Modern Era Dolls from American Girl

After my experience with the underwhelming American Girl advent calendar, I wasn't sure if I'd be tempted back to the brand any time soon.  However, I'm a sucker for new things, and lately American Girl has decided to do something new.  Sort of.

What they did was take a few of their Historical characters, shrink their faces down, stick them on Wellie Wisher bodies, and dress them in modern outfits inspired by the corresponding Historical doll's clothing.  It's a lot of recycled ideas.  I would have been more impressed if the dolls had come with a brand new body type--maybe something with better articulation?  But I'll admit to being charmed by the dolls as they are, so I bought two of them to share with you here:

Modern Era Josefina from American Girl, $90.

There are six Modern Era dolls to choose from, and they each cost $90.  The price tag seems very high to me, especially considering that the Wellie Wishers are $70 ($60 when they first came out), the AG Sisters are $80, and Gwynn Tan only cost me $65 when I bought her four years ago.

I want to think that the higher price is because of better quality, and not just because the popular historical characters are referenced.  We shall see.

The six available characters are Felicity, Josefina, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, and Molly:

From left: Felicity, Josefina, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, and Molly.

Josefina was my easy first choice.  I like her face mold better than the others, and she struck me as the prettiest, with recognizable references to the historical costume.  I also bought Felicity because (surprise, surprise) I like her red hair and green eyes.  I was tempted by Molly as well, with those cute red glasses, but had to draw the line at two.

I have to say, the dolls make an excellent first impression.  They come packaged in large, solid, cardboard window boxes that are decorated to look like books:

One side of the box has a spine with the doll's name on it, and the other side is printed to look like closed pages (also with the doll's name on it):

I like the burgundy and beige color scheme here.  It looks very elegant.

The back of the box has some text, and a large picture of Historical Josefina.  I believe this is the same illustration that appears on the cover of Josefina's book:

The American Girl book art is always so nice.  I hate to say it, but I often feel like the dolls themselves are a disappointment after looking at the art.

The text above the picture says, the Modern Era Collection opens a new chapter on the beloved historical characters with a fresh take on their original fashions:

At the bottom of the box, there's a more detailed description of Josefina's updated outfit:

It says: Josefina's 1824 camisa gets a breezy update as a flowy top, paired with vibrant red ruffle-hem shorts in her original floral pattern.  Her long hair is now styled in a front French braid, and her hoop earrings add a golden glint.  Colorful primroses bloom on her handbag and cowgirl boots, weaving cherished memories of Mamá's garden with a modern look.

The box opens like a book to reveal Josefina mounted against a colorful garden backdrop:

This doll has a pretty face.  I also love her shiny, dark brown eyes and long dark hair:

Her handbag comes mounted next to her:

I was disappointed to see that Josefina was tied down to her backdrop with a lot of plastic ties. There's also a big molded plastic support attached to the backdrop to help secure her head:

There were even two plastic ties inserted into her head, which I really hate.  

The backdrop itself is beautiful, which makes the excessive packaging worse.  There's no easy way to remove all of the plastic so that I can preserve the box for storage or display:

Can you imagine being the person who designed this lovely backdrop, and then the packaging department came along and messed it all up?  I'd be so bummed.

Anyway, if the packaging had been more like traditional American Girl packaging, with a single reusable band around the doll's neck, I would probably keep the box and put Josefina back into it for storage or display.  As it is, I'm not sure what I'll do with it.

Anyway, once I wrangled Josefina out of her box, she was able to stand nicely on her own:

Her hair came swept back into a dark hair net:

And she had a flexible vinyl band around her neck, presumably to prevent rubs or scuffs from the necklace:

I took the hair net out and brushed Josefina's hair:

The hair texture is wonderful.  It's silky, smooth, and shiny.

The hair is braided in a small section at the top of Josefina's left side (perhaps to reference the Historical doll's braid), but most of it is loose and long.  It hangs down past her bottom:

Here she is from the back, where you can see the blunt-cut ends of the hair, and the rich, dark brown color:

Josefina's face mold is a smaller version of the traditional 18-inch Josefina Montoya's face, which is called...well, the Josefina face mold:

Here's a promotional photo of the 18-inch Josefina so that you can see the differences:

I like the smaller version of the face better.  A lot better.  The one thing I wish was different about the smaller Josefina's face is her eyes.  They're a beautiful color, but they're very wide, round, and intense:

I wish that she had open-close eyes, which I think would soften her expression.

