How to tell Sam from GT16 or GT13?

[LadyPenley]

Ok, ladies. After being here a couple of weeks, I find I definately want more American Girls than just my sweet Josephina! (I got her from my DH for Christmas after pouring over catalogs for years and unsuccessfully trying to get my daughter--now 16--interested in dolls.)

You all warned this would happen (wanting more girls), and it has! Now I scour ebay for new AG's all the time.

Can anyone tell me what the differences are between Samantha, GT16 and GT13? I see from the description that GT16 has dark brown hair, and GT13 has lighter brown hair. But in all I've been reading, I hear that SOME Sam's have dark brown hair (& eyes), especially the more recent ones, and that SOME Sams have the lighter brown hair, especially the older ones.

So aside from clues like body tags (if available) or clothing tags or the boxes or the books included (all of which could have been "packaged" with another doll up for sale to mislead, including switched heads/bodies) how can one tell a "real" Samantha from one of the Girls of Today Dolls?

Thanks for any insights you can share!!!

[colettedenali]

Samantha, unlike the Today dolls, has curls at the bottom of her hair.

[Ashley1972]

The today dolls have a one-length straight blunt cut that is curled under at the ends. Samantha's is more wavy and I believe it is in long layers- or at least the part of her hair that is pulled up is a bit shorter than the rest of her hair.