Journey Girls Celebrate Outfits

Four New Journey Girls Dresses

Toys R Us has been ramping up the amount of accessories that are out for the Journey Girls this year.  Many of the new outfits that have been released with the London line have been very cute.  When the Celebration outfits came out I bought all 4 of them immediately.  The four outfits are fancier dresses for the Journey Girls to go out in. There is a purple satin, knee length dress, with black lace on top, and purple tulle shoulders.  A pink satin, knee length dress, with black polka dotted lace over the skirt.  A navy blue one shoulder floor length fitted gown that has a fabric flower on the waist.  And finally, a teal, flower printed dress that is knee length in the front and floor length in the back.

The entire Celebrate collection

The Celebration outfits are more expensive than the regular outfits, coming in at $24 per outfit.  They all come with shoes, a purse, a hanger, and the dress.  The question is…are these outfits worth it?  Let’s look at them individually to answer that.

Callie in the beautiful purple Celebrate dress.

The first outfit is a beautiful deep purple knee length dress.  It has wide sheer gathered straps from the bodice of the dress.  The bodice is a satin purple fabric with a layer of sparkly chiffon like fabric over it.    The gathered skirt has a layer of the purple satin fabric beneath a light chiffon gathered top layer.   The outfit also comes with black tights, shoes, and a matching purse.

Let’s start with the good.  This is a cute dress.  It is elegant and pretty, without being super dressy.  This is a great dress for a party or dancing; semi-formal, compared to Jordanna’s formal dress.  I really like the fabrics, the cut of the neckline and the color.  It’s not super ornate or complicated, but it is still very elegant.  The fabrics are higher quality than on of the normal outfits from Journey Girls.

The bad; let’s start with the shoes.  They are the same old shoes that all of the Journey Girls come with.  Nothing special.  I would like to see something different for a special outfit like this.  The plastic shoe is just boring.  That being said, it is very functional, fits well, and looks nice. 

Same old shoes…although they are shiny!

The bigger problem with this outfit is the color.  I made the mistake of not washing this outfit out of the packaging, and just putting it on Callie.  After a few days on Callie, she had purple on her chest and back where the dress rubbed against her.   After washing the dress I have not had anymore dye transfer issues…but I should not have had any in the first place!   If you buy this outfit, make sure to wash it at least once, before it goes on your doll.

Purple marks showed up on Callie after a week of the outfit being on her.  The marks line up perfectly to where the dress was on her chest and back.

This is her back. 

Rating

All ratings are out of 10

Value 4 – If there had not been the issue with the color transfer I would give this an 8.  For the cost, this outfit has some great accessories.  It is also a beautiful dress that is sewn well.  The fact that it has to be washed a few times before it can be put on the doll is not acceptable.

Fitment 9 – The dress is made for the Journey Girls, so it fits wonderfully.  For some reason the shoulder straps are difficult to get up onto Callie’s shoulders.  They are tight.  Otherwise, the tights and shoes fit perfectly.

Versatility 7 – The shoes, tights, and purse can be used with other outfits.  The dress is an elegant dress.  It is only going to be used for fancier occasions.

Cuteness 8 – The color on this dress is wonderful.  I love the cut and design of the dress.  It is just a cute dress.

Overall 4 – Why so low if most of the scores are good…the color transfer.  When an outfit is purchased there should never be any worry about if it will ruin the doll it is going on.  Yes, if the dress gets washed a few times there are no more issues with color transfer, but that shouldn’t have to happen by the consumer.  Or there should be a warning.  I guess that we wash our clothes before we wear them so there is no color transfer.  I just don’t like that it happens with the doll clothes.  I think especially since I have American Girl outfits that do not need to be washed before use. 

If you look past the dye issue, this dress is wonderful.  Very cute, very fun.  Buy it on sale.  Make sure to wash it a few times before it goes on a doll. 

Callie is very cute in her purple dress.

The second outfit is very similar to the first one.  A knee length satin fabric, gathered waist dress.  The neckline is a high, frilled neckline, with no sleeves.  The skirt has a layer of black polka dotted tulle over it, accented by a black ribbon around the waist with a cute bow in the middle.   The dress also comes with the good old plastic shoes, but these have a pink ribbon on the toes.  There is also a fuzzy black purse with a silver chained strap.

Jordanna wearing the pink polka dotted dress.

I like this dress.  I think it is cute, especially for the Journey Girls age.  The fabric is wonderful.  The neckline is really cute.  And I love the polka dotted tulle.  The only negative is that it is $24.  It is really not fancy enough to warrant the extra cost.  Maybe if there were some tights or a sweater/shawl that came with it, the price would make more sense.  I happened to get it when it was on sale, so I didn’t pay $24, and felt that it was worth the price I paid.  Just a note…after the issue I had with the purple dress I made sure that I washed this dress.  I did not see any color transfer from this dress.

The frilled neckline is cute.

Rating

All ratings are out of 10

Value 7 – I would have liked to see a few more accessories with an outfit this expensive.  Still, the quality of the fabric is higher than a normal outfit…so I think the value is acceptable.

Fitment 10 – Fits perfectly.  As it should, being made specifically for the Journey Girls.

Versatility 5 – Not much to use with other outfits.  Just the shoes and purse.  I do like that the shoes have a cute pink bow on them. 

Cuteness 8 – What a cute dress.  I love polka dots, but have never really seen a fancy dress with polka dots.  I have seen casual dresses and business dress, but never really party dresses.  This dress is very elegant and cute at the same time.  I love the neckline on it!

