Wake up Millennial women, it’s our time. The original American Girl dolls are all coming back to stores in a new launch, the brand tells Glamour exclusively.
Yes, I mean every single historical character we grew up with in the 90s and 2000s, even our redheaded horse girl queen Felicity Merriman who hasn’t been available since 2021. She joins the seven other original dolls who the brand is celebrating in honor of its 40th anniversary this year: Addy Walker, Josefina Montoya, Kirsten Larson, Kaya, Kit Kittredge, Molly McIntire, and Samantha Parkington.
Founded in 1986, the company first debuted with three original American Girl dolls: 1840s Swedish immigrant Kirsten, Progessive-era Samantha, and World War II-era Molly. They were followed by Felicity, Addy, and Josefina in the 1990s and the rest in the early 2000s.
For the new launch, which debuts in stores and online on Tuesday, the brand is taking steps to ensure the dolls feel as close to the originals as possible. Each doll, American Girl said in a press release, “has been crafted to be as close as possible to what the original offerings, from signature outfit and accessories to packaging.” For those even more interested in the history of the dolls, the brand is releasing “keepsake guides” with photos of the original products and some of the history behind the times they lived in.
The announcement is likely to bring a sigh of relief to American Girl purists, some of whom worried when the brand released a new, modern line of the classic dolls earlier this year. But while the brand said those dolls were meant to introduce the classic characters to a newer, younger audience, this launch is for the girls who have loved them since the beginning.
“Bringing these characters back with a new offering is our way of celebrating that legacy and the generations of fans who grew up with them,” Jamie Cygielman, the Global Head of Dolls at Mattel, tells Glamour. “It’s a tribute to the women who formed such meaningful connections with these dolls as kids, while also introducing a new generation to the stories and characters that helped define the brand.”
Mattel
So, if the image of the Modern Era Kirsten with space buns made you clutch your pearls in horror, rest easy. The original Kirsten on shelves will be “almost exactly like the one fans fell in love with in 1986, with light-blue eyes and straight blonde hair with bangs styled in two looped-up braids tied with blue hair ribbons.” She even comes with her classic book, Meet Kirsten, with the original cover design.
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