Journey Girls Limited Edition Celebration Collection Gift Set

Journey Girls Two Pack Review

Last year Toys R Us released a two pack "Value Set" with Kara Rose and Alana in it.  This year Toys R Us released another two pack, this one from the Journey Girls Celebration line.  There is a brunette doll with bright green eyes and a blonde doll with brown eyes, neither have a name, allowing your child to give them a name.

The set comes with four outfits: a beautiful short, sequined purple dress, a long blue, "Frozen" inspired dress, a knee-length pink and white dress, and a flowing full length pink dress.  Each comes with a pair of shoes and a purse.  There is also a silver headband that matches a bracelet on the blonde doll.  Is the price of this set justified by the items in it?  Let's find out.

At $99.99 (USD) this set is the most expensive thing that Journey Girls sells.  If you were to buy the items separately (2 dolls and 2 outfits) you would spend closer to $120.  Taking this into consideration, the set is a pretty good deal, if price was the only factor.

Toys R Us has been putting the Journey Girls on sale up to 30% off, so keep your eye out for a great deal.  Price is not the only thing to consider though.

The box is a bit of a challenge to open.  Pull open the top by pulling the tabs and then pulling the box top up.  There are three pieces of tape to cut, one on each corner of the white cardboard, and one under the handle.

Once you cut the tape you can pull the piece of cardboard with the handle down.

Now you can pull the cardboard back that the dolls are on...then the real fun begins.  There are at least 20 I-fastners that you have to cut to get the dresses, purses, and the dolls' hair loose.

These things are such a pain to get undone.  Really wish that Toys R Us would find something else to use rather than the I-fastners.  Loosen the straps around the dolls' necks and feet and you will finally have everything loose.  Now we can review this set.

Last years dolls were very similar to Journey Girls that are already released, with Kara Rose looking like Meredith's twin sister.  Although this is a new trend for the Journey Girls, American Girl has been doing it for years.  The nice thing about similar dolls with variety in hair, eye, and skin color is that a girl can get a doll that looks like her.  The blonde doll in this set is the first blonde to have brown eyes.  Meredith, Giovanna, Mikaella, and Ilee all have blue eyes.  Jordan comes the closest of the released dolls, with hazel eyes.

The blonde's hair is also different than many of the other dolls in that it is layered and curled at the ends.  Her face sculpt is the same as Giovanna's (from last year), which is similar to the now normal face sculpt of Meredith, Kelsey, and Kyla.

She has very pale pink lip color.  Her bottom eyelashes are more pronounced then on Giovanna.

My doll also has a very small dot on her forehead (barely noticeable, but there).  Her joints and body are identical to all of the Journey Girls out right now.  That means her shoulders click a little as they rotate, as does her neck.  Her legs splay out when she sits.  My doll is more difficult to balance due to her leg joints being a little too far forward.  She has to bend back to not fall over face first.

The brunette doll has hair that is very similar in style to Alana's hair, but with no variation in color.  It is a deep brown, with a hint of auburn.  Her hair is parted so that it drapes in front of her right eye if it is not swept back.

She has amazing deep green eyes, that still look real, which can be a challenge with green eyes.  Her lips are a nice pink/mauve color.

Again same strengths and weaknesses as all of the Journey Girls right now.  One thing to note is that both dolls have a mark on their neck (very light...more of a shine than a mark) that looks like it was caused by the rubber band and tube that hold them into their box.  The brunette balances much better than the blonde doll.

Each doll comes in a "meet" outfit, and has a second one to change in to.  The blonde's outfit is a beautiful intense blue, full length gown.

There is a layer of satin blue fabric as the base of the skirt and the bodice.

Over this is a sheer voile blue fabric, the same color as the satin.  The voile is attached up the back of the skirt and is attached completely to the bodice of the outfit.

The skirt is gathered at the waist with a white flower lace "belt" separating the bodice.

The blue fabric ends with a semi-sweetheart neckline, but the dress has a jewel neckline made of a sheer white fabric with small silver accent flowers.

The sheer white fabric creates nice elegant shoulder straps.  The dress has an underlay of tulle to help give it volume.

Accessories to this outfit include the always wonderful plastic shoes, this time in a light gray.

She has a fabric silver bracelet.

