Is The Reel Deal a Catch or a Flop?
Yet another swimsuit? Jeez OG, do we really need all of these swimsuits? Well, this outfit was actually released over a year ago, but it finally hit store shelves in my area this past month. So, it is another swimsuit, but it's not really from this year's release line. Now that's out of the way. "The Reel Deal" (clever title right) is a deluxe outfit, costing around $17.99, that comes with a two piece short sleeved swimsuit, a white fishing hat, sunglasses, clear jelly slippers, a bucket, and a fishing pole.
The swimsuit top has horizontal orange and white line across the body of it, with orange short sleeves, colored with white polka dots.
A white collar and cuffs complete the top. Velcro up the entire back makes an easy on off, but not a usual closing mechanism for a swimsuit.
Made out of swimsuit material, the top stretches, but really doesn't need to since it is big on Dana. The strange thing is that in the armpit area the armhole seems tight. Even though the top is big, it does not look saggy.
The bottom compliments the top. The underpants part is orange with white polka dots, like the sleeves of the suit.
A tiny skirt made of the striped material flairs out at the top of the swim bottoms. The outfit is extremely cute with its little skirt! The bottoms fit well, with just a little extra fabric in the back.
You don't want to get sunburned when you're fishing, so a hat is essential. A seersucker bucket hat, this hat is made more special by the lace fabric sewn over the plain white cotton fabric that makes up the hat.
An orange ribbon of fabric runs around the band of the hat, matching the swimsuit. The hat fits great on Dana but needed some time to get rid of the crease caused by the packaging.
As always, Our Generation puts a few neat accessories in the deluxe pack. For this one, you get a gray plastic bucket, with a metal handle, plastic handhold, and blue and white ribbons adorning the handle.
Unlike the recent swimsuit that was reviewed, this bucket is empty. It is nothing new or special, just a plain gray bucket. It will hold some fish if you catch any!
The neat accessory and the reason I coveted this set is the fishing pole. Made out of a magenta purple, the entire rod is one color, even the reel handle is the same color. There are two pieces that are a different color; the reel cover (white) and the thumb button (blue).
The great thing about this fishing pole is that it is functional. Although the thumb button pushes in, it does not release the line. However, if you turn the reel handle away from you the fishing line will come out of the reel. Conversely, turn the reel handle towards you and the line is reeled back in. At the end of the line is a pink, silver and orange fishing lure. Shaped like a fish it has green diamond cut eyes, an orange belly, but no tail or dorsal fins.
Apparently, you are fishing for muskies or northerns, because the lure is a bit too large to catch sunfish or smaller fish with. Or maybe it is supposed to be a fish that you caught...but then where is its tail. Either way, it's cute and fun. The handle fits really well in Dana's hand. The little fish weighs a good amount and can pull your doll on her face, so balance her well.
Sunglasses can be a great accessory or just an add on to make you feel like you are getting a good deal. In this case I was excited to see a cute design for the sunglasses. That excitement changed to frustration as I tried to get the sunglasses to stay on Dana's face. Glasses can be hard to position correctly on doll's face since their ears really don't stick out the way that they need to for glasses to sit correctly.
Usually you can tuck them in their hair and they stay. Not the case with these glasses! They slid off of Dana's face all the time. The only way to get them to stay on was to tilt her head so that she was looking at the sky. It's hard to see fish, staring at the sky. The reason these glasses don't stay on is because of their cute design. The flower rims don't sit on Dan's nose well enough to make them stay. I eventually just left the glasses off because they were so infuriating.
Although not new, or even fancy, I love the OG jelly sandals! These ones are a simple clear plastic with sparkles throughout.
There is a little heel at the back, but not much. I plastic bow adorns the toe strap of each sandal. Although there is a buckle on the ankle strap, it is non-functioning, but the strap stretches easily to get around Dana's ankle. As Dana walks through the sand she leaves little heart prints because the bottom of these sandals are open and have a heart design printed on it.
Rating
All ratings are out of 10
Value 8 – Priced at $17.99 this set is a good deal, but not a great deal. Similar to the "Day at the Beach" outfit this set really compromises of a swimsuit and a few accessories. I seems like it would be a $12.99 set, but I think swimsuit material is more expensive. No mater they "why" for it's cost, the set is still wonderful. The swimsuit is cute, the hat is adorable, the fishing pole is really neat. The only downside to this set are the silly glasses that won't stay on.
Fitment 7 – The top of this suit is both loose and tight at the same time. It is loose around the belly and tight around the arms. The bottoms are just a little bit big, not really noticeable. The hat fits perfectly as do the shoes...well the shoes are wide, but that is to be expected for OG shoes.
Versatility 5 – Shoes, hat, and fishing equipment can be used with other outfits (technically so can the sunglasses, but I wouldn't suggest it.) The suit itself can maybe be mixed and matched with another two piece, but other than that...it's a swimsuit.
Cuteness 9 – The little skirt on this suit is adorable. And it's enhanced by the fun color and patterns of the suit. I love the hat! Such a cute fabric. I am sure it will be used for other outfits. I'm fond of the jelly sandals too, even if they are really simple. Your doll is going to be the cutest fisher woman around!
Overall 8 – I feel like this is a squeaky 8, just barely making it there. Although it is the same rating as the other two swimsuits that have been reviewed lately, the only one that truly hits the 8 square is the boogie board set. Why? Because the accessory is so neat. That being said, the fishing pole is an amazing accessory (especially compared to the re-purposed butterfly net in "Day at the Beach"), but I'm not sure that it makes the set worth $17.99. The price combined with the super cute sunglasses that were super useless makes this set a low eight. I still love it though. It is super cute and I love that the fishing pole works! My advice...wait for it to go on sale, then pick it up...it's a great catch!
AG Note
Usually Our Generation outfits fit better on American Girls than they do on Journey Girls. For the most part that is true here. The top of the swimsuit fits snugly on Annie, like a real swimsuit would fit.
Because her torso is different than the Journey Girls, she does show off some tummy. The swim bottoms fit well, but show off the leg joint more on Annie than with Dana. Although the sandals fit, they are difficult to get the back strap over Annie's heal.
You will have to work at it to get them on. The hat fits great, the sunglasses do not. Annie can hold the bucket the same way that Dana does, buy putting the wire handle trough her fingers.
However the fishing pole does not want to stay in her hand without some help from a binder or tape.
It kind of balances at times, but not for long. This outfit is a middle of the road for the American Girls. It's still super cute, but since the main accessory doesn't really stay in her hand, it isn't quite as nice as it is for the Journey Girls. If you have both dolls it's worth it, but if you are buying the outfit just for your AG doll...I might skip it.
