Another AG doll question- which doll do your recommend?

[plain jane]

Dh and I want to buy our 7yo a second AG doll for Christmas. She currently likes all of them and doesn't seem to have a preference for one over the rest.

 

My biggest concern is the hair. She wants longer hair so she can do more with it (so no Emily) but I want fairly easy to maintain (so not super curly like Cecile). I was leaning towards Rebecca but after reading reviews I see that her wig is very thin and when her hair is tied up you can see her scalp very clearly. :( Apparently Kaya's hair is cut weird (blunt cut?) because of the braids? :confused: I was leaning towards her until I read this.

 

So, which doll has easiest, yet most versatile hair for a 7yo? I've read and reread the AG forums but have not come to any decisions so I thought I'd ask here. The doll is going to get played with and loved so I'm not looking for long-term keepsake but would like the hair to stay nice rather than turn to a rats nest too quickly. :tongue_smilie:

 

We're already getting Marie Grace so need a different choice. :)

 

 

ETA: Does anybody happen to know when AG will announce their 2012 GOTY doll? We're eager to meet her. :D

Edited October 8, 2011 by plain jane

[dangermom]

We have found Felicity's hair to be long enough to play with, but not horrible for maintenance. Molly's hair is too long. Oh wait, did they retire Felicity? Um. Well, a doll with hair like Felicity's!

[plain jane]

We have found Felicity's hair to be long enough to play with, but not horrible for maintenance. Molly's hair is too long. Oh wait, did they retire Felicity? Um. Well, a doll with hair like Felicity's!

 

Yup. They retired Felicity :( or she would be the one I'd get. So which one has hair like Felicity? :toetap05:

[lmrich]

Kit has the easiest hair

[pink&bluemommy]

Kit has the easiest hair

 

But her hair is short. We have her friend ruthie also and she has nice hair though.

[kitten18]

DD has Josefina, her hair is very nice. I was worried that her hair would be difficult (I even had a thread about it here, about a year ago) but it's pretty silky and easy to maintain.

I've come to the conclusion that ALL to dolls do best if you keep their hair in a braid most of the time.

[sparrow]

My daughter loves playing with Julie's hair. Josefina's hair is a mess, but Julie's hair is as silky as the day she got her.

[Paige]

What about Kanani? Her hair is very long and very nice. My DD has Felicity and Kanani and their hair is very similar. We also have Elizabeth and Josefina. I love Elizabeth's hair and think it is the easiest of the bunch. Josefina's hair is my least favorite and is coarser and doesn't shine as much. Elizabeth, Kanani, and Felicity all have a little curl in their hair and Josefina's doesn't, so in my very limited experience, I'd go for another wavy/lightly curled hair doll over the long straight hair girls. My youngest has some bitty twins and their hair, even though it is shorter, does not stay as nice as the longer haired ones my older girls have. Marie Grace looks a lot like Elizabeth so I expect her hair will be really nice.

[MtnTeaching]

My dd has Kanani and she loves the little bit of wave in the hair. (Plus, she loves ANYTHING that has to do with Hawaii.)

[DianeW88]

Hi, Jane!

 

As far as hair goes....I'd say Julie's has the best chance of not getting all wadded up and nasty. We have Kaya, but my dd never undid her braids, so her hair is still beautiful. Her friend did....not so beautiful. LOL Our Kit doll also has nice hair that's held up well.

 

Our Kirsten, Samantha and Molly's hair all got matted after a few years. You can brush it out fine...it just doesn't look (or feel) as nice. I know some of those dolls are retired, but if you happened to find one somewhere...that's the hair scoop.

 

Felicity's hair held up pretty well, but again, my dd didn't really mess with her hair too much. She liked it to look nice, and she knew the AG folks did a better job with it than she did.

 

We have a couple "girls of today" as well, and their hair has always looked good.

 

We also have Marisol...don't think she's available any more, but her hair went the distance, too.

 

Having said that, you can always send your doll into the AG hospital for a "hair fix". They come back looking as good as new. I think I need to buy some of their conditioner. :lol:

[nukeswife]

Does it have to be a historical character doll? My dd has two AG dolls but they are both the "just like you" dolls so she was able to pick what she wanted them to be like a bit. One has strawberry blonde hair with bangs and hazel eyes just like dd and the other has light brown hair (no bangs) with blue eyes. Both have straight hair which makes it easier to take care of and not have it turn into a rats nest. Originally she had the Girl of the Year Nikki, who had wavy hair and my dd hated it because even with just minimal combing (with the special comb AG recommended) it would be a giant mess. She sold her on ebay in order to buy her first Just Like Me doll.

[Amy in KS]

We have Kit, Gwen, and Kanani. We love Kit's hair, but not Kanani's. Kanani's wants to frizz if you try to style it at all. We decided within a week to just leave it alone. If you want to style it a lot, I think your best best is to get a long straight haired doll (just like you type).

[Amy in KS]

Oh, how about Julie? I forgot about her...

[momsquared]

My daughter loves playing with Julie's hair. Josefina's hair is a mess, but Julie's hair is as silky as the day she got her.

 

Agreed on Julie. DS and dd love to play with her.

[myfatherslily]

We have Kaya, Kit, Molly, and Addy. Normally I'd say that the best doll is the one who's loved the most!:) Since there's no strong preference, here are my other thoughts.

