Notes
Götz (or Goetz) is a well-respected German doll company
that has been making doll since 1950.
Click here to read the Overview and
History of the Götz Puppenmanufaktur. Götz created the
Little Sisters dolls for Dolls Unlimited (a division of Kid Galaxy/iDolls.com) from
2000-2001. It seemed to be a secret at the time that Götz was the
manufacturer, probably because they didn't want to disrupt their
relationship with Pleasant Company (for whom they were making American
Girl dolls.)
The dolls were sold on-line at iDolls.com and other on-line doll stores,
as well as through bricks-and-mortar doll stores. As you can see from
the body comparisons above, Little Sisters and American Girl share the
same body type which is not surprising since Götz created the American
Girl doll for Pleasant Company and manufactured the dolls for them for
many years. The three Little Sisters dolls all have the same face with
its "Mona Lisa smile", though their eye color, hair color and hair
styles vary. (For some reason, the dolls look more somber in pictures
than the do in real life.) Their starter outfits are the same except for
color and hair accessories. The dolls' quality is excellent, every bit
as nice as an American Girl doll. The only difference between the two is
that Little Sisters have a tendency to be more "pigeon-toed" than
American Girl, probably because of differences in leg stringing.
Because
the dolls are such close cousins to the American Girl dolls, they can
share clothing perfectly. On the left is Tess wearing an American Girl
Today outfit. The Little Sisters line was made up of more than just
dolls. There was a complete line of clothing: casual, dress-up, bedtime
and sporty. You can see the outfits in the
Little Sisters Catalog Pages. These
outfits were extremely well done and each outfit came complete with
shoes and accessories. There were also other accessories like a doll
trunk and doll stand.
Some of the outfits are still being produced by
Carpatina Dolls
as part of the
Girlfriends Collection, along with others that are similar in style.
When iDolls.com went out of business in 2001, there was a massive
going-out-of-business sale on the website, then the remaining Little
Sisters dolls and clothing were sold off at the Götz factory store (that
was in NY but is now closed) and later at discount chains like TJ Maxx
and Tuesday Morning. At their deepest discount, the dolls were sold for
$19.99. When sold at these outlets, the boxes were given a sticker
identifying them as Götz dolls and sometimes the dolls had floral shirts
rather than striped. Because they were such a fabulous
bargain, many people picked up extras for resale so these dolls are
fairly easy to find (currently for around $40) on eBay. The outfits are
also fairly easy to find on the secondary market.
The same face mold was used by Götz in 2002-2003 for a new line of
Götz play dolls called Precious Day. The easiest way to
tell the difference between a Little Sisters doll and a Precious Day by
looking at the hair -- Precious Day dolls have rooted hair. The 2004
and later Precious Day dolls by Götz have a different face.
If you are looking for a friend for your American Girl doll, the
Little Sisters dolls are a wonderful choice. Their different face is a
refreshing change from the ever-cheerful American Girls and the fact
that they can share exactly the same wardrobe makes them even more
appealing.
