Australian Meredith Review

A New Outfit For Australian Meredith

The Australian Meredith was released with a long-sleeved, form-fitting, black top, a beautiful floral skirt, a headband, a purse, and new black shoes.  Like Mikaella, the Meredith doll is the same as she was for the New York release and the Italy release before that.  So this review will look at her outfit, rather than the doll itself.  

For those of you that are new to Journey Girls or to the blog, just know that Meredith has inherent Journey Girls issues.  Her joints are tight.  My doll's left arm is down-right difficult to move.  The joints do get looser as they are played with though.   Meredith's legs seem to be different lengths.  They aren't, but the joint is somehow off inside the doll and makes her difficult to balance.  But, her face is still super adorable, her vinyl is good quality, she has a 1/3 breastplate, and overall is a great doll.  Now...on to the outfit review!

Meredith's top is made of a form-fitting material, similar to swimsuit material, but with no stretch.  The sleeves start at the collar rather than the shoulder, giving the illusion that the sleeves are part of a shrug almost.

At the end of the long sleeves, polka-dotted black lace is wrapped around each sleeve like a cuff.

The same black lace adorns the narrow neckline of the top, making it more dressy.  To make it easier to get on and off, this top Velcros all the way down the back.  If it didn't this would be a difficult top to get on.  It is very formfitting, with no give.  The top goes to just below the waistline.  It would be nice for it to be a little longer, but the skirt works well with the length of the top.  This top should really be looser.  Not only does it just barely fit on Meredith, the cuffs make it very difficult to get over Meredith's hands.  That should not be the case with an outfit made for the Journey Girls!

Made out of cotton, the black pleated skirt, has a beautiful red and gray rose print on it.  There is a sheer white slip sewn in, underneath the top layer of the skirt.

I think it is there to help keep the fabric off of the vinyl, but it does provide a little puff to the skirt.  So maybe that is why it is there.  The slip is sewn into the waistline and at the back seam line of the skirt.  A small piece of Velcro at the waist makes the skirt easy to get on and off.  Nothing very fancy, but it is made very well and is quite cute.

Both the headband and the tiny hand purse are ridiculously simple.  I mean...come on!  The headband is a black ribbon with a gold edge sewn to a piece of elastic so that it can stretch around Meredith's head.

It does the job, and looks good, but is nothing fancy.  The purse is simple but cute.  Made of black "leather" the tiny hand purse has a strap that can fit around Meredith's four fingers, but not around her thumb, so it has to stay on her hand.

The top folds over, held in place by a small piece of Velcro.  A red and pink rose is printed on the front, tieing in nicely with the skirt.  Neither accessory is bad, they just don't wow either.

Now, on to the shoes.  Many times the shoes are the least liked piece of the Journey Girls outfit.  They often times are the same plastic flats that come with every other outfit, but with this out, we get some new shoes.

They start out with the same hard plastic sole as was on Kelsey's boots, with no tread and a super smooth surface, these shoes would be deadly in real life.  As they are, it is still difficult to get Meredith to stand in some positions because there isn't any fiction on the sole of the shoe.  And that is it for complaints.  This shoe is gorgeous.  The front of it is made of a soft black velvet, cut in a reverse triangle.  There is a "leather" strap that goes across the top of the foot and another strap that goes up the foot to an ankle strap.

The ankle strap is attached to the back of the shoe with a "leather" heel.  To ease on and off, there is a small piece of Velcro on the ankle strap, covered by a gold buckle (made of the same "leather" like material).  Very pretty, easy to get on, and different than all the other shoes we have seen from Journey Girls in the past.  I am concerned about the black velvet and leather.  In my experience, they do not hold up well when they get wet.  So be careful.  If they get wet there may be some color transfer.

Rating
All ratings are out of 10

Value 7 – The skirt and blouse themselves are made really well.  And it's awesome to get new shoes. But why do I have to buy another Meredith doll to get them?  I would love to see Journey Girls offer the meet outfits for each year separately.  If they sold them in one of the mega packs...I'd totally buy them!  If this outfit was sold on its own, it would be an 8 or a 9.  That being said, if you do not have a Meredith doll, then this should be a 9.  It is a great outfit that is made really well.

Fitment 5 – Although the blouse fits, it is extremely tight.  It would be nice if it had a little bit more stretch to it. Maybe it was a designed this way.  The sleeves are so tight that it takes a good amount of wiggling to get the cuffs over Meredith's fingers.  The skirt fits fine, as do the shoes.  There is no excuse for the sleeves being as tight as they are.

Versatility 8 – If there were no issues with fit, this would be a very versatile outfit.   Black tops are always great for many different outfit combinations.  And the skirt has many options also.  It's also wonderful to have a new style of shoe available!

Cuteness 9 – Even though the top does not fit well, the outfit is adorable.  I love the design of the blouse, with the lace on the cuffs and neckline.  And the skirt's print is very cute.   The new shoe design is really neat.  Simple, different, and cute!

Overall 7 – As mentioned, I'd love to see the "meet" outfits sold separately, as this outfit is awesome, but not as great when I need to buy the doll also.  The other thing that I just can't get over is how difficult it is to get the top on.  If the outfit was made by a different company for a different doll, I get it.  But this is a Journey Girls outfit for a Journey Girls dolls.  It should fit better.  The details on the blouse and the print on the skirt really do make for a beautiful outfit though.  And don't forget about the shoes.  A wonderful new design that is simple and elegant.  Much better than the plastic flats we usually see.

AG Note

When there are fit issues on the Journey Girls with their own outfits, you can guarantee there will be fit issues with the American Girl dolls.  No surprise, the top does not fit the American Girl dolls.

Abby can't even get the top halfway up before it won't go any further.

The skirt fits fine though.

The only other thing that fits is the headband...and the purse, of course.

The shoes are way too narrow.  If you want an outfit just for your Journey Girls, this is great.  If you are thinking of sharing, this is not the outfit.