And a very simple silver purse.  The purse is a strange combination of should purse and hand bag.  It doesn't quite fit either way well.

Great thing about it though...it velcros shut!  That is nice!  And it makes complete sense with a fold over purse like this.

The brunette doll comes in an amazing purple dress.  The knee length dress, has a fitted satin layer under a flowing purple tulle layer.

The tulle has sequins sewn into a floral/vine pattern that continues from the skirt onto the bodice of the dress.

The tulle is nicely hemmed all around and attached to the back of the dress up the middle.

A square cut neckline is accented with tiny tulle shoulder sleeves.

Unlike many of the recent Journey Girls dresses, this one does not have an inner liner to help deter color transfer to the dolls vinyl.  This may mean that Toys R Us has started to take care of this issue.  For safety, I am still going soak this dress...just in case.

Like the blue dress's accessories, this outfits accessories a mixed bag of good and bad.  Let's start with the good: the shoes are sandals with one glittery purple strap across the toes and one around the ankle.  They are cute and work well with the outfit.

The front strap needs to be moved back just a couple of millimeters to make the sandals fit better on the dolls feet.  Now the "bad" accessory: The purse.   This is a hand bag that I thought at first was made of purple glitter covered cardboard.

It is thicker material with purple glitter on it.  There is a silver rope wrist strap and the purse does open and Velcro shut.  The side edges are not so awesome and this purse is flat.  With no give in the fabric it's flatness can not be fixed by stuffing it with items, because then it won't close.  Just a strange choice in fabric to make this purse.

Like the meet outfits, the extra outfits are a mix of formal and casual.  The first dress is a shimmery pink balloon dress with a square neckline.

The fabric has a simple leaf pattern of light pink, pink, and dark pink leaves (that is not a great description...but it's all I can think of...the picture makes more sense).

Around the waist is an attached silver glitter belt.  It would be nice to have the ability to take the belt off.

There is a liner of white fabric to make the balloon part of the dress.  This also cause the dress to be very tight on the doll.  This is probably just a problem with my dress as there is some variation in sizes in Journey Girls dresses.

Accessories include three strapped sandals, a very pretty shoulder bag, and a silver sequined headband.  The sandals are a dark pink glitter that doesn't quite match the dress, but looks okay with it.

They have an ankle strap and two straps over thetas.  The one to the front of the sandal needs to be moved back.  The dolls toes will not fit through it no matter what angle I tired.

Unlike the little purple purse, this purse is amazing.  It is made out of a shimmery pink leather that matches the dark pink in the dress.  The shoulder strap is perfect length.

The purse does not latch closed, but that is fine with this style of purse.  Finally the headband is similar to the fabric of the bracelet, but not an exact match.  There are sequins sewn into a zig-zagging pattern on the top of the fabric.

An inch of elastic makes it easy to get on.  It is cute, and can be used with all of the outfits in this set.

The final outfit in this set is a light, flowing, pink, floor length (well almost) gown.

Again the base of the dress is a pink satin skirt with pink voile fabric on top.

This dress has three overlapping, offset tiers of voile.  The tiers are only on the front, sewn into the stitching on the sides.  One issue with the voile is that it shows the holes from the I fasteners, even if you carefully cut the fastener off (oh by the way...there are more I-fastners holding the dress  together).

An attached pink ribbon, with a bow, separate the skirt from the bodice of the dress.

The bodice is similar to the blue dress, with a semi heart neckline from the underlying pink satin fabric and a square neckline from from the voile.

The dress has velcro up the back, which is not always ideal with their type of sheer fabric on top...it tends to snag it.

Well, this outfit comes with plastic shoes too...but at least they are different plastic shoes.  The darker gray strapped "wedge" comes with this outfit.  Not awesome, but okay.

The purse is a wrist purse made from the same satin fabric that the underskirt of the dress is.  There is a silver rope wrist strap (which broke when I tried to put it on my dolls wrist) attached to the side of the purse.

A silver glitter flap velcros at the front.  It's an okay purse, nothing outstanding.

Rating
All ratings are out of 10

Value 10 – This is a ten because I got the set at 30% off.  If it was its normal $99.99 I would give it an 8.  You get a lot for the price (especially at 30% off).  Although the outfits are not quite the same caliber as a true Celebrate outfit, they are better than the normal outfits.  They are made well, with good material, and have decent accessories. The dolls are wonderful!  The eye and hair color are great.  They seem like they should look identical to other Journey Girls, but they don't.