Modern Josefina also appears to have a brighter, more red-hued complexion than the 18-inch doll.  It could simply be a side effect of the two different photography set-ups, but without the 18-inch doll in my hands, I can't be sure.  I have no idea why they'd change Josefina's skin tone.

Josefina's only accessory is her imitation leather handbag.  As advertised, this comes embroidered with primroses:

I think of primroses as having rounded petals, but I don't grow any of them in my garden, so I'm not sure.

The bag is well made and can open to accommodate some small items:

Before we take a detailed look at Josefina's outfit, here's a promotional photo of the 18-inch doll's complete ensemble:

There are a lot of items included with this outfit!  I especially like the dark red skirt and the multicolored woven shawl, called a rebozo.

Here's the modern interpretation:

Pageant Josefina.

I can definitely see the parallels, especially in the white blouse and red shorts.  The boots and belt make me think more of a cheerleader or pageant contestant than Historical Josefina, though.  I wish that the belt was woven and resembled the rebozo.  That would have elevated the whole look.  Instead, the shiny gold imitation leather belt cheapens it.

The belt is thin and lightweight, with a velcro closure and a gold ribbon woven through the middle:

Which rebozo designed this belt?

The back side of the imitation leather is white:

It looks better inside-out.

Modern Josefina's jewelry is similar to the original, with a gold necklace and matching hoop earrings:

I think all of these are made out of metal, but it's hard to tell.  I tapped on one of the earrings and it made a clinking sound.

The necklace pendant has a small dark amber-colored stone in the middle that's very hard to see, but adds some nice contrast to all of the gold:

Josefina's blouse is my favorite piece from this outfit.  It has a beautiful shape, with bell sleeves and a v-neck that's tied at the top:

The blouse opens down the back with velcro and is easy to use:

The construction is excellent, with reinforced seams everywhere:

The red shorts are simpler, but they have cute ruffle trim along the legs, and the floral pattern matches the original Josefina's skirt.  I also found a pair of white underpants under the shorts:

The shorts have an elastic waist that makes them easy to take off and get back on again.  And the construction is every bit as good as what we saw on the blouse:

Josefina's white cowboy boots are nothing like the plain leather shoes on the original doll, but they're certainly eye-catching.  They're a bit too eye-catching if you ask me.  But they match the color of the blouse, and they look well-made, with nicely stitched seams and some pretty embroidered primroses on the front:

That looks like an accurate primrose shape.

My stylish niece tells me that white boots are popular these days, at least with the college crowd, so that could explain the color choice.  Pairing white boots with such a young-looking doll is probably what makes me think of pageants.

The boots open in back with velcro, but are stiff, so it can take some maneuvering to get them off: 

This outfit achieves its purpose, I think.  The pieces are all very well made, and there's a clear association with the older doll.  I'd make a few tweaks here and there, though, like changing the style of the belt and making the boots a more subtle brown color that mirrors the original shoes.  The boots could even be black, to match Josefina's hair.

Underneath her outfit, Josefina has a Wellie Wisher body with five simple points of articulation:

Her neck, shoulders, and hips are all rotational joints:

I wish American Girl would give this body a better neck joint.  If the dolls could look up and down, they'd be so much more dynamic and fun to play with.

I'll take a moment to compare Josefina to Gywnn Tan, a Wellie Wisher style doll that I still have in my collection.

These two dolls have essentially the same body, but there are a few small differences.  The biggest difference, at least for me, is that Josefina looks straight ahead, not up into the clouds like Gwynn:

Modern Era Josefina (left) and Gwynn Tan (right).

Josefina struggles to stand on her own without boots, though.  I had to lean her body forward quite a bit to get her to balance.  Gwynn has better balance, perhaps because her hair isn't as heavy.

