Remember the American Girl dolls we used to play with growing up? They were pretty different back then. For us elder millennials, there weren’t any dolls made to look Just Like You. They were historical dolls, and my favorite was always Kirsten. Don’t get me wrong, I loved all of them — Felicity had the best clothes, Addy had an incredible story — but I don’t know, I always loved Kirsten. She was a pioneer girl living in 1800s Minnesota. The American Girl books and dolls really made you feel like you could experience what it was like living in different time periods.
The historical dolls aren’t the big focus at American Girl anymore, but now? Now, even their dolls are not too historical after all. They’ve made their way through decades like the 60s and 70s, which were a little bit strange enough, but it wasn’t too bad… until now. Their newest historical dolls are twin girls named Isabel and Nicki… and they live in 1999. I AM NOT OK.
Of course, the styling — as always — is killer. It takes me right back to my historical childhood, with all the 70s-style daisies, inflatable furniture, and giant desktop computer. One of the girls is a copy of Cher from Clueless, while the other is styling grunge wear. Being that I actually lived in that era, I know that 1999 is a little too late for Clueless and grunge, but oh well. It’s close enough, right? They definitely got the space buns right. They even got a little Book-It pin from Pizza Hut and stripe-y highlights, to make sure their in-house historian mined every single little detail of our childhoods.
I was a teenager in 1999. I was literally in high school. And now, that makes me a historical figure somehow?! As if my kids don’t make me feel ancient enough on a regular basis.
There’s nothing like American Girl turning your teen years into an actual historical era to make you feel incredibly, incredibly old. And here I thought the 80s doll was bad. So when you’re like me, bopping around thinking that your teen years weren’t that long ago, don’t worry: American Girl is here to set you straight.
