American Teen Review

I'm so happy to welcome some new teenagers to my collection, all dressed in the fashions of the late 90's. I acquired my favorite four of Dieter Meller's single wave dolls. Most of the American Teens can be found on ebay for around $20 each. I learned about these dolls from Black Doll Collecting, but wanted to add some extra images. 

Zoe, Dominique, Benjamin and Alex

Zoe

First, Zoe, the goth girl. Goth was a fashion fad when I was in high school, and this doll brings back a fun mix of memories. I admit I didn't know anyone who dressed quite like this in Smalltown, Wyoming, but there were inspirations in this genre. Zoe wears a long black coat that is soft and has large pockets. The coolest coats from my school were sort of Matrix inspired; I remember a glossy faux leather one in particular.

The part of this outfit that made me laugh is Zoe's truly enormous pants! Yes, I remember these. You can't honestly call them flared or bell-bottoms... they are so large at the ankle, they look more like a ball gown. I also saw pants like these where girls cut up the side and added extra fabric to create a large flare. Preferably in a contrasting color. 

The all-black ensemble is almost boring, however. The way I remember goth style was with a mix of colors, even though black was always dominant. The pants I wanted (but never bought) were red plaid with lots of zippers. Hot Topic carried this sort of thing, but it was out of my price range, and way out of my rebellion range. (I did paint my fingernails black. Once.)

So cool.

Zoe is all-around more rebellious than anyone at my school. She has multiple facial piercings (labret and eyebrow) plus 5 cartilage piercings in each ear. The piercing are not molded, but actually mobile, for extra realism. She also wears an extra large silver cross necklace.

Zoe has black eyeliner and black lipstick (okay, I did that once, on a track trip). She has a big, beautiful smile that shows her teeth. I guess she's a Perky Goth. Her eyes are painted a bit cock-eyed, which makes it hard to photograph eye-contact with her. Her hair is dark black, in a way that seems like she dyed it. That's another thing from my teen years, but the goths at my school dyed their hair wild and bright colors rather than black. When I bought Zoe, I thought she had pale white skin like a vampire, but it was just a poor photograph (too much flash!). Zoe has a typical white-girl skin tone, but her high contrast can make her seem extra white. Also, her face vinyl has just a small bit of translucency. 

All the American Teen dolls have stocky bodies. They seem at first to have 7 points of articulation. (I later found that the knees and ankles bend slightly, for a total of 11 points.)

The upper arm/upper thigh twist joint is an odd choice. I wish bending knees and elbows had been chosen instead. There isn't much I can do with this twist joint if it isn't paired with more classic options.

Zoe can sit flat like a typical Barbie doll, but it isn't very graceful, and won't fit well at the dinner table.

Still, I like Zoe's thick shape. She reminds me a little of Lammily. Body image is a big deal for teens. When all my dolls are back in the same house again, I'll update my doll body comparison post. 

Zoe borrowed Dominique's turtleneck for a little extra color. I think this helps her outfit, but still doesn't display the wildness of her extra-wide pants. She also borrowed Alex's boots (I remember goth culture being big on boots- no idea why Zoe is wearing clogs) but the male foot is larger, and her pants cover it up anyway. 

Dominique

Doll #2 is my unapologetic favorite: Dominique.

I don't know as much about the styles in Dominque's area and culture. She's a young black woman growing up in a single parent home in St. Louis, according to her profile on the back of the box. She's been accepted into college and plans to be a teacher.

I do feel like this outfit could almost work in 2018, if you just traded out the blue jeans. The extra wide leg and stone wash style dates the outfit, but otherwise it's a beautiful and classic look.

Dominque wears a purple turtleneck (exactly the same as Zoe's black turtleneck), jeans, and a headscarf with light primary colors. Her coat is gorgeous- a subtle red purple in faux leather, with silver buttons. The quality of this jacket is excellent, with tiny stitches and lining. I'm not sure what this doll originally cost, but her clothing was made with care.

Zoe's shoes are plain white sneakers with orange stripes.

This girl is so beautiful. She had a different face sculpt than Zoe, with a wide nose and a subtle closed mouth smile. Her makeup is simple, basic  hoop earrings, and a dignified headscarf. Maybe the color choices on the scarf are dated, but the style looks excellent.

Benjamin

Next up is Benjamin, our corn-row rocking doll. Benjamin is a young black man, slightly darker in complexion than Dominque. He wears a red and black hoodies and camouflage cargo pants. Those pants are another trend I remember from my teen days, although they are probably always cool. (My favorite 90s camo was a camouflage T-shirt imprinted with the words: Now you can't see me!)

His hoodie has a real hood- another good quality sign. Benjamin's cornrows look excellent from every angle.

Benjamin's shoes have a fancy basketball shoe vibe, though I can't pinpoint a specific brand. The pockets on the cargo pants are functional. I'm impressed by the realism.

A look at Benjamin sans clothes: basically the same construction as Zoe, same joints and stockiness.

The boy dolls are slightly taller, and the arms and legs are thicker. The hands and feet are larger as well.

Alex

The last doll is Alex, the punk doll. I'm not convinced this is a 90s style at all; he feels more 1980s punk to me.

Alex has a thick, pinkish red mohawk, several piercing, and seven tattoos. Again, he is much more rebellious than anyone I went to high school with. I only had one friend with a tattoo, and she had to get her mom's permission. (Also, she regretted it as an adult and got a cover-up tattoo.)

I was excited that Alex had a fully functioning belt. I started to remove it... but all the studs began to fall off. It looked cool anyway!

Here's a better look at some of Alex's tattoos. He has the same one in different colors on each arm. I expected a barbed wire tattoo on his arm- that's a 1999 classic. (All of the American Teen dolls have a balancing problem. They function best when leaning forward slightly.)

I discovered the internal ankle joint while trying to remove Alex's boot. (I eventually cut a slit in the back.) Perhaps Alex has a future in dance? Otherwise, this isn't a useful joint. 

I don't love Alex, but he still seems like a fun background character. Zoe is rather stuck in a single decade, thought she's lovely and brings a lot of entertainment and good memories. Benjamin and Dominique feel more capable of transcending their decade and fitting into more times and cultures.

Dominque is the only doll I bought NIB (New in Box), and the careful packaging and artwork again imply that this doll was well made and not cheap.  The back of the back tells us her story, plus quick pics of the other dolls in the collection. I haven't seen Monica, Travis or Daniel on ebay. Maybe they were not as popular. Monica looks like the sort of 90's white girls I saw in magazines and on TV, but never in my town.  Travis has another generic though relatively timeless outfit with his polo shirt and newsboy cap. Travis should have a popped collar, and Monica should have chunky highlights in her hair. She looks wealthy, so maybe she wouldn't have butterfly hair clips or platform sandals...  Tara captures a few things I remember with her spaghetti strap tank top and low rider jeans. (Does she have a naval ring?)

Daniel's attire baffles me. I grew up with real life ranchers and farmers, and none of them dressed like him. There was one student who wore a cowboy hat on a daily basis, and many others wore them for special occasions. But I don't remember overalls. Tight Levis and Western shirts are the correct choice. (A western shirt has pearly snap buttons and a yoke.) Even though overalls are acceptable work gear... why overall shorts? This seems like a style for toddlers, not teenagers. Perhaps that was all the rage in a different state, but it would not work in Wyoming!

If you want to dress up cowboy style

Overall, I'm happy with a unique purchase. Looking forward to new adventures for these teens from my past!
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