July 14, 2011
WiCM’s Tour of American Girl Place
I was just the right age for the Cabbage Patch Rush of the mid-Eighties. Every kid had one at my elementary school. Although I thought these little guys looked more like half-baked bread than people, I wasn’t immune to frenzy.
So I asked my parents for a dough-faced best friend for Christmas (to the chagrin of Ronnie Grogan, my actual dough-faced best friend). But something went awry. In the mad holiday panic, the only Cabbage Patch Kid up for adoption was a girl.
I didn’t want a girl. Before you condemn me, let me explain. This was to be my first humanoid doll experience–stuffed animals residing down a whole other rabbit hole–and I wanted to start with the familiar. Also, I was six. SIX. To be clear, my parents were not imposing a progressive will on their child by giving me a female doll. I’m sure they looked hard for a boy, but “Sarah” was what the market offered. Honestly, given the stories I’ve heard about Christmas Eve Cabbage Patch insanity, I don’t even want to know what my parents had to do to acquire her.
So on Christmas morning, my folks watched apprehensively as I opened my gift, making it clear that Santa brought this one. I stared at that chubby, vinyl face for a several long seconds. My brother’s dumbfounded expression at seeing the dress and pigtails said it all. This was tantrum territory, but the reaction didn’t come. I quietly thanked my parents, then took my new companion to my room and attempted to play with her. I really did, but I just wasn’t feeling it. The fun of doll play escaped me.
This was my baggage heading into American Girl Place for this week’s WiCM’s event. I just don’t get dolls. It’s a large part of so many childhoods that I just don’t understand. But maybe this event, a trip to today’s epicenter of cosmic doll energy, would help.
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American Girl Place was awe-inspiring. An entire world can be found in the store, which occupies several floors in Midtown. Here are the highlights:
- Café – where dolls, sitting in tiny chairs, can dine with their owners (and if you don’t have a doll, you may borrow one for mealtime company)
- Doll Hair Salon – featuring prices that are honestly competitive with my crappy barber
- Girl of the Year – these are the dolls that made American Girl famous, each tied to a specific point in history
- My American Girl – there are countless combinations of attributes to select to build your own perfect doll
- American Girl magazine – along with Maxim, GQ, and Sports Illustrated, one of the most popular magazines in my brother’s fraternity.
Here’s what I learned:
The American Girl brand offers a wealth of play possibilities. If you’ve ever seen the catalog, you’re aware of how many accessories are available for these dolls. The store brought this notion into focus. American Girl is a rich, immersive world.
The brand is careful to present life as seen by a young girl. Although aspirational play is a theme we’ve encountered in other WiCM events, American Girl doesn’t offer scenarios where their dolls act like adults. There are no wedding sets or scaled convertibles. The dolls’ worldview is faithfully frozen at eight-and-a-half.
Once again, storytelling is a huge factor in a successful toy property. Actual printed stories are associated with each Girl of the Year, and numerous accessories enhance the vividness and play potential of these narratives. Interestingly, these dolls come loaded with more lore behind them than most toys. I would love to know how easily kids make up their own stories with this kind of pre-written background. I wonder if there is a major difference in play between the Girls of the Year and the My American Girl dolls, which come with a blank slate. Either way, American Girl is clearly on to something.
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Seeing this store helped me relate this blockbuster brand’s success to the rest of the lessons we’ve learned this year. I actually understand dolls a little better now. I still think Cabbage Patch Kids are unappealing—and that I probably just alienated 80% of the blog’s readership—but I now grasp the appeal of today’s premier dolls.
Thanks to Rebecca Ostrich, WiCM’s secret mole infiltrating the store, and every other WiCM member who made this personal growth possible.
Until next time,
Lucas