Fitment 9 – Everything fits well, except for the pink leaf dress.  Really tight for some reason.  One other thing that bothers me is the fact that the gowns down't touch the ground.  It would be nice for them to actually be floor length.  Minor complaint for otherwise great fitting dresses.

Versatility 5 – Two of the gowns are really never going to be used for anything other than formal gowns (the blue and the pink gowns).  The purple and pink leaf dress have the ability to be used as more formal dresses, but also as everyday outfits.  The shoes are all good colors that can be used with other outfits (even the dull gray plastic shoes).  And the purses can be used with lots of different outfits (although the purple is not very pretty).  The headband and bracelet are very versatile and would look great with many outfits.

Cuteness 9 – This two pack has a lot more potential than last years, especially with the dolls.  The brunette doll is quickly becoming one of my favorites (second of course to  my freckled Kelsey).  The outfits are all very cute, even though they aren't as versatile as last years.  Even two of the pairs of shoes are cute (no, I am not talking about the plastic ones!)

Overall 8 – Wait for a sale...and get this set.  There is nothing horrible about this set.  Last year Kara Rose was so similar to Meredith it was a bit ridiculous, but both of these dolls are similar to other Journey Girls, but unique enough to make them their own.  The outfits are great.  The accessories are mostly good.  And the ones that aren't great, are easily replaced by others (purses and shoes) in your collection.  There is a chance that Toys R Us will put this set on sale for half off near Thanksgiving (like they did last year), so it may be worth it to wait.  Just make sure you don't wait too long...it is a limited edition (how limited, I don't know.

A New Outfit For Dana

Review of New York Dana's Outfit

Like Mikaella, Dana is a rerelease with no changes to the doll herself.  Her outfit though is comepletely new.  

Dana comes with a navy blue pleated, knee length skirt, a plaid long sleeve shirt, a t-shirt, a sweater shawl/poncho, a light blue purse, white undies, some plastic boots, and socks.  There is a lot to this outfit, but is it worth buying the doll for the outfit?

One of the first things you notice about this outfit is the shawl.  It is a nice off-white knit shawl, with fringe along the entire edge.  There is a collar around the top of the shawl, opposite the fringe, that folds over.  The shawl is held on with a small piece of Velcro on the right corner of the shawl, with the opposite Velcro piece being by Dana’s heart.  Loose enough to allow Dana’s arms to move, but tight enough to stay on, the shawl is a great fit on Dana.

Take the shawl off and the next layer of the outfit can be seen.  Dan is wearing a long sleeve plaid, flannel shirt.  The shirt is mainly blue, but has thick red stripes and thin white stripes, running a checked pattern around the shirt.  

Cuffs at the ends of the sleeves and a nice collar make this shirt a stand alone outfit piece.  One thing that is missing is buttons.  The shirt Velcros up the front, but has no buttons, even for decoration.  There is a white fabric liner indies the shirt, probably to deter color transfer.

Underneath the flannel shirt there is a simple white tank top. In years past, the tank top would not have been part of the outfit. 

It would have come with just the flannel shirt.  It is nice to see that the out fits are getting more layers.  The tank top velcro up the back.

Dana's knee length  navy colored skirt, matches the flannel top.  There are two deep pleats on either side of the center of the skirt, with three silver embellishment buttons following the pleats down from the top of the skirt. 

The pleat also helps to fan the dress out when Dana sits.  There is a thin blue tule under layer to the dress, which is again probably there to help with color transfer.

The boots are similar to some of the other mid calf boots that have been released by Journey Girls over the years.  There is a small slit up the back to help get the boots on.  

An added bonus is the blue socks that come with this outfit.  Nothing spectacular, they are still a great addition.  Made of a stretchy material, the blue socks are very easy to get on, and make putting Dana's boots on easier.  

Because color transfer has been an issue there are white socks underneath the blue ones.  If they just made the clothes so they didn't stain the vinyl, there wouldn't be a need for these.

It's also nice to have the new dolls coming with underwear.  The underwear could be a bit nicer (even Our Generation underwear is nicer than these).  These undies feel like an afterthought and don't fit all that well.  Still nice to have them.

