Hello everyone! Happy Summer! 🙂 

Has it really been that long? Holy canolis! Well, like we promised before, we are still going strong, and we have no plans to go anywhere. It’s just been crazy busy for us with end of school year, and then right into summer madness! LOL!

Of course, for us it’s always like, well hello there Summer! And then, what feels like ten seconds later, summer is over. 😛

I had a birthday recently, too! For my birthday, I received a couple of adorable doll outfits from Maplelea. (Okay, technically I got them for myself 😛 )

Now we’ve had people ask us about Maplelea products in the past, and as Canadians, we decided that we should probably do a proper review of the brand. So today we are going to do just that!

First I have to say that I find the quality of Maplelea products to be top grade, with prices comparable to other top brands. But I actually think that the Maplelea brand is doing it best, keeping quality high to match their prices, staying within their budgets by only creating a practical amount of product, and never compromising that product for a profit. And of course, aligning their product with Canadians, and the history of our nation. All good points in my opinion. 🙂  

However, we have only the one Maplelea doll in our entire collection. This is for a few reasons. One is that I know very little about how to care for, and repair them. I am unsure of their construction mainly because I’ve never had to learn, and that brings me to the second reason we only have the one, which is that they are less available on the secondhand market. We simply haven’t found any to repair, which is usually how we end up with most of our dolls. Thirdly, we had already filled out our doll collection pretty well before we even came across the Maplelea brand, so there wasn’t really a need to rush out, and buy a whole bunch more dolls. 

So considering that our other 18 inch type dolls are mainly American Girl (mainly secondhand repairs), there are some things that have to be mentioned before anyone goes out, and purchases the Maplelea brand products to use for play with AG dolls.

Okay, let’s get to it! We’ve collected some really beautiful outfits over the years, and we are so excited to showcase how they look, as well as how they fit, on our dolls. 🙂

First up, happy birthday to me outfits!

   This outfit is called Painter’s Palette due to the adorable paintbrush print on the top. I must admit that despite the cute print though, this top is not my favourite. I feel that the fabric is a bit flimsy for my taste. However, I love love love the leggings. Supreme quality there, and the fit is absolutely perfect.

One thing I have to mention is that Maplelea does not skimp on material. All of their pants, skirts and leggings etc. have a very good rise. This means that your doll can bend over, and never worry that her little tush might be showing. 🙂

The other thing I should mention is that I think Maplelea dolls have slightly longer arms and legs than AG. It’s not hugely noticeable in the pants, but sometimes the shirt sleeves need to be pushed up a smudge. Of course this isn’t a problem with short or three quarter sleeves. The shape of the Maplelea doll hands is also different from AG, but I didn’t find this to be a problem at all.

On to the shoes. Keep in mind that AG feet are shorter than the Maplelea doll feet, but they are similar in width so most of the doll shoes fit quite well. I just love these ones! These are very easy to slip on and off, no problem at all. So cute! 

Next outfit!

   Play Day Romper. Ohmygoodness, I adore this romper! It comes with an ultra cute hairband as well. Okay, let’s talk pros. Love love love the fabric print, the colour is perfect, and the romper is very easy to put on the doll. Cons: The fabric is a bit thin, not a deal breaker in my opinion, but I think it might not hold up to serious children’s play. I’m also considering removing that top button and sewing it on a bit straighter. Again, that’s just me being picky, not a deal breaker. The little bow at the waist might need some reinforcing as well. 

Now to the serious problem which is the shoes. I mentioned that AG feet are not as long as the Maplelea doll’s feet which means that in these sandals, the AG toes are too short to peek out the end. Sadly, this is a deal breaker for my AG dolls, but I do have a Maplelea girl who will love wearing these, so not a total bust.

Silliness, because otherwise, the shoes fit. LOL! Ah well, next outfit! 

 Urban Jungle. Okay, I know what you are thinking, and I was thinking it too. Someone took all the colours and patterns in their closet, and decided to wear them all at once. LOL! Funny enough, this is not a deal breaker for me, either. Haha! Yes, in my opinion this outfit doesn’t match, but isn’t it fun?

The main reason I chose this one is because it isn’t just the same old same old, and if you break it up into its separate pieces, you actually get some cool bits of interest to mix and match into your existing doll wardrobe. I just love that fur vest! ❤ 

The top is a safari print, and I really like the fabric on this one. It’s a better fit, and a much sturdier fabric. 

