All Dolled Up

I think we can all agree that 2023 was truly the year of Barbiecore. While the trend has been around since the inception of the blonde-haired beauty in 1959, Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated film adaption caused somewhat of a “Barbie-Mania.” From Margot Robbie to Billie Eilish, we all embraced our inner sparkly pink purpose. But, like Gerwig’s film taught us, all good things must come to an end.

Move over Barbie, there's a new historical doll in town. She’s 18 inches tall, anywhere from eight to 14 years old, and has books written about her life in painstaking detail. Her name? Well, she actually has many. And, while you might not think of her as a fashion icon like you would Barbie, she has certainly had an impact on style in her own right. Meet American Girl Doll-core.

American Girl was founded by educator Pleasant T. Rowland in 1986. Rowland’s hope was to educate girls about history through the lens of someone their own age experiencing the events firsthand. The company was later purchased by Mattel in 1998, who also owns Barbie, and began rapidly expanding from there. From sports uniforms to patterned pajamas and holiday dresses, the American Girl Doll brand created its own imaginative world. Today, there have been hundreds of individual dolls released by American Girl, and the company continues to stand as a pillar of play for many children. Truly anyone, no matter their interest, can find a doll they have a connection to.

When the brand first started, it exclusively functioned out of catalogs. Kids would wait weeks for new seasonal catalogs to come in the mail. Flipping through the pages, each person had their own way of dissecting the catalog, from clippings for a creative collage, to gigantic red circles around fashion favorites. While the dolls were the showstoppers, the well-made and impeccably-styled clothing captivated many. Of course, these pieces portrayed the historical time period they were from and helped tell the story—and, consequently, each doll had its own particular aesthetic. American Girl Doll-core, is a melting pot of many aesthetics. While there are hallmarks of the style such as hair bows, Mary Jane shoes, and doily socks, each individual doll offers their own style branch.

For instance, horse girl Felicity has inspired the cottagecore style. Many believe this nostalgia to be the appeal of Reformation dresses, as some have similar pastel colors and floral prints to Felicity’s Victorian-era gowns. Or you can look at trust-fund orphan Samantha, who is the epitome of the old money style. Samantha is the perfect inspiration if you want to dress like a character straight out of Succession.

Many adults today have fond childhood memories associated with American Girl Dolls, similar to those of Barbie. This partially applies to millennials and Gen Z, who were young at the peak of American Girl’s renaissance. Recently, American Girl teamed up with influencer Sydney Rose Paulsen, known online as 5hensandacocketiel, who specializes in American Girl Doll photography, for a #DressLikeAnAG day. Thousands of people flooded Instagram with photos of them all dolled up like their childhood dolls. Many noted that a lot of the styled pieces they wore to match their doll were already in their closet.

A large portion of playing with their dolls, to these American Girl “alums,” revolves around style. It was an accessible way for kids to explore and express themselves through fashion when they did not have the same control over what they were wearing day to day. While these fashions were not always perfect—with a lot of dolls getting bad haircuts in the process, and many accessories being lost along the way—the feeling of maturity through stylistic expression it provided still lives in us today.

Ella MordarskiMay 1, 2024