The purse is a small light blue "leather" material.  It has a flap with velcro on the front, so it can stay shut.  The strap is shoulder length.  There is a little tassel on the side.  Cute and simple, the purse is made well and is a great little piece.

Rating
All ratings are out of 10

Value 9 – It is amazing all of the pieces that you get wit this outfit.  The shoes are not perfect, and the quality of the socks and underwear are not the same high quality as the rest of the outfit, but this is still an amazing outfit.

Fitment 9 –  Everything here fits great, which is to be expected.  The flannel shirt can sit funny on Dana at times.  Maybe the neckline is just too big.  Not sure.  Still fits fine though.

Versatility 10 – There are so many pieces to this outfit.  Three tops that can be easily use with many different outfits, a skirt that is beautiful, but easily interchangeable, socks and shoes that are wonderfully universal.  Great versatility in this outfit.

Cuteness 9 –  When the first photos of the new Journey Girls came out, I knew that Dana was going to have to be purchased because of this outfit.  It is a great style.  I love the skirt, compared to a pair of pants.  Very cute and fashionable.

Overall 9 – What a great outfit.  Even if the only way to get this outfit is by purchasing the doll, it's still worth it.  Wait for a sale.  I got mine for about $26.  There are some things that can be improved on.  Don't use Velcro on sweater material.  The boots could be nicer.  Love to see better underwear.  But really, those are all minor issues.  the quality of this outfit is really good.  Better than most of the Journey Girls outfits.  If you see Dana on sale, pick her up.  The outfit alone is worth the money!


AG Note - As awesome as this outfit is for Journey Girls, it is that bad for American Girls.  There are three things that fit from this outfit; the tank top (barely), the poncho, and the socks.

None of the other things really fit.  If you have read any of my other reviews you know that the Journey Girls shoes do not come close to fitting American Girl dolls.  So it's no surprise that Lea is barefoot.  What is surprising is that the flannel shirt does not fit her.  The arms are just too tight.

Her right hand especially could nat make it through the sleeve.  I am sure that with much more tugging I could get it, but then it would be so tight, poor Lea would not be able to move her arm.  The skirt barely fits over Lea's butt, and that only happens with some squishing of said butt.

There is no way that you are going to get that velcro closed.  I would not suggest buying this outfit (doll) to put it on your AG doll.  Unless you just want a white tank top really bad, and a poncho with some blue socks.

New York Kelsey Review

Kelsey's New Face

Last year when the new face molds were released, I was so glad that Journey Girls kept Kelsey with the old face sculpt.  I am disappointed to say that they have now changed Kelsey over to the new face mold. She is still very cute, but her old face mold was so endearing and beautiful.  Her face is now more round and her eyes look further apart.  

Her super light complection, bright green eyes, and auburn hair are still the same.  Her body is the newer body style which means her cloth body is stuffed well, the stitching is very straight on her torso, she has the clicky shoulder joints, and the more angled joints at her hips.  Apperently there has been an improvement with the vinyl also (for all the dolls, not just Kelsey), but it’s nothing that you can really see.

A few notes about the box; gone are the photos on the sides and on the back with the “real” Journey Girls.  Instead there is a spot on the bottom back of the box that has phrases about the girl in different languages.  

In Kelsey’s case words like “explorer”, “punctual”, and “smart” are on her box.  A little paragraph about Kelsey is also there.  It is kind of neat to know about the girls.

On to Kelsey’s outfit.  Let’s start with her jacket, a beautiful, heavy, blue cotton cordarouy, with two “pockets” and silver “button” embellishments.  

The jacket has an inside mesh layer that helps the jacket slide onto Kelsey’s arm more easily. There is no way to close the jacket, but it looks wonderful open.  The jacket is made really well, except the cuffs at the ends of the sleeves, they do not always stay cuffed and the inside fabric sticks out at times.  

The pockets are not really pockets, just flaps.  The button embellishments are a nice addition to the jacket.

Take the jacket off and Kelsey has on an elbow length navy blue stripped t-shirt.  The t-sirth is similar to many other Journey Girl t-shirts.  There is a white crew cut collar around the neckline.  