The two dolls have similar faces, but Josefina has a longer head, larger eyes, a broader nose, and a slightly different mouth:

Gwynn has the Wellie Wisher Emerson face, with eyes that are fading more and more every day:

I really hope Josefina's eyes don't fade, because they're a beautiful dark brown color right now.  The iris pattern looks different between the two dolls, so let's hope that means the eyes are a different brand.

Some other minor differences between the two bodies are that Gwynn has a molded "W" (for Wellie Wisher) on her underwear:

Gwynn Tan.

While Josefina has a molded "AG" in the same spot:

Modern Era Josefina.

Josefina also has a molded star on her left foot:

The last difference I can see between these two dolls is that Josefina has rooted hair and Gwynn (like most American Girls) is wigged.

Josefina's beautiful, silky hair is rooted well, with dense plugs of hair and a dark brown scalp to camouflage any gaps:

Josefina feels like a nicer doll than Gwynn to me.  And it's not subtle, either.  Like, now that I have Josefina as a 14-inch American Girl ambassador, Gwynn can hit the road.

That doesn't mean it's easy for me to justify the price difference between Josefina and Gwynn.  I happen to like Josefina's clothing more, but both outfits have an equivalent number of pieces and are well made.  I also love Josefina's rooted hair, but I suspect some collectors might see that as a disadvantage, since she can't be re-wigged or customized as much as Gwynn.  Josefina has the better of the two faces, and I adore that she'll actually look me in the eye.  But that all feels like personal preference and not a difference in quality.  I certainly hope that Josefina's eyes are better quality than Gwynn's, but only time will tell.

In the end, the $25 difference in price is probably in part because of inflation (around $10, from my calculations), and then a bit for the nostalgia factor, a bit for the fancier packaging, and perhaps a premium for having to recreate specific things about the original Josefina's outfit.  I argue that we should subtract $10 for the belt, but it's too late for that.

Another useful comparison might be to the original Wellie Wishers.  Here's an old picture of my Kendall doll from 2016:

Wellie Wisher Kendall (2016).

Kendall's face is similar to Gwynn's.  I think Kendall looks quite a bit younger than Josefina, and her eyebrows are more detailed.

Both Gwynn and Josefina have nicer bodies than the original Wellie Wishers.  Kendall has a hollow plastic torso with visible side seams, while the Modern Era dolls (and Gwynn) have solid-feeling vinyl bodies:

The Wellie Wishers are currently being phased out and replaced by AG Sisters.  These dolls have the same body as the Wellie Wishers, but the style of their faces is different:

I don't like that wall of white teeth at all, so I have no interest in purchasing any of these dolls--especially not for $80.  There doesn't appear to be anything special about them.  However, the line offers a nice range of clothing and accessories that could be used for the Modern Era girls.

In a perfect world, I would have purchased the original 18-inch Josefina for a side-to-side comparison here, but it didn't feel worth it to plunk down $175 for a few extra pictures.  Instead, I decided to purchase a mini Josefina to see how she compares to the Modern Era doll.  I really like American Girl mini dolls.

I don't know what year this doll is from, but she has the older cloth body and comes with an abridged book:

Mini Josefina from American Girl.

I absolutely love her!  She comes with a lot of the same outfit elements that the 18-inch doll has, but she's missing the necklace and the beautiful rebozo.

She has a very cute face, with big brown eyes, detailed eyebrows, and even a pair of gold hoop earrings:

She's wonderful.

In back, her long dark hair is styled into a single braid, accented with little yellow flowers (primroses?) and a blue ribbon:

It would have been fairly simple to add a similar flower decoration to Modern Era Josefina's braid.  I think that would've looked pretty, and would've been another fun nod to the original character.  Perhaps I'll make something like that for her someday.

Here are the two Josefinas together:

Both are nice, but mini Josefina steals the show.

The first thing that pops out at me is the skin tone difference.  I prefer the smaller doll's darker complexion.  It looks more natural.  My photo set up tends to bring out the red hues in certain dolls, but even in real life, Modern Josefina is redder and paler than the mini doll.  This suggests that the difference we saw earlier between Modern Josefina and the 18-inch Historical Josefina was accurate.  In my opinion, they should all have the same skin tone.

