I got to Chicago early yesterday morning, with the plan of just spending some time wandering around the city while waiting for friends to get off work. Because it had been soooo long since I'd really gotten down and dirty shopping, I wandered over to the Miraculous Mile on Michigan Ave. and hit up all the cheap affordable stores that I can't find at home in Tennessee.
I don't do a lot of strolling through stores whose merchandise I know I can't afford or stuff I know I really don't need with the notion if I don't actually see the stuff I won't have the temptation to buy, but I did take a side trip through a store which I didn't really need anything ... The American Girl store.
I know, what, am I 8 years old again? Still, American Girl was a big part of my childhood. I began reading the books when I was 4 (I blossomed early as a reader) -- back when the only options were Kirsten, Samantha and Molly. A few years later Santa brought me a Kirsten doll for Christmas. And subsequent Christmases and birthdays resulted in gifts of her clothing and accessories. I used to hide in the bushes in the backyard to pretend I lived on the frontier like Kirsten did.
Being in the store really took me back and blew my mind. They have like a dozen characters and dolls now! And they 'retired' Samantha for some reason. Still, I was drawn to all the little outfits and knickknacks, just as if I were 8 again.
I'm guessing a bunch of you modern gals were American Girl fans too. Which was your favorite character? Did you have a doll?
P.S. I'm having a blast so far in Chicago and BlogHer hasn't even started. I'm sure I'll be doing more updates later. Stay tuned!
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Thursday, July 23, 2009
Trip down Michigan Memory Avenue
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9 comments:
I got into the American Girl dolls kinda late in life....12 to 16. I LOVED THE BOOKS. As an amateur historian I loved the description of the past and situations. I loved Samantha but looked the most like Molly. I even bought a Samantha doll. I'm sad to hear that they retired her. I've still got the doll though so perhaps years from now it will be worth something...lord knows it should seeing as how I paid $100 for the doll. But it was worth it. Glad to hear someone else remembers them too.
I so wasn't into the American Girl dolls. I do have to admit they're totally awesome.
I had Molly. I got her when I was 6. Because we both had glasses and brown hair. I thought Samantha and Molly had the best clothes. I mean, Samantha had a MUFF! (The not dirty kind.) And Molly had saddle shoes!
I so wanted to be them. Except for Samantha's rich-girl guilt and Molly's forced consumption of turnips.
My fav was Molly. I always wanted a doll, but my parents thought $100 was too much.
time out. you started reading at 4?
anyway, i had kirsten. i remember i actually cut her hair and i think gave my mom a mild stroke. i also got down and dirty with the babysitters club books, and little sisters book, and goosebumps, and...
I was in love with the American Girls - even though I was really probably too old for them for the bulk of my obsession with them. I had three dolls: Samantha was my first and true love, and then I got Kirsten. And lastly I got Felicity (I think she was in the second wave released; she's Little Miss Revolutionary War). I still have them all, and the various little accessories I collected along the way. I vaguely look forward to forcing my daughter(s) to love them as much as I did.
For the longest time, I only had the catalog. I would actually open it up to the Kirsten page and talk to the doll in the catalog. I think I just about died when I got her! I eventually got Felicity too. Even though I live near Chicago, I have yet to visit the American Girl store!
For some reason I bypassed all the American Girls stuff. I think they came out just as I was growing out of the doll phase and into Baby-Sitters Club. Still, I think it's cool that little girls can learn history and play at the same time.
So, I had Kirsten, Samantha, and Addy for some reason? Obviously, I have never been racist, and I've always loved my black sistas. Did they really retire Samantha? Wish I still had that doll. Maybe she's be worth lots of money. Right.
And, I have to admit, I totally had a Kirsten-esque dress up outfit, complete with bonnet and apron. My friend and I would play "prairie girls" for hours.
Oh, wasn't life so simple and fun back then?
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