A comparison and review of the many different 18" dolls who might be American Girl doll "friends"!
Modern Girls by Creatology made their first appearance at Michaels craft stores sometime in late 2015. They were originally brought in as a seasonal item and sold alongside the Springfield Collection dolls that had been previously sold there. Since then, Modern Girl dolls have continued to be sold through Michaels.
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The Positively Perfect Divah Collection was created by World of EPI CEO Dr. Lisa Williams who wanted to "reflect the beauty and diversity of African American girls" and promote them as Dignified, Intelligent, Vivacious, Attractive and Humanitarian (DIVAH). [node:read-more:link]
The Springfield Collection by Fibre Craft describes itself as "a brand of fun, fashionable and affordable 18-inch dolls, clothing, accessories and furniture." Their modestly priced 18" dolls have have been a popular alternative to the costlier American Girl dolls, but the current Springfield Collection dolls are the result of a long evolution, beginning in the mid 1990s. [node:read-more:link]
My Life As dolls first appeared in 2012 when Madame Alexander introduced a new 18" play doll collection which featured dolls in different life roles, and were sold exclusively through Walmart. MA had been partnered with Walmart the year before for their 2011 Friends Boutique collection but replaced them with the new My Life As dolls. [node:read-more:link]
New Adventures LLC Toys, founded in 2001 by siblings Beth and Joseph Reiling, has focused on offering innovative quality "girls' toys and dolls" at value prices. They've had several 18" dolls collections: Good Kids, B. Girlz, Style Girls, and more recently, Play Zone Style Girls.
Not a great deal of information exists today about these separate collections, so it's difficult to know anything for sure. But Good Kids may have been the first. . . [node:read-more:link]
Meritus Industries, popular in the 1980s for their version of the Ginny doll line, sold a number of 18" dolls under various collections during the 1990s. Some of their more prodigious were the Elite/ LIfetime Dolls and Girls on the Go collections. In late 1999 they merged with DSI Toys and sold Disney Sweethearts dolls before closing up shop in 2003. [node:read-more:link]
In the early 2000s, Walt Disney World began producing a line of 18" dolls similar to American Girl dolls named My Disney Girl, sometimes referred to as Walt Disney World My Disney Girl. They could be purchased at Disney theme park resorts and were part of the My Disney Girl Perfectly Princess Tea Party event package offered at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. [node:read-more:link]
