New Journey Girl Meredith

Journey Girl Meredith Gets a Make-over

Toys R Us has released a new Meredith doll, just in time for the holidays.  Unlike the doll that was released at the beginning of this year for the London line, this Meredith doll is not just a re-dress.  She is a resculpt, much like Kyla was a few months ago.  Like Kyla, Meredith has the same issues and improvements.  So…is the new Meredith worth your hard earned $39.99…let’s find out!

Meredith in her box

New outfits for the girls

The box that Meredith comes in is no different than the other London boxes, except for the back, which has most of the girls in new outfits.  When I first saw Meredith, I really couldn’t tell that her face had changed that much.  Kyla’s resculpted face looks very different than her old face, more so than Meredith’s does (at least to me).  What is interesting is that it is obvious that both the new Meredith and new Kyla have the exact same face mold.  Meredith’s just doesn’t look as much different.

Let’s get Meredith out of her box!  I like to open the top of the box, but you can also open the bottom.  They open the same way.  There are a couple pieces of tape that will have to be peeled back or cut, so that the top flap can be opened.  

Cut the pieces of tape to open the box.  Sometimes there is tape at the bottom edge also.

Once that is done, pull the cardboard backing that Meredith is on out of the box.  On the back of the cardboard there are all sorts of things holding Meredith to the board.  Cut away the tape around the clear twists.  The clear rubberbands can be cut also.  

Cut the tape away from the areas circled in red.  Then cut or untwist the pieces holding Meredith to the cardboard.

Turn the cardboard backing around so that Meredith is looking at you.  Around Meredith’s neck is another clear rubberband.  Unhook the rubber band from the plastic hook at the back of Meredith’s neck, or carefully cut the rubber band.  Meredith should be free of the cardboard now…but not totally free.

Cut or pull the clear rubber band off of Meredith's neck.

The clear twists at the bottom of the box will stay on Meredith’s ankles as she is pulled out.  Untwist them and take the twists off her ankles. 

These just untwist off of Meredith's ankles.

Meredith’s striped sweater is held to her shirt by 4 clear “I” fasteners on the edges of her sweater.  Cut these to get Meredith’s sweater off.  Yeaaa!!! Meredith is free!

Cut the I fasteners, indicated here by the green circles, to get Meredith's stripped sweater off.

Meredith is wearing a cute black and white striped sweater with red edges and a red fabric flower.  There are also “pockets” sewn in to the sweater, which are just the red fabric sewn onto the sweater, not actual pockets.  Under that is a silver tank top that velcro’s up the back.  She is wearing comfortable blue with white polka dotted slacks.  Finally the outfit is rounded out with some red short heeled shoes.

Meredith in her new outfit

If you have read my review on Kyla or Mikaella, some of this may be repetitive.  Meredith has the same body and face sculpt as the other “new” Journey Girls.  There are goods and bads about that.  Let’s start with the goods.  Meredith’s face sculpt is cute.  I personally like her old face sculpt better, but this new one is so similar that it still retains that cuteness.  To me she looks older by a few years.  Meredith’s hair is still very nice. 

Meredith's new face sculpt compared to her old one.

I like the feel of the Journey Girls hair, more than American Girls, but there are some challenges with it.  Since the hair is rooted it does pull out in little strands.  Also the hair does seem to get knots in it more easily than American Girl hair.  All of the vinyl is good quality.  It feels thinner, but I don’t think that it actually is.  Meredith’s joints are good, for the most part (more on that in a minute).  Meredith’s torso is stuffed better than past Journey Girls dolls.  She is still missing a butt, like all Journey Girls, nothing horrible though. 

Which means her arms don't go out to the side.

Meredith's shoulder joint movement is still the same. 

Now, the not so good.  Meredith’s arms still only go out 1/3 of the way straight out to the side.  The joints start off a little stiff, but loosen up to a reasonable resistance with in a few play times.  My main issue is that Meredith has to do the splits to sit.  When I bought the new Kyla doll I was not excited about the way that her legs splayed out.  Now that I have Meredith, the 3^rd doll of the new Journey Girls body style, I HATE the way the legs splay out.  

