The Corona virus lock-in has provided me with ample time on my hands. I took the opportunity to, finally, sort through my photo archive and put a little order in the chaos. It was an interesting journey and I discovered some series that I forgot all about. Most notably the American Girl series.
Visiting New York in 2015 I passed by the American Girl store on Madison Avenue and decided to pay it a visit. I walked out in a daze, and very conflicted. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to make of the experience. As a woman and mother (sadly not to a girl but I have enough imagination) something about it didn’t feel right. The store caters to middle and upper class families, judging not only by observation but also by the price tags. It caters to girls who want to be little women of privilege, its about the hairdo, the outfit, having a fancy tea break, owning the right accessories and car, being a little woman of means owning a doll, or most likely several dolls, that do not lack for anything, including a miniature pedicure set. I couldn’t stop thinking of how I would feel about this is I was an American mother to a young daughter. It not only sets the focus on very material ambitions it also felt very competitive. Can you ever have enough dolls with sufficient accessories. There’s probably always that child in the class that has more dolls, more beautiful cloths for her dolls. How do you stop the material race?.
Culture, of course, plays an important role. While I lived in the US for about 11 years I was raised in Israel to parents of European decent and have lived in conservative Switzerland for over 30 years. Was I being too judgmental? Am I just not getting it? Would a similar concept work anywhere outside of the US? On this last point it is interesting to note that there are only two countries outside of the US, Dubai and Bahrain, where American Girl is present. Interesting!
Having worked in marketing for decades I cannot help but admire how smooth and clever this marketing machine is. There^s a purchase booby trap in every corner of the enormously large stores. In addition to the many dolls and accessories, the girls can design a dolls that looks like them, design her cloths, order similar cloths for themselves, get a hairdresser and tea party appointment and much more. Simply brilliant!
I would have loved to dig deeper but realized that I am not visiting the US often enough and also my attempts to get permission to officially photograph in the stores have gone unanswered. So all in all I have paid about 3-4 visits to American Girl stores in New York and Chicago. Below some impressions.
Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you.
.
An outing to the American Girl store is an event. Most of the girls are all dressed up to the hilt. Many of the dolls have the same outfit.
At least she is cleaning her own car:-)
One popular activity is the doll hairdresser. Of course you need an appointment and it is not cheap., a good haircut never is.
Everything is like in the real world, the attention to details is impressive.
Have suitcase will travel
The tea parties are almost the craziest part of the experience. The space is huge and full. Must have reservations. The dolls are seated at the table on their special chairs. These two girls had six dolls between them. If you don’t have a doll (yet?) you can borrow one so that you can experience the real-thing.
And the ultimate goal of a visit a larger than life shopping bag filled with American Girl goodies.
