Marie-Grace has stayed in her box, because two dolls at once was a bit too overwhelming, but I did take some snapshots before putting her back into storage.
Marie-Grace in her cardboard prison.
Marie-Grace is much prettier in person than in photos. She reminds me of nothing so much as Jane from Disney's version of Tarzan - big forehead, big eyes, itty bitty mouth and chin.
This probably isn't the point to mention that Jane's character design is one of my least favorite aspects of that movie, is it?
Anyway, Marie-Grace looks nicer in person, simply because her face is softer and less angular.
I know a lot of people on AG Playthings have given their M-Gs the old "pincurlectomy", and (if she stays) this Marie-Grace will get one too. Those pincurls are so thick, they overwhelm her delicate wee face.
Her meet dress is terrible. Just, completely awful. Unlike Cecile's, it is that obviously-synthetic polyester windbreaker fabric, and it's obvious that AG Quality Control was asleep at the wheel when this dress came off the line.
Synthetic windbreaker fabric I can deal with. The "tongues" are tacked on, and could be easily removed. But the entire dress is cut crooked!
Check out the horizontal stripes of that plaid, tilting lower and lower until they run into the hem.
And the bodice is cut crooked too...in the opposite direction, which emphasizes the "ick" factor.
I find this all pretty funny in this circumstance, but I'm really glad I only paid $50 for this doll. If I'd paid a full $105 for a doll wearing this dress? I would be very displeased. I get that AG is a factory operation, and their aim is to produce as many dresses as they can, for as little time and cost as possible. But this is not the quality of product I'd expect for a C-note and then some.
(To compare, a 2012 Pullip retails from PullipStyle for a usual price of $120-$130. I've bought two Pullips thus far, and they both had far more detailed, well-made and complex outfits - and it's much harder to sew for a 12" doll.)
Book and packaging. I have to say, I'm not fond of the C&M-G books at all. The shared-story format was an interesting idea (and avoided the pitfalls of "black main doll not selling well"/ "black doll is white doll's accessory" that would have come from a main character/best friend setup like Felicity, Kit, Molly, or Sam), but it just didn't work in practice. It meant you got half as much story, and there was a lot of overlap. Meet Cecile and Meet Marie-Grace cover the same events, told from different viewpoints. Also, the subject matter was depressing and those illustrations are just bad.
Enough Negative Nancy-ing. Here's something I did like: Marie-Grace's accessories!
I got a good laugh at the size difference in accessory boxes.
The necklace tried to escape on me - slipping out of its package and under the tissue! I thought for a bit that I had received a faulty accessory pack.
The hat is a stiff felted fabric and very cute. I haven't opened up the fan yet.
The necklace is by far my favorite piece - it has a nice weight, fits all kinds of time periods, and even opens!
So, that's Marie-Grace. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with her! My ideas are:
1) Keep her, re-wig her, and have her join Team Modern. Pros: she's cute, and she'd be a great re-wig project (needs a new wig, was cheap enough that I won't sweat the process). Cons: I have no character for her.
2) Keep her as-is, and make her Elizabeth Cole from 1774. Pros: no work, Felicity would have a friend in 1774, and I'd have a brunette Elizabeth. Cons: need more colonial dresses.
3) Sell her at cost on the secondary market.
I'm leaning toward 2 or 3, personally. Team Modern is reaching saturation point - I have one, maybe two more characters in mind, and I've already firmly "cast" other dolls in those roles. Having a brunette Elizabeth would be nice, and Felicity is the only doll I have without a companion in her time period. On the other hand, I could just list her on CL or PT and put the $50 toward the opening of the Columbus AG store.
GAH, decisions.
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