Bows and dolls

Not to be confused with Guys and Dolls, LOL.  In honor of World Doll Day, today's bow has my other love on it.

If you don't like dolls, kindly swipe left, because this post will contain much geeking out over the various American Girls.  SouthernClassicBows made this puppy.  Her bows are usually based on kids' books, so when I saw this bow with the honest-to-God dolls on it I knew it had to be for me.  I call bows like this "bottle cap bows," because the bit in the center looks like a bottle cap.  Decorated bottle caps were all the rage a few years back.

The center shows Addy Walker, Rebecca Rubin, Caroline Abbott, and Kaya'aton'my in their BeForever clothes.  For the uninitiated, BeForever was a reboot that was...kinda divisive among AG fans.  Most of the existing historical dolls got new clothes (Caroline and Kaya were the exceptions), and the books were redone to eliminate illustrations (and as it turned out, parts of the stories).  Some fans liked the change and some didn't; I personally took a "Don't fix it if it ain't broke" attitude, though I'll admit that Addy looks beautiful in blue.  Sweet little Addy looks good in just about everything, even her work clothes.

Interestingly, the actual bow part shows several of the historical girls BEFORE the BeForever revamp.  Most notable of these is Rebecca, who is clad in her old red dress.  Since this ribbon is grosgrain it's impossible to see nitty-gritties, and indeed if I didn't know which doll wore what I wouldn't be able to tell that this is Rebecca.  But it IS Rebecca, and she's wearing red.

I liked Addy's redesigned clothes, but I preferred Rebecca before the reboot.  Purple looks nice on her, but I just...like the red better.  Good ol' Caroline is also here...

...as is the short-lived Marie-Grace Gardner...

...Julie Albright, the resident hippie...

...and two of the modern girls.  The modern dolls have gone by many names over the years; I think "Truly Me" is still the label, but when I was a pup they were called "American Girl of Today," on the grounds that we nineties children were a part of history too.  The dolls on my bow are both clad in the True Spirit outfit, which was available from 2012 to 2015 and is admittedly not my favorite AG outfit.  The image is kinda low-res so I'm having a hard time seeing, but I think these dolls are #33...

...and...my gut says #42 on this one, but I have zero proof.  Her hair looks too light to be #42.

#33 got a re-design and re-release in 2022 and is now #102, while #42 retired in 2021 and likely will never again see the light of day.  Kaya and McKenna Brooks (one of the Girls of the Year) would also normally be present on this bow, but in my case they're pretty close to wear the bow was tied in a knot.  Suits me; I like Kaya just fine, but I've never liked McKenna.

Regarding how this bow ties into my collection, I think it's kinda amusing that I own...well, my AG collection numbers in the mid-twenties now, but the only one on the bow that I own is Julie!  Addy and Rebecca may join me in the future, but for now I'm happy with the girls I've got.  My favorite one is another Truly Me doll, #49.  She's popped into the blog once in the past, and she's a frequent flyer over on Confessions of a Dolly Lover, especially when the weather gets bad.

A lot of folks who own this particular doll name her things like "Skye" or "Skylar" or some name dealing with the color blue, because so far she's been the only Truly Me doll with a dark skin tone and blue eyes.  Most of AG's darker dolls have brown or hazel eyes, unless the buyer goes the custom route.  I went a completely different direction with names, naming my doll after Rita Cheryl Matney (who sadly died young) and Jim Lassiter (who isn't real).  Go figure, my mind works in weird ways.  Notice that Rita Cheryl also has hair bows, by the way.  I didn't think she looked complete without something covering her rubber bands.

Indeed, her little bows are the reason why she popped into this blog in the first place!  Three of my other AG dolls are also hair bow enthusiasts; from left, their names are Doremi Latowski, Zoe Barber, and Justine-Marie Beauregard.

Doremi and Zoe are more Just Like You dolls (#27 and #26, respectively), and Justine-Marie is a custom job.  Note that they all have side parts; a doll with a side part usually needs some sort of hair bob, even if their hair is short like Justine-Marie's is.

Happy World Doll Day, y'all!  I know dollies aren't everyone's ballywick, but they bring me great joy, as well as a creative outlet.  

Love, 

RagingMoon1987