I am still in a blissful state following the arrival of my new stuff from Canada. I went web-surfing to see if other people love Maplelea as much as I do. I didn’t find much, good or bad. I found one article that criticized the Canadian stereotypes they portray, but also celebrated that they are uniquely Canadian, not Americanized (too bad they seem to be copying a lot from American Girl–especially since they launched the Maplelea Friends line).
In my search I discovered Australian Girl dolls. They were pretty adorable, but didn’t seem very collectible. They have things like “New Matilda” meaning that they’re releasing the Matilda doll with a new outfit. Then there aren’t very many outfits. And their only book was comic-style. I like my dolls to have a story. That’s why I don’t have any of American Girl’s just like you dolls.
My next discovery was Gotz. They’re German, and I think they have quite a legacy, but the only website I found was in German, so I started looking at other dolls instead. I’ll research them more later.
Next find was Carpatina. They are slim bodied and all vinyl, so I read from people who like making and fitting clothes on them. Plus, the company sells tons of doll patterns. Their dresses are amazingly detailed, and historical, and I love them. There is a big emphasis on fashion history that I loooove. I think this would be a great line to get into to learn more about historical fashions. I think my mommy would have a blast making dresses for them.
Next find was A Girl For All Time. They are really pretty. There’s only two of them (so far): Matilda and Amelia. They have a backstory of inheriting a trunk from their ancestors and learning about them. They are British, but they have a USA shop. They have novels and stories and a blog and I want them! Matilda visits the court of King Henry VIII and Amelia is Victorian. They cost a bit more than American Girl or Carpatina, but they seem really gorgeous. The backstory leaves room for dolls from many other eras. This could be better than American Girl, especially since selling out to Mattel.
I want all of them, but I don’t think I should blow all my money all at once. I am well on my way to becoming Crazy Doll Lady (as of today I have 27 American Girl, 4 Maplelea, 2 Bitty Twins, 7 Pullip, 3 Little MissMatched, 5 Cabbage Patch Kids, and a bunch of Madame Alexander at my mom’s house). But I really really want Matilda and Amelia and a Carpatina. And my American Girl addiction seems to result in at least 2 new dolls a year, and I should probably finish out the Maplelea girls with Brianne and Leonie. Soon I will literally run out of room for them. I think I’m gonna go check shipping prices and bank statements. Bye for now!
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