The tights are a great fit, and are made of some nice strong fabric, too. One word of caution, the houndstooth shorts have a bit of velcro on the fly that could snag on the tights when they are pulled up. My other complaint about the shorts is that they are a bit bulky. Perhaps they could have used a thinner material. That being said, they are very well made, and will pretty much last forever.

Shoes that fit with tights! Tada! I like these a lot. 🙂 

On to the last birthday outfit that I got!

 Nautique Nouveau. This one is my absolute favourite, and I wasn’t going to get it, but it was on sale, so I thought why not. Now I am so glad that I did!!

I am totally, and completely happy with this outfit. The top fits perfectly, and is a nice light knit fabric. The shorts are a perfect fit, and an adorable colour. The little pop of red in the shoes and the handkerchief is so cute too. My daughter thinks the red doesn’t match, but I think it is exactly perfect. 

And the shoes fit exactly perfect, too. 🙂 

Alright, birthday purchases aside, let’s move on to review some of the other Maplelea items that we have acquired in the past. (I also purchased two pairs of Maplelea pajamas for my birthday, and they are just perfection in their cuteness, but more on those later.)

Pelee Pizazz. I think that I actually have this one backward. It’s supposed to be a mix and match, but in hindsight, I think that the orange shirt matches better with the skirt. Still, I really like this set. I like that the shirts are long enough, so no belly buttons show, and I really like the high quality of the materials. Here is another Maplelea skirt that we have that matches these two tops. This skirt comes from the outfit called Crochet Coordinates, however we don’t own the outfit. We just found the skirt at a thrift store in a bag of other doll clothes.

The outfit this skirt belongs to appears to be discontinued now, but I thought I would add it in there anyway as it is one of the nicer pieces that we have by Maplelea.

It closes with velcro in the back and has an elastic waisted front. The fit is very nice, along with the length. I always find the fit of Maplelea doll clothes to be nice and appropriate. Like I said, they don’t skimp out on fabric. Better a bit bigger than too small, I say.

One other thing that I have to mention about Maplelea is that the velcro on the shirts is high quality. It is nice and thin which helps it lie perfectly flat, and it runs the entire length of the shirt backs from top to bottom. Here is a similar AG top in comparison. The AG velcro is actually quite thick, and scratchy.  

 Okay, next one. This one is called, Close Knit.

Many of these outfits came with the Maplelea doll that we bought on a local garage sale site. We can meet that doll in a minute. 🙂 

This outfit consists of a pair of jeans, long sleeved shirt, and a striped sweater. First, let’s take a look at the jeans and top. Again, the fabric on this shirt is very good quality, which makes for a nice fit. I just adore the details in this set. Multi colour top stitching, embroidery, and those adorable flowered jeans! These jeans are a bit narrower in the ankles which I thought might cause a problem getting the doll’s feet in, but they were actually pretty easy to put on. They have cute back pockets too.  

 These shoes don’t actually go with this outfit, but they are Maplelea brand, and they fit the AG girls very well. Onto the sweater. I love doll sweaters. I wish I could knit them, but I’m afraid that my skills are tapped out in that regard. 

It’s a tiny bit roomy for the AG girls, but I prefer that as other layers fit nicely beneath it. I like that it buttons up, too. The buttonholes don’t get all stretched out, and the buttons lay very nicely. This sweater also has a hood, and guess what?

 It fits! ❤ 

Tulip Royale. A little knit fabric dress with a sweet bolero shrug. As far as a summery dress goes, this is pretty simple.

It’s a bit roomy for my taste, but it is still cute. The only thing that I would really change about this dress is the sleeve. It’s kinda tricky to tuck those bulky ribbons in under the little shrug. Otherwise, I love the print, and the colours.

This next outfit is one of my favourites. It’s called Florabundance which I think is cheesy, but kinda cute, too. 🙂

  This outfit actually came with a pair of brown tights and a pair of fingerless mittens, but at the time of taking the pictures, I couldn’t find either. The dress is a nice stretchy knit material, and it’s all one piece, with the sleeves being attached. However, the belt is a separate piece attached around the waist by velcro.It also comes with a cute tulle flower hair band.

But let’s talk about the boots! I love these! They have velcro in the back, so you don’t have to untie them to get them on, and they fit very well. These are my favourite. They are such high quality.  ❤ 

We got this next outfit when the Little Miss was in tap dance. It’s called Happy Tap. I just love the colours on this set, and the little hat is just to die for. This outfit also came with a gem studded choker, but I couldn’t find it.

I can’t say enough about the quality of this outfit. The hat is incredibly sturdy, and it fits the doll’s head absolutely perfectly. The tights are a dream, and the sassy green fringe on the skirt is just adorable.

