Halloween 2022

Amelia and Rita Cheryl don't have costumes at the moment, but they can still dress up cute!

Rita Cheryl is actually wearing Luciana's new coat instead of her own, but as we'll soon see, Luciana is wearing something else.  Now to the costumes.  C'mon, y'all know I've always got someone dressed up!  In her spotlight post Marina stated that she wanted to be a mermaid for Halloween.  Welp, I made it happen!  It cost way more than I should ever spend on doll clothes, but I regret nothing.

This is the oft-derided Sparkling Mermaid costume, available from 1998 to 2000.  It was always one of my favorite costumes; the other options back then were sock hopper, hippie, cowgirl, black cat, and princess, and the mermaid seemed (to me, at least) to be the most original.  Even today I don't see many mermaids among real-life Trick-or-Treaters.  This outfit seems to be unpopular among other AG fans, and...well, I guess I can see why, since it's not the most flattering getup in the world.  It's kind of hard to move Marina around in it too.  Sitting her down was an effort, for example, though that's not easy anyway since she's a young doll and thus a tightly strung one.  I was able to sit Marina down, though, so it is possible. 

I also had a difficult time placing the wrap as it's quite long, but luckily for me the AG wiki has some instructions for tying Josefina's rebozo.  I chose one of those methods for getting the wrap on Marina, and it works fair enuff, though the ends still drag on the ground.

Loop around the waist, cross the ends in back, bring the ends over her shoulders and tuck them in.  Reasonably easy, though it does hide some of the cute sea critters on the wrap.  The seahorse is visible here, for example, but the orange starfish on the right is all but invisible.

These critters are ON THERE, by the way!  When I was a little kid I presumed that they were sewn on to the wrap, just like a trio of plastic perfume bottles on my favorite top.  I thus predicted that the sea creatures would fall off with ease, just like my perfume bottles did.  Joke's on me, because these appear to be molded onto the mesh of the wrap.  See?

Or at very least the crab appears to be looped securely into the mesh.  However, if one looks closer one can see that he is very firmly glued onto the mesh of the wrap, rather than looped or molded in place.  The glue is even more obvious on this yellow shell.

Glue isn't always the best way to put an outfit together, but this glue looks and feels quite strong.  I don't think I'll have any trouble with sea critters going AWOL.  One thing that bums me a little about this ensemble is that the critters on the net aren't painted like the critters on the crown.

The pieces tie together just fine, stripes or no stripes, but...well, I like stripes, okay???  Polka dots will always be my favorite, but stripes are also pretty great.  Anywho, this costume is not a favorite among American Girl fans for this reason or that, but I actually quite like it.  It goes well with Marina's hair, and it comes with shoes.

American Girl's second mermaid costume inexplicably does not come with shoes.  As cold as the weather can be during Halloween, shoes are a must.  At least around here they are.  Anyway, I respect this outfit for its originality in a world full of princesses and sock hoppers.  Oh, and it's also green.  Y'all know my feelings on the color green.

On the other hand, putting together a sock hopper costume is relatively easy, and the components (flat shoes, a sweater of some type, and a long, swirly skirt) are easy to move around in.  Perfect for a little kid, I'd say.  So Silver Bird isn't the most original, but she does look adorable.  Silver Bird chose to be the sock hopper this year.  This is an Etsy getup that I've had on hand for awhile.

Y'all may remember from Marina's spotlight post that Silver Bird chose this getup.  I had this on Lindsey last year, but Lindsey's body is one of the slimmer bodies and didn't fill it out very well.  Spoiler alert:  Silver Bird's chunky Pleasant Company frame doesn't either, but since when have Halloween costumes ever fit perfectly?  The blouse tucks nicely into the skirt, so that's a plus.  Oh, and the proper shoes?  These...actually, I can't remember if I had to buy these separately or if they came with the outfit.  Either way, Silver Bird has the required saddle shoes.

