Historical Collections

From the debut of the American Girl Collection in 1986 until sometime around 2004, the Historical Collection was based on the idea that although some things have changed, others have remained the same when it comes to being an American Girl.

Therefore, just as the Central Series stories followed the same pattern of stories about each character, the doll collections also comprised the same types of items for each character. Until around 2000, each collection was combined into one layout in the catalogue and maintained for each character.

The first divergence from this theme was Kaya'aton'my's collection in 2002, due to the necessary cultural differences between her life as a Nez Perce girl in the 1760s and the lives of the other girls. Nonetheless, an attempt was made to provide Kaya with as many analogues as possible. Thus, she has a special pet, a set of food that she can carry with her, a special gift from her mid-series Winter story, &c.

The second divergence occurred sometime around 2004 when new releases were limited to some, but not all, of the characters. For example, Samantha Parkington and Molly McIntire received items related to their Travel Scrapbooks, and when Nellie O'Malley debuted, she and Samantha received items related to their movie, Samantha: An American Girl Holiday but unrelated to any other collection pieces. Also at this time, Felicity Merriman's collection had been reduced due to poor sales.

This trend continued as more Best Friend characters were released, low-selling items were discontinued, and limited edition items came out. Julie Albright's collection, the first half of which debuted in the autumn of 2007, attempted a return to the theme of the historical collections, but many components were given a twist. For example, rather than a desk and school supplies in her school collection, she had a set of gymnasium bleachers and basketball gear. Rather than a trunk for storing her collection, she received a school locker.

Meet Items
Main article: Meet Outfits

School Collection
Main Article: School Collections


 * School Outfits
 * School Supplies
 * School Lunches
 * School Desks

Holiday Collection
Main Article: Holiday Collections


 * Christmas Dresses
 * Dolls' Dolls
 * Christmas Accessories

Birthday Collection
Main Article: Birthday Collections


 * Birthday Outfits
 * Dolls' Pets
 * Party Treats
 * Dishes and Glassware
 * Table and Chairs

Summer Collection
Main Article: Summer Collections


 * Summer Outfits
 * Summer Activity Accessories
 * Summer Amusements

Winter Collection
Main Article: Winter Collections


 * Winter Outfits
 * Winter Accessories
 * Underclothes
 * Winter Amusements
 * Traveling Cases

Bedtime Collection
Main Article: Bedtime Collections


 * Nightclothes
 * Robe and Slippers
 * Nighttime Necessities
 * Beds
 * Night tables
 * Trunks

Extra Outfits
Main Article: Extra Collections


 * Playtime or work outfit
 * Extra story-related outfit
 * Hair ribbons
 * Socks and shoes

Limited Edition Collections
Main Article: Limited Edition Historical Collections


 * Short Story Collections
 * Note: there were two sets of short story books bundled with matching outfits for most characters through Kaya


 * 1997 Limited Edition Outfits
 * 2004 Limited Edition Outfits
 * Rolling Through the Ages Outfits
 * Note: These were only available for Samantha, Kit, and Molly and had accessories available for purchase separately


 * Swimwear
 * Note: These were only available for Samantha, Kit, Molly, and Emily.