Jogging Suit

Alana in an Older Journey Girls Outfit

As Toys R Us cleared out their stores, interesting things showed up in store.  The outfit I am reviewing today is from the first or second wave of Journey Girls.  It’s a purple, crushed velvet jogging outfit, with a pink tank top, pink duffel bag, and tennis shoes.  A neat outfit that I was glad to have snagged…here’s why.

The pants and jacket (hoodie) are made of the same crushed velvet material.  Soft, with deep purple color, the material looks shiny rather than soft.   

Embroidered into the right front hip of the pants is a heart with “JG” in the middle, a tiny crown over the heart,  and “Journey Girls” around the heart.  

There is a matte purple ribbon, tied in a bow, in the middle of the waist.  It's probably there to simulate a drawstring, but the pants actually have an elastic waist.  The fit is awesome when standing, but gets a tad tight on Alana when she sits down.

You can tell this is an older Journey Girls hoodie; there is a zipper, and there is no liner on a dark materialed outfit.  Both of which are kind of neat.  

A real white zipper runs up the front of the hoodie, making it easy to get it on and off, and adding to the realism of the outfit.  

The cuffs of the sleeves and the bottom of the jacket have dark purple elastic.  Embroidered on the left breast is the same heart with a crown above and the initials “JG” inside.

Running the outside  length of the sleeves are two white ribbons, accenting the sleeve and matching the zipper.  

Like many gym hoodies, the back of the hoodie has the Journey Girls monogram embroidered across the entire back of it.  

It’s really neat, and it’s interesting to see that the old Journey Girls symbol was the heart with the little crown over it.

I am not sure what to call the pink undershirt.  It’s not quite a tank-top as it has very small sleeves, but it doesn’t strike me as a t-shirt either.  

No matter what you call it, it’s a nice little pink cotton shirt.  There is a collar with two white stitched rings in it.  It has Velcro up the entire back, making it possible to put on without going over the dolls feet.  (YAY!!!)  It’s nice that it is not a white shirt.  The pink adds more to the outfit.

The duffel bag is made of a silk like material.  A brighter pink than the shirt, it doesn’t match anything on the outfit, but it does look like it belongs with the outfit.  

The”JG” monogram is stitched into one side of the bag with black thread.   It has a tubular shape, with an opening on top to put things in…although I’m pretty sure none of the items in this set will fit in the bag.

Back in the day, these shoes may have been a new design, but now they are old news.  The standard molded pink plastic goes well with the outfit and are easy to get on and off of the dolls.  

Even though they aren’t new or fancy, they work well with this outfit.  And since back when this outfit was released they were still a fairly new design…I’ll say they are good shoes.

When Journey Girls first was releasing outfits all of them came with a hanger, like this one does.  They were removed from most outfits after awhile, only remaining in the “Celebration” outfits.  This one comes with the hanger, which is a nice little accessory.

Rating
All ratings are out of 10

Value 9 – Old outfits like this one were made really well.  The stitched "Journey Girls" emblem on the back of the hoodie is a great example of this, as is the real zipper.  The outfit also comes with a decent amount of pieces to it.  And, although the shoes are not awesome, they were nice at the time when this outfit was released.  

Fitment 9 – Perfect fit on every piece....if the doll isn't sitting.  The pants get tight when Alana sits, but I feel like that is real life.  Maybe the pants could have been a little looser in the butt without looking floppy, but I am not sure of that.  AS they are, they are great pants, just tight when she sits down.

Versatility 7 – The pieces of this outfit can definitely be used with other outfits, but I feel like they are going to look better as a set.  

Cuteness 9 – Cute and cuddly!  I love the color and the design of the outfit.  The embroidered emblem and name are great touches.  It's a really cute lounging or exercise outfit.

Overall 9 – Overall this is a really solid outfit.  It is made amazingly well.  I forget how nice many of the early outfits were made.  One of the things I really like about this outfit is the emblem.  It's really awesome to have some Journey Girls swag.   The fit of the pants is such a small issue that it doesn't really factor in to the score for this outfit.  I'd tell you to look for this one, but now that Toys R Us is gone in the US and because this is an older outfit, it is going to be harder to find.  I think it would be worth getting on eBay if it showed up, but not for much more than $15.

AG Note

No...the shoes don't fit.  But the rest of the outfit does...very snugly.  Of the three pieces to the outfit, the pants are probably the worst.  

You could have probably guessed that though, since the American Girl dolls have a big derriere and the Journey Girls have a flat behind.  

The undershirt stretches enough to fit, but that Velcro is really working to keep it closed. 

The jacket does zip up pretty easily, but the tightness of everything restricts movement.  

Still...it's a cute outfit and it does fit.  

However it feels wrong putting a piece of clothing with so many Journey Girls emblems on it, on any other doll than a Journey Girl.  Keep this outfit for the Journey Girls!