 

The dolls with braids have little bits of hair that makes a neat part in the center. When you try to make braids in the other dolls, their wigs show. This annoys me. However, even us humans come with many flaws and we are loved nonetheless. ;)

 

Kaya's hair IS wildly uneven once you take the braids out. My DD didn't care, but I trimmed it so it was a bit straighter. Her hair is VERY long. Too long, IMO. If she was my doll, I'd cut it shorter! But, alas, she does not belong to me! DD adores her very long hair, even though we cut it braid almost all the time so it can stay nice. She is very beautiful. Her skin tone is lovely.

 

Molly, Samantha, and Kirsten... which ones of those are even still available? Those are the classics. They are the very first three dolls that Pleasant Company (as it was once called) made. They were made for the love of dolls, not for the love of marketing. Molly's hair is long enough to play with but not too long. Her hair is nicely parted! Her stories are fun. I'm quite partial to dear Molly, as she's been my favorite for over 20 years!:D I saved up and bought her myself in '92.

 

Kit is lovely, but her hair's no fun.

 

We have Josephina as well. I bought her off eBay, her hair cut short and bedraggled. She's quite gorgeous. I imagine she's really wonderful with long hair.

 

Since I have her, I'll say that I love Addy, but her hair is more difficult than a straight-haired doll.

 

Overall, if you're looking for good hair, I vote for a doll with straight, medium-length hair that comes in braids. It will be easiest to manage and provide the most versatility for styling.

[Guest lahmeh]

Another vote for Julie! My dd LOVES to play/brush/braid Julie's hair. :)

[Jennifer3141]

We have Samantha, Kaya, Rebecca, Felicity, Elizabeth, and Kirsten so far.

 

Of those dolls, I think Samantha, Elizabeth, and Felicity have the most beautiful hair in that they can get played with and after a few minutes with Mama styling them I can make them look almost as good as new. I agree with the moms on the braided dolls. Kaya's hair was very weird unbraided and when I did get it braided nicely again, I did have to snip some jagged ends off.

 

Rebecca's hair is not as lush as Elizabeth's or Felicity's but it is gorgeous once styled and easy.

 

I've been considering Julie and her friend for DD this Xmas but I have a hard time with that one - she CANNOT be "historical" that's MY decade!!! :lol:

 

Did AG ever announce who/if they are retiring a doll this year?

[katilac]

Julie has fabulous Marcia Brady hair :D

 

Even the wavy hair is much harder to keep up that the straight. Curly is impossible.

[sparrow]

 

I've been considering Julie and her friend for DD this Xmas but I have a hard time with that one - she CANNOT be "historical" that's MY decade!!! :lol:

 

 

 

That's what I struggled with, too :tongue_smilie:. I'm so glad we went ahead and got Julie. She's a beautiful doll and my daughter has spent HOURS playing with her. She makes videos of herself styling her hair :001_smile:.

 

Seriously, I've never seen more beautiful doll hair.

[J-rap]

Wow, am I behind the times! I was going to suggest Samantha, but it looks like they don't even have her anymore!

[Dmmetler]

How bad is Kanani's hair? My 6 yr old has been patiently mentioning that Kaya wants Kanani to come help her (Kaya takes care of the water dragons, and DD says Kanani will be able to handle the fire dragons since she's from Hawaii)-but I'm nervous about the hair. Kaya still looks new after a year, but her hair has been unbraided a total of twice, both times so my mother could style it (and then rebraid it before she went home)-DD hasn't dealt with it much.

[Paige]

My DD's Kanani's hair is great. She plays with it constantly and she still looks new. Of course, she's not that old being the girl of the year and all, but we got her and Josefina the same day and her hair is nicer. DD always wets the hair with a spray bottle filled with a little conditioner mixed with water and uses a wig brush. The only issue is that you really need to make finger curls in Kanani's hair while it is still a little damp to keep her wave. Felicity and Elizabeth's waves pop back in after brushing more easily.

[happypamama]

DD has one of the Just Like You dolls that has medium-length hair with a nice wave to it. She also has Kirsten. The JLY's hair is easier to style, and it's long enough that she can style it while still keeping it manageable. She can do it up in the curler set too; Kirsten's is a bit long for the curlers.

[jjins]

My DD has several AG dolls and dolls similar, she has several doting grandparents who live far away and for most of them she is the only granddaughter.... UGH! :glare:

 

However, she is eight years old and MY rule is that she cannot take down any of their hair yet. She does play with Kit's which cannot be put up, but she has learned the value of brushing from the bottom.

 

We do allow her to play with Julie's hair. Julie is the only doll that she has who's hair seems to hold up to the wear and tear of an experienced "hair dresser". I agree that the straight hair is easier to style and knots less.

 

I would suggest JULIE or a just like me doll with LONG STRAIGHT hair. :-)

 

OR... one of the several knock off doll, which all cost less than replacing a wig.

[Amy in KS]

I think Kanani's hair is difficult. My 9 year old saved for a long time for her and her hair never looked the same after it was brushed once (carefully and with the metal wig brush). My daughter was very upset about it....We can't get the waves to look the same as when it came out of the box. It's not messy, but it's not the same...