I'm also not sure why Modern Josefina's red shorts had to be so bright.  I think the original color of that print is very nice.  And I feel the same way about the belt and the boots as I did before: I wish the boots were darker and the belt was anything but shiny gold.

But maybe I'm just too resistant to change?  The whole point here was to modernize and update the original outfits, not copy all of the elements.

As usual, I'm glad to have a second doll from this collection so that I can measure my reactions to Josefina against another example.  Here's Modern Era Felicity:

Modern Era Felicity from American Girl, $90.

I've never singled out the 18-inch Felicity as a doll I'd like to purchase, even though she has red hair, green eyes, and likes horses.

  

I've often coveted Felicity's horse, Penny:

And her gorgeous green riding habit:

But Felicity herself, in her meet outfit, never did much for me:

I think maybe it's that I've always found that dress a bit simple, with a huge print.  And I don't like the hairstyle.

Felicity makes the dress and the hairstyle look great in the book art, which is replicated on the back of the Modern Era doll's box:

Here's a closer look:

She's so cute.

At the bottom of the box, there's a description of Modern Felicity's outfit:

It says: Felicity's 1774-inspired look channels her bold, spirited personality with a rose-print satin peplum top featuring front laces and puff sleeves.  Bow-trimmed jeans, faux leather riding boots, and a saddlebag purse add to her modern equestrian style.  Her auburn hair is pulled into a high ponytail that shows off her faux coral necklace, recalling the beads she wore for luck.

All of these outfit features were easy to appreciate the moment I opened the box:

Felicity herself is friendly and appealing, with natural-looking red hair and bright green eyes:

Her bag comes mounted to her left side--almost like she's holding it:

I guess that bag is supposed to be inspired by a saddle bag?  I don't see the reference.

Felicity's box has a completely different backdrop than what we saw with Josefina.  This is an excellent detail:

Too bad all of that plastic messes it up.

There's a white picket fence gate with some small yellow and red flowers growing along each side:

Now I want to see all of the different Modern Era backdrops!  They don't show them on the American Girl website, and I'm not going to buy all of the dolls, so I'll have to search around for other collector images.  That will be a fun little treasure hunt.

Here's Felicity fresh out of her box, standing on her own:

She came with protective clear vinyl strips around her neck and both arms.  Her hair was also secured inside a hairnet:

I took her hair down and brushed it out:

The hair is uneven.  It's about two inches longer on Felicity's left side than it is on her right, and I couldn't readjust anything to fix this.  It is what it is.

The thickness and color of the hair are wonderful though.  The texture is nice and soft, too, but because of the subtle wave, it's not as sleek and silky as Josefina's hair:

The unevenness is more obvious from the back:

Somebody's scissors slipped.

I guess I'll have to try and fix that at some point, but it makes me nervous to wield scissors on a brand-new $90 doll.

Felicity's face mold is different than Josefina's.  It's a scaled-down version of the Classic American Girl face:

I don't like this face quite as much as the Josefina mold.  The differences are subtle, but I find them easier to appreciate with a GIF:

Felicity's face is shorter and rounder than Josefina's, and she has a smaller, pinched mouth and a shorter, upturned nose.

Most of the Modern Era dolls have a Classic face like Felicity.  I believe Addy is the only other exception.

Felicity's purse is bright pink with a short strap and a large metal buckle on the front:

The two large stitches on the front of the strap look strange, but those are what's holding the metal buckle in place.

The purse doesn't need the buckle to open and close because it has a strip of velcro instead:

My favorite part of the purse is the little imitation leather horse charm that's attached to one side!

As I did with Josefina's outfit, I'll show you a promotional photo of the Historical Felicity's clothing first as a reference:

From what I can see, the only things about Modern Felictiy's outfit that reflect the original Historical doll's costume are the fabric in her shirt and the red beaded necklace:

And I think the flowery shirt and beaded necklace are the highlights of this outfit:

I'm not sure why the shirt's accents are pink, though.  There's a hint of pink on the printed roses, but it's not the obvious color to single out.  I'd have gone with dark red to match the roses and the necklace, or even light blue, to match the little stripes. 