Meredith "sitting"

The Journey Girls have never been super ladylike in how they sat.  To be fair, American Girl dolls are not a huge amount better.  With the Journey Girls, I could always find a spot that they would sit that looked somewhat natural.  With the new Meredith doll she has to sit with her legs all the way out to the side, which makes her unstable as she sits.  

Old Meredith (right) does not spread her legs out as far to sit down as new Meredith does.

The other way to have her sit is to have her lean back on her hands.  Meredith’s legs aren’t as spread out…but now she can’t use her hands.  I hope that this is not the way the line is going.  What do you think?  Do any of you have a new Journey Girl?  Do the legs bother you?  Or is it just me?

Alright…enough of that!

At the bottom back of the breast plate "Geoffrey LLC"
is imprinted on all the new Journey Girls.

"Geoffrey LLC" is also still on the Journey Girls neck.

Meredith has a very versatile outfit.  Every single piece of her outfit can be used with other pieces of clothing.  The silver tank can be added to skirt for a fancier outfit.  The sweater can be used to warm any outfit up.  The pants are super cute!  I’m glad that Toys R Us gave Meredith something other than jeans.  I washed the outfit.  Some of the Journey Girl clothes will transfer color to the dolls vinyl.  Just to make sure I did not have that issue, I washed this outfit.  You probably don’t have to…but I think it is a good idea.

Meredith's new outfit.

Results

All ratings are out of 10

Poseability - 5  - I won't rant any more about Meredith's legs.  The rest of her is on par with other 18" dolls.  I have more trouble standing her up then with the old Journey Girls body style.  But that may just be my disdain for her leg joints that is clouding my perspective.  As I have mentioned before, I would love more movement in the shoulder joint.  Something that I don't talk about enough is the awesomeness of the neck joint.  I love that Meredith's head can tilt (like all Journey Girls)

Quality - 6  - I feel as though these new dolls are cheaper…not made as well.  That is a feeling more than observation, because there are actually some things on the new dolls that are better.  The joints in general don't seem to be loose.  There seems to be a little more consistence between dolls, as far as their quality.  The stitching and stuffing are much better.  The legs are a big issue.  I also feel that, even though cute, the face mold is not as pretty.

Adorableness - 7 - I don't like the new face sculpt as much on Meredith.  I'm not exactly sure why.  I think my issue with both Meredith and Kyla is that the new sculpt makes them look older.  All of that being said…Meredith is still a cutie!  In my opinion she still has the cutest face on any 18" doll out there.  I really like the vinyl breast plate also.  It gives so many more options for dressing than the all cloth body.

Compatibility - 6 - No difference in compatibility between the old sculpt and the new one.  Even with the difference in the leg joints I have not seen an issue.  Some tights are a little tighter, but not bad.  Clothing made for American Girl dolls are still big, especially around the waist.

Overall Score - 7 - Overall I like Meredith.  I like her new outfit.  I like the stitching on the cloth body. I like that her body is stuffed better than in older dolls.  I like her face.  Those pretty blue eyes are wonderful!  I have made it abundantly clear that I hate her leg joints.  I knew that her legs would be this way and still bought her, because she is still very cute.  I would say if you can get her on sale…buy her.  If you see an older  Meredith…get that one instead!

Both Journey Girl London Meredith's.  New sculpt (left) and old sculpt (right).

Meredith's American Girl Doll Coat

Meredith try's out an American Girl winter coat

One of the great things about the Journey Girl line is that most other companies’ clothes fit them.  I decided that my girls needed some winter coats since they all live in the tundra of the Midwest.  Meredith is modeling last years American Girl “Pretty Pink Coat Set”.  I ended up getting this at the end of the season so it was half off (about $18).  American Girl has a new puffy jacket out for this year, but I didn’t like it as much.