Once I read (in American Girl Magazine, ironically enuff) that in some areas black and white saddle shoes were worn only by boys, while girls wore a blue and white variety.  Brown and white shoes were worn by both sexes.  I haven't found any information online that confirms this, so take it with a grain of salt.  Regardless, Silver Bird's shoes are the classic black and white that we all know and love/loathe.  I grew up wearing saddle shoes, believe it or not, so I grew to love them.  Silver Bird is one of my girls who prefers going barefoot, but as I mentioned above shoes are not optional during this time of the year.  So Silver Bird may not be as original as Marina, but it's at least obvious what she is. 

Luciana, on the other hand...Luciana's costume isn't immediately obvious, unless one knows me or her.  She's the Ninth Doctor...with the Eleventh Doctor's bangs.

Okay, Number Nine wore a pea coat as opposed to a leather jacket, but Luciana gives no flying burritos.  As long as she keeps that jacket away from her Tribble then all should go well (remember that Goldie tried to eat Lark's jacket once).  If y'all go back to Luciana's spotlight her decision to be the Doctor should be no surprise, though her decision to be the Ninth Doctor did surprise me (she prefers the Beloved Tenth, LOL).  I guess I should be glad she didn't want to be the Sixth Doctor, with that loud jacket he wore.  There isn't much to say about Astro Luci this Halloween; she's clad in black, and I have to admit that she looks pretty sharp.  

And with that, my lineup for Halloween this year is complete...except I think Silver Bird has something on her mind.

Silver Bird:  Either one of y'all fancy a dance?
Luciana:  Let's kick it!

Oh Lordy, I know where this is going.  Cue "In the Mood," Marina!

Marina:  I'm on it!

Glenn Miller for the win!  Don't get too close to the edge, y'all.  Remember what happened the last time Doremi tried to fly?

Luciana:  Served her right!
Doremi:  I HEARD THAT!!!
Silver Bird:  Oh crap...

Uh-oh, looks like my lineup ISN'T complete!  Luciana, you and Silver Bird keep dancing and I'll show off Doremi's costume; she's a princess, just like she wanted to be.  Like Marina's costume, this one is one of the older ones, the aforementioned Medieval Princess costume.

It's mostly velvet, one of my favorite fabrics, plus some sort of polyester (I presume) with a sparkly upper layer.

Both the sleeves and part of the skirt are made of that, while the bodice and other parts of the skirt are made of this velvet.  It's thin enuff that the lighter color shows through. 

Doremi's crown is made of gold...lame?  Sateen?  Some sort of shimmery gold fabric. It has no stretch, so it fastens in the back with Velcro.  I love the plastic jewels up front.  The front of Doremi's dress has these too, but the pictures of those wouldn't focus.

On her feet Doremi wears these cute gold slippers that are made of the same fabric as the crown.  These are elasticized and unfortunately like to slip off.

Doremi is the only one who has her Trick-or-Treat bag. 

Silver Bird's costume never had a bag, Marina's costume is missing the bag, and I had to piece Luciana's costume together so she doesn't have a bag either.  No problem, they can use these Rainbow High bags.

Luciana:  Sorry, Marina, but there's no green one.
Marina:  Never mind that.  You're standing on my wrap!

If you girls are good girls tonight I'll share my Almond Joy bars.  NOW my Halloween lineup is complete.  Line up, y'all!  Marina, you stay between Doremi and Luciana, lest they kill each other.

Marina:  No problem.

Even Doremi's friends love to hate her.

Doremi:  I HEARD THAT!!!

What're you gonna do to me, squirt???  You're about an eighth my size!  Anyway, Silver Bird and Luciana have unfinished business.  Fire up that radio again, Marina!

Luciana:  This sure beats resonating concrete!
Doremi:  How come no one asked ME to dance???

Behave yourself, Doremi, or you'll get a rock.  

Happy Halloween,
RagingMoon1987