Velcro runs down the back of the shirt 3/4 of the way.  It would be preferable to have it run all the way down, but this is okay.  

The bottom 1/4 is open, which is better than having it sewn together, which would make you pull the shirt up over Kelsey's body, instead of just pulling it on her arms, which is the way you can do it the way it is made now.

The skirt is a simple light cotton with pleats around the waist that help the skirt flow.    There is no elastic around the waistband, but there is Velcro to keep the skirt snug on Kelsey.  The flower pattern is very similar to the one on Mikaella's New York meet top.  

There are bunches of roses in whites, pinks and reds, along with a few tiny blue flowers.  Somewhat busy, the pattern works great with the plain striped shirt.

Kelsey has a great shoulder purse for New York.  The long pink leather strap hangs off her shoulder and down to just below the tip of her fingers.  

Nothing new in design of the actual purse, but it does have a velcro closing flap, which is nice.  Just a note; the purse come with the shoulder strap folded up.  This creates creases in it, making it difficult for the purse to hang correctly on Kelsey's shoulder.  Hopefully that goes away with play.

Lastly, Kelsey comes with the good old Journey Girls plastic flats...this time with tassels! It's nice that Toys R Us tried to spruce the shoes up, but let's just get some new shoes....PLEASE!  Enough said.  Cute with the outfit, need a new design!

Results

All ratings are out of 10

Poseability - 5 - Very sad that Kelsey received the "upgrade" to her body and joints.  Although there are some nice qualities to the newer body style, they are far outweighed by the ever present leg sprawl and balance issues caused by the new leg joints.  I do think that the new joints are more durable...or hope that they are.

Quality - 8 - A great outfit.  The jacket, especially, is made very well. That is not to say that the shirt or skirt are not made well, because they are, just that the jacket is a very nice material with good quality stitching.  As mentioned earlier there is a little bit of trouble on the ends of the sleeve, but only when putting the jacket on, and only because of how Kelsey's finger stick out.  This outfit doesn't get as high of marks, because of those darn shoes.

 outfit

Adorableness - 7 - Very cute outfit.  Like Mikaella's outfit, this one is just as cute without the jacket. It is a really good ensemble. I don't like Kelsey's new face mold.  The old one is so much cuter.  This one looks older, which is maybe what Toys R Us is trying to do.  Wish she still had the old face mold.

Compatibility - 5 - An outfit that fits the Journey Girls well usually doesn't fit other dolls very well.  This is very true in this case.  Without an elastic waistband on the skirt it is difficult to use on other brands of dolls.  Shoes are exclusive to Journey Girls (not much loss there).  and the jacket and top are also tight.

Overall Score - 6 - If we were able to buy this as just an outfit the score would be higher.  Since Kelsey gets the new face mold and the new body style, she just isn't as nice, in my opinion.  She is probably made a little better, but not enough to make me want to get rid of her old face.  Plus the new joints are just not my favorite, mostly for the leg sprawl.  She is cute and she is a nice doll.  She will stay in my collection, but I will be purchasing some of the Italy dolls, to make sure I always have a few with the older face mold.

AG Note:  As mentioned in the compatibility note, this outfit is tight.  It does fit Grace, but you will have to fight with it a little.

The shirt has to be stretched to close with the Velcro and then it leaves on opening in the back.  You will have to squish the stuffing of your doll to get the skirt to close.

The jacket is extremely tight around Grace's upper arms and shoulders.  She looses almost all of her movement in her arms.

And if you've read any of my reviews you know the shoes aren't even close to fitting.  All of the being said, this outfit is super cute on Grace!

If you are thinking of getting Kelsey to share her outfit, wait until she is on sale.  The outfit alone is not worth the money, especially if you are mostly hoping to have it on your AG doll.

New Mikaella Journey Girls

New York Mikaella Review

Since the Mikaella doll is no different than in years past, this review is just going to focus on her new outfit.  The new doll releases for the New York line have amazing outfits.  Mikaella’s outfit is one of the great designs that are coming out with this line.  The outfit gives us some new outfit elements and some very nice boots (you read that right…the boots are nice!)

Mikaella’s outfit includes a “leather” skirt, a black top with printed flowers on it, a light pink sweater, a purple purse, and some awesome “new” boots.  The pink sweater is a nice light cotton material that is sheer.  It wraps around, rather than having buttons or another way to fasten it.  Made extremely well, there are no loose threads to be found on this sweater.  A great piece for fall days in New York.