A shirt with red, white, and blue in it could have had meaningful connotations this year as we approach America's semiquincentennial.  Especially in a doll that's referencing a 1700s historical character.  Missed opportunity, Mattel.

The necklace has a satisfying weight and is a pretty color:

The blouse has a ton of detail:

I love the fabric.  It's a beautiful print, and the scale is just right.  I also like the embellishments on the front, especially the crossed ribbons that suggest a laced pattern--perhaps hinting at 18th century corseted undergarments.  I just wish the ribbons were a different color.

The blouse also has a whimsical peplum-style flare at the bottom, and delicately puffed sleeves with elastic gathering.

I was not surprised at this point to see the impeccable construction of the shirt:

The jeans are less interesting than the blouse, but they're an essential wardrobe piece...and they're good for horseback riding!

They have a velcro closure in back, with some pink stitched detail.  There's even a decorative silver button at the top of the stitched fly:

The jeans have a flared, bootcut shape, with little pink ribbon bows above the hem:

Felicity's short pink boots have a cowgirl style, with white stitched seams and thick black treads:

Again, I don't love the pink here.  It makes it hard to take the boots seriously.  And Felicity, from what I gather, would have taken her riding boots seriously.

On a similar note, I wish Felicity's boots were the same height as Josefina's.  These short boots don't seem quite right for a serious horsewoman.

The boots close in back with velcro and are a little hard to get on and off:

Overall, this is another satisfying modernization of the historical costume.  However, without the signature print on the blouse, I'd be unable to tell you that this doll had anything whatsoever to do with Felicity Merriman.  It's all about the blouse.  And the blouse is very pretty.  But the pink accents feel forced to me.  Like somebody shouted "add more pink!" at the end of the design process.  

Okay, so a strange thing happened to me as I was planning this review.  I received Josefina and Felicity in the mail, and was impressed with them right away.   So I was feeling really positive about American Girl, and more curious about the Josefina and Felicity characters than I'd ever been before.  As these positive feelings were swirling around, I noticed that there was going to be a re-release of the Historical Felicity Merriman.  She's been discontinued and re-released several times over the past decade or so, and has been unavailable since 2021.

So, in a fit of insanity, I pre-ordered the Felicity re-release doll.  For $175.

Gulp.

I'm not completely sure why I did this, honestly.  Especially considering the fact that I've never really liked the 18-inch Felicity.  But I did it, and she arrived, so here we are.

Right away, I noticed how unimpressive the box is, especially compared to the beautiful (but wasteful) Modern Era boxes.

There's a photograph of Felicity with all of her accessories at the bottom of the box, and she looks cute here:

Inside the box I found a book, some smaller accessories packed in a white tray, and of course Felicity herself:

2026 Historical Felicity Merriman, $175.

The book isn't Felicity's story, but rather a Keepsake Guide to Felicity's World:

I'd rather have the original Felicity book, frankly, since I've never read it.

Here are the smaller accessories, which include a cap, a purse, a handkerchief, and the necklace:

I got Felicity out of the box and...oh, dear.  I don't like her much at all:

2026 Historical Felicity Merriman.

The dress is plain, with a large-scale print, as I suspected it would be.  But there was clearly no effort to make the print work with the construction.  For example, print design doesn't line up between the bodice and the skirt.

Also, the pattern has repeating columns, and I feel like one of the columns should be centered at the front of the dress, like it is in the promotional photos:

When the most striking feature of a garment is its printed pattern, I feel like the printed pattern should be handled carefully.

But also, Felicity's face is unappealing to me.  Her eyes are an unnatural bright green/yellow color, and the little curls at the side of her head are huge and look silly:

Lizard eyes.

That hairstyle doesn't suit the shape of her face at all.  I find Keira (My American Girl #29), who has the same face, so much more appealing:

My American Girl #29.

The back of Felicity's hair is styled into a crude ponytail that sticks straight out:

Are you kidding me?

She'd probably look a lot better with her hair down, but then the style wouldn't be historically accurate.

Having this doll in my hands gave me a chance to confirm that the Modern Era doll's blouse has an identical print to the original--just scaled down considerably:

Historical Felicity.

