#American girl historical doll

[timetravelingcourtney]

#kirsten larson #pleasant company #american girl #historical dolls #pantaloons #mob cap

[enby-dollhouse]

Gwendolen took a winter walk through the forest in her brand new coat :)

I've never made a coat before so this was definitely a learning experience but I am very happy with the result!

#ag doll #american girl doll #american girl #gwendolen green #historicaloc #historical oc #harrison sews

[stluciabuns]

The Historical Accuracy of Kirsten's Dirndl

Despite its adorableness, I have seen many people complain about Kirsten's Swedish Dirndl outfit.

I would kill a man to have bought this for $22.

She wears this outfit for most of Meet Kirsten, being that she is an impoverished immigrant child who does not own any other clothes, and also for continuity reasons.

Frequently, I have seen it claimed that this outfit is not historically accurate and should not have been included as part of her collection. Conversely, I have also seen many German folk costumes marketed as being made for Kirsten. Both of these pain me a great deal (actually they just annoy me).

Nonetheless, I have decided to further procrastinate doing actual, meaningful work and instead set out on a new mission: figure out what the fuck is up with Kirsten's Dirndl.

In this post, I will lay out the research I have done, the evidence supporting the historical accuracy of this outfit, the challenges to its existence, and ultimately aim to answer the question of whether this outfit is one Kirsten plausibly could have worn on her journey from Sweden to America in 1854.

Let's begin.

First, the name. Pleasant Company/American Girl referred to this outfit as "Kirsten's Swedish Dirndl and Kerchief."

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a Swedish dirndl. "Dirndl" is a German term, and refers to folk costumes worn by people in German-speaking areas of Europe (the Alps, Bavaria, Austria, and so on).

Kirsten is Swedish, and before Meet Kirsten has never left Sweden before. It is very unlikely she would have acquired, and regularly worn, a German dirndl. See this gorgeous example of a dirndl c. 1840:

Outfit, c. 1840. Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Münchner Stadtmuseum.

This ensemble is beautiful, but tragically, it is not what Kirsten is wearing.

What, then, is Kirsten wearing? What kind of traditional dress does Swedish culture have?

As it turns out, the proper term for what she is wearing is a folkdräkt. This is a Swedish term meaning "folk costume." Here is an illustration depicting multiple examples of Swedish folk costumes. In proper terms, these would be called "Svenska folkdräkter."

Nordisk familjebok (1908), vol. 8, Folkdräkt. Retrieved from runeberg.org.

These outfits are not quite identical to anything we see in Kirsten's collection, but you can observe various elements that have carried over -- the vertical stripes, black woolen skirts with ornate trim, and white dresses and red sashes (hello St. Lucia)!

Let us dive deeper. What do extant Svenska folkdräkter, specially those made c. 1850, look like? Is there anything like Kirsten's outfit among surviving examples?

Johan Sodermark, "Kvinna i dräkt."

In my few hours of research, this example image is the closest thing I have found to Kirsten's dirndl.

This lovely portrait is a watercolor from 1850 painted by Johan Sodermark. It is very creatively titled "Kvinna i dräkt" -- literally, "Woman in costume." The pattern of this woman's apron is incredibly similar to that of the skirt of the Kirsten doll's outfit -- a dark red base with blue and yellow stripes woven throughout.

Here is a closeup from the American Swedish Institute.

Although it is not shown in the doll-sized version of the outfit, the illustrations in Meet Kirsten by Renée Graef show us she also wears a light-colored, striped apron, which is almost surely the one that comes with her meet outfit.

Illustrations from Meet Kirsten, drawn by Renée Graef.

Notice the fabric of the bodice in the third illustration, though: Kirsten's top is made of red plaid fabric, while Sodermark's girl has an outfit full of stripes. Kirsten, bless her heart, spends an entire book outfit-repeating a potential pattern-mixing fail: plaid and two kinds of stripes and a floral scarf. Did Pleasant Rowland just hate her? Is Kirsten on another, elevated fashion plane far beyond my comprehension? Is there a historical basis for this combination of patterns?

