A little whine about Molly's new skating outfit

[kitswift22007]

There's been quite a lot of moaning and complaining about the rising cost of AG outfits lately, and I can see why! Since Molly's skates, muff, and earmuffs are sold seperately from the undies, jacket, and skirt in the set, the whole outfit costs 44 dollars! I know of several places where I could buy a decent pair of jeans for that amount of money!

I have no doubts that the outfit is top AG quality and very cute as well, but $44 dollars is just too much.

[kitandkat]

I hate when the shoes are sold separately from the outfit, if they are supposed to go with the outfit. We had to pay a lot for Molly's roller skates/outfit too. They are often the cutest shoes... but so much money [img]eek.gif[/img]

[sparklyyy]

I hear ya! I've been looking at a lot of outfits lately, and upon seeing the price, I'll think, 'okay, that's not TOO bad.' However, then I'll notice that just about all of the pieces of the outfit are sold separately and in total, everything adds up to a pretty penny! It is frustrating. [img]frown.gif[/img]

Erin

[EmilyMarie]

Then if you add to that the fact sometimes the shoes/skates aren't made very well or out of material that isn't very good quality you end up spending more $$ even with the guarantee.

The blue part of Molly's roller skates that goes around the ankle is cut on the bias so it stretches & thus rips apart. Any ideas how to make it more stable?

[DaisyDee]

I agree, it really is a bit too expensive. If you look at the current skating outfot for AGT, it comes with the dress, full body leotard, shrug, skates, and medal for $34. That's a lot of pieces for $10 less. Not to mention that a lot of the pieces in Molly's set are recycled patterns and molds for the pieces (skate, muff, earmuffs, skirt) so the company is saving a lot of $$ in the way they made the outfit.

[craftycarol51]

Hi: From what AG has told me over the years - it takes more research to make an Historical outfit than the JLY outfits. The JLY outfits have always been less costly and have included all the parts (except for a few - like Christmas outfits that have accessories sold separately).

If you ever go into a doll shop and check out the clothing there AG is very cost effective (it is still an expensive hobby - especially when you want everything - like I do).

When the Doll of Today Cowboy outfit was current for Halloween - I went into a doll shop and they had a Cowgirl outfit that wasn't as nice and it was over $40 and the hat and boots were separate and I don't remember how much they were, but I remember thinking that you would spend over $50 for less than what AG charges $26 for.

I think this is why we see some shortcuts, or what some call less quality - they are trying to keep the prices about the same. When I first started collecting the dolls were $85 with a hardcover book - now they are $87 with a paperback. That's holding the line pretty well for almost 20 years.

[MapleLeaf]

I agree with all of you when it comes to the cost of complete outfits. Molly's new skating outfit really seems to be one of the most expensive if you buy all the pieces.

Nia [img]smile.gif[/img]

[JabberwockyPie]

I don't like how much everything is beginning to cost, but I have noticed one thing.

Most of the outfits come with shoes now. If you figure that they usually charge $8 for a pair of shoes (or is it $10). Kit's Scooter outfit is $26 (I think?) but it's more like $18 if you subtract $8 for the shoes. Obviously it's still a lot of money, but in a lot of ways, Mattel gives you more for your money than Pleasant Company ever did.

That being said, something I hate that dates from the Pre-Mattel days is the way that the pajama sets and the winter outfits get divided up so that you have to buy $40 or close to actually have the complete outfit. (Robes sold seperately from nightgowns, etc.)

[starling]

AG actually changed Felicity's summer outfit so that it would include the shoes/hat AND the price went DOWN. I realize the quality of the straw hat is a bit inferior to the original but I wouldn't buy the outfit with the pieces sold seperately, whereas I did buy it now that they are sold together. I also like Samantha's Tea Dress but won't buy it because it isn't sold with the shoes. It doesn't make any sense to sell these items seperately! However AG's prices are good considering what the doll shops want for their outfits/accessories. I also sewed AG clothes for years and found that I would be better off just buying them from AG considering the cost of patterns/fabric/trim.