Sunday, April 2, 2017

"Hula Hooray" for Jordanna

Hula Hooping Girl Jordanna


Our Generation sets are of two types; either regular, which retails at $12.99, or "Deluxe" outfits, which retail at $16.99.  Surprisingly this outfit is a regular outfit.  Surprising because the outfit has a lot to it.  There is a short sleeved cotton top, stripped sweatpants, cute pink plastic sandals, cat ear sunglasses, a paddle ball, and finally a hula hoop.


Even though this set has some amazing accessories a bad outfit can break a set.  So lets take a look at the outfit.

Although the top is a simple cotton fabric, the beautiful yellow sleeveless flared shirt is very cute.  It has shiny star iron-ons that are placed in a heart shape on the front of the shirt.


At the waist there is a little bit of gathering and a flare of fabric.  A small fabric tied bow accents the front of the shirt.  There is Velcro half-way down the back, holding the shirt together.


A simple top, but perfect for this outfit.

Sweatpants have the image of being big baggy and not cute.  Google sweatpants and you will find that there are many new styles of sweatpants that are very cute.  Jordan's sweatpants are considered "skinny sweatpants".  They are a little tighter and much more stylish.  Gray with tiny white horizontal stripes, the pants have a sewn on white and pink stripe on the outside of the pants.


With only elastic around the waist, the pants are loose, but not enough that they will fall off.  There is a tiny piece of fabric sewn on the inside of the bottom of the pants that sometimes peaks out.  The fabric helps prevent Jordanna's toes from snagging on the stitching.  Just tuck it back into the pant leg.  Very cute pants that are perfect for a hula hoop  outfit.


Like all the Our Generation shoes, these ones are wide on Jordanna's feet.  The plastic pink sandals still fit well.  At the front of the sandals there is a wide piece of "fabric" that covers the middle toes.


Three straps come across the top of the foot and the a strap comes around the ankle from a solid piece of "fabric" at the back.  On the outside of the sandal is a small post that the strap pushes on.  This is not a new style for Our Generation, but it is a cute style.

Another OG set with sunglasses.  This sunglasses are a bit different though.  Circular lenses are nothing unusual, but these glasses then have little open "ears" on the top corners.


These little cat ears give a very different look to the glasses.  Unlike some of the other OG glasses, the temples (earpiece) are just the right length to hold the glasses on Jordanna's face.  Cute glasses that are different than other sunglasses we have seen.


Now, on to the accessories.  First the paddle ball.  The tan plastic paddle has an ice cream cone printed on the front of it, and fits perfectly in Jordanna's hands.


A hard plastic ball is attached to the paddle by an elastic band.  If you want to actually play with the paddle ball, you unfortunately will have a very hard time, as the plastic ball does not bounce well.  Let's be honest though, none of my dolls are actually going to be able to make this work (that's right...it's just for looks).

This set's namesake is awesome.  The transparent pink hoop with glitter throughout has a metallic silver stripe wrapping around the entire hoop.


It is just the right size to fit around Jordanna's waist and be held up with her hands.  Obviously there is not much to the hula hoop, but it is still a really neat accessory.



Ratings
All ratings are out of 10

Value 8 - Even though the outfit is fairly simple, it is perfect for an active playful outfit.  It has great accessories in the hula hoop and then the not needed, but much appreciated paddle ball.  The sunglasses are cute and different than many other glasses.

Fitment 8 - The shirt fits perfectly.  The sandals are wide, as usual, but stay on well.  The pretty sweatpants are loose on Jordanna's waist, but do not fall off.  And all of the accessories stay in Jordanna's hands easily.

Versatility 8 - Both pieces of the outfit can be used with many different playful outfits.  The sandals can be used with many outfits also.  Accessories are not really limited to a particular outfit...just that a hula hoop doesn't really go with a gown.

Cuteness 8 -  This is a perfect little girls outfit.  It is cute and playful with the heart on the shirt as well as the flare at the bottom.  Even the sweatpants are cute with stripes and accent stripes.  Very cute!

Overall 8 - I love this set.  I want to give it a higher score just because of the nostalgia of the hula hoop.  It brings back so many fond memories of trying to get the plastic hoop to spin around my waist for as long as I could make it.  Nostalgia aside, the hula hoop is still really cool.  I love that the set has the added accessory in the paddle board.  The cat glasses are very cute and different.  The sandals are great.  And the outfit itself is a perfect playful outfit; cute and functional at the same time.  For $12.99 this is a wonderful set.  If it goes on sale...it is an awesome deal!





AG Note

Like the kite set, this set is really awesome for it's accessories.  But interestingly the accessories don't fit well with AG dolls.  The kitty sunglasses don't stay on Gabriella's face unless you put them through her hair.  More interesting is the fact that the accessories do not fit as well with Gabriella as they do with Jordanna.  Journey Girls hands are smaller and have a different design to them, which allows Jordanna to hold the paddleball without any tape.  Gabriella's hands are two big and can't hold the paddleball.  



She also can't hold the hula-hoop up on her own, which may not be a huge issue as it's being played with.  



It would be nice if Gabriella could hold the paddleball and the hula hoop like Jordanna and the other Journey Girls can. Like most OG outfits, this one has a few small issues, but overall it is a great outfit.  The sweatpants have elastic around the waist, making them fit on Gabriella wonderfully.  


The legs are fitted on Gabriella's thighs and calves, but not too tight. there is a small piece of fabric that sticks out the bottom of the sweatpants legs.  It's not easy to tuck the piece back in the pants, so it may be worth cutting it off.  



It looks like the fabric is there to protect some of the stitching...maybe.  As expected the top is tighter on Gabriella then on Jordanna, again I would say it is fitted rather than tight.  



The velcro easily closes in the back and the shirt flows correctly on Gabriella.  For some reason the right shoe is tight on Gabriella's foot.  I had to really pull and stretch the strap around her ankle to get it to go over the little post.  



This set is really awesome for the Journey Girls and is pretty good for American Girls.  At $12.99 it is a great dealt be able to use for both dolls!

5 comments:

Xyra Silverleaf said...

Great review! I really like how you do the comparison between Journey and American Girl so we can see how it fits and how the accessories work. There are enough issues with regards to AG fit that I can skip this one. The hula hoop would be a great piece, but the paddle ball was released in an accessory set last year. Thank you, again.
~Xyra

Kiki's Korner said...

I just purchased this set yesterday and really like the fit on my Journey Girl, Julia. I didn't bother to try it on an American Girl after seeing that it technically fits, but looks kind of tight to me. Anyway, Julia is happy.

JGKelsey said...

Xyra,
Thanks! One of the people that reads the blog suggested it...and it is a great addition. The hula hoop came out last year in a gymnastics set from OG, but I did not like the outfit. So the accessories are not anything new...but I love that hula hoop! :)

JGKelsey said...

So glad Julia is happy with the new set! Yeah it will fit an AG doll, but it is tight! Yikes!

Xyra Silverleaf said...

So OG and AG are taking in stock pieces and re-releasing. :-) Guess they need to use up the inventory. And if you collect both outfit sets more girls could play. :-)