Meredith in the "Pretty Pink Coat Set" by American Girl

“Pretty Pink Coat” comes with a light pink puffy coat and gray boots with a pink ribbon around them.  The coat has a nylon outside with “fur” around the hood and the wrists.  It has a gray ribbon that goes around Meredith’s waist.  The ribbon is sewn right to the coat.  Both the coat and the ribbon have Velcro at the front to fasten them.  The coat goes to about knee length on Meredith.  The coat does have a wonderful fur lined hood as well as fur around the cuffs.  I have to say that getting all of Meredith’s hair into it was a challenge.  Otherwise the coat fits well.  Meredith is wearing a t-shirt underneath the coat and it fits fine.  I’m not sure that a sweater or sweatshirt would fit.

Getting Meredith's hair in was a bit of a challenge

The boots have a plastic/rubber bottom with a stiffer fabric top.  The pink ribbons that wrap around the boots match the coat.  The back of the boots have a slit all the way down them that Velcros to make them easier to get off and on.  Journey Girls designers take note…this is how you make a boot.  There is no goofy gap at the back, like with all of the Journey Girl boots.  The boots fit great on Meredith.  Journey Girls’ feet are a little longer than American Girl dolls’, but they still fit wonderfully in the boots.

Rating

All ratings are out of 10

Value 9 – This coat is top notch as far as material and design.  It is very well made.  There are no loose threads, no extra glue…just good tailoring.  The coat feels and looks exactly like a coat that your little girl is going to wear!  It's very nice.  If you can find it on sale…but it.  At $36 it's a little too expensive for me.

Fitment 10 – The jacket fits perfectly on Meredith.  I had read online that the coat didn't allow for clothes underneath of it.  Because the Journey Girls are just a little smaller they can wear an outfit underneath the coat.  Be forewarned though, sweaters are hard to keep from scrunching up in the sleeves.

Versatility 7 – Well…it's a coat…and a winter coat at that.  It is a nice in between type of coat…meaning it's not too dressy and not too casual.  The boots are awesome.  They can be used with a lot of winter outfits.

Cuteness 9 – I love this coat.  It is a really cute length.  The fur hood is really cute.  And it is not overly pink!  I love pink, put too much pick is too much!  It's a great color with good accents and wonderful boots.

Overall 9 – A wonderful coat!  I will have reviews later of other coats that are available.  This is definitely my favorite of the ones I have.  I would give it an 8 if I had paid full price.  I think that it should come with ear muffs or mittens.  You are paying for the quality though.  And you get good quality and a cute coat!  Bundle up…it's going to be cold!

Meredith is all ready for winter in her American Girl coat.

Kelsey Goes Camping

Journey Girl Kelsey Tries Out Her New Tent

Kelsey loves to be outdoors.  There are just so many great thing to do outside.  This weekend she went camping for probably the last time this season.  She just had to get out one more time before it got cold. Especially since she bought a brand new tent!

Kelsey sitting at her campsite.

 Before she set up camp, Kelsey sat by the lakeshore and enjoyed the calmness.  Then she threw rocks in the lake!  She laughed as the rocks splashed into the water.  She even tried to skip a few rocks, but wasn't very good at it.

Kelsey throwing rocks in the lake.

 Finally it was time to try out her new tent.  Kelsey took out her lantern to make sure that it worked.  She did not want to have it not work in the middle of the night.

Everything is ready.  Her sleeping bag is nice and comfortable, her lantern works.  Kelsey is ready to sit in her tent, watch the sunset over the lake, and then go to bed.

Kelsey is excited to see what adventures she can have tomorrow.  Maybe she'll go hiking, or search for shells by the lake, or climb a tree…or maybe she will do all three!

Kelsey is wearing a Journey Girls outfit.  Her new tent is from Target's Our Generation line.

