Poll Results: Who Wore It Better, Kit's Play Dress?

After posting the #whoworeitbetteramericangirl contest on my Instagram I decided to share the images here on the blog too. It seemed like as good a reason as any to do another poll. 

No surprise, as in the Instagram contest, Melody came out on top with 75% of the votes! That girl can rock anything. Addy, Gabby, Kaya, Kit, Mei, and even our Bitty Twin also received votes, but the beautiful Dee Dee reigns supreme! 

Now that I have the Cat's Meow outfit from Our Generation I think I'll be doing another Who Wore It Better contest soon. Until then, keep your eyes open for another poll that I'll post in the next day or two. 

~Mrs. D

The Theory of Kit's Play Dress aka Who Wore It Better?

Of all of the new spring releases I think one of my favorites is Kit's Play Dress! I spent quite a bit of time staring longingly at it when we went in during Tenney's release though I left the store that day without it. Over the next week or so I kept seeing pictures on Instagram of people who had bought the dress and were showing it off on, not only Kit, but Melody, Gabby, moddies...and I started to notice a trend. There wasn't a single doll I'd seen that couldn't pull it off. Based off of this fact, and the fact that my poor Kit has a severe shortage of clothes of her own, I went back to pick up the dress the same night I bought Melody's mystery book and found my dream Maryellen. 

I feel only slightly guilty admitting that the first doll I put it on was Melody. (Kit was in another room and couldn't see the disloyalty.) I wasn't disappointed. DeeDee rocked that dress! (DeeDee was also severely underrepresented in the clothes department in our home, so I think that Kit probably wouldn't have minded sharing.) DeeDee rocked the dress to the point that, even if I didn't have Kit, I would have needed that dress, and I am notorious for not being able to buy the dress for characters I don't have yet. (To the point where I have missed out on some awesome deals simply because I didn't yet have the doll who would one day wear it.) 

Did my theory hold up though? Just because Melody absolutely slayed Kit's Play Dress didn't mean that all of our other girls would too. The world needed to know if this was a dress you could buy for any of your, and there was only one way to find out if my theory held water.

So I gathered up all of my dolls to try on the new doll goodies. Then I gathered up the Little Dahl's dolls. I even grabbed a fixer upper Nicki that I found on Craigslist for $15 last year and had stashed away in my closet to do something with someday. (I still haven't decided what.) My conclusion. This dress makes dolls look good.

I, of course, photographed my evidence. I was getting ready to post the photos, both on here and on Instagram, when I realized that I could turn this into a sort of game. (Inspired, just a little, by March Madness, though without the basketballs, beer, and sweaty men.) So, I have spent the last several days posting "Who Wore It Better" images on Instagram. I've left each up for about a day before tallying up the votes, declaring a winner for that round, and then posting the next image. While I think all of our girls look absolutely amazing in the dress it has also been fun posting and seeing what others think.

Here's how the pairings and voting went down. Do you agree? Check out the new poll and let me know who you think wore it better!

Felicity and Addy went neck and neck first, with Addy winning Round One of Who Wore It Better?

Rebecca vs. Gabriela was next, with Gabriela taking the second round easily.

In Round Three, Molly vs. Melody, poor Molly didn't have a chance. Melody walked away with a solid 100% of the vote!

Kaya took Round Four from Fixer-Upper-Nicki.

Kit beat Miss. Mei in Round Five.

And Round Six ended in my oldest's #23 loosing out to my youngest's The Doll Formerly Known As Isabelle (we call her Elle, and she actually has a pretty neat story.)

In the semi-finals Kaya, Gabriela, and Melody came out on top leaving the three of them competing for the title of Who Wore It Best. (Though I still maintain that everyone wears it beautifully.) 

Miss. Melody came out on top with over half the final votes, and I had so much fun that I plan on doing another Who Wore It Better on my Instagram at some point. (Because, why not, really?) 

Still not convinced that anyone can rock this dress? Even the Babies took their turn. (And looked amazing too.) 

What outfit should I use for the next Who Wore It Better?

