Chavonne in a Celebration Dress

Chavonne Looks Amazing in Toys R Us's New Dress

Last year Toys R Us released a group of dresses under the “Celebration” title.  This year they released three outfits.  The pink dress being reviewed today is one of them.  Toys R Us has named this outfit “Perforated Pink Dress”.  A not so glamorous name for a beautiful dress.  The outfit comes with only two accessories; a small silver purse and the normal plastic pink flats. 

There are two layers to the dress; the top layer is a pink, light fabric with holes in diamond shapes throughout the dress.  The material underneath is a white satin material.  

The outer material is longer than the satin underneath it, but both are around ankle length.  The duel skirt materials are sewn together at the waist, but are free flowing from the waist down.  A silver textured belt is sewn to the dress at the back.  

The top of the dress has the same two layers of material everywhere except the shoulder straps.  Since the two layers are so close together the holes actually look like silver dots on top of the fabric.   Three white lines sewn into the bodice accent the outfit and make the dress look fancier.  The shoulder straps are gathered slightly at the dress, then flatten out as they go over Chavonne’s shoulders.

The purse is extremely simple.  It is a silver material similar to the belt.  It’s got a circular bottom, a fold over top, and a rope strap.  The purse doesn’t latch, it just folds over.  The strap is fairly short, but can go around Chavonne’s shoulder. 

There is no surprise in the shoes.  They are the plastic flats that every outfit comes with.  These flats are glossy and bright pink to match the dress.  There is nothing else significant about the shoes.

Ratings
All ratings are out of 10

Value 8 – While the dress is beautiful and well made, it doesn’t have much else that it comes with.  The shoes are the same old thing; nothing new.  The purse is nice, but not amazing.  You are paying for the dress.

Fitment 10– Like all the Journey Girl outfits, this one fits wonderfully.     The bodice is designed to be fitted, which it is. Nothing is loose.

Versatility 6 – Like some of the other fancy dresses, this one does not have much versatility.  It really can only be used as a fancy dress.  As with most of the Journey Girl outfits, the shoes and purse can go with most anything though.  The versatility is higher then the cheerleading outfit, because the dress can be used for different events; a dance, fancy dinner, night out, etc.  

Cuteness 9 – This is an adorable dress.  The color is beautiful on all of the Journey Girls.  Chavonne looks especially good in it.  The perforated dots are a great design, giving the dress the illusion of sparkle as the holes move past the shimmery material below.  Beautiful dress!

Overall 8 – This is not the best dress that Toys R us has put out, but it is very good.  It’s beautiful.   It’s well made.  And it makes Chavonne and the other girls look so cute!  The accessories are okay, but honestly, you really are just paying for the dress.  At $19.99 the dress is still a good deal, but if you can find it for less, it would even be better.  This is a great dress for Chavonne to wear when she goes out with Giovanna.  A beautiful dress.

Journey Girls Cheerleading Outfit Review

Kelsey Cheers on the Team in Her New Outfit

Recent outfit releases from Toys R Us included some more active types of clothes, including a ballerina outfit, a gymnastic outfit and the outfit that is being reviewed today; a cheerleader outfit.  The set includes a pair of tennis shoes, a pair of pom-poms, a hair bow, and the dress itself.

The dress is a violet color with white and blue accents.  The dress is sleeveless, with a straight skirt, rather than a pleated skirt.  It’s a more modern take on the cheerleading outfit.  On the front of the dress there is a triangle of white cloth with a blue star in the middle, sporting the lowercase letters “jg”, for the Journey Girls.  

Surrounding the triangle is violet, white and black-stripped ribbon, that crisscrosses and follows the v-neckline.  There is also a small triangular slit on the right calf that helps with movement.  The slit is accented with the same ribbon from up on the top of the dress.  The one thing that is missing is the built in underwear that all cheerleading outfits have.  The outfit is well made, yet simple.

The shoes are similar to tennis shoes that are available in the accessory packs from Toys R Us.  These ones are white with a blue star on the side of them that matches the star on Kelsey’s chest.  The shoes are made of modeled plastic.  It would be great to see some nicer shoes with this outfit.  Or at least some shoes with real laces.  The shoes are very good for helping balance the doll though.

Even though the hair bow is very simple, it is still nice to have in the set.  The bow is made from a pastel lavender ribbon with purple and white stars printed on it.  There is a clear rubber band tied into the bow to hold the bow in Kelsey’s hair.  While the plastic rubber-band is nice because it is not seen as easily, it may not be as durable as a normal hair band.

There is no way that a cheerleading out fit is complete, with out pom-poms.  Kelsey’s blue and white plastic ribbon pom-poms match her outfit perfectly.  They have the same clear rubber band on them as her hair ribbon.  It makes it easy for her to hold on to them.  They seem small, but they are okay. It would be great to have a megaphone or another accessory in this set to make it feel more complete.

