"Molly's Aviator Outfit" for 18" American Girl Doll Review

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(More customer reviews)It's hard to believe how much this company has changed. If this outfit were made today ( which it wouldn't be because Mattel is so against anything with substance), it would be unlined, ill fitting and made of some shiny fabric - probably pink - presumably to catch the eye of shallow girls that Mattel believes are only capable of seeing things if they are frothy pink glitz.
Instead, the jacket is an exact copy of the real Averix bomber jackets made popular during WW2 and which are still popular today. It is fully lined with a well scaled quilted fabric, has a tiny zipper and snaps. The pants are a nice cotton twill and have the proper pleats and side zippers of that time period.
My dd is 14, and a typical teenager (is anyone close to finding a cure for texting yet?) but there was a time when she was quite unlike the Mattel model of what a girl should be. She became fascinated by the history of fashion at the age of five, after we listened to Anne of Green Gables on tape (it was the description of leg of mutton sleeves that caught her attention). We were so grateful to have this marvelous line of doll clothes to foster that interest with. I could show her something simple like these pants, and we'd get into an intelligent discussion about women's changing role in society (she always led these as she, not I, was born a feminist). The next thing I knew she'd be writing first ladies, or comparing fashions of other eras, or writing stories about monkeys, who just happened to be knowledgeable about history. It slays me when I hear parents scoff that American Girl dolls are nothing but overpriced status symbols. They certainly are, if you, as a parent only chose to introduce your girls to the as such. Sadly, most people who buy then do nothing more with them. But, like any tool, they have a much better use, and we found it and every day we marvel at the person we built with it.
When she lost in dolls, my dd put them away but kept the outfits out. She began ( and still does) dressing her beloved sock monkeys in these same clothes. She's moved on to other interests ( wants to be an environmental scientist) but her appreciation for quality and her understanding of how people once lived is as intact as ever.
If kids reflect the quality of the toys their parents provide them with, (I think they very much do, especially if some teaching goes along with it) then I promise you, this outfit is well worth the investment. Every teen has vapid moments, but at least I know that at the end of the day, this is a girl with a lot of substance, and part of that I owe to American Girl (the Pleasant Company version), and their well researched (and well executed) fashions of the past. The sad thing is that we have nearly 70.00 in gift certificates for the company and now there isn't a thing they sell that she would want to buy, because all that the company now sells is cheaply made, overpriced garbage. It would never have happened if more parents saw the possibilities in the product that Pleasant Rowland saw so well and tried to convey to all of us.

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This Molly's Aviator Outfit was made by the American Girl® Company for the 18" Molly Doll. (Doll NOT included). It's flight time! Molly wears twill KHAKIS and bomber JACKET with WASP emblem. Tuck her braids under the aviator HELMET and wrap a SCARF around her neck. for the 18 inch American Girl Doll. ***Doll NOT included*** For age 12 and up.