Journey Girl Meredith Trying on a Swimsuit

Our Generation Swimsuit

Swimsuits for dolls have not really been an outfit that I have looked for.  You can’t really use them for anything other than swim outfits (some of them can be used with leggings to look like a gymnastics outfit).  They are usually just as expensive as any of the other outfits that are sold and they have a lot less to them.  The big one has always been that the fabric body of the doll looks ridiculous with a swimsuit on.  That is why the Journey Girls are awesome!  The vinyl breastplate makes it so that swimwear looks more appropriate. 

Our Generation Swimsuit

Just an FYI…if you are going to actually have the doll in the water with the swimsuit on, make sure you wash it first.  There is some color transfer if you don't wash it.  Also soak the vest and let it air dry to avoid color transfer.  Also note that it will take a good amount of time to dry out the doll if she gets wet.  Make sure you wash the fabric part of her body with a small amount of laundry soap (very diluted), squeeze as much water out, and then let her dry for 3 days or so.  

Our Generation has taken care of one of my other concerns; cost.  They released a swimsuit for $12.99.  That doesn’t sound cheap (especially considering you can get a Springfield swimsuit for about $4), but lets look at what it comes with; goggles, a towel, life vest, jelly flip-flops, three shells, and a starfish.  That is a good deal! 

Our Generation Swimsuit on Journey Girl Meredith

The swimsuit in this set is a blue and white, horizontally striped, full body swimsuit.  One of the shoulder straps is thicker and flows up from the suit.  The other strap is thinner and is sewn to the suit.  There is a pink fabric flower on the thicker strap.  The whole suit is made out of a stretchy material like a real swimsuit.  The suit has no Velcro, it just stretches to fit Meredith.  The fit is perfect.  I don’t like the flower on the shoulder.  I would have much rather seen a ruffle around the waist.  It is still cute though.

Meredith with her life vest and seashells

The life vest is my favorite part of this set.  It has material in it that makes it so that it floats.  It has a zipper up the front and two straps that have actual quick release (or side release) buckles in the front.  What I love about the life vest is how real it is.  Your little girl’s life vest is going to look very similar to Meredith’s.  It’s a great way to teach safety to kids.  Plus it is so dang cute!

Meredith with her goggles on.

The other thing that I like a lot in this set are the goggles.  They don’t quite fit the spacing of Meredith’s eyes, but don’t look bad at all.  I like that they seem to be made out of the same materials that real goggles are made out of.  Meredith looks like she is ready to swim for hours in her suit, vest, and goggles.

All of the other accessories are just nice add-ons.  The shoes are my favorite Our Generation shoes.  The fit wonderfully, they are super cute, and they go with this outfit and many others really well.  The sea shells and starfish are cute. The towel is nothing special, but it is nice to have something for Meredith to lay down on at the beach.  I would have loved a little pail and shovel and a pair of sunglasses in this set, but the accessories that it comes with are great!  

All of the accessories that come with the Our Generation swimsuit.

Rating

All ratings are out of 10

Value 9 – I would give this a 10, but I would love to pay $10 for the set.  As I said before $12 is not bad, but $10 is better!  I love all of the things you get with this outfit.  It is a good value, one of the better ones for the Our Generation line.  A much better value than the Journey Girls swimsuit set (look for a review later on that set)

Fitment 10 – This is the best fitting Our Generation outfit I have seen.  That is probably because it is a stretchable material.  The suit fits great, the life vest is a perfect fit, and the shoes actually fit well.  Awesome for an outfit that is made for a completely different size doll.

Versatility 5 – It's a swimsuit!  Maybe you can use it as a dance outfit or a gymnastics outfit…but it is really just a swimsuit.  The shoes can be used with a lot of summer outfits.  And the shells and towel can be used with other things.  By and large though…this is a one trick pony.  Which is exactly what you expect from a swimsuit.  I know I don't ever buy a swimsuit thinking I can wear it out for dinner.

Cuteness 8 – How can you not like this outfit.  That vest is so darn cute!  And those goggles…come on!  Too cute!  I like the swimsuit, but would have loved it with a ruffle.  Still awesome!