Ratings
All ratings are out of 10

Value 6 – The dress is made very well.  There just isn’t too much to the set, especially compared to other sets like the ballerina outfit.  The outfit is cute, but for $19.99 it should have better shoes and a few better accessories.

Fitment 10– The dress fits perfectly.  It is not tight, not loose.  With this type of dress if it’s too tight there is no flexibility.  But this one is a perfect fit.  The shoes also fit well, as does the ribbon.  Pom-poms attach to the hands easily.

Versatility 4 – The only things that can be used for other outfits are the ribbon and the shoes.  The dress is going to be hard to use for something other than a cheerleading outfit.  

Cuteness 8 – Although the cheerleading outfit is not a standout, it is still very cute.  The design and color are a great compliment to all of the Journey Girls.   The hair ribbon is a cute touch.  Even though the shoes are similar to many of the other shoes the Journey Girls have, these ones seem just a little more cutesy


Overall 6 – This isn’t a bad outfit.  As a matter of fact, it is a great cheerleading outfit!  It could be better though.  The dress needs sewn in underwear. The shoes could be nicer.  Another accessory or two would be nice.  Or if nothing else the price should be closer to $10.  If your Journey Girl fan loves cheer, this is a great outfit.  Wait for a sale to really make it worth it though.

Kelsey's Adventure is off for the WInter

But Not to Worry!

There is going to be a break from Kelsey's story for awhile.  Not because I want to…but because I live in an area where the weather already thinks it should be winter.  Trillatia just doesn't look right with snow!

So there will be a 4 month or so break in Kelsey's story.  I was hoping that I would be able to get enough photos to last through the winter, but that unfortunately did not happen.  However…that means some of the other girls are going to get their own series.  Yay!

Chavonne's story will start showing up near the beginning of November.  Also Dana will get a trip story, much like Kelsey's trip to Chicago story.  And then there are a few other surprises I have for the winter.

I'm sorry that Kelsey's story has to go on hiatus.  I hope you'll come back in the spring and follow Kelsey again and until then, I hope you enjoy the other Journey Girls stories and reviews.

Thanks for reading!!!

Meredith Wearing Our Generation's "Dream On"

Journey Girl Meredith's New Outfit

“Dream On” is one of the latest Our Generation Retro outfits.  This outfit is inspired by the 70’s with its aqua blue corduroy pants, a pink belt, an off-white t-shirt with a rainbow iron on, and a puffy coral colored vest.  Of course there are also some of the tan common flats that come with so many of the Our Generation outfits. 

This outfit is super cute.  The off-white t-shirt has purple tubing around the arms and the neckline.  There is an iron on of a rainbow between two clouds, with a rosy cheeked, smiling sun peeking out from behind the rainbow.  The t-shirt Velcro’s up the back with two pieces of Velcro.

Corduroy pants were a huge rage in the 70’s, especially ones with flairs at the bottom.  These aqua blue corduroys are not quite bellbottoms, but they do have a flair at the bottom.  The actual corduroy material has a perfect size pattern for an eighteen-inch doll.  Although the pink “leather” belt comes sewn on to back of the corduroys, the stitches are easy to take out if you want the belt to come off. 

There are only two belt loops on the front to hold the belt up, so it being sewn on in the back helps it stay up.

The vest looks like it belongs to Marty Mcfly from “Back to the Future”.  The puffy coral vest is made of a polyester material. It has a short collar that is always up.  The vest hangs loose on Meredith with nothing to fasten it in the front.  It’s a little big on Meredith, but not overtly large.  Actually, it is a perfect size for Meredith.

The shoes are wide and aren’t very attractive, but they work.  Since this outfit is only $12.99 it makes sense that the shoes aren’t very fancy.  There are plenty of nice shoes that can go along with this outfit.

Rating
All ratings are out of 10

Value 7 – All the pieces of this outfit are made well.  The vest is especially well made.  It’s a pretty simple outfit, although the pants are nicer than most. The only thing that brings the value on this out fir down is the shoes. 

Fitment 7 – The shoes are big.  The t-shirt is loose, but not big.  The pants fit great, which is not always the case with Our Generation pants.  The vest is big, but it makes sense that it would be.  Most vests are not tight.

Versatility 9 – The outfit has a lot of parts that can be used for many different things.  The pants are great, but may not go with every outfit.  The t-shirt is awesome!  It works great for a 70’s inspired outfit or as a cool “retro” t-shirt.  The vest, if paired with the right outfit, will work great.  And the shoes, although ugly, are very useable with other outfits.

Cuteness 8 – It doesn’t really need the vest.  As a matter of fact, the vest hides the cutest part of the outfit; the rainbow iron-on.  As an ensemble this is a very cute outfit though.


Overall 8 – Great outfit.  Fits well.  And is very cute.  This was definitely designed with American Girl Julie in mind, but I think it can work for any doll.  Meredith looks great in the outfit, without looking like she walked right out of the 70’s.  Wait for it to go on sale, but definitely pick this outfit up, it nothing else than for the cute t-shirt.