I have no answer to the first two questions, but thankfully can speak on the third.

Komplett Vilskedräkt, Västergötlands museum. Some pieces c. 1865.

The top is plaid and laces up, which is not necessarily the most common way of fastening (in most examples, the bodice pins up), but it is a sensible choice considering both Kirsten's age (9) and the fact that Pleasant Company was making toys for little hands.

The model for the outer shell (the lace up top) belonged to Karl Edberg from Hällestad; it is not dated, but at least one piece of this set (the bag, which is not shown) is c. 1865. Additionally, the blouse here is very similar to the one that comes with Kirsten's winter outfit -- look at that keyhole neckline!

So, Kirsten's Dirndl outfit is actually very accurate as far as the clothing itself goes...the name remains the trouble.

I have no idea why they called it a dirndl. Folkdräkt is definitely challenging to pronounce, but why wouldn't PC just translate it as "folk dress" or "Swedish outfit" and call it a day? Why the insistence on referencing a culture that isn't relevant to the doll or her dress at all?

Perhaps this is a mystery to tackle for another day...

#kirsten larson #kirsten #american girl #pleasant company #meet kirsten #american girl kirsten #american girl dolls #agig #ag doll #ag dolls #american girl history #historical characters #1854 #rambles #kirsten 1854 #historical clothing #historical fashion #american girl analysis #renee graef #swedish historical fashion #folk dress #pleasant rowland #ag tumblr #ag on tumblr #american girl doll tumblr

[tj-crochets]

Miss Beatrice Bear’s new dress is almost done! I just need to hem the bottom

#sewing #handmade #sewing wip #miss beatrice bear #historical doll clothing #sort of! idk that the fabric is but the pattern I used for it is #Miss Beatrice doesn’t look like it but she’s the same size as an American Girl Doll #well. plus some fluff #I am going to make a black cat to wear this dress!

[cookinguptales]

so American Girl's new historical characters are from 1999, look almost exactly like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and are worried about Y2K. They listen to the Spice Girls, have tamagotchis, and use gel pens. The word "sk8r" was used unironically in their description.

I literally had the AG slumber party book that's part of the Pizza Hut BOOK IT set. The exact AG magazine that's in other photos, too.

my childhood... is historical now...

just put me in the ground...

--------

BONUS: I texted my mother:

#this is VIOLENCE #american girl #we couldn't actually afford the dolls when I was a kid #but my parents were VERY big on reading so I had the magazine and a lot of the books #you know all that said these are actually very boring dolls lmao #the stakes feel so low compared to the other historical dolls #the only real stakes are the ones THROUGH MY HEART because I am OLD NOW #go deal with child labor or scarlet fever or something kids

[betty-bourgeoisie]

I could fix her (American Girl Doll historical collection)

#american girl #american girl dolls #ag #I am so tired of the same blond doll being copy and pasted into different historical outfits over and over again #I could tell you like 5 ideas for an Asian historical doll right now #I could make all of the 1850's dolls more interesting #I could give you doll ideas for the reconstruction era #so many thoughts but Mattel seems to actively hate their historical line #so I would never get hired

[dandelionsandderivatives]

While I was languishing on the bed of illness last week, I spent a lot of time reading up on American Girl Doll lore. Dear followers, you may see a lot of American Girl content in the following weeks. I say this not to apologize, but to entice.

#a lot has changed there since my Youth #there are new dolls now of course #but they stopped giving each doll six books and are now ripping the children off with only two books per doll #and there seem to be far fewer Educational Crafts To Do With Your Doll #which is a tragedy and a shame upon the company #also the dresses are much worse #I knew about some of these things but I went down some internet rabbitholes and was floored by how different the company looks now #when I was young and my parents were poor I spent hours reading the catalogues and drooling over historically accurate accessories #which no longer exist #american girl doll

[idledoll]

Maybe it's because we left the First Mow of the year late, but we've had these little white wildflowers pop up all over the place this year, where usually they're concentrated in a few isolated spots instead.