Taking the sweater off changes this outfit dramatically.  It looks more sassy without the soft pink of the sweater.  You also get to see the beautiful printed top that Mikaella has on.  The black top is a short sleeved, v-neck, with printed pink and orange roses on it.  

It Velcros up the back, making it easy to get on.  Again the quality of the top is very good.

When taking Mikaella out of her package, the skirt looks like it is tight fitting by her knees.  I fasteners hold the skirt together in the back, giving this deceptive view of the skirt when Mikaella is in the box.  

Once the I fastener is out, the skirt really flares out, creating a really cute, flowing skirt.  The skirt is tight around Mikaella’s waist, thanks to Velcro at the back, then flares out after the waist.

Purses are a great accessories, sometimes they are an after thought to an outfit though.  Journey Girls has been improving their purses over the past few years.  Mikaella’s purse is a beautiful purple leather with a small handle and a shoulder strap.  

There are three gold flecks of paint on the purses opening flap.  It would be awesome if these were actual jewels rather than the little paint flecks, but it’s okay.

Usually this is the area where I tell you about the same old same old shoes that come with the outfit…but hold your breath…this outfit comes with new boots.  Well kind of new.  The boots are the same style of boot that comes with many of the Journey Girl outfits, but these ones have a few new tricks.  

The most notable difference is that there is a felt/soft texture on the outside of the boot.  At the top is a fabric flap that folds over the boot.  In reality the flap is always down, but it still looks really nice.  Lastly the back has the same cut down that back that all of the Journey Girls boots do, but this pair has laces to tie the boot up after you slide your dolls foot in!  

Granted the laces make it a little more difficult to slide Mikaela's feet in and out, but having laced up boots is worth it.  Dare I say this is the best pair of boots I have seen from the Journey Girls .

Lastly, the outfit comes with socks!  I'm sure that they were included to help resist color transfer from the boot, but it doesn't really matter why...it's awesome that they are included.  They are simple white ankle length socks.  Very simple, but a nice surprise to the outfit.

Results

All ratings are out of 10

Poseability - 6 - No changes for Mikaella with her joints.  She still sits with her legs way out to the side.  Her head tilts nicely and her arms move well.  She has trouble balancing because of the leg joints.  Once you figure out her place though, she is easy to balance.  

Quality - 9 - Another great outfit for the New York line.  The top is similar in design to many other Journey Girl tops, just with a different material.  The skirt is really cute.  Many leather skirts are form fitting, but this one has a wonderful flair that sets it apart.  The sweater is nice, but nothing super special.  It does change the look of the outfit though.  And there are shoes...wait...no...and the shoes!  Not entirely new, but definitely a large improvement.  Hopefully Journey Girls continues in this direction with their shoes!

Adorableness - 9 - This outfit is great.  Very cute...and sassy at the same time.  Much more fashionable than many of the meet outfits from the Italy line.

Compatibility - 6 - While the outfit does fit other dolls, it is very tight, especially the skirt.  The boots don't even come close to fitting.  Don't even bother trying.

Overall Score - 7 - If you don't have Mikaella, this is the one to pick up.  If you do have Mikaela, the doll is still worth buying for the outfit (just wait for the doll to go on sale!).  The boots are a great improvement, even though they are not perfect.  As mentioned, the outfit is really cute, with great parts that can be used with many different outfits.  It would be able to buy the meet outfits separately!  I would love to be able to buy this outfit, without having to buy Mikaela again.  Maybe eventually Toys R Us will do that...one can dream.

AG Note - Most of this outfit is wearable by American Girls.  Julie has no problem wearing the top.  It fits great, but is form fitting.

The sweater also fits fine, just be aware that it is not as loose as it is on the Journey Girls.  Julie has to suck in to get the skirt on.  It fits, but it just barely fits.  You will have to squeeze the fabric belly to get it on.

The velcro does keep it closed though.  The boots do not fit.  They are too skinny to get Julie's feet into them.  So you'll have to use some from an OG or AG outfit.

As mentioned above this is a really cute outfit.  Because it fits decently, it is worth picking up.