Saige

Let's take a closer look at Saige Copeland, Girl of the Year 2013, shall we?

Saige doll, meet outfit, and book: $110

American girl describes Saige as having "bright turquoise eyes and long auburn hair." She also has freckles and pierced ears. Pretty doll, I'd say, though when I heard the doll was going to be from New Mexico, I was kind of hoping for more of a Mexican-American look (dark hair, dark eyes, and medium skin). Maybe AG thought this'd be too much like Josephina? I think Saige's indigo meet outfit is very cute. I love the turquoise ring and the geometric belt. I wish the outfit was sold separately from Saige so that we could add it to our collective AG wardrobe. Oh well.

I'm not a huge fan of her name. Spelled like it is, it seems less like "sage" as in the herb or as in a wise person and more like somebody with too much time on their hands took the name "Paige" and started rhyming. I've always thought the name "Paige" is lame. Who'd want to be named after an errand boy or a sheet of paper?  At any rate, "Saige" is a billion times better than "McKenna" *shudders*. I have a few choice words for whoever started the Ma/Mac/Mc + Whatever naming fad for girls. Like: What. Were. You. Thinking? 

The clock's a-ticking, McFelicity. Save your first name rants for your own post, why don't you?

Will do, Malily.

Anyway, when I first saw Saige's picture, I was surprised at how much she looked like me. Here are 2 photos from DollDiaries.com that compare a clone of me to Saige and to Nicki, GOTY 2007.

Felicity clone and Saige

As you can see, we do share a strong resemblance but are nowhere near identical. My hair is a slightly different shade of reddish-brown, I have those little pin curls by my face, my eyes are green, and my face is freckle-free. You can't tell from this photo, but when my hair is down, it's not nearly as curly/wavy as Saige's, either.

Felicity clone, Saige, and Nicki

Saige looks similar to Nicki as well, but their hair colors are quite noticeably different. Nicki also has a side part instead of a center part and blue eyes rather than turquoise.

Saige's Accessories: $28

I think these are all cute items! It'd be fun to mix and match them with Saige's various outfits. However, I don't think earrings in general are the greatest idea for AG dolls: talk about hair snags waiting to happen, and with us hair doesn't grow back. I bet young girls would have trouble keeping track of such small pieces too. The asking price for this seems rather aggressive to me, but the reviews on the AG website agree that they're good quality, at least.

Parade Outfit: $54 with hats, $34 without

Of all Saige's outfits, this is by far my favorite. The hat and helmet jack up the price of this outfit, but it's also sold without them. I like the helmet more than the hat, though I wouldn't really want either at these prices. The jeans, boots, and patterned shirt are awesome! Maybe I can get Mom to ask for them for her birthday.

Sparkle Dress: $30

This is outfit is okay, but it doesn't really speak to me. I like the length and fullness of the skirt, the gold sparkles, and the defined waist. I don't really like the asymmetric neckline or how the pattern of the sparkles up top is different from the pattern of sparkles on the bottom - they don't even try to make the two patterns flow together. It makes sense for a girl from the southwest to pair this dress with the cowboy boots, but I'm not a big fan of them. And even though I know mixing metallics is all the rage, it looks off to me to add a silver necklace to this ensemble.

Pajamas: $24

I like the color palette of this outfit - unusual but fun. The only thing I'd change would be to do away with the ruffles on the cuffs and neck of the shirt. I think they look out of place on casual sleepwear.

Sweater Outfit: $34

This one definitely gets the thumbs-down from me. The tank underneath is okay, but the rest... ugh. Unless you're in an English riding competition, pants don't need to be that tight. I'm aware that hermetically sealed pants are "in" right now, but I think it's one of those looks we're going to look back on in a few years and mock like crazy. The sandals: rather blah. The gladiator look will never be for me. And finally, I've got to be honest about the elephant in the room here: the sweater. I think it's atrocious in both print and cut. There's something almost violent about it. Seriously, I may have nightmares about this sweater chasing me down and eating me tonight. 

Picasso, Saige's fleabitten gray horse: $132 with tack, $94 without

I think it's cool that AG went the extra mile to make this horse a fleabitten gray with off-white mane and tail. From a far-away look at the Saige book cover, I was expecting a solid "white" horse (that's light gray to horse people). The moveable head and foreleg are also neat, though I wonder if having one non-weight-bearing leg would make him more prone to tipping over. The price is... yikes. AG is selling the palomino and chestnut non-poseable horses for $75 each - that includes their tack. Does adding posable joints, swapping simpler English tack for the flashier Western, and throwing in a scarf, clicker, and tiny "horse treats" bag justify a $57 increase in price? AG apparently thinks so.

For the record, Mom is not drooling over Picasso the way she was over the chestnut horse. He would look out-of-place next to our quartet of non-posable beauties. Talk about a big relief! (A 5th horse would be fine, but a 5th doll to go with him? No way, Mom. No way.)

Hot Air Balloon Set: $150

I think it would be great fun to fly in a hot air balloon, so I like the idea of this set in theory. I think it's rather impractical, though. How often would it really get used? And it would take up a ton of space even with the balloon part deflated. I like the accessories, especially the binoculars, bag, and camera. Too bad they aren't sold separately (though even if they were, they'd probably be $28 or something ridiculous like that.) 

Painting Set: $48

It'd love to have that easel and the painting supplies! I think Saige's paintings and drawings are gorgeous. My favorite is the one on the easel of Picasso. However, I wish this set included some blank canvases and/or a blank sketchbook. If you want to inspire creativity in girls, why only include already-finished pieces of artwork?

Rembrant the Border Collie: $24

Aww. What a cutie. Border collies are such elegant, athletic dogs. I'm not sure I could handle the typical intense, high energy border collie personality, though. The Rembrant in the Saige books probably had a ranch to run around in to keep him busy. =) The only negative thing reviewers have to say about Rembrant is that his leash is permanently attached to him. That could get annoying for him, poor guy. For $24, you'd think AG could afford to invest in a leash clip of some sort...

This concludes our review of Saige and her accessories. We hope you enjoyed it! Time for us to go to bed. MacBeth over and out. =^)