Modern Era Felicity.

I like the scaled-down print better.

At least I got to take my side-by-side comparison picture, which I didn't get to do with Josefina:

2026 Historical Felicity (left) and Modern Era Felicity (right).

I like the Modern Era doll so much more.  And for half the price.  With $175 on the line, I didn't find the Historical Felicity worth keeping.  So I sent her right back to American Girl.  I hope they'll give me a refund.

Apologies to the Felicity fans out there, because I know there are many of you.  This version is just not for me.

After that escapade, I went back to my original plan, which was to buy a miniature Historical Felicity.  She only cost $40 on eBay:

This doll is older than the mini Josefina I bought, but she's wearing the right clothing.  Other Felicity releases are dressed differently:

Miniature Historical Felicity Merriman from American Girl.

This doll also comes with an abridged book, which is a detail that I love.

This little one is a bit worse for wear, but she's still pretty cute.  She has wonky bright green eyes and messy auburn hair, with no curls at the side of her face.  Her dress looks like a wonderful little replica of the larger costume:

And the print is positioned perfectly!

It should embarrass somebody that the mini doll's dress is made better than the 18-inch re-release's dress.

 

There are no pieces of jewelry or other extras with this doll--or maybe there used to be, but they weren't included in the auction.  It would have been fun if she'd at least come with her cap.

Here's Modern Era Felicity with her mini ancestor:

The mini doll's dress has the same size print as the Modern Era blouse, which is fun.  I guess the designers didn't have to re-size the print because it'd already been done!  These two look really cute together.  The bigger Felicity is like a real child with her matching doll.  I like that they have roughly the same skin tone, and am relieved that Modern Era Felicity has a more realistic eye color.

Seeing the Modern Era outfit alongside the Historical dress (in both sizes!) I'd say that the pink accents are even more glaring.  I wish they were red or blue.  But I don't have any other criticisms.  The Modern Era outfit is really cute and well made, and I can see the reference to the Historical dress.  I mean, there wasn't much to work with other than that floral pattern.  If anything, I'd change the Historical dress to make it more memorable.  There must be more interesting styles from 1774.

To wrap things up, here are my two Modern Era girls side by side:

Modern Era Josefina (left) and Felicity (right).

That picture doesn't do either of them justice, honestly, so let's get them out into the natural light!

I was fortunate to have a streak of good weather while my azaleas were still blooming, so Josefina and Felicity got to enjoy a very flowery New Jersey spring garden.

Josefina went exploring first.  I love how her dark hair and eyes look against the white flowers:

Mini Josefina looks lovely against the white floral backdrop, too:

The two of them did their best to find all of the white flowers in the yard!

After a while, they got tired of white and went in search of something different:

Like hot pink!

This clashes a little with Josefina's red shorts, but who doesn't love a splash of Barbie pink every now and again?

I'll go back to the softer white and green for their final portraits, though:

Felicity's eyes really come alive when she's outside amidst the foliage:

The color almost perfectly matches the leaves on this spirea bush:

The wind kicked up while we were outside, though, and offered more of a dramatic shot than I'd intended!

Wheee!

Mini Felicity was nestled within the safety of the fence:

But she still got a little nervous when the wind began to blow!  She didn't want to fall backwards into the neighbor's yard.  That would've been awkward:

Don't lean back, don't lean back...

So, Modern Felicity picked her up to offer some security:

Too bad she can't hold anything very well.

They ventured to the other side of the house...

Oooh!  Look at the pink!

And waded through some thick ground cover...

This is deep!

To have their chance posing against the azaleas:

Let's go see the pink ones again!

The pink ones do seem to suit Felicity quite well.  I guess it's her signature color:

Can you put this flower in my hair, please?

Thank you.

Okay, okay, maybe the pink accents on the shirt are fine.

Josefina is my favorite of the two Modern Era dolls that I bought, but I have to admit that Felicity came alive in the garden.  Her green eyes are so bright and innocent:

And the color of her hair is perfection:

Hand me my phone. I want to take a selfie before we go inside.

Mini Felicity is not as appealing, but she also enjoyed her time among the flowers:

Mama says I have to finish threshing the wheat before I can come in.