~Mrs. D

Women In American History

During the month of February AGIGer, OneMoreDoll, hosted an amazing giveaway! The prize? A DoC of your choice. The contest? To feature amazing women in American History through doll photography. What a neat challenge, right? You could enter as many times as you wanted too as long as each entry depicted another historical woman. Pffffft! Count me in!

There were hundreds of entries, and I would not have wanted to be on the panel of judges narrowing them down to a top ten, much less the person picking the winner out of those 10! Reading through the entries was so much fun, and also extremely educational. You can still see them by looking up #onemoredollgiveaway2 on Instagram. I recommend it if you have some time! 

In the end, abbydollss won with her photograph honoring Depression era photographer Dorothea Lang , and theluxdoll came in second with her depiction of Katherine Johnson and won a $50 gift card to American Girl. I had so much fun participating in the contest and decided I wanted to share my photographs here on the blog too. There are a ton of contests on Instagram, but I haven't seen one yet that competes with this one. Thank you again to OneMoreDoll for hosting with a theme that gave me, and obviously others, so much creative inspiration! (I'm just going to copy what I posted on Instagram under each picture. I hope you enjoy!)

Raven Wilkinson broke the color barrier in 1955 as the first African American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company. Wilkinson is mentor to modern day dancer, Misty Copeland, and the reason that little girls like Gabriela can dream of dancing with professional dance companies one day too.

Ilhan Omar is notable in history for being the first Somali-American legislator in the United States. Born in Somalia in 1982, Ilhan's family fled the country's civil war in 1991, spending 4 years in a refugee camp in Kenya. In 1995 her family emigrated to the United States where Ilhan discovered her love of politics and democracy. In November 2016 she became not only the first Somali-American, but the first female Muslim to be elected to public office, and she is currently serving on the Minnesota House of Representatives. 

Another entry for @onemoredoll's contest is Agent 355. Agent 355 was the code name for one of our country's first spies, a female member of the Culper Ring during America's Revolutionary War. To this day her real identity is unknown, though there are several theories among historians. It is believed that she lived in New York City and that she had the advantage of connection, either through elevated social status or as a slave/maid, to important members of the British military. She is believed by many to be the agent who revealed the traitor, Benedict Arnold, to General Washington. Her information was a critical part of helping to win the war and create our nation. 

Mildred Jeter Loving and her husband Richard successfully defeated Virginia's ban on interracial marriage in 1967 in a Supreme Court ruling that ended up having nationwide implications. Mildred was jailed in her home state of Virginia, while pregnant, simply for marrying the man she loved. The couple was then banned from the state, their family, their friends, and their home until they decided to fight back through the United States Supreme Court. As a result of their case, not only were Virginia's laws overturned, but laws against interracial marriage were deemed unconstitutional anywhere in the US. 

Today I am featuring Sally Ride, America's first female astronaut, for @onemoredoll's Women From American History Contest! Sally was the first American women in space (the third woman in space over all) in 1983. Since Sally "shattered the atmospheric glass ceiling" more than 40 little girls have lived their dream of going up into space with NASA. Ride was also the youngest astronaut to travel to space, having gone up at only 32. She co-wrote 7 children's books encouraging a love for space, and dedicated her life to space and physics. Though she kept her personal life extremely private, Sally was also the first known LGBT astronaut. 

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist who revolutionized literature with her classic, Little Women. She was one of the first authors for the young adult genre in the States. She was also an abolitionist and a feminist before, during, and after the Civil War period of our country. She served as a nurse for a brief period during the Civil War, becoming deathly ill with typhoid fever in the process, which forced her to stop early. Her experiences led her to write Hospital Sketches, which brought about her first critical recognition for her writing. Her best knows work, Little Women, was considered one of "the very best of books to reach the hearts of the young of any age from six to sixty." and still enjoys incredible popularity today. Alcott was part of a group of female authors during the "Gilded Age" who addressed women's issues and brought them to the forefront of society. (Little Women also happens to be one of my personal favorites.)

