American Girl vs Target brand

[theseaword]

I love AG, but if your daughter doesn't know what AG is yet, I would stick with the target doll. If she's anything like me, once she's older she will have a strong opinion on which AG doll she wants and will be better at taking care of it. Wait until then to buy her the AG.

[beenandgone]

In my opinion, American girl is worth the extra money. AG dolls are quality. They have real wig hair, and it feels nice to touch, even after YEARS of play and abuse. The Our Generation dolls Dave that sticky, static hair. I don't like the way it feels even new.

And their clothes aren't necessary interchangeable because the dolls torsos and limbs are different sizes. I prefer the AG because their clothes have held up for ever.

My girls play with all of MY American girl dolls, that I got as a child. Over twenty years ago. They both have their own doll, but they play with mine, too.

But that's just my opinion. I love the target our generation accessories though! The kitchen set is so cute, and perfect size. I'm thinking about the camper for my kids this Christmas. But I stick to AG dolls and clothes.

[beenandgone]

Plus, AG has the doll hospital if anything breaks. I've sent in my Original Kirsten doll 3x to have limbs reattached and get a new head—and she's 25 years old. So 3 repairs in 25 years I think it's pretty great.

[beenandgone]

Aug 11, 2016 7:40:23 GMT -5 rvasc said:

Aug 11, 2016 7:34:31 GMT -5 theseaword said:

I love AG, but if your daughter doesn't know what AG is yet, I would stick with the target doll. If she's anything like me, once she's older she will have a strong opinion on which AG doll she wants and will be better at taking care of it. Wait until then to buy her the AG.

Hmmm. This is a good point. OTOH, even at 3, she takes really good care of her things. It's just in her nature. For example, all the toy sets, games, and puzzles she has still have all the pieces. She inherited my neuroticism, lol.

When DD1 was little, she had a hair fetish. She loved to twirl her hair in her fingers. So for Christmas when she was 2.5, I got her the bitty twins, because they had real hair, versus the painted hair of bitty baby.

Dd1 is now almost 10, and the twins are still in incredibly great condition, and DD1 does NOT take care of anything. DD2 adores playing with the twins, and she just carries them around by their hair.

[abvintage]

The great thing about AG is the books that accompany them! If she's old enough to start reading chapter books it might be a good time to get them for her. If she's 4 she's likely not to that point yet so I'd wait until she's old enough to get her the whole kit and caboodle.

Love me some AG dolls. I still have my Samantha and Molly from when I was a kid.

[oldbaylover1024]

My grandmother bought me my AG doll when I was 7 and it still looks practically brand new. Like heartbot, it's stored away until J is old enough to play with it.

I'd say go with the Target brand now if you don't want to invest. But if you make the leap to AG, it'll hold up over the years. And the clothing and accessories became really special gifts for Christmas/birthday. I swear I spent every extra penny I had buying stuff for that doll... My sister and I loved ours!

And the AG store is amazing.

[bearfootz]

If she's too young to care about the difference then I would say Target is fine. But, since you frequent the AG store - I would say that you should go with the AG doll. I don't know that they'd get snotty about a Target doll - but to me it would be the same as going to dinner at a nice restaurant but bringing your own drink from McDonald's.

Sign up for the emails to watch for sales and specials. Otherwise it's a pretty neat experience to go to lunch or tea at the store and you could definitely find a doll that looks like her there. Otherwise check with friends and family or FB rummage and see if anyone is retiring their collection. I've gotten quite a few items from girls that going into middle school and would prefer the cash over their dolls.

[bearfootz]

Another tip my sister taught me is that when you go to the store and she sees a million clothes and accessories that she wants you just have her collect the little picture/product description to add to her wish list. Somehow taking that sheet satisfies them for the moment and they forget about it by the end of the shopping trip (hopefully).

We usually buy the clothing and accessories from Walmart, Target, and Amazon. For some reason I can justify the $100 doll, but not the $300 kitchen.

