Sophie Micallef - Truly Me #134
- wingedmermaid
- Oct 21
- 6 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
A few years ago, I decided to put together a set of dolls to represent the different parts of my heritage. In 2021, I got a Truly Me #86 to represent my Maltese side (from my mom), and soon after, I added Truly Me #89 and customized a Truly Me #101 to represent my Choctaw and Irish and Danish sides (from my dad). Initially, I chose #86 because her tan skin and light brown eyes reminded me of some of my Maltese family members. The only trouble was, her purple hair ended up being more difficult to match than I'd anticipated, and I found myself not displaying her as often.
I sort of ignored her for a few years, until this year, when I decided to take a good look at my collection and see if I was able to part with any dolls that I didn't really gravitate toward anymore. I don't have much room to work with, so even if a doll had been a gift or was expensive to begin with, I was really trying to consider if they were worth holding onto, or if it was better to sell them and free up more room (and more doll money lol). I was ultimately able to let go of five dolls. I sold three, donated one, and I have one more that I'm hoping to sell soon. One of the five ended up being Truly Me #86. I hadn't displayed her in years and I realized that was unlikely to change anytime soon.
I felt pretty confident in my decision to let go of most of the dolls -- except #86. When she sold, I felt an unexpected wave of sadness. I immediately wondered if I'd made a big mistake, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I wasn't sad about letting go of the doll herself, I was sad that I no longer had a Maltese-American girl (other than my mini me) in my collection. I'm mostly Maltese and I've grown up surrounded by my Maltese family members, so I really liked having multiple Maltese dolls and having art imitate life.
I told myself that I would eventually find another doll to replace Sophie, and in the meantime, I added Belle (now Valletta) and made her another half-Maltese cousin to my mini me.
Then, a few months later, Truly Me #134 appeared! I watched several unboxing and review videos and realized she would be a perfect Maltese girl! Her neutral tan skin tone and reddish highlights were perfect. I like the newer eyebrow shape better than #86's, too. At first, I was waiting to buy her until I'd sold the last doll, but then American Girl announced a really good sale and she became $35 off! I quickly grabbed her!
Truly Me #134 arrived in record time. Unfortunately, when I took a close look at her, I noticed that her lips were printed slightly to the left on her face. I kept staring at her, wondering if I could just live with the misprint, but it gave her kind of an odd expression -- almost like a smirk. I contacted American Girl and they sent out a replacement right away.
The new #134 had better lips, but her eyes were slightly off. I looked at both, wondering which had the less annoying issue, and I ultimately decided the new one had a much sweeter look, so I kept her and sent the first one back.
Truly Me #134's wig isn't my favorite. I love the color, I love the highlights, but there's something about the texture that reminds me of some of the third party wigs available for dolls. It's also a little similar to Josefina's wig. I'm not sure how to describe it. Because it's so straight, it's also a bit slippery and it's harder to keep the hair together nicely as you try to braid it. I think when the hair was completely down at first, I walked by a little too fast and the breeze I created actually moved some of the hair and created fly-aways.
My wig also has some shorter hairs that I'm not thrilled with. I had to pluck a few shorter hairs that were very visible around her hairline, and when I braided her hair, I found a pretty big chunk of hair randomly sticking out. I know AG wigs have shorter hairs to keep the wig light and not have the doll topple over from being top-heavy, but the length of this chunk doesn't seem to have any rhyme or reason. I didn't see the same thing happen with the other braid. Still, after already returning one doll, I'm not sure I want to ask for yet another replacement, and I have a hunch this is kind of the norm.
It's sad to think that this is just how American Girl dolls are these days -- imperfect wigs, imperfect eyes, imperfect paint. Everything is "good enough," no matter if the doll is playline or collector, and both are more expensive than ever. This is why I can't help but look at older dolls on eBay and Mercari. I feel like it was a lot harder to find an imperfect face back then. I know people have similar complaints when it comes to other Mattel dolls, like Barbie, so this is probably just how they've decided to do business now.
Overall, I do think my Truly Me #134 is really cute. She has a really sweet expression and definitely looks like some of my Maltese family members. I'm really glad to have the cousins reunited -- including Valletta (Belle) now, too!
Edit 10/25/25: Sophie's hair was driving me crazy with all of its choppiness and random short hairs, so I decided to try curling it a little, to help disguise the imperfections. As someone with wavy/curly hair, you'd be amazed at just how much unevenness curls can hide! I carefully wound Sophie's hair into medium curlers and poured hot water over them to set. When they were mostly dry, I reshaped them with a brush, and then left them to dry completely. I didn't want dramatic ringlets, just the soft form of curls at the ends (sort of the way that Truly Me 86's hair is). The hot water actually helped fix some of the weird texture, too! Her hair's a lot softer now.
Here's Sophie with her new 'do, ready for Halloween! The top bun is REALLY dramatic, but it works for now. 😅
A little about Sophie...
Sophie Micallef
"Sophie" remains one of the most popular names in Malta, and it's one I've always liked the sound of (probably mostly thanks to MyFroggyStuff and Howl's Moving Castle). "Micallef" is also a popular last name and one that runs in my family. Both of Sophie's parents are Maltese, but the majority of her cousins are only half.
She initially lived near San Francisco -- which is one of the places where you're more likely to find other Maltese-Americans -- and then her family moved down to Southern California to be closer to their extended family, including Sophie's closest cousins, Mia and Valletta.
Sophie, Mia, and Valletta have many similarities (much like my own closest cousins and me). They all love finding any excuse to meet up, going to nearby theme parks together (especially Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm) or conventions, playing video games together, and making websites about their favorite fandoms. They also love spending time in the kitchen with their grandparents, learning how to make Maltese favorites like figolli (sweet Easter pastries), imqarrun il-forn (baked pasta), or pastizzi (savory pastries).
The three have grown up having more "aunts and uncles" than they technically do, with many family friends just being referred to as "Auntie" or "Uncle" So-and-So. And like my cousins and me, they've also grown up hearing Maltese and English interchanged so rapidly during normal conversation ("code-switching"), they've spent most of their lives thinking certain words were English, only to find they aren't (usually by the blank stares on their classmates' faces).
(To give you an example, I was like 21 or 22 before I understood that "souf" was not an English word for a tiny bit of fuzz or fluff like you might find on someone's shirt. Oops.)
There are times the three feel a little sad that they always have to explain what "Maltese" is -- that it's more than just a breed of dog or a famous falcon -- but they're still proud to have a connection to the island of Malta. It's a beautiful and vibrant place, with friendly and welcoming people, and a rich history. They hope to go see it for themselves someday, and see where their parents and grandparents were born.