Nina Simone, 6th child of a North Carolina Preacher, aspired to be a concert pianist. She began playing the piano at 3, and at 12 had her concert debut, During this performance her parents were made to move to the back of the hall to accommodate white concert goers. Young Nina refused to play until her parents were moved back to the front, an incident that she credited with her later Civil Rights activism. She enrolled, and was accepted, in the famed Juilliard School of Music, but was denied a scholarship at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, a denial that Nina believed was because of the color of her skin. She openly addressed the racial inequalities of America in her music, though she would later talk about how her activism hurt her career. All together she recorded over 40 albums in her lifetime, and was a much needed voice for Civil Rights in both the music industry and beyond.

                       

Gabby heard about @onemoredoll's Women of American History Contest and wanted to submit a poem she'd been working on about Mary Dee Dudley, the first female African American disk jockey in the United States!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Incomparable Mary Dee. 

Changing the world of radio forever. 

She took the mic in 1948 and shattered glass ceilings. 

The ceilings telling her that she couldn't, that she wouldn't, because of the color of her skin, the womb that lived within, that she couldn't be Mary Dee. 

Radio celebrity. 

But she did.
In August she began "Movin' Around", Changing the sound through WHOD. 

She had a voice and she used it. 

In a time when others wanted her to sit down and just be, to stop talking about what they didn't want to see, she ran "Studio Dee", the incomparable Mary Dee, first female African American disk jockey.

-Gabriela McBride

Okay, so I know that the rules State a woman in American history, but I think it could be argued that this woman has revolutionized children's literature worldwide, including the tremendous effect she's had in the US. That's right boys and girls, wizards and muggles, I'm speaking of none other than J.K. Rowling! JK Rowling is not only one of the most successful authors of all time (her last 4 Harry Potter books were the fastest selling books in history), but is an incredible champion for several international charities. She's given millions of dollars over the course of her career, and has written several books that were 100% for different charities, including those that she has founded herself benefiting children and social causes. "I think you have a moral responsibility, when you’ve been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently.” 

My second to last submission for @onemoredoll's contest is Edmonia Lewis, the first woman of African-American and Native American heritage to achieve international recognition as a sculptor. Many of her themes revolved around the black and indigenous peoples of the Americas. One of her best known works, The Death of Cleopatra, was featured at the very first World's Fair in the US in Philadelphia in 1876.

My final entry for @onemoredoll's giveaway is the amazing Ruby Bridges! At only 6 years old Ruby became the first child to desegregate an all white school in Louisiana. Every day, escorted by US Marshalls for her safety, Ruby walked through a wall of white hate while people held up signs, shouted horrible things, and threw objects. When she finally arrived at school she spent several months being taught alone, by one of the only teachers who would teach her, because so many parents had pulled their children out in protest. Despite the hatred that was, literally, thrown at her one of the marshals who escorted her later spoke of how tiny Ruby never cried, or even made a whimper. "We were all very proud of her." Young Ruby even daily prayed for those who hated her and what she represented so vehemently. 

~Mrs. D

AGIG DOC Challenge Day 5

I wasn't able to get out as early as I had wanted for Kaya's photo shoot this morning, because I had a little photo assistant that doesn't understand that the sun doesn't wait for us to find our shoes, but I'm still pretty happy with the images we managed to capture this morning. I still want to try and make it out at dawn sometime, but I'm not going to stress about getting it done this week. 

Life is what happens while you're making other plans, after all, and I loved having some one on one time with one of my tiny humans. When you are a mother of more than one child you sometimes need to work a little bit harder to make sure that all of your children get that individual time with you. It's harder, because there are always going to be needs that the others have, and sometimes those will get in the way of your plans, but when you see an opportunity you quickly tell the only other person awake in the house to throw a sweatshirt on over their jammies, grab their own doll, and get a move on. 

While I snapped pictures of Kaya I was followed around by my small one taking pictures of their favorite doll with my phone, and occasionally calling out helpful suggestions like "Have her climb this tree, Mommy!" or "Don't get bit in the butt by a snake!" (As I was squatting in the tall grasses trying to get a better shot.) 

Words to live by, ladies and gentlemen. "Don't get bit in the butt by a snake."

And, because I can't go anywhere lately without Miss. Melody, (Seriously, I might have a problem!) I took a couple of her in her brand new outfit!

The #agigdocchallenge on Instagram is a fun and important way to showcase and celebrate dolls of color! Come join us on Instagram.