#idledoll's dolls #Nellie #Nellie O'Malley #historical american girl doll #AG doll #AG dolls #doll photoshoot #doll photography #agblr #dollblr

[edwardianamericangirlfan]

Today's a big day for annoying people (fans of original historical american girl dolls) aka me.

#american girl #america girl doll #ag tumblr #kirsten larson #addy walker #josefina montoya #historical dolls

[singamajig]

celebrating AG's rebrand a couple months after getting my sweet kirsten! ❤️

#txt #american girl #american girl doll #kirsten larson #dont regret getting a used one a bit bc she came w assloads of clothes #but OOH im glad i didnt spring on a couple listings for her summer collection as i could see that coming out in a month or two!! #also i luuuv her smell from whatever home she came from..she smells like outside and linen #fucking THRILLED im gonna get to go to an AG store for the first time soon #if they have the new historicals restocked its gonna be a fightpit of josefina and addy and courtney #mine

[gardner-n-pardner]

redressed my dollies for November 💕

They're in my fav dresses/colors since it's my birthday month! Seeing all the pretty makes me happy :)

#i call it depression decorating #just shit that makes me happy man #ag #american girl #american girl doll #marie grace gardner #dollblr #historical dolls #custom doll #american girl dolls #ag dolls #doll

[timetravelingcourtney]

Here’s Addy with her new accessories that I picked up at AG Place LA.

This Addy was in the large PC Molly lot I brought home a few weeks ago. I fell in love as sometimes happens and decided I had to keep her.

She had her boots but no meet dress. I remembered I had this lovely dress someone made with great care. Kirsten had an extra apron and kindly passed it along.

I was very excited to set up her Sweet Dreams set which I’ve been holding onto for years!

I rarely come across Addy items on my adventures so I’m cobbling things together until either I get lucky or AG expands their retired doll lines. 🤞🏻

#american girl #pleasant company #addy walker #sweet dreams #Acessories #AGplace #Los Angeles #historical dolls

[coconutlicorice]

Elizabeth Cole (book-accurate version)

#american girl #agblr #american girl dolls #my customs #historical #elizabeth

[samantha-and-nellie]

this is an older samantha to me, if you even care

(picture is “on the heights” by charles courtney curran, 1909)

#samantha parkington #probably bridget and jenny are the girls with her #historical info #ag #agblr #american girl #american girl doll #from my slate

[crysieagdolls]

This is Marikit Reyes!

She is meant to be a fanmade Filipino historical character for American Girl. Please read more if you're interested 💕

This photo is my main inspiration

I definitely would have made her collection inspired by the Pleasant Company kind of style, with lots of detail and connections to her overall story.

I made the lace part of her top (from trim from a fabric store) but the rest is from sellers on etsy and ebay. Send me an ask or dm if you'd like the links to them!

The doll is not in perfect condition because she came from goodwill and I wanted to fix her up. I initially thought she was a Josefina with cut hair, but I didn't know much about the different face molds. Now she has a different wig, which is actually a slightly damaged Josefina wig, but it's longer which I like.

If she had a story, her era would be 1930s, when Filipino people first started immigrating to the states, and her intro would be of her journey to America, like Kirsten.

This doll was made with this culture for a very personal reason. Last year, a close friend of mine online passed away in a car accident. They were Filipino American. And although I'm pretty sure they wouldn't care that much for American Girl one way or the other, I think it's a group that isn't represented often.

Please let me know what you think and if you have any ideas for me to do for her in the future!! I would especially love to hear from actual Filipinos or Filipino americans from agblr but any feedback would be great

I plan to get her some other finishing touches when I have the ability (a fan, a necklace, earrings, tights) and other outfits down the line

Stay tuned because in March, I'm getting Claudie !!

#agblr #american girl doll #historical ag #ag doll #american girl #filipino #phillipines

[britishchick09]

new historical headers and circles! :D

#american girl doll #american girl #these are all on the historical characters page #and i love them all! :D #it's so great to see a change for all the girls!