What American Girl Dolls Taught Me About Culture and Fashion

(Me in 2017)

From matching outfits and accessories, American Girl dolls played a very big role in many early 2000s kids' childhoods. I always say going to the American Girl cafe for lunch with your doll in New York City as a child was a rite of passage. I recently looked through the old catalogs I saved from ten years ago that list all the dolls and their background stories. It hit me that American Girl is not just making toys, but rather they are telling a story through fashion, history, and culture, which is why I created Styling-Self-Expression. I specifically remember wanting to read about each doll's background and finding it so intriguing that each doll had its own style, heritage, and was from a specific era in history. My first American Girl doll was Samantha, a girl who lived in New York during the 20th century. I remember choosing Samantha because she was from New York, just like me, and I liked her unique style. I had asked for her whole clothing collection and book, A Keepsake Guide to Samantha's World, for my birthday. While reading her book and styling the doll in her old-fashioned clothing, I learned how distinct life and fashion in New York were in the last century. I often wonder if I would be so drawn to learning more about culture and fashion if I had not grown up with American Girl. I truly believe that the time spent styling and reading about these dolls was a very formative part of growing up.