Holiday Reviews: Samantha's Party Dress (2016) & Samantha's Holiday Set (2014)

Holiday Set.

Party Dress. 

Samantha went on sale at Costco for $119.99 for a modified version of her Holiday Set, and her Holiday Coat Set back in November. Basically, for the price of a doll, you get a doll and two outfits. Not bad. This is how and why I got my Samantha.

On Cyber Monday this year, the limited edition Holiday Set from 2014 went on sale, which was the version I wanted originally. I just got it for Christmas.

Samantha's Party Dress

Dressy~

Dress: The dress is a cranberry taffeta, with a drop waist and a blouson bodice.  Both sets use the same pattern and trims, so I'll go into detail about them here.

That's a neck.

The dress fabric stops at around a boat neckline and covers Sam up to the neck seam with white lace. There's a black swirly trim in between the two.

Poof, typical of Samantha.

 The sleeves are mutton leg sleeves with the same lace as the neck on the cuffs.

What type of trim is this?

It's hemmed normally, with the black swirlies on the seam.

Ooh, velvet.

A black velvet ribbon is tacked on at the (drop) waist. 

Back. It's like AG's scared of big bows.

The dress velcroes up the back. The trims all continue to the back, and there's a bow tacked onto one side of the waist ribbon. When velcroed shut, it creates the illusion of a bow tied in the back. The dress gets a B+.

Ya'know why they're called tights? Cuz they're tight.

Tights: Simple black tights. The shoes are from her meet, and thus not a part of this set. B.

Squeee!

 The stockings came in this cute little sleeve. I kept it.

Bow bowbow~

 Hairbow: White lace hairbow. A different lace from the dress. It's not quite big enough to be obvious when looking directly at Sam.¹ The bow is attached to an 80s ponytail holder. I've looked into it, and it would be pretty difficult to take it off and out the box on a hairclip. A-.

Samantha's Holiday Set

The original.

Dress: The dress is the exact same here in construction and trims. This one uses red and black plaid taffeta.

Off the cuff.

The other difference is that the cuffs are lined with white cotton. A+. One of my favorite outfits; when I first saw it, I fell in love. I prefer the plaid so much.

These remind me of Julie's New Year shoes?²

Tights: Literally the exact same pair. B.

GLARE. Yeesh.

Boots: This set actually came with shoes! Black velvet boots with a scalloped edge in front and bows on the toes.

On the arm of the chair, to see the heel better.

There's a slight heel to them. A. They're super cute.

Same old, same old.

Hairbow: This is the same one. A-.

Chinay!

The limited edition sets all come with some sort of accessories. Sam gets fancy dishes, cuz she's fancy.

I love the little notes.

This note was in the box. Be careful people, it's fragile~!

Teacup.³

Teacup: White china teacup with pink and gold trim on the top. It has a rose inside. Only one, cuz Sam doesn't share.

Raindrops on roses~

The roses remind me of my dresser pulls. A.

Saucer. Goes with the teacup.

Saucer: Matching saucer. Same trim as the cup, with four (similar) roses on it. A.

Sam had some of these things at her birfday too.⁴

Petit Fours:⁵ Green, pink, and brown petit fours, clumped together. The green one has a lattice-y design in white "frosting", the pink one has a white swirl, and the brown one has a green and pink holly leaf. C+. Cute to look at, but it doesn't do much for me.

Pitcher.

Pitcher: White pitcher with a similar rose design as the cup and saucer.

I thought this was part of a sugar bowl at first.

The lid is pretty elaborately sculpted, actually. A.

How long did it take to make this?

Tea Napkin: Listed as a cloth, some googling leads to the more accurate term of "tea napkin." It's a light white cotton with embroidery on it. B.

Blurr.⁶

Tea Tray: Silver scalloped tea tray. Super shiny, pretty nice. B+.

Cost Value

The Party Dress came bundled with a doll and another outfit, for the same price as a doll. However that works out, it's definitely cheaper than it would be sold separately, probably around 30 bucks. 

The Holiday Set was $64. You get what is essentially the Party Dress, plus shoes and the china. You don't save anything, based on what the china and the dress would probably be separately. 

Availability

The Party Dress is at Costco, but you have to get a Sam and a coat with it. The last I looked, last week, there were still some left, but I would hurry.

The Holiday Set was retired at the end of  2014, and was briefly available on Cyber Monday 2016. Your best bet is eBay.

Final Grades

Party Dress: B+.

Holiday Set: A.

Which is Better?

You decide! It basically depends on if you want the plaid and the china or not. The Party Dress is probably easier to get ahold of.

--Shark

1. Disappoint.

2. Even though I don't have them?

3. My brother said it looked like Chip. We saw our local theater production of Beauty and the Beast earlier in the month, so.

4. I snerked at the "do not eat" on them
5. French for "little oven."
6. Aaron Blurr, sir!