18in M.A. dolls at Sam's Club for $30!!!!! PICS!

[Katie from IL]

I was at Sam's Club and in the holiday toy section were 18in Madame Alexander play dolls for $30! The line is called "Sweet and Chic" and the back of the box has a copyright date of 2007. I only saw 2 varieties-all fair skinned, most of them were blond haired blue-eyed but there were just a few that had dark brown hair and brown eyes. Dissapointing to see no ethnic varieties.
[img]frown.gif[/img] The dolls do have sleep-eyes, though!

I purchased the brown-haired one. She comes in a pink dress and white t-shirt(similar style to the Poolside Plaid outfit for AG). She also comes with a pink velour sweatsuit, pink and white party dress with a pink bow, white sandals, a pink kercheif, and some cheap looking hair styling tools. Both the blond and brunette come with the same wardrobe. IMO way too much pink!

The dolls don't come with a name. I think this would be the perfect doll to make into my Rachel, my 9-year old Polish Jewish girl from 1914.

I've heard about Madame Alexander before and I know that brand is known for making quality products, so I hope I got a good buy on this doll. I've just removed her from the box, and she has very straight but soft brown hair that goes down to just below her shoulders(similar to Emily). Her vinyl is stiff(like AGs), not squishy like the OG doll I got the other day.

If anyone is interested in this doll it looks like a one-time only holiday kind of thing so my guess is when they sell out they'll be gone. I didn't see these dolls when I was at Costco the other day, but that doesn't mean they will or won't carry them. But overall, seems like a high quality doll for a great price!

Here are some pics-I had to take them at an angle to avoild the glare of the flash off the package, but you can see pretty much what she looks like.





<font color="#33CCCC"><font size="1">[ November 04, 2006 04:45 PM: Message edited by: Diamond Dragon ]</font></font>

<font color="#33CCCC"><font size="1">[ November 04, 2006 04:46 PM: Message edited by: Diamond Dragon ]</font></font>

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ November 04, 2006 05:12 PM: Message edited by: Diamond Dragon ]</font>

[katherinecusick]

Hi Katie!

I did see those MA's at our Sam's Club a few days ago too. They only had the blonde/blue eyes one--your brunette is much cuter IMHO.

She'd make a terrific Rachel! I'm wondering if this is a new line for MA or just a temporary Holiday item because I've never seen MA's this big before other than some LE Cissy dolls. Maybe someone here on HB has the scoop.

I really hope you enjoy your new doll! Please give us a review on her accessories too once you take a closer look at them; the box looked like the dolls came with quite a lot of items.

[img]smile.gif[/img] Katie

[Polly Marie]

Very pretty. She looks almost identical to my MA doll Kelly except for the outfit. Kelly was a "Best Friend" MA line.

[AG Seamstress]

There was a Madame Alexander 18" "play doll", that came out a few years ago, named Ashley.
It almost looks like the same face mold. Ashley has the greatest hairdo. It's parted in the middle, with french braids going down each side.

I'll see if I can find a picture. I know of one website that might still have them. Ashley had a strange body. Her torso was partly fabric, like AG, but the top of her body was vinyl, to just above the bustline. In other words, if she wore a low neckline,or bathing suit, you would still see vinyl.

http://www.prillycharmin.com/dolls/18/hashley.htm

Here's her picture. Is your new doll's hair rooted?

[Polly Marie]

My dd and I both have Ashley also. She is my Emily doll. I like her except for her hair. It has to stay in the braided style because of bald spots and the ends of the braids fray easily. The hair strands are too silky, not as realistic or as good of quality as AG wigs.

[kbrzez]

Very nice. I did see those there and thought they were pretty, but my daughter wanted a baby Alive doll for Christmas so I had to buy the one that came with all the extras that they have at Sam's Club.

[dolllover]

She's so pretty! [img]biggrin.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

[Prewitt05]

Congratulations on your find. She has a very sweet face and the outfits are adorable. I love pink!

[Kenshinchan]

She does look sweet, and I think the outfit she comes with is cute! You're right about there being an awful lot of pink, but Rachel probably wouldn't want a velour sweatsuit anyway, regardless of the color. [img]smile.gif[/img]

It sounds like you're not displeased with her quality, so for $30 she was definitely a good deal! (Even if she happens to have rooted hair, you could always rewig by cutting off the existing hair. People have even re-rooted dolls by buying the hair separately, although I don't think I'd have the patience!)

[starling]

She seems to have the same head mold as the MA Dear America Dolls, which I bought because of the book series. I thought the Dear America books were "better" than the AG books, but I didn't care for the MA dolls. The dolls forehead just seems to be too large for the head, but I loved the period outfits. I would have liked to have kept the outfits, but I sold the dolls/outfits on ebay several years ago. Everytime I see a MA I get tempted though!! She is cute and I love her outfit. More than likely she is a LE for Sam's Club only, just like Costco had last Christmas.