Overall 9 – Buy this!  No, it is not as versatile as other outfits.  No, you probably aren't going to use it that often, especially since Journey Girls have a cloth body.  But (I think I may have said this already)…it is CUTE!  I will say that it is not always easy to find at Target…so if you see it grab it.  You may be able to buy it from Target.com, but their stock changes often.  I think it is worth looking for though, especially if your little one wants to take her favorite doll to the beach.

Kelsey's New Friend

Journey Girl Kelsey at School

Kelsey has been so excited to go back to school.  She loves her new teacher and her classmates.  She even met a new friend.  Gabriella is in the same grade as Kelsey, but in a different classroom.  Kelsey met Gabriella out on the playground at recess.

Kelsey is ready to go for a slide.

Kelsey ran up to the top of her favorite slide and slide down.  Weee!
"You're pretty fast,"said a girl sitting at the bottom of the slide next to Kelsey.
"Yeah.  I love the slide.  I'm Kelsey, what's your name?"
"Gabriella…but call me Gabby.  I bet you I can beat you down the slide!"  Kelsey and Gabby ran up the stairs to the slide.

Kelsey and Gabby racing up the stairs to the slide.

"1…2…3!," Kelsey exclaimed, as both her and Gabby flew down the slide, giggling all the way.

Kelsey and Gabby love racing down the slide together.

 "Come on," Gabby said.  "Let's go climbing!"  Kelsey and Gabby climbed up the jungle gym.  They chased each other around, laughing the whole time.

Climbing on the jungle gym.

Kelsey even tried rock climbing.  She made it all the way to the top.  Gabby was a little scared to try.  "Don't worry," Kelsey told her.  "You can get up to the top lots of different ways.  Some other time I'll teach you how to rock climb…it's awesome!"

 

Kelsey climbs up the rock climbing area.

Don't let go!

RIIIIINNNNNGGG!  "Oh..recess is over," Gabby moaned.

"That's okay," said Kelsey.  "We can play again tomorrow!"

Kelsey and Gabby after playing at recess.

The girls went to class for the rest of the afternoon.  When school let out, they ran into each other as they were going to the school buses.
"Hey Gabby!"
"Hi, Kelsey!"

Kelsey and Gabby going home from their first day at school.

"I'll see you again tomorrow…yeah?", Kelsey questioned.
"Definitely! You're my new best friend!", Gabby exclaimed.
They both laughed and walked to their buses.

Best friends.

 As Kelsey got on the bus, she thought to herself, "This is going to be a great school year!"

Hope that school goes well for everyone out there!

Our Generation Retro Outfit Review

Journey Girl Dana Goes Retro

The Our Generation line, like the Journey Girls, is a modern line of clothes.  Our Generation does have a line of historical outfits that they call their “Retro” line.  Most of the clothes in this retro line are reminiscent of the 50’s.  The outfit that I am reviewing today is a “Retro Deluxe” outfit named "Two-riffic Twin Set"

The outfit is made up of 5 pieces; a purple checked skirt, a white t-shirt with a purple collar and a purple band at the waist, a white sweater that buttons at the neckline, a purple checked bow for your dolls hair, and a pair of black cloth shoes with bows that tie around the ankles.

Dana in the Our Generation "Two-riffic Twin Set"

Journey Girls are thinner than American Girl dolls or Our Generation dolls.  Some of the outfits, including this one, are big on the Journey Girls.  In most cases the size is not that much different and the girls are fine.  In this case, the skirt is just too big.  I even tried to overlap the dress and Velcro it to itself, rather than the other piece of Velcro and the dress was still big.  It does stay on, but as you can see from the photos, you can tell the skirt is big.  The skirt itself is very cute.  It is made out of a satin material.  It is nice and thick with two layers of material.  It bellows out rather than just hanging down.

You can see that the skirt is very loose, even with over lap.

The t-shirt is not just a normal t-shirt; it has the purple collar and purple waist.  It’s made out of a thicker cotton material with the purple parts made out of a felt like material. The purple waist is actually tighter around Dana’s waist than the skirt is.  On Dana the shirt looks like it is riding up and the skirt is falling down.  I love that the t-shirt is thicker than normal and has the purple accents.

