We recently visited the “American Girl” store in Boston. My girls had a blast.
The Natick Collection mall houses the American Girl store. Scads of high-end stores are a shopper’s delight, but none thrilled the hearts and minds of my 4 and 10 year old like the American Girl store.
My girls had saved their Christmas, birthday, and allowance money; and had long ooh’ed and ah’ed and dog-eared their catalogs in anticipation of this trip. They knew exactly what they wanted. We walked in the store, and other than a momentary intake of breath (“we’re really here”), they both made a beeline for their targeted purchases.
I thought Disney had merchandising down to a science! Disney forces you to walk through a store when you exit attractions, and, most times, your own image is momentarily posted on the wall, begging you to purchase said photo as a souvenir.
But Disney has nothing on the American Girl merchandising!
Each named doll is enclosed in a glass case, and prepackaged boxes of said doll are organized under the display.
There are displays for Gwen, Julie, Kit, Ivy, etc. – with accompanying novels giving their backstory, and outlining their adventures.
Outfits, along with accompanying accessories, are also prepackaged and stacked – ready for eager shoppers (along with a selection of other skirts, blouses, dresses, etc.) 
Oh – and you can buy stuffed toys for the dolls, as well as such necessary items as hammocks, tree houses, and camper vans.
It really is quite impressive how clever the marketing is.
This store is a dream come true for American Girl fans.
I don’t quite get the fascination, but there is no doubt that the dolls are attractive, and their outfits are really pretty.
My girls certainly get their money’s worth out of them too – they play with the dolls endlessly, and fashion all sorts of games and dress up sessions for them. In that sense, it is definitely allowance money well spent!
After a flurry of frenzied shopping (a full five minutes worth, at least), my girls had their purchases in their eager hands.
Hunger set in… fortunately, we had birthday lunch plans made for my 4 year old at the bistro upstairs. But, of course, we had to walk through a “just like you” section, and a doll hair salon.
We, somehow, made it alive to the bistro for lunch.
My girls got quite the kick out of the doll highchairs. They attach to the bistro tables, so they had lunch with their new friends, Ruthie and Lani. There were menus and cupcakes for all (including the dolls).
And the birthday girl had a lovely lunch.
All in all, a fun day. 