American Girl vs Generic Dolls, Size?

[RavenWolf]

Can anyone tell me which generic (cheap) brand of doll is the closest in size to the American Girl dolls? Clothes, shoes, and accessories fit wise?

My little niece who lives several states away got an American Girl doll for Christmas, but not much in the way of clothes or accessories. So I thought it would be nice for her birthday next month to sew/crochet a bunch of hand made clothes and stuff for her doll. I even went out and bought a couple of American Girl doll patterns. I was all set to start sewing when it hit me... I don't have an American girl doll to model the clothes on.  I really don't want to spend $100+ dollars on a doll that's just going to be a sewing dummy. So I figured since quality doesn't matter I'd pick up one of the generic look alike dolls, problem is I've never seen an American girl doll in real life... any help would be greatly appreciated! 

[ZennaBug]

There are some dolls at Target that are basically AGD knock-offs, I think they were called Our Generation Dolls.  They're very similar in both size AND appearance to American Girl.

[iluvponiez]

American Girl dolls are very very similar to the Bavarian doll line Götz- to a point to where Götz dolls make great repair parts for AG dolls, and some older AG dolls actually have the same sculpts and bodies as AG- Molly for instance has the same head sculpt as an 80's Götz, if I recall correctly, though I may be wrong.

I can tell you though that Magic Attic dolls, while being 18", do not have interchangeable clothes with AG. Their bodies are much more slim.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Also the Journey Girls line from TRU is a reasonable approximation.

[saboten]

I would stay away from journey girls in your case, as their proportions are dissimilar enough that they don't share clothes well with AG. Our Generation or Gotz should probably be fine (though AG tends to be a tiny bit pudgier in most cases lol)

[Lillies_Mom]

My daughter has a Madame Alexander 18" that we got at Wal-Mart.  She fits pretty well in the one AG outfit we have.

[Hervoyel]

. I even went out and bought a couple of American Girl doll patterns. I was all set to start sewing when it hit me... I don't have an American girl doll to model the clothes on.  I really don't want to spend $100+ dollars on a doll that's just going to be a sewing dummy. So I figured since quality doesn't matter I'd pick up one of the generic look alike dolls, problem is I've never seen an American girl doll in real life... any help would be greatly appreciated! 

Since it would only be a clothing model, you might try looking for a damaged AG - sometimes you see ones that were either owned by too young a kid or were "borrowed" by a younger sibling that's in rough shape and that sells for a fraction of the cost in thrift stores or on ebay.  That way you'll know they fit (most of the cheaper dolls are slightly slimmer, so they can wear AG clothes, but clothes that fit them don't always fit an AG).  Plus, if you can clean up the doll, you can probably make money reselling it later.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

They do sell the classic old patterns on Ebay and are available for download through
 AG Playthings' website.  The doll's body sizes have changed over the years, so those patterns guarantee a roomier fit for ALL AG dolls.   

[MorningGlorysParadise82]

Yeah i was going to suggest a used/damaged AG doll from ebay. Though I have heard from other American Girl collectors that the Target Our Generation dolls are a good alternative. I would NOT use the Walmart dolls as I bought a pair of Mary Janes for my Childhood Samantha and they would not go on. I think the TRU ones are Journey Girls and Micheal's has a line of knock offs called Springfield Collection? I have bought the fashions from the Micheal's line and they fit my AG's nicely and I THINK the dolls were like 29.99.

Lovesbabysquirmy: it is so weird to see AGPlaythings mentioned here! LOL that's like my other home away from home when I am not here! LOL

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Lovesbabysquirmy: it is so weird to see AGPlaythings mentioned here! LOL that's like my other home away from home when I am not here! LOL

Ahhhhh I used to post a lot there, but the dolls are currently packed up in storage. 

[MorningGlorysParadise82]

Lovesbabysquirmy: it is so weird to see AGPlaythings mentioned here! LOL that's like my other home away from home when I am not here! LOL

Ahhhhh I used to post a lot there, but the dolls are currently packed up in storage. 

Those poor dears! I have mine displayed on my dining room buffet, lol.