Dana doesn't really need her sweater on since her t-shirt is so cute!

Out of everything in this set the sweater feels the cheapest.  It is made out of a similar material to the t-shirt, but is all white.  The material feels right for the t-shirt, but feels thin for a sweater.  I do like the way that the sweater makes the outfit look.  It looks more complete with Dana wearing it.  I also like that the sweater can be used with just about any other outfit.  It is a great piece for the wardrobe closet.

Our Generations Deluxe Retro outfit

The two things I’m not so sure about are the shoes and the bow.  Let’s start with the bow.  The size is just right.  It looks great off to the side of Dana’s hair.  I don’t like the “leather” material it is made of, or the color (the purple is just a bit too off for me).  I am also not a huge fan of the bobby pin on it to hold it in place.  The bobby pin does not seem to hold it very well, so it flops around some.  Like almost all of the other Our Generation shoes, these are fabric.  I like booty type of shoes, especially with the pretty lace ties up front, but can’t we get some real shoes, please?  Even the plastic shoes the Journey Girls come with are better than these.  I’ve complained about the Our Generation shoes before…so I will not do it again.  Suffice it to say, they are not my favorite part of the outfit.

Rating

All ratings are out of 10

Value 7 – You don't get a lot for the extra cost of this outfit.  Yes, there are 5 pieces to the outfit, but many of the regular outfits have just as many pieces and include a purse.  It's nice to have the sweater, but not really necessary.  If you can get this outfit on sale, buy it…at full price, I would skip it.

Fitment 7 – Although this is a very cute outfit, it doesn't work well for the Journey Girls (fits great on American Girls though). The skirt is way too big.  You can make it work by using the t-shirt, but it's goofy looking.  The shoes are tight.  The bow doesn't stay very well in Dana's hair.  That all being said, the outfit is made for the Our Generation dolls and American Girl dolls, so I can't really expect that it will fit perfectly on Dana.

Versatility 8 – The t-shirt and sweater can be used with other outfits really easily.  Even though I'm not a fan of the shoes, they are very useful with other outfits.  The skirt can be mixed with other tops also, it's just king to be loose.

Cuteness 8 – I like this outfit as a retro outfit.  It is not the cutest outfit I have, but I do like it.  It is a good retro style outfit.

Overall 7 – Not the best outfit, mostly due to fitment, but still good.  If you have other brand dolls as well as Journey Girls, this is a great outfit.  The girls can share it, it will just be a little big on the Journey Girls.  I like the colors and the style of the outfit overall.  Great back to the 50's dress!

Meredith Stops and Smells the Flowers

Meredith in a Clover Field

Meredith loves to go outside.  Usually it is to play soccer, baseball, lacrosse, go biking, or anything else that is fun.  Today she went out just to relax and take in the scenery.  She wore her pretty pink polk-a-dot dress from Our Generation as she went out looking for flowers.

Meredith finds some daffodils.

 Meredith loves going on walks, because there is always something new to see.  Just a few weeks earlier these daffodils were not blooming.  Now look how beautiful they are.

Meredith trying to decide which clover flower is the prettiest.

She comes upon a sea of green and white and decides that she must find the perfect clover flower to bring home.  Meredith loves the smell of the clover.  It may not be the prettiest flower, but it is cute.  And she can always find it everywhere.  Plus the flowers are just the right size for her.

Meredith sits in the clover patch and decides which clover flowers to take home.  As she looks around she notices that some of them actually have a hint of pink in the flower.  She definitely picked the right outfit to wear.

Meredith smiles for the camera

 She just can't decide which ones to pick, finally deciding to leave the flowers there for the next person to enjoy.  What a wonderful day to be out and enjoy some wild flowers.

Meredith enjoying the day

Do you have a favorite wild flower?  Dandelion? Thistle? Or maybe another?