Overall 8 – This is a great dress to have in the wardrobe.  It is a wonderful dressy outfit that is not a ball gown.  It is mad well, the shoes are cute, the purse is nice…I just wish there was maybe one more accessory with it. Even without the extra accessory I would buy this dress, especially if it is on sale!

Jordanna posing in her pink dress.

The navy blue dress is made with a satin fabric that has a chiffon fabric overlay on part of the dress.  It has an asymmetrical, off the shoulder neckline, where the left shoulder has a strap and the right side does not.  The chiffon forms a circular cap at the left shoulder of the dress, covers the entire bodice, gathers at the waist and then angles to the left, draping over the satin of the dress all the way to the floor.  So it half way covers the dress.  There is a matching blue ribbon around the waist with a white fabric flower on the right hip.  The dress also comes with a matching purse and blue plastic shoes.

Chavonne is modeling a very elegant shimmery blue dress from the Celebrate collection.

I really like this dress.  It is fitted to the Journey Girls, making the cut that much more impressive.  I would have rather had a second should strap, even if it was thinner.  To make it so that the neck line can go under the dolls opposite arm, the cut gets a little low.  I love the chiffon on top and the way that it drapes around the hip of the dress.  It makes the dress modern and elegant.  To me it is a bit of an older style cut for the Journey Girls age, but it is okay.  Again I wish that it came with another accessory, maybe a necklace, bracelet, or something for the hair.  Still a very nice gown for the cost.  Again I washed this dress and had no color issues.

The cute seems a little low on the left side…but it is okay.

Rating

All ratings are out of 10

Value 7 –  Another Journey Girls dress that is made well, it just doesn’t have much else to it.  This really only has the shoes and purse as accessories.  Still, it is a wonderful dress, with a great design, and nice fabric.

Fitment 9 – As I mentioned there is a bit of an issue with the asymmetrical neckline not fitting real well.  Also this is a snug dress, so it just Velcro’s in the back.  The good thing about that is it makes the dress form fitting.  The more stuffed new Journey Girls are a tight squeeze though.

Versatility 5 –  Shoes and purse.  The shoes are a dark blue and will not match many outfits.  The dress is definitely an evening out dress.  Chavonne is not going out to see a movie in this outfit.  So like all of the Celebration outfits it is limited in that aspect.

Cuteness 8 – Very cute! This dress is more sophisticated than the purple or pink dress.  It is an elegant dress, where those two are cutesy.  It is simple, but I think that is part of what makes it elegant.

Overall 8 –  This dress wants to be a 9.  I almost gave it a nine…it’s just missing that one thing that would put it up there; an accessory, a lower price, better shoes, etc.  That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t buy it, it just means that there are other dresses that I may buy before this one.  At one point before the holidays Toys R Us had the Celebration outfits at $20, plus in store they were buy one get one free!  That is a great price.  Keep your eyes out and pick this one up.

Chavonne is stunning in her navy blue evening gown.

Finally, my favorite of the quartet.  The teal dress is a thicker cotton fabric with a raised flower pattern on it, with a satin lining on the inside.  The dress has a jewel cut neckline, is sleeveless, has a gathered waist, with a micro skirt cut up front that curves down into a full length gown in the back, flaring out to give a gorgeous gown look.  Because the cut is so high in the front there is a knee length off white straight skirt sewn into the dress.  The gown hangs in waves off of Kyla’s hips and can be fluffed out to give it more volume.

Kayla in the pretty teal dress.

The dress comes with teal shoes and a handbag that matches the dress.  Again I wish that this outfit had some more interesting shoes than the standard low heel plastic shoes that come with every outfit.  This outfit would look amazing with a ballerina tie-up heel.  It’s okay though. 

A cute matching handbag comes with the outfit.

I would have liked to see another accessory with it also, but the craftsmanship on this dress is the best I have seen with the Journey Girls.  It’s still not as intricate as Jordanna’s dress, but it is the best individual outfit that they sell.  If there was one of the Celebration Outfits I would suggest, this one is it.  Very stylish, well made, beautiful color, and cute as can be! 

Rating

All ratings are out of 10

Value 8 –  Again…this dress is a well made dress.  Out of the four, this is one has the best design, stitching, and fabric feel. All that is missing is the accessories.

Fitment 10 – Perfect!  It fits tights in the right spots and loose where it is supposed to be loose.  Wonderful dress.

Versatility 5 –  This dress is for an occasion.  It is elegant and beautiful.  The shoes, because of the teal color, are going to be more difficult to use with other outfits.  The purse is the same way.  I don’t think that they should be a different color, but as far as versatility it limits them.

Cuteness 10 – I love this dress!!!  Especially on Kyla.  It is gorgeous!  I think I may even like it more than Jordanna’s dress.  Here’s why; Jordanna’s dress is a gown and as such is not as versatile as this dress.  Plus I love this color.

Overall 9 –  Giving this dress a few accessories (a tiara or head band, gloves, fancier shoes) would make this a 10, even with the versatility issues.  If you can only pick up one of the Celebration dresses, this is the one that I would pick.  It is such a modern fashion.  It’s a wonderful color.  It’s made really well.  It’s a very good outfit.

This dress is the favorite of the four dresses in the Celebrate collection.

Overall these dresses are fabulous and are all worth your money.  There are a few that stand out and are better than the others (namely the two blue dresses), but all of them are cute.  Not quite as nice as American Girl dresses, but much less expensive, and they fit better to the Journey Girls body type.