TBT: American Girls Dolls

This week, TBT is dedicated to the unforgettable American Girl Dolls. Those 18-inch human-like dolls were the best part of our generation. They were our daughters when we played house and our best friends at home. Remember buying matching outfits? Oh, those were the days…

Molly, Samantha and Kirsten were the most notorious, but they were only three out of many dolls created since American Girl was created in 1986. There were “Historical Characters”, which was the main focus of the company, and then there were “Girl of the Year” dolls that started in 2001. All of the dolls came with a story and a little bit of personality to them. My American Girl also allowed us to create mini-me dolls—they looked exactly like us…in 18-inches.

And who could forget about all of the accessories and little pieces of furniture you could buy? Absurdly enough, you could buy almost anything for these dolls. That’s right—you could buy anything from beds to bicycles, and even pets. Playing school with them was the best because they had backpacks with mini school supplies and lunchboxes packed with imitation food. And of course, American Girl created school desks for the dolls to complete the school atmosphere.

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the movies that were made. They were supposed to bring the dolls’ stories to life through their adventures and triumphs. And yes, there were real actors/actresses in these movies. Shailene Woodley, AnnaSophia Rob and Abagail Breslin played some of the leading ladies, which is somewhat comical because did any of us actually know this? Probably not. Fun fact: Willow Smith was in the Kit Kittredge movie (insert laugh).

American Girl dolls were an amazing part of our childhood. They allowed us to play make-believe and have fun with our friends. More importantly, we were able to escape reality and let our young minds wander.

Photo credit: americangirl.wikia.com