This Is Why

I have absolutely loved seeing all the images in the #agigdocchallenge so far this week! So many talented photographers have been sharing their dolls of color (DOC) on Instagram, and it's encouraging to see so many people from different backgrounds and locations joining in to proudly share their beautiful dolls. I can't wait to see what people post the rest of the week, and invite you to join in if you haven't already. 

I've also seen some pretty nasty, ignorant things commented, so I thought I might take a moment to explain why the challenge is so important, in my opinion.

This is why it's so important that there is an awareness brought to the ugly, ignorant racism that is going on in our country these days. Melody's pin says "Equal Rights in '63." Yet here we sit, 53 years later, and we don't have them yet. 53 years later and we still have people who are discriminated against, beaten, and murdered in this country because of their religion, their sexuality, and the color of their skin. 53 years later we're still hearing the excuse "Well, things are better than they were." for an explanation as to why things aren't how they should be. Better is not good enough when we are talking about treating all people equal!  53 years after the Birmingham Church Bombing that was written about in Melody's book we have grown women arguing that the #agigdocchallenge is "racist" against their white dolls. Seriously, people, step back a moment and think about what you are complaining about! You "feel" left out because you don't have a DOC?! There are people who actually ARE left out every day of their lives because of something they have absolutely no control over! The color of their skin. The ethnicity of their ancestors! The #agigdocchallenge doesn't leave you out! It's meant to bring awareness to the actual racism that rears its ugly head within the #agig community and outside of it! 

I am extremely honored to be a part of the #agigdocchallenge. As I said above, it is so much fun taking photographs of my own dolls and looking at the beautiful images submitted by others, but I am acutely aware that it's more than that. When I have posted my pictures and put down my phone, put away my camera, and close my laptop, I have the privilege to walk away from it all for awhile. I have the privilege to be able to step away from the negative comments, the hatred, the racism, not because of anything I did, but because I was born with that privilege. I have that privilege because I am not part of a tribe that is once again having it's lands invaded. I am not the mother of a child who might be shot for the color of their skin. I am not a young American being told to "go back to where I came from" or that my parents only had me to be an "anchor baby". My daughter doesn't have to listen to people talk about how "ugly" the dolls that look like her are, or the fact that "there is no profit for AG in a DOC GOTY". I am acutely aware that I have that privilege, and because of that I have a responsibility not to ignore it. Not to deny it, or to become offended when it is pointed out, or to try and say that the people fighting against racism and oppression are somehow being mean to me. I have a responsibility to actively participate with others who are fighting against racism everywhere and anywhere that it rears its ugly head. Including Instagram. 

That is why the #agigdocchallenge is so important. It's not leaving anyone out. It's equally celebrating EVERYONE! It's not going to fix anything overnight, but it's a start, and an important one, and if it makes you uncomfortable, scared, or angry, you need to take a step back and take a good long look at why you feel that way. 

Because it's absolutely ridiculous and sad that we are still having this conversation 53 years later, and I am going to do every damn thing in my power to make sure that my grandchildren aren't having this same conversation 53 years from now.

~Mrs. D     

#agigdocchallenge

Have you heard about the AGIG DOC Challenge? It's a challenge on Instagram that is going on September 1-7 for people to photograph and proudly display their dolls of color. I think it's a beautiful and wonderful thing, and am excited about participating this week. Join in if you're able.

Due to certain events going on in our country at the moment, I had planned to start out the week with Kaya. I had an amazing, sunrise photo shoot planned, set up everything last night so that I would be ready, woke up early...aaaaaaaand it was overcast and grey. Luckily, I have also been planning some outdoor picture time with Melody, and Bo needed a walk anyways, so off we went. 

Have I mentioned yet how much I love this girl? We'd waited for so long for her release that I was almost worried that I'd get to the store, take one look at her, and she'd never be able to live up to our huge and excited expectations. (or how much we'd fallen in love with Melody from the book) I'll tell you what, she surpassed them. She is just stunning from every angle, and is very quickly one of my very favorite girls!

Enjoy our photos from today, and join in on the #agigdocchallenge on Instagram!

I'm already looking forward to tomorrow's #agigdocchallenge photos! What pictures are you posting?