It’s been quite a while since I’ve added anyone new to our crew here at Say Hello To My Little Friends. The last one was Mimi back in the spring of 2018, wow! Partially because I really had just about everyone I wanted and also because I’d been kind of spooked after reading reviews critical of the quality in the newer dolls. I’d been tossing around a few ideas…then American Girl dropped the prices on their dolls. And then, after Christmas shipping deadlines had passed, they made the offer of 5 times the points for all purchases. I decided it was time for an idea I’d had to come to life.
I actually mentioned an unseen character in a post just before Christmas. Did anyone catch it? Well, it’s time to meet…
Jamie!
Jamie is a Truly Me boy doll, #75. I was very nervous after I’d ordered him because I’d read so many things about issues with the eyes on some of the newer dolls. I was really happy to see his eyes were fine. His box…not so much. Good thing I’m not someone who generally keeps the boxes for the dolls. This one was a bit beat up, and I blame it on shipping as the outer box wasn’t in the best shape either.
From what I understand, if you contact AG and tell them your box is damaged, they will send a replacement. I’ve never tried it, anyone reading this, if you have, please leave a note in the comments!
They’ve changed a few things about how the dolls are held in the boxes since I bought the last one. Arms and legs are held in place with plastic hang tag type things instead of twist ties like in the past. You have to cut them, there is no other good way to get them out. They do still cover the hands and legs with some foam to protect them though.
Free at last!!
Jamie’s full name is Joseph James Miles III. Which is why he goes by Jamie. Grandad is Joe. Dad is Junior. To save confusion, mom and dad decided Jamie would make a great name to distinguish him from the other two! Jamie’s name and backstory is a combination of several of my guy friends. He likes to play with Matchbox and Hotwheels cars, plays soccer, loves the guitar, photography and has his own horse. (He’s a member of the local 4H club!) More of Jamie’s story to come in future posts.
I was pleased to see that they have gone back to the cotton cloth fabric for the dolls instead of that polyester blend. He also has the zip tie to keep his head attached instead of the strings of the past. You can see in this photo that the stitch to close him up is loose enough that if you wanted to switch it and put a string in there instead, it wouldn’t be a difficult job at all.
One thing I have noticed lately with AG clothing is it’s all rather skimpy in how it’s cut. The shirt on this doll is no exception, it doesn’t even come together at the bottom, ugh!
The shoes are cute…but made of molded plastic. I’m really hoping that when we see the next clothing changes on the Truly Me line, they go back to the quality of the shoes and clothing from the past.
The boy dolls also get the same book as the girl dolls in the Truly Me line. I will look through this at some point and then more than likely pass it on. I like this idea better though than the game/idea cards from a few years back.
Overall, I like Jamie/#75 and think he’s a very cute doll. He’s a modified Jess mold with no teeth and heavier eyebrows. At some point I’ll have to do a comparison post of him with some of the other dolls in my collection. He’s got a bit of “bed head” right out of the box, I’m going to do a little bit with his hair to fix it up. I’ll be curious to see if AG adds anymore boy dolls to their current line in the near future, I’m glad to see them make this leap in the first place. Ryan and Josh are super psyched to have another boy join the gang too!
