American Girl

It’s the brand, experience, and the stories. I’ve taken my daughter to the AG store in NYC for lunch and she loved it. (Disclaimer: she’s 5 and still on the Bitty Babies and Wellie Wishers, but she’s eying a bigger one. Maybe for her birthday next year.) I don’t think it’s outrageous for a gift for a larger birthday or holiday, but that obviously varies by family.

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In more upper-middle-class and upper-class areas, yes. Since I was a little girl from a fairly broke family in a fairly broke area, I never heard of them until I was an adult. Friends of mine from families that could afford an expensive-ass quasi-educational doll say they had one and loved it. The schtick is that the doll is a character, and is meant to be like a pre-packaged historical friend. There's little books about each doll, and accessories and clothes and all sorts of stuff. My baby sister is 7, and she's got one that apparently she's into. It makes it easy to get her presents, because all you gotta do is drop $10 on a book or $30 on a tiny dress and she will be PUMPED. They have creepy faces because dolls are creepy, especially dolls that are meant to look like children or babies. More on reddit.com

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I think the minimum age for AG is currently 6. I collect AG dolls and have owned an our generation doll. Our generation is really a lot lower quality. The hair is less nice, og dolls have really wide shoulders making them look a bit off and the clothes are just a lot lower quality. I personally enjoy the books of the historical dolls a lot, but before you buy those, I'd look up a synopsis and make sure your kids can handle the material. Some stories can get a bit dark. I do think a kid needs to be able to properly take care of a doll before getting such an expensive doll. If they tend draw on their dolls with marker, cut their hair, throw them around, things like that, I wouldn't get them such an expensive doll. More on reddit.com