Just Like You
From American Girl Dolls Wiki
Contents |
[edit] American Girl of Today/Just Like You Dolls
The Just Like You dolls consist of fifty-two dolls with different combinations of skin tone, eye color, face mold, and hair color that are intended to resemble girls of various ethnicities and looks. They are intended to resemble a older child within an age range of about eight to twelve years. Unlike the Historical Characters, the dolls are not named or characterized by AG directly. Instead, purchasers are encouraged to name and create the doll's personality themselves.
American Girl does not assign races to any of the dolls. The dolls are defined in terms of three skin tones--dark, medium, and light. This allows a purchaser to decide the ethnic background of her doll herself without being tied to a race. (These terms are also applied to Bitty Baby and Bitty Twins.)
Many of these dolls are turned into various custom characters by older collectors including unique historicals, uncreated characters from the historical books, true-to-life historical characters, and characters from other fandoms. This is due to the fact that the doll's anatomy allows modern dolls to fit any historical clothing.
It is currently common for American Girl to release a modified version of a Girl of the Year after she is retired; these are called "Not!Doll's Name" by fandom.
[edit] Doll Numbering System
The numbering system for the dolls was originally tied to the ordering codes. With the modification of the ordering codes, the numbers for the dolls are determined partially by release order and partially by American Girl. While on the website the dolls are not given numbers, the dolls are numbered in the display cases at American Girl Place.
[edit] Meet Outfits
Meet Outfits are the outfits the dolls are sold in; they are updated roughly every two years to reflect updated children's fashion. While the dolls no longer come with creative writing books, the outfits are still called meet outfits.
| Meet Outfits for American Girl of Today/Just Like You Dolls | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995: Mix and Match Outfit | 1996: First Day Outfit | 1998: Red Vinyl Jumper Outfit | 2000: Urban Outfit | |||
| 2002: Go Anywhere Outfit | 2004: Ready for Fun Outfit | 2006: I Like Your Style Outfit | 2008: Star Hoodie Outfit | |||
[edit] Outfits, Accessories, and Furniture
See: List of American Girl of Today and Just Like You Outfits, List of American Girl of Today and Just Like You Accessories, List of American Girl of Today and Just Like You Furniture
Along with the dolls, American Girl releases several outfits that are intended to reflect the current fashion trends for modern girls. Outfits generally are assumed to have a life cycle of about two years. This can be shorter or longer; many holiday outfits, for example, only last through a single holiday season before retirement. Furniture tends to last longer, as well as some accessory sets.
[edit] History
[edit] 1995: American Girl of Today
Twenty different dolls were originally released as the American Girl of Today line in 1995. Girls were encouraged to create their own dolls that were part of history. Each doll came with a set of six blank books and a writing guide. Several modern (for the time) outfits were released to mimic the Historical Characters lines with Meet, School, and Holiday outfits. Outfirs often came with Minature Grin Pins, to mimic the Dress Like Your Doll outfits.
[edit] 1998: American Girl Today
New dolls were released and the meet outfit began to change more often. The dolls now came with only one blank book (the "Meet" book) and a writing guide.
[edit] 2006: Just Like You
In 2006, the American Girl Of Today began to be called "Just Like You." The dolls were then marketed as avatars or friends of the girls who would be purchasing them--rather than emphasizing a girl's place in history, the girl is encouraged to see the new character as a buddy or playmate.
[edit] 2007: Bangs
In 2007, the bangs of many of the dolls began to be modified to finer, wispier bangs. #7, #14, and #19 were the first to have modified bangs; in 2008 #2, #4, #5, #12, #13, #16, and #17 were all given finer bangs.
[edit] 2008: Earrings
When Just Like You 27 was released, she came with attached silver star earrings. In 2008, her earrings were removed and any Just Like You Doll could be modified at purchase to have pierced ears. The doll, if so selected, may now come with Pierced ears and a page of six studs and danglers to mix and match.
[edit] Criticism of the Just Like You Line
[edit] De-emphasis of Character Creation
With the switch of the line to "Just Like You", critics have pointed out that the line no longer emphasizes the dolls as characters in time or encourage writing. One meet outfit, the I Like Your Style Outfit, came with a book and CD that had a pop-like song on it; unlike previous books, the book did not encourage a young girl to begin creating her own stories for the doll. The new book, Fun with Your Doll, encourages play.
Several collectors still call the dolls "American Girls of Today."
[edit] Feminizing Outfits
The line has also caught criticism due to the hues of the outfits and the general lean towards more feminine clothes. Many outfits under Pleasant Company varied in both style and colors and several outfits had darker, neutral, earthy tones. Most outfits now are in pastel hues with several outfits having elements of pink and purple. There are fewer outfits that vary in activity and several more feminine activities such as ballet.
[edit] Lack of Racial Diversity
While there have been fifty-two dolls released (not including remodels), the majority of the dolls can be mapped to a Caucasian background. The original release of the line included three dolls with the Addy Mold and one unique Asian mold; only four of the originals did not have "light" skin. 2006 was the first and so far only time a Just Like You doll has come out with the Josefina Mold, #28. Up until 2008, where the Jess Mold was used for the first time, there had been only one Asian mold used--the one for #4, who does not share her face with any Historical dolls. In 2009, two dolls were given the Sonali Mold--the first time a face mold had been used multiple times at release since 1986.
It also seems as if one dolls is exchanged for another; for example, #31 came out the same time #18 was retired. This happens with several dolls, however--#3 was retired for #32.
Recently, the skin tone for "dark" dolls has become a lighter brown than previously; the "medium" tone so far appears to be the same.
This leads to some people, seeking more diverse dolls, to make custom dolls. Some purchase Historical Character dolls and dress them as moderns or purchase Just Like You Dolls and customize them to diversify their collections.