[moosemom]

My girls love AG. When they were younger, I French braided the hair and told them they were not allowed to undo it. It worked out fine.

They do have some of the MG accessories like the chairs that attach to the counter and the doll carrying cases. It has held up well and seems on par with the comparable AG items.

Many of my friends have gone with the MG doll first and then the AG later.

[rach]

My oldest got her first AG for her 4th birthday. The doll itself is in great shape, but, after 6 years, her hair looks terrible. Her other dolls that she got when she was older are in wonderful, wonderful shape. I lean towards getting the AG doll because you really will have it forever. We supplement clothes and accessories from other places though.

The restaurant at AG is super cute! You could always take her there for tea or dessert when you're getting the doll. They will pull up a chair for the doll and give the doll a present to take with you. It's adorable (and overpriced, but you knew that part!).

[bearfootz]

Aug 11, 2016 7:40:23 GMT -5 rvasc said:

Aug 11, 2016 7:34:31 GMT -5 theseaword said:

I love AG, but if your daughter doesn't know what AG is yet, I would stick with the target doll. If she's anything like me, once she's older she will have a strong opinion on which AG doll she wants and will be better at taking care of it. Wait until then to buy her the AG.

Hmmm. This is a good point. OTOH, even at 3, she takes really good care of her things. It's just in her nature. For example, all the toy sets, games, and puzzles she has still have all the pieces. She inherited my neuroticism, lol.

Did you see the Wellie Wishers dolls that they have now? They are aimed at 5+, which is younger than the target age for the other dolls, and are priced at $60 vs. $100+.

This is Ashlyn:

[Deleted]

FYI Costco usually sells $75 gift card that's worth $100 so I'd check that out for a bit of saving.
We have 3 AG dolls, and my kids are not that careful with them at all. We got them as gifts so I wasn't entirely aware of how expensive they were so I didn't ask my kids to take special care. Still, they look new and I'm especially amazed at the quality of hair. I know you're supposed to use a special brush but we just use kids sized wet brush and that's worked really well to keep tangles away.

[xanthepants]

We have both (AG were gifts). The Target brand with the curly hair has not held up well in the hair dept. No matter what I've done to try and fix the hair its a big frizzy mess and will likely stay that way but otherwise it's fine. She still loves her 2 years later. The AG doll and bitty baby are in perfect shape and the hair is silkier and easier to care for. We just got a wellie wisher as well. We usually buy the accessories at target or custom etsy. She's still too young to ask for AG only stuff.

[McBenny]

Always the opposite - girl you know I am not paying $100 for no doll. I don't care if her hair was made of gold. I wish I would.

That being said, DD got the Target doll around 6 I think. She is still going strong. The clothes from Target and or Walmart for that size have been fine. Jessica has a drawer full of clothes. The hair is still going strong.

DD at this point braids the dolls hair all the time and still does styles in her hair. I can take a picture of Jessica when I get home. Jessica has had a bed, her own suitcase, and again clothes all from Target or Walmart and we have not had problems with any of it. Jessica had curly hair but DD has straightened it with so much product and braiding. We have had no knots and all of that.

I forget how much the doll cost. We have asked DD if she wanted another one and no she has been happy with just Jessica. Jessica also looks like DD which she loves.

[McBenny]

I thank the Lord every day we have been able to dodge the American Girl bullet.

[sassypantzz]

I love my AG dolls and they are such great quality. I second the AG hospital and will absolutely be getting DD one.

[thebanich]

If you can swing the AG I would go for it just for qualitys sake. I got DD one of the target ones and her hair is the worst to deal with.

That said my DD is 5 and I still haven't surrendered my Samantha or Josephine dolls to her because I don't think she will treat them with care.

[fancynewbeesly]

Reese has two AG dolls. One is the doll without hair. It helped her while losing her hair. The other was a gift. It is the African American doll with the springy curly hair. The doll with hair-the hair held up amazingly. Especially for it not being straight hair.

She has all target accessories, clothes, and furniture.