Springfield 18 Inch Doll, Olivia

You can't beat Springfield dolls. The dolls are well made and the price is so reasonable. (And, that means that you can afford to buy some extra outfits for dolly as well.) Their hair is just beautiful, glossy and thick. It is so much fun to braid and style. They are sturdy enough to hold up to a lot of love. They won't stand on their own due to their soft, huggable body, but you can always buy (or make) a stand if you like. I am an adult who collects AG dolls, but for a young girl, I would definitely buy a Springfield doll.

I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to get a doll with auburn hair so I finally gave up and ordered Olivia who is said to have red hair. Imagine my delight when upon opening the box I saw a doll with auburn hair! Even under bright lighting the hair on the doll I received is definitely auburn; I would say it's a shade between light and medium auburn. It is definitely not my idea of red hair.I really like the expression on the Springfield dolls faces. With a big smile that shows her little teeth and pudgy cheeks, she reminds me of my kids at about kindergarten or first grade age.The hair though - it's rooted with lots of space between the rows hair. One of the reviewers called it "sparse" and I wholeheartedly agree, in fact, that may be a kind description. The hair on the doll I received was very, very long so in that sense there's a lot to work with and I think braids would be perfect. And this is a new one on me - a little past half way down the hair there was a band of soft, clear plastic wrapped and sewn all the way around the hair in the back; the hair was flattened out by the sewing, but once the plastic was removed, no harm was done. It took scissors with a small sharp point to get the first half of the stitches out; but about halfway through I was able to pull on the thread and get the the rest out. But even with the little handling that took, the hair demonstrated its tendency to mat.Another new one on me is that the coated wires holding the doll in the box were twisted right by the doll's various body parts (example: tucked very close to the dip between the neck and face and right against the card board backing). All the dolls I've bought recently had the wires put around the dolls neck, arms and legs then through the cardboard backing and twisted in the back. I have to say that they were hard to get to and even harder to remove. I don't think a child below about 8 could manage it, especially since you have to be very careful on the neck wire not to pull out some of the already-too-sparse hair.The doll can indeed sit without being propped up if you spread the legs wide apart and move the arms to get her balanced. [At least that's what I had to doI've been knitting and crocheting doll clothes and the patterns turn out to be a good fit on the Springfield dolls. [Amazon has lots and lots of such pattern books, plus sewing pattern books.]I think the sparse hair is, at least partly, how Springfield can sell these dolls at reasonable prices. The rest of the doll appears to be well made. The dress is very cheaply done but with so many doll clothes and patterns available that's no big deal.For the money, this is a great doll. [I also have Emma.] However, if I intended to get an 18" doll for a 3 to 5 year old, I would probably go with the Daisy Kingdom dolls as their hair is part of the head, i.e. vinyl. [I did find Daisy Kingdom dolls here on Amazon.] I once gave one with a couple of outfits to a 10 year old and she was thrilled with it. It may be that some of the challenges I encountered are not universal as the Emma doll didn't have sewn-on plastic around her hair and the twist ties were behind the cardboard backing. But I would take the doll from the box and check it out before I made a present of it. [I got one doll that had about a 2" rounded area at the back of her head that obviously had not ever had hair rooted there. You can't, of course, see that until you take the doll out of the box. I returned that doll.]

This doll's hair matted on the first day it was played with. Also, the limbs didn't stay in place well when posed. It was my daughter's first 18 inch doll, and I was very, very sorry I tried to save money. I replaced her with an Our Generation doll, which was worth the extra money. I didn't have either of these problems with the Our Generation doll.

The doll is nice, but I ordered it specifically because the photo showed the hairstyle with bangs, which I wanted because I hoped to convert the girl into a boy with bangs for my grandson, who has red hair and green eyes. The doll that came has a side part, which I know sounds nit-picky, but it would be hard to cut the hair into a short boy cut with bangs without leaving bald gaps. I actually ordered the doll twice, thinking the second one would have bangs and I could return the first one. Please change the photo on Amazon so others who want to do the same thing

My daughter received this doll for her 5th birthday. There was no way I was purchasing a $120 AG doll. This one is a perfect substitute! She fits all the same clothes and shoes. My daughter wouldn’t have known she wasn’t an AG doll had it not been for the packaging. She loves her just the same. The only thing I have noticed in her being played with is that her hair tangled easily. We joked she gets bedhead just like my daughter. Not a deal breaker, just a note. Would still highly recommend!!!

This is the second Springfield Collection doll that I have purchased. This one was certainly not as well made as the first one (Amy). I ordered this doll, as pictured, with bangs. The one I received did not have bangs, which is the main reason I wanted it. The hair is not as nice as the first one (Amy) that I got; it is already frizzing right out of the box. The right hip joint seems to have something wrong with it. It sort of pokes out to the right making a bump where there shouldn't be one and making the doll stand sort of crooked.There was a red mark on the heel of each foot where it had touched the cardboard background. (Got it off with baking soda.) I really do not understand how this doll seems so poorly made compared to my first one, and I would be cautious about buying any other doll in this series since quality control seems to be a problem.

This doll is adorable and works perfectly for my needs. I make American Girl clothing and did not want to pay the exorbitant price for an American Girl doll as a model. The doll is of good quality and the clothing I make fits exactly as I had hoped. My granddaughter thinks she is wonderful so I bought another one for her. Now when she comes to visit Grandma, she has a nice doll to play with and dress up.

Got this for my granddaughter who is 6yrsold. She never played with dolls, until now. She loves Olivia. Made well and the hair isbeautiful. I recommend her. Also I purchase a nightgown for my granddaughter and it came with the exact one for a doll. I never thought she would become so attached to Olivia. I am now super grandmom!