An American Girl doll for my daughter

When the American Girl collection debuted in 1986, I was 10 years old. I remember getting the catalog in the mail and falling in love with the gorgeous dolls!

At the time, the company offered just three choices: Kirsten (pioneer girl from 1854), Samantha (Victorian Era girl from 1904) and Molly (World War II girl from 1944). I loved Samantha the most. She was classy and sophisticated. And she had brown hair and brown eyes - like me!

Even then, the dolls weren't cheap. So I saved up my money - allowances, doing chores, holding garage sales. And then I ordered my Samantha doll. She was perfect! I remember wanting to order her a trunk and other outfits, but I held off. Too expensive. Instead, my mom sewed me dresses for Samantha to wear, including a red Christmas dress with lace!

Eventually I grew too old to play with dolls and Samantha was packed away in her box. She stayed there for two decades as I graduated from high school, college and got married. Now that I am expecting a daughter, I wondered... What ever happened to my Samantha doll? I asked my mom, and she did some digging in the attic and sent me this picture of all my dolls and toys that she had in storage!

Excited, I went to the American Girls' Web site to check on how Samantha had been doing. Since the company's founding in 1986, it had grown into a huge corporation with stores all over the place and dolls in nearly every little girl's bedroom. In fact, Papa Bean's niece has her own Samantha doll! But I couldn't find any listing for Samantha. Then, I found out she had just been discontinued!

While that is sad news, it could make my doll more valuable. I quickly checked on eBay to see how much I could get for my doll! But most of the dolls for sale were in pristine condition and still in unopened boxes. My doll was old. And played with. She was not perfect. Even so, I think the best place for her is in the arms of my daughter. After all, dolls are meant to be played with, not kept as collectibles!

But Samantha was still old - 20 years old! And she needed a makeover.

First, I found an adorable doll clothing shop on Etsy called DollCloset that offered this beautiful skirt in the Amy Butler fabric that coordinates with Lima Bean's nursery for only $7 (pictured below)! Then I found a white blouse and white patent mary janes from NecessaryExtras.com for $6.99 each!

Let me introduce you now to the new Samantha, updated for 2009! My gift to my daughter.

Of course by the time Lima Bean's able to play with dolls, she'll probably want different clothes and dunk Samantha in the tub a few times... maybe even cut her hair. Or maybe she'll want her own brand new American Girl doll. That's fine. I'll help her set up and run a lemonade stand so she can earn enough money to buy one. Like mother, like daughter - right?