Wellie Wishers Review!

I bet you’re super excited to find out how they compare to other dolls, so I’m fighting with the new computer to bring you this post.  Luckily you’re not here to hear the swearing!  Here goes:

Since I’ve been to the AG store on Jan 1 more than once and seen a line stretching far out the door, I expected something similar for the release of the new Wellie Wishers.  I actually arrived at 9:30 (they open at 10 according to the website) and there was NO ONE outside!  Weird, huh?  Then I saw someone walk into the store and realized they must have opened early.  I braced myself for a crowd, but turns out I was only 1 of maybe 7 shoppers in the whole store!

My first impression of these dolls, echoed by a few other people I heard in the store was, “wow, they’re small!”

In fact they are close in size to the hearts for hearts girls:

A few in-store photos with apologies for the poor lighting – it was definitely not designed for taking pictures!

A ballerina costume and  a fairly nice stage.  It has fabric curtains and two backdrops

All the Wellies outside their “Big Ticket Item” house ($250) with the sad little bunny

The obligatory pink princess dress

Cute, nicely made jammies

This accessory set was my fave; apparently Kendall is the crafty one?  I may go back and get her…

This is what was in her apron

A mud pie set/potting bench that comes with the house

I LOVE the idea of this backpack!  If I had a child that was transporting her doll I’d surely have gotten it!

They are all so adorable it was hard to choose, but the salesperson I talked to said Willa was the most popular so far, and I’m pretty partial to freckles! 🙂

Here she is in her box

The picture on the front of the box is a little deceiving (deceitful?). In the photo on the box she is clearly tilting her head.  I love dolls with the ability to do this, because it makes for more expressive photos. It turns out she can’t really do that.

She was anchored in with a tie and some rubber bands around her feet.

It was annoying that they sewed part of her headband to the top of the box. That kind of thing seems more associated with cheaper dolls like Barbie

Even without the tilting head she poses OK, stands well on her own and is very cute!

Size comparison

In comparison to the Sasha and AG cylindrical bodies, the very young-looking Wellies faces with the hourglass-shaped torso is slightly odd.  Their target market here is about the 4-6 year old age-range, and young kids have bodies more like Sasha.

  The dolls with straight hair at the store had beautiful, silky hair.  Willa’s curls are possibly held in place with some kind of product, since it’s not as soft.  She’s probably also stuck with eternal pigtails, since this is how it looks in back:

She feels quite a bit more substantial than the H4H, but at more than 2x the price, you’d hope so!

She has very visible torso seams at the sides and shoulders that at first looked like cracks:

But they aren’t loose at all, so it must just be part of her construction.  The torso is made of a harder plastic than the rest of her and has molded undies with a “W” logo.

Clothing quality is on par with other AG items:

And thank goodness her wellies are lined with fabric!  This makes them more stain-resistant as well as easier to put on.

Now for the most important thing:

As you can see they’re just a little bigger than the H4H!  I’m experimenting with enlarging some of those patterns in the neighborhood of 106%, although loose H4H sized items, like maybe the dress from week 1 of the sew-along might fit!

Verdict/Enabling:  Yes, I like her.  She’s a good quality doll, and I love sewing for dolls in that size range.  The hard body is also a plus.  Knowing what I know now, yes, I’d still drive all the way down there and buy her again, although the price seems a little steep, especially if you’re buying in-store and paying an additional tax on top of their base price of $60.  $50 would have been more reasonable, so I may wait for a sale before getting another.

Off to sew! 🙂