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alittlebitbethany · 2 years

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Happy #pridemonth everyone 🏳️‍🌈 I hope that members of the #lgbtt2tqqiaacommunity know that you are welcome here, any haters this isn’t the space for you. Image Description: a doll wearing a dress with a #rainbow on it holding a heart shaped #progressprideflag sign #dolls #pride #dollphotography #lgbt #loveislove #gwynntan #welliewishers #americangirldoll #americangirlbrand #dollsofcolour #agig #agiger #dollphotography

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supercoolag · 1 year

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5hensandacockatiel · 2 months

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I feel like we all can agree that Kaya is one of the most underrated American Girls.

#american girl #agig #americangirl #ag dolls #american girl photography #kaya #Kaya'aton'my #pleasant company #recreation

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stluciabuns · 6 months

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The Historical Accuracy of Kirsten's Dirndl

Despite its adorableness, I have seen many people complain about Kirsten's Swedish Dirndl outfit.

I would kill a man to have bought this for $22.

She wears this outfit for most of Meet Kirsten, being that she is an impoverished immigrant child who does not own any other clothes, and also for continuity reasons.

Frequently, I have seen it claimed that this outfit is not historically accurate and should not have been included as part of her collection. Conversely, I have also seen many German folk costumes marketed as being made for Kirsten. Both of these pain me a great deal (actually they just annoy me).

Nonetheless, I have decided to further procrastinate doing actual, meaningful work and instead set out on a new mission: figure out what the fuck is up with Kirsten's Dirndl.

In this post, I will lay out the research I have done, the evidence supporting the historical accuracy of this outfit, the challenges to its existence, and ultimately aim to answer the question of whether this outfit is one Kirsten plausibly could have worn on her journey from Sweden to America in 1854.

Let's begin.

First, the name. Pleasant Company/American Girl referred to this outfit as "Kirsten's Swedish Dirndl and Kerchief."

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a Swedish dirndl. "Dirndl" is a German term, and refers to folk costumes worn by people in German-speaking areas of Europe (the Alps, Bavaria, Austria, and so on).

Kirsten is Swedish, and before Meet Kirsten has never left Sweden before. It is very unlikely she would have acquired, and regularly worn, a German dirndl. See this gorgeous example of a dirndl c. 1840:

Outfit, c. 1840. Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Münchner Stadtmuseum.

This ensemble is beautiful, but tragically, it is not what Kirsten is wearing.

What, then, is Kirsten wearing? What kind of traditional dress does Swedish culture have?

As it turns out, the proper term for what she is wearing is a folkdräkt. This is a Swedish term meaning "folk costume." Here is an illustration depicting multiple examples of Swedish folk costumes. In proper terms, these would be called "Svenska folkdräkter."

Nordisk familjebok (1908), vol. 8, Folkdräkt. Retrieved from runeberg.org.

These outfits are not quite identical to anything we see in Kirsten's collection, but you can observe various elements that have carried over -- the vertical stripes, black woolen skirts with ornate trim, and white dresses and red sashes (hello St. Lucia)!

Let us dive deeper. What do extant Svenska folkdräkter, specially those made c. 1850, look like? Is there anything like Kirsten's outfit among surviving examples?

Johan Sodermark, "Kvinna i dräkt."

In my few hours of research, this example image is the closest thing I have found to Kirsten's dirndl.

This lovely portrait is a watercolor from 1850 painted by Johan Sodermark. It is very creatively titled "Kvinna i dräkt" -- literally, "Woman in costume." The pattern of this woman's apron is incredibly similar to that of the skirt of the Kirsten doll's outfit -- a dark red base with blue and yellow stripes woven throughout.

Here is a closeup from the American Swedish Institute.

Although it is not shown in the doll-sized version of the outfit, the illustrations in Meet Kirsten by Renée Graef show us she also wears a light-colored, striped apron, which is almost surely the one that comes with her meet outfit.

Illustrations from Meet Kirsten, drawn by Renée Graef.

