What is it about Samantha that makes her so popular?

[Dancingfewl423]

Just thought this was an interesting question that I'm not sure we've discussed before. Why is Sam so popular? She has pretty clothing and accessories - but so does Felicity. She has a great character - but so do all the other historicals. What do you think it is about Samantha that makes everyone (little girls and collectors alike) love her so much?

[Lara423]

I think it must be her outfits. A lot of people realy love her. I am more of a "Felicity" girl myself. We got Sam because it is my DD's name. We do love her clothes though.

Lara

[wiccacat]

She's not my favorite but she was the first and that makes her special.

[monimarine]

I think her frilly collection and pink clothing make her very popular amongst little girls who like to play dress up and whatnot.

[thepidget]

I've wondered about that sometimes. [img]graemlins/thinking.gif[/img] I like Samantha a lot, but yes...why does she seem to be the most popular?

My guess would be it's because she has tons of feminine and frilly outfits, but that wouldn't explain why Felicity or Addy might not be as popular since they have girly outfits too.

I also have the Samantha books and she is described as "a bright Victorian beauty, an orphan raised by her wealthy grandmother," while none of the other girls are described as rich and beautiful. Maybe it's the way Sam is advertised that makes her appealing to people too.

[Katie from IL]

First of all, she was one of the 3 original girls, so she has built a longtime fan base. Other than that, I think maybe because she was rich and girls who play with her love to imagine living like that. Sometimes it's more fun to imagine being wealthy and getting everything you want and never have to do any chores than some of the other girls who are poor and don't have as many opportunities.

Also, she's a girly-girl and those kinds of girls generally love dolls. Girls can have tea parties and do other things that girls like to play today. Also, she has brown hair and brown eyes which is the most common eye/hair color in real girls. And, she does have the largest collection of any girl. AG even has Samantha in their all-around logo, with the sihollette of the doll sitting inside the girl reading a book.

Those are just what I think might be true. I don't agree with some of it but I'm attempting to speak on behalf of the girls(and parents) who might buy her.

[cowgirlsue]

It's a good question and one I've often pondered. AG's marketing of Samantha has always annoyed me. She is set in the Victorian era but is really Edwardian. For the most part, I don't like any of her clothing. Her stories have always struck me as much more fantastic than those of the other girls, and rather simplistic, too.

I really try not to influence my DD and I keep these opinions to myself. But I will admit that I was pleased to see that Samantha is last on her list of favorite dolls (even though she looks the most like her). I don't think she'll ever be coming here to live.

That said, I know she is well-loved and I don't begrudge her that. I am interested to read other opinions. [img]graemlins/smarty.gif[/img]

[Janie3082]

I kindof wonder this too. I know lots of little girls probably love that her collection is made up of "dress up" clothes, or that her things are so dainty. I know when I was a little girl, it was fun to pretend to be rich, or have things like that. But I never wanted the Samantha doll.

I think a lot of it too is that parents get dolls for their children that look like the child, instead of letting the child read about the characters on their own and decide which one they like best. Or, the girl may be too young to read on her own, and the parent just picks the doll with the biggest and frilliest collection. Who knows?

I do enjoy Samantha's stories, but she has never been one of my favorite dolls. She is a beautiful doll, but her collection just does not appeal to me.

I kind of don't like the fact that she HAS to get a new outfit every single time new historical outfits come out. AG has normally been doing new stuff for 3 historical girls at a time, and Samantha is always one of them! Give the other girls a chance! Or at least make the "Samantha" outfit be for Nellie. Come on, AG!

[dolllover]

This is just my opinion, but maybe a lot of rich little girls like Samantha because she is rich, like them. Just a thought. [img]graemlins/wonder.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thinking.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/hmmm.gif[/img]

[Wickedgood]

She's a very beautiful doll. Even though I've gone rather "meh" over her actual collection (expecially the new additions), the actual doll has a very timeless quality.

Plus, she was one of the first three. She was the one of the three that I actually received. Her hair is long and brown with bangs - just like what I had, her eyes dark brown - ditto.

And back when her outfits DID matter, it was cool that her clothing was fancy and frilly, yet not too different from what girls today could wear on special occasions. Out of the original three, Kirsten's clothes were cool but pioneer wear was all the rage in the 70s and early 80s, not so much late 80s and 90s. And Molly's clothes were just a little too mundane and ordinary to hold my interest.

I don't see why some people seem to begrudge the fact that Samantha is many people's "favorite" AG. I don't personally care for Elizabeth (her features seem a bit angular) but I don't care if anyone else likes her. Those of us who love Samantha aren't forcing AG to crank out more outfits for her - in fact I'd be THRILLED if they would lay off on releasing new clothes for her all the time. I don't have a good solution - I mean, someone just posted the kind of response you get from AG customer service these days. So complaining about the imbalence or trying to offer solutions seems pretty pointless. But I think trying to create a rift between fellow AG collectors seems just as pointless to me.