(New) doll's clothes hard to put on and take off

Blimey £80 for a doll for a 4 year old sounds ridiculous sorry don’t mean to offend you but I can’t believe it I’ve never heard of the Gotz Happy Kids range I m guessing its sounding American but what on earth would a four year old do with a doll that price probably drop it or sit on it
I find Cindy s and Barbies very hard to dress but at least they re only £1.50 at the charity shop ?I m sure she d learn to love a cheaper doll just as much
Good luck on that one I know what I d do ....send, it right back for a refund as quick as I could

I would make the other clothes that you would like to make, and make the loops longer on the wings.
Give the doll to her in the ballet outfit.
Most dolls clothes are quite hard to get on and off anyway, so another doll might not be any better.
Tights are not too difficult to make at home with jersey fabric, just probably not look as neat.
I think if you both like the look of this doll I would keep it.
So many dolls are quite ugly.
I intend to get one of these Gotz dolls, or similar, for my youngest grandaughter, probably when she is about 4.
It's not going to break if she drops it or sits on it is it?
And you will get a lot of pleasure from making the clothes, so I would say £80 well spent for the enjoyment you will both get from the doll.

I have always bought Baby Born baby dolls for DGDs over the years and have just bought a new one for GGD for her xmas gift,she comes dressed in an outfit and has many other outfits that you can buy as extra presents during the following years,you can easily make super dolly clothes for her and even pop into charity shops and buy premature clothes for her,I would never pay £80+ for a doll and have to struggle to undress it.I hope you get sorted.

I have some Sasha dolls from the 1980s which are a wee bit smaller but are quite easy to make outfits for, and the GDs love dressing up. You'll find a whole range of outfits on eBay for 18 inch dolls so you can build up a wardrobe for her as well as make your own. Maybe you could copy the current outfit and make a little tutu on elastic which your GD could get on and off easily. If you look online for free patterns for this doll and others of the same size you'll find loads and can easily make outfits with Velcro at the back which little fingers will find easier. Don't send her back - these dolls are well made and keep their value. Just look at eBay how much old Gotz dolls fetch including Sashas.

I did try not to buy my granddaughter 'girlie' things but she really does love dolls and dressing them up. I think it helps greatly with dexterity so look on them as educational. But not, I guess, if they are that hard to put on.

Thank you al, for your moral support - made me feel a lot better.
BlueBelle, I agree that £80 is a huge amount to pay for a doll and I've never done so before. But the thing is, I really love dolls and did when I was a little girl. It occurred to me recently that, as there is obviously something nice about fostering a bond with a grandchild over something you really enjoy, it would be ok for me to find a doll I really liked (and like Ilovecheese I find a lot of dolls very ugly) and that little A likes and indulge us both together. So this is what I've done with the Gotz Marie (German, by the way).
I've felt so much better reading your suggestions, Ilovecheese, glammanana and suzied, and will think of you urging me on as I attempt to deal with the situation constructively and imaginatively. (It helps too that my sister, whose dressmaking skills go way, way beyond mine, is coming to stay for a week shortly!)
Oh and one more thing, no, the doll is not easily breakable; Marie is made of vinyl.

I can understand why someone might feel they shouldn't give girls 'girlie' things, but so long as they are given plenty of opportunities to develop non-stereotypically feminine interests as well, I'm sure playing with dolls is fine. Isn't it likely that it helps develop empathy and social skills amongst other things?

I agree suealpha I see no harm in either boys or girls playing with dolls.

I`d never heard of Gotz dolls, so Googled them. They`re very pretty dolls, beautifully dressed, but I`d never consider paying £80 for one for a 4 year old, although that is your prerogative Suealpha. I hope the little girl is suitably delighted with her doll.

Gotz dolls are an upmarket German Brand, the dolls are beautifully made and designed to be played with, so it's a shame the outfit it came with is a little tight, but there are lots of outfits you can buy and make so I wouldn't let the original outfit put you off. If you look at Sasha dolls from the 70s/ 80s they were made in England and also by Gotz in Germany until 1990s. The standard of manufacture is high, has proper rooted hair and in the early days the faces were hand painted. Unfortunately the English manufacture crumbled in the Thatcher years, but the German production continues. I have 6 of the English production , they are lovely and I enjoy making clothes for them and the GDs love dressing them up, doing their hair etc. £80 is not outrageous in my opinion, for something that should last for years, and will hold its value, unlike all the plastic tat from China. So if / when you and the GC are fed up with her finding her a new home will not be difficult and you will get your money back. So if you love the doll, go for it, could be a new addiction!

My GD combined that all her dolls had no knickers which was RUDE so I had to knit knickers in various sized to fit them all!! They afternoon have dresses with no underwear.

We only have Action Men - they are incredibility easy to dress and undress (except the frogman!). And they don't wear underpants!?

Why not make dolls clothes with your DGD? I come from a several generations of needlewomen, including DD (I am the exception to the family rule) and despite my 10 left thumbs DGD and I have really enjoyed making dolls clothes together whether knitting or sewing.

Although she is 10, on my last visit we put them all into their winter clothes and, yes, I too have knitted many a pair of dolly knickers, so that they are properly dressed.

Ive noticed now that my iphone in its wisdom has changed lots of my words in the last post. She complained , not combined! Various sizes not sized. And they often, not afternoon.

pollyperkins, I do sympathize! I think this is a fairly new and very unwelcome aspect of autocorrect. It's almost as if the speech-to-typing software is influencing things. Often the changes suggest that whatever entity is behind the "correction" has made a guess on the basis of sound…? Oh, looking at what it's done to what you wrote, I'm not sure that I'm right… but your changes look like just the sort of ones that have been plaguing me lately!

I hope you have great fun making clothes for the new doll. I've just googled them and I see why both you and GD fell for them.

I always make armholes quite large on dolls' clothes for small children to play with as it makes getting clothes on and off much easer.

If I were you I would e-mail Gôtz about the problem with clothes that are a very tight fit, not to say too small. It's a reputable firm, so they probably will be glad of comments from potential buyers and might even solve the problem once they realise it is annoying to both children and grown-ups.

Thank you for that suggestion, grandtanteJE65 -and the point about the armholes.
I'll follow both up.

The doll is lovely and there are far worse things you could have spent your money on, not that it’s any of our business anyway. But at that price the clothes should be spot on, and I agree that you should contact Gotz with your feedback. As a reputable company they should be keen to put things right. I used to do lots of sewing, embroidery, smocking for my girls and their dolls and I’m feeling quite nostalgic now. Watch out, Action Man, Batman and Spider-Man, I’m coming to get you!

No pants please Maggie! Our commandoes all go commando!!

As is only right and proper, Greyduster. Batman needs his Batpants though!

I took grandtanteJE65's advice and emailed Götz and have just received a lovely response, offering to send me wings, tights and dress that have all been personally checked for size by the email-writer, plus another outfit. Of course I have accepted with enthusiasm! I am now looking forward to A's birthday so much more than I was.
Thank you, grandtanteJE65! You are a real