Life of Faith Millie Keith
and American Girl Kit show you how the two doll lines' bodies compare
On the left you can see Millie
Keith and Elsie Dinsmore. Elsie is wearing a dress (by Small Small
World) that was designed for American Girl. As you can see, it fits her
perfectly.
The Elsie Dinsmore doll was the
brainchild of Christian homeschooling parents Lee Bereza and her husband
Bill. They wanted a wholesome doll, based on the books by Martha Finley,
for their daughter Sarah and for other young girls like her. The Elsie
character is very pious, which explains why the dolls' arms are molded
so that they can clasp their hands in prayer. It was a family business,
Breezy Point Treasures, and the dolls were originally manufactured for
them by the Lee Middleton doll company (of Ohio) starting in 1998. The
picture above shows the two dolls sold by Breezy Point Treasures: Elsie
Dinsmore and Mildred Keith.
Mission City Press bought the doll
line in 2003 and has greatly expanded the collection. The dolls are
still made in America by RJG Toys, LLC of NJ. Elsie and Mildred (now
called Millie) got makeovers; they are the same sculpt but their
painting, costuming and hair was changed dramatically. Elsie got
ringlets and Millie's hair went from black to blonde. The styling and
costuming of the new dolls is done by doll maker Robin Woods and shows
her frilly, exceedingly feminine style. All of the extensive line of
clothing that is available for these dolls reflect the Southern Belle,
antebellum fashions of the dolls' characters from the books. The
clothing features lots of frills, trims and ruffles and layers and
layers of underclothes. (Millie is showing you the underclothes that
come with her starter outfit in the picture to the right.) It would be a
pleasure to see a wider variety of clothing styles offered by the
company in the future, perhaps even modern styles to go with a modern
Christian girl character.
Two new dolls were introduced by
Mission City Press: Violet (Elsie's daughter) and Laylie, a girl born
into slavery. Laylie (shown above with her box) has a new, closed-mouth
face mold. Mission City Press also started A Life of Faith Girls Clubs,
which are both in-person and on-line.
If you are looking for a quality
play doll with a Christian message, the Life of Faith dolls are for you.
Even if you are turned off by the book series and would have preferred
normal arms, the dolls, as dolls, are still exceptional. Priced at
$99.99, they are not inexpensive, but quality has its price.
