Hey everyone!  So Beforever debuted Thursday, and I just wanted to give an overview of the new stuff and what I think about them.  I love some changes, but others not so much.  Please note that this is all my opinion, and I understand it may be different from others.  I do not intend to offend anyone at all!  You are welcome to voice your own opinions in the comments below!  I will be taking each character one at a time, starting with Samantha in this post.

First off, this outfit made me cringe when I first saw it.  The dress is so gorgeous, the tights are cute, them BOOM Barbie glamour, metallic purple boots.  Like WHERE did this COME from.  It doesn't even look historically accurate.  And look at the price tag: $36! So I did some research and this is what I came up with.

So apparently, yes, this style did exist in 1904. And they had pink too it seems.  But I think the metallic was a little overkill.  If they had left it pink, or white with no metallic, I think it would have been much more successful.

I also love Samantha's new meet outfit!  It is so gorgeous and matches her old meet hat! I will be ordering that and her accessories for a perfect ensemble! 

Next up is Sam's bicycling outfit:

I personally like this outfit, even though I thought the shirt was for Julie.  The only thing I would do is get rid of the pink hairbow and give it to Isabelle. LOL I'm not so sure about the embroidery, so I did some research.

The cut and style of the shirt is accurate, as portrayed by these ladies.  The bloomers are accurate too, I just couldn't find bloomers and the shirt I wanted in the same photo.  Since Sam's is a children's bicycling outfit, it could have had embroidery on it, but I don't know.

I love the hat that goes with it.  I'm glad it has blue instead of pink. :)

But overall, I think her original was the best.

 

I think I may use the hat from her hair styling accessories to put with it sometimes.  So many different possibilities!!! 

I was not too thrilled by Samantha's pajamas being pink.  And her shoes look like they were borrowed from Tinker Bell the fairy. But Peter Pan did take place in the early 1900s.  The problem is that style must have originated in England.  So obviously she got this outfit after moving to New York with Aunt Cornelia, because they would have the latest fashions.

 

I really wish they had kept the pajamas the same for the matching girl ones.  The rest of the characters have exact replicas.  I hope this doesn't meant they will be changing the rest of the pajamas soon.

I was so excited when I hear Jip was to return to Sam's collection.  But when I scrolled down and saw this new version of him, I freaked.  It looks nothing like him.  In fact, he looks like a Webkinz! Not worth $22...

I do like that Samantha has a bike that doesn't look like a toddler's tricycle.  Unfortunately it had to be pink instead of the blue on "Samantha's New Bicycle" short story. Since I have her old version, I won't need to buy another bike, so I will just leave this on the shelf.

Here is my Samantha riding her three-wheeled bike. It's funny how I bought Marie-Grace's parasol for Samantha and then it ends up as part of her collection.  So I know p

Her bed is really pretty, but I can't justify paying $150 for it, when there are similar ones out there.  I first thought of the Princess and Me bed from Toys R Us that is very similar in color scheme.

By far one of my favorites is Sam's bedtime accessories.  The music box, paper dolls, scrapbook, and The Wizard of Oz book remind me so much of her Christmas book!  American Girl did really well with this set.  They've had a very similar set to this in the past.  I just love it when they create items specifically mentioned in the books, including my next item to review...

Sam's ice cream parlor!! I know its $300, but somehow I have to get it!  American Girl did so great with details on this one! The cash register is so authentic and such fancy glassware! It definitely holds some great play value. The ice cream scoops look so fun!  And it was in Samantha's birthday story.  I'm glad they decided to emphasize a different aspect of the story this time!

 

So that's my little review of Samantha's new collection.  Let me know yours!