Notice the fabric of the bodice in the third illustration, though: Kirsten's top is made of red plaid fabric, while Sodermark's girl has an outfit full of stripes. Kirsten, bless her heart, spends an entire book outfit-repeating a potential pattern-mixing fail: plaid and two kinds of stripes and a floral scarf. Did Pleasant Rowland just hate her? Is Kirsten on another, elevated fashion plane far beyond my comprehension? Is there a historical basis for this combination of patterns?

I have no answer to the first two questions, but thankfully can speak on the third.

Komplett Vilskedräkt, Västergötlands museum. Some pieces c. 1865.

The top is plaid and laces up, which is not necessarily the most common way of fastening (in most examples, the bodice pins up), but it is a sensible choice considering both Kirsten's age (9) and the fact that Pleasant Company was making toys for little hands.

The model for the outer shell (the lace up top) belonged to Karl Edberg from Hällestad; it is not dated, but at least one piece of this set (the bag, which is not shown) is c. 1865. Additionally, the blouse here is very similar to the one that comes with Kirsten's winter outfit -- look at that keyhole neckline!

So, Kirsten's Dirndl outfit is actually very accurate as far as the clothing itself goes...the name remains the trouble.

I have no idea why they called it a dirndl. Folkdräkt is definitely challenging to pronounce, but why wouldn't PC just translate it as "folk dress" or "Swedish outfit" and call it a day? Why the insistence on referencing a culture that isn't relevant to the doll or her dress at all?

Perhaps this is a mystery to tackle for another day...

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futuristicsaladparadise · 2 months

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Someone on Reddit asked to see a different doll in Claudie's meet outfit and Ivy was the closest to hand. Ever since, I've been looking at her, thinking "Wow, she's really cute in that."

I just wanted to share.

#american girl dolls #american girl #my dolls #agig #ag #dolls of color #ivy ling

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agfanforever · 3 months

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A little WIP of my two favorite girls. I am quite lazy when it comes to finishing my art but I really like this piece and have an idea I hope to execute and have finished by Valentine’s Day!

… but just in case I don’t… take this for now

#american girl #american girl dolls #agig #nellie o’malley #samantha parkington #my art

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aterabyte · 1 month

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god. I hate how physical disability can make combatting depression worse by randomly preventing you from leaving the house on a given day and forcing you to wallow more

#i have not spoken to a person out loud today and now it's close enough to when i need to sleep that a call seems unwise #some actually original content from agig #vent

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meltycatdolls · 1 year

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finally spent some time with julieta, my sapphire splendor girl! i got her when she first released, then immediately got busy with work and life stuff for a few months - she’s really not one you can just snap a casual photo of! for valentines day, i finally figured out how i wanted to style her and took these photos. she’s definitely giving bi magical girl 🌸 🌙 🔮

#american girl #american girl doll #agblr #agig #american girl sapphire splendor #dollblr #mahou shojo #mahoucore #mahou kei #kawaii aesthetic #magical girl

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midsummerdolls · 2 years

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A number of AGIGers have collaborated to post photos with captions filled with anti-LBGT rhetoric in an attempt to “reclaim the rainbow,” so I thought I’d cover my bases and post this here too. If you are anti-LGBT, go ahead and unfollow me. Do me a favor and block me as well. My accounts are a safe space for all marginalized peoples, and if you are a bigot, you are not welcome here. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️✊🏿

#american girl dolls #american girl brand #american girl doll #agig #american girl #custom american girl

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innerstar-u · 1 year

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Meet Evette!

Indigo had a sale for Black Friday and I couldn’t help myself and I love her and she’s so pretty.

(I’ve set a goal for myself to take toy photos every day for a month, so this is day one of the December photo challenge.)

#agig #agblr #american girl #american girl dolls #american girl doll #evette peeters #my dolls #on the fence about removing her lashes #on the one hand I want to keep her pristine #on the other hand I still think they look silly when the doll's eyes are closed #eli's december photo challenge

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alittlebitbethany · 2 years

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For week 10 of #springhassprungag2022 the theme is #rainbow 🌈 in honour of #pridemonth so here we have Gwynn wearing her lovely rainbow dress. Image Description: a doll standing against a farmhouse background wearing a summer dress with a rainbow on it #gwynntan #welliewishers #dollsofcolour #americangirl #americangirldoll #americangirldolls #americangirlbrand #welliewishers #welliewisher #dolls #dollphotography