Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the store from my trip. It was very crowded, and my husband was already cranky about being in the middle of the 4-hour trip from our house to Cleveland, so my first experience in an AG store was pretty short. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to go up there again soon, or I can turn on the puppy eyes and ask for another detour at Thanksgiving!
I can’t say AG Columbus is the best store ever – the store layout isn't great. There are a lot of display racks sitting out in the middle of the store that break up the walking paths, some paths that lead to dead ends, and it generally took a while to find the things I was looking for. This is not a store where you come in knowing what you want, grab it, pay, and leave. This is a store where they want you to amble around, look at all the cute displays, then spend three times as much as you’d planned!
Also – and this is just my brand of crazy – I hang out with adult collectors way too much, because I was not prepared for the sheer amounts of KIDS around. As much as I act like a 12-year-old, I really don’t get along with children, aside from my own! (I’m so OLD. I feel like I should just grab a cane to shake and tell the durn hoodlum kids to get offa my lawn.) Between kids darting in front of me, kids running into my legs because they weren't looking where they were going, and kids just being loud and OMG I HAVE THAT ONE AND I WANT THIS ONE AND MOMMY I WANT, I wasn't all that sad to be going.
ANYWAY, enough of my geriatric ranting. Robin was with me (of course – she demands to go along on anything resembling an adventure), and here she is showing off some of the new gear:
(I did get some strange looks while walking around with Robs – not sure if it was because I was a 30-year-old holding a doll, or because the doll in question was wearing knee-high punk boots, a skull-print shirt, and a Jayne Cobb hat.)
Our first purchase was for the Pie. I told her she could choose an outfit for Viola (her Bitty Baby) or one of the AG pets she loved to look at in the catalog. She chose a pet:
This is Julie’s bunny (originally Nutmeg, now called Jewel). The Pie’s preschool class has a pet bunny, so Pie is into all things lagomorph.
Nutm – sorry, Jewel – is a pretty cute piece of fluff. Her fur is velvety, and she’s got an interesting combination of structure underneath. Her paws are hard plastic, but the rest of her is stuffed. Her nose gets a bit lost underneath the fur – it’s just a stitched design – and I wish they’d gone with solid black eyes instead of the two-tone ones.
The basket is just a normal wicker basket – you can probably find something similar at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. The cushion has “Nutmeg” embroidered in red (Pieface turns it upside down).
The carrots (shown here with Robin) are nicely detailed, if a bit smaller than scale. They’re clumped, and plastic, which is par for the course with AG.
I was pretty pleased that Pie chose this set. It’s $20, and gets you not only the bunny, but a basket, cushion, and three clumped carrots. (To contrast, the MyAG dogs are $22, and just come with the dog and collar – and it’s easier to find an off-brand, in-scale dog or cat.)
The rest of the haul is for me. :D
AG Columbus, like most AG stores (from what I can tell, anyway), has lots of racks placed throughout the store with small items – doll t-shirts and jeans, tote bags, the new hair accessories, brushes, etc. I chose a pair of store-exclusive jeans ($12) and the Silver Stitch Hoodie ($14).
The jeans look great at first – nice dark wash, Velcro fly, and five functional pockets.
Functional!
They’re less great when on an actual doll. Merrill is one of my skinniest dolls, and these jeans barely fit on her.
Velcro fly is noticeably strained.
And something must have changed between the glowing reviews on AGPT and now, because these jeans are definitely moon-bait when Merrill is sitting.
They’re also just a smidge shorter than I like, but that may be just personal preference.
All in all, you can probably find equal (if not better) AG jeans from any Etsy seller who uses Liberty Jane patterns.
The Silver Stitch Hoodie is a bright red color, with a starry lining in the hood.
It fits over a camisole quite nicely.
The hood is not entirely functional – it’s too small for Merrill’s head. I wouldn't even try this on a doll with longer hair.
There’s a metallic red star on the left front, with silver stitch embellishments (hence the name) along the shoulders.
The AG logo on the back, also in metallic red.
There’s lots of nice topstitching detail on the hoodie.
This is a nicely detailed, well-fitting piece - my one complaint is that the teeny tiny zipper pull is a bit difficult to grasp and pull - and I’m glad to have a zip hoodie in my girls’ wardrobe that isn’t grey.
Next post: Some of AG’s new releases – the Striped Hoodie Outfit and the Science Lab Set!
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