Kirsten's Review

Hi!

The other day our friend Marisa did a great WITO (What I Think Of) post on me. Well, on American Girl of 1854 Kirsten. It was a really nice post. We had a few areas of disagreement, but that’s okay (I’m a little biased on the subject). She didn't have time to cover all the outfits (we don't have all the ones she featured either) so I thought I’d give you a review on one not listed.

Kirsten’s Baking Outfit

The outfit arrived in the smaller rectangular box, not the big square ones.

Included are the dress, apron, “wooden” shoes, and hair ribbons. (Note: I’ve never changed my ribbons. I’ve had to retie them once or twice, but never changed them.)

The dress is blue with a varying shades of blue paisley. The material is cotton and nice. Honestly, this is not my favorite outfit. I don’t mind the Velcro closure in the backs and on the wrists of my dresses, but this one has elastic at the wrist and up the sleeves. I don’t know why they felt this was a good design. While rubber and elastic was around before 1854 it was not widely used in clothing until 1900. Early versions of elastic were unreliable in the weather and constrictive. You could find it mostly used in gloves, suspenders, shoes, and stockings.

The apron is really pretty, but it would have been nicer if had real embroidery and not the printed pattern. I do love the apron and have worn it many times without the dress.

There are other reasons I don’t like this outfit much. The bodice is tight and crooked.

While the neckline has pretty white lace, it has more of a modern “boat-neck” shape to it. And since the bodice is crooked, so is the neckline.

The shoes are really cute. They are not wood, but plastic. They go on with a little effort. The design is really nice.

I can stand in them okay, but I have to lean a bit forward because they are really slippery. 

This is a view of the entire outfit on.

And from the back.

Another look at the shoes from the side.

These are the navy blue ribbons that came with the outfit. Never been out of the package.

Have a great day!