress (which I don't think was the case for the re-release of Kirsten's dress -- at least to my eyes), and I really love that it comes with her book! I do already have a copy of Happy Birthday, Samantha!, but I think it's the newer style of cover, so I'm excited to have this version, too!
I'm gonna have a really hard time changing Mia out of this outfit. She just looks so spring-y and sweet! She and the Muffy bear I got earlier this year look like they're ready to have a tea party and enjoy the nice sunny weather!