Bottom line?  I knew when I purchased Josefina and Felicity that there wouldn't be much that's innovative or new about them.  They're essentially Wellie Wishers with new faces and special clothing.  But I'm glad I took the plunge and got a closer look at both of them--particularly Josefina.

Josefina feels like a special doll.  It's hard to describe, but she's got that intangible "it" factor.  I look at her and I think, wow, she's shiny.  That sounds strange, but I mean it in a good Firefly kind of way: her hair is shiny, her eyes are shiny, her gold jewelry is shiny...she's literally a shiny, new doll.  She also feels satisfying in my hands.  Not only does her body have a pleasantly substantial weight, but her vinyl is smooth, and her hair is silky and wonderful to touch.  The hair is rooted, which is a deviation from the typical American Girl style, but the rooting is dense and the hair feels thick and looks beautiful.  The hair is framing a cute face, which is a scaled-down version of the traditional Josefina mold.  I like this mold better than the Classic face that most of the other Modern Era dolls use.  One complaint about Josefina is that her skin tone is much brighter and redder than the Historical Josefina.  I prefer the softer, darker complexion of the older doll.  I also wish that her body had a better neck joint, but I've said that before.  Josefina's outfit is simple, but it's well made, and I find the style attractive and youthful for the most part.  And even though I know very little about the Historical Josefina character, I can appreciate the creativity that went into reimagining her classic ensemble.  I do have a few critiques of the outfit, though.  First of all, the gold imitation leather belt is tacky, and I wish it had been made out of the rebozo fabric.  I also find the white cowgirl boots a bit pageantic, and not aligned with the historical outfit as well as some of the other elements.

Felicity is also a nice doll, and I actually like her outfit more than Josefina's, but overall she doesn't grab me the same way.  I like her outfit because it uses the pattern from the Historical Felicity's plain dress in a beautifully detailed and modern blouse.  The blouse is more interesting to me than the original dress.  The outfit also includes jeans, which are a versatile and essential element to any wardrobe.  Pink is not my favorite accent color for this ensemble, but Felicity seems to like it.  One of my favorite things about Felicity is the color of her hair.  It's a gorgeous natural red shade, with a wavy texture and high quality fiber.  My doll's hair is significantly uneven in the back, though, which is a pretty big bummer on a $90 doll.  And that wavy texture will be more prone to tangles than Josefina's sleek hair.  Felicity has a cute face, and I like it more than the full-size Classic mold, but it isn't as appealing to me as Josefina's face.  One thing I can say for sure about Modern Era Felicity is that I like her more than the new 18-inch Historical version, especially for half the price.

All of the Modern Era dolls have beautiful boxes, which I want to talk about for a second.  I was blown away by the presentation.  The boxes are shaped like books, which is a clever nod to the Historical dolls, and all of the backgrounds are attractive and unique to the character.  It had never occurred to me to keep an American Girl doll in her box as a collector's item...until now.  I was seriously tempted to leave these girls pristine in their boxes to admire for a while.  But there's not much fun in that...and it makes a doll hard to review.  Also, the boxes are really large and take up a ton of space.  The downside to these boxes is that they aren't designed to be re-used for storage or display.  There's a big plastic brace defacing the pretty backdrop, and lots of plastic ties have to be cut in order to remove the doll.  So the packaging makes a great first impression, but will probably end up in the garbage in most cases.  Also, I fear that the fancy boxes are a contributor to the shockingly high price of these dolls.

I can see how this new line will appeal to fans of the Historical American Girls.  If you're familiar with a particular Historical character's story or wardrobe, then examining the Modern Era dolls to discover how they represent and re-interpret that lore could be very fun.  On the other hand, I guess it might be offensive the have all of the historical significance stripped away from these beloved characters.  But I think you can ignore any association between these new dolls and the original American Girls if you want.  They stand on their own as attractive, versatile little play dolls, who strike me as higher quality than the original Wellie Wishers and more visually appealing than the AG Sisters.  I didn't think there'd be a niche in the American Girl lineup for newcomers like this, who are basically just recycling old ideas.  But it looks like I was wrong.