The shoes fit perfectly too, even over the tights. We don’t even have to untie them to slip them on, and they are top notch quality.

Perfect for tapping! 🙂 ❤

Here’s a look at the leotard without the skirt. I love the fit of this. There is only one con with this leotard, and that is that it is made of a very nice soft, stretchy velvet. Now anyone who has ever worked with velvet knows that you’re going to get lint.

So be aware. Keep a lint roller, or some packing tape nearby after play to clean up the little bits of fuzz. We don’t put any undies on the doll with this leotard for that reason. We also don’t leave this outfit on the doll for any length of time just in case lint isn’t the only thing that transfers.

One thing I do love about this bodice is that it has a keyhole back that closes with a very small piece of velcro at the neck. With such a very tiny bit of velcro, there is much less of a chance of snagging the tights, and it is still very easy to pull on the doll. 

This last outfit is the one that comes with the Maplelea Friend doll, which is what we have. The Maplelea Friend line is similar to the AG Truly Me, a place for girls to choose a doll that looks like they do, and they all come in the same outfit. Here’s Molly to model that outfit for us. It’s a pretty simple outfit. It comes with a shirt, a skirt, some striped half legging tights, and some shoes. I really like the quarter length sleeve, and the shirt is of good quality. The skirt is a soft, thin corduroy lined with purple satin. It has three buttons down the front, and elastic back waist. I really like the tights a lot. They fit very nicely, and I can see them working well with other outfits, too. And of course, those are the same shoes Molly was wearing to model the jeans in Close Knit.  

Okay, remember the jammies that I mentioned before? I just had to take a photo shoot of my girls in all of their Maplelea pajama party goodness! I am a huge fan of, and a sucker for nice doll pajamas. These ones are just perfect. 

EEE!! How cute are these! I can’t even when it comes to dolly pajama goodness! ❤ These ones are called Flower Girl, and they come with the most darling furry slippers.

 And these ones are called Dream Team. 

Hello fuzzy slipper happiness!!! ❤ 

These are so reminiscent of my own daughter’s pj’s when she was little. Again, I can’t even! Squee! ❤ 

Birthday jammies aside, I decided to break out our other Maplelea jammies to review as well.

These are called Polar Bear pj’s. We got these ones a long time ago. The print on the front of the shirt has actually been changed up a bit over the years, but the rest is still the same. This set also came with a tiny little polar bear plushie, but my daughter confiscated that immediately. Of course. 🙂 

Still these are up there on my favourites list. How can they not be? They have adorable baby polar bears on them, and snowflakes.

And of course, those furry slippers. ❤  

Next up is this Tangerine Dream. A bit plain for my taste, but the fit is nice, and Julie likes the groovy colour! I really like that the pants are elastic back waist, but then also have a drawstring, so they can be tightened as much as needed. 

The slippers are more like fabric shoes with an elastic at the back to hold them on. This set also came with a doll sized drawstring bag in the same fabric as the pants. I’m assuming it’s to hold the dolly’s sleepover supplies.

Last, is this Maplelea pajama set that unfortunately is no longer for sale. It is called Slumber Solutions. 

I really like the pants, and the cami for this set. The cami has three little plastic snaps in the back which is a nice switch up from velcro everywhere. 

The pants are elastic waist with a little bow, and pom poms. It also came with a pair of white pom pom ankle socks, but those are somewhere in the basement. LOL! 🙂

The overshirt for this set isn’t my favourite. I love the buttons, not often you get real buttons on doll clothes, however, for an AG doll, this shirt is quite baggy, and long in the sleeve. I had to bunch it up a bit, so it didn’t hang over the doll’s hands. I could just roll them up, I suppose. 

So there you have it! A full review on everything lovely for both Maplelea and AG dolls alike! In case you were wondering about the brand, whether it would fit your AG doll, what the quality is like, we recommend it heartily! Also whenever you buy from Maplelea, it all comes packaged up in lovely boxes!

  

So go ahead, and shop with confidence! 🙂

But wait! Before we forget, we also should introduce you to someone who has been sitting in our craft room for a very long time! She doesn’t even have a name yet! I know! We are very bad doll moms! 😦  

Here she is! She is a Maplelea Friend Doll, modeling the Maplelea Florabundance outfit, and look, we found the tights for it! LOL!

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed! School is very nearly back in for us, so you will be seeing more of us very soon. Until then, have yourself a dolly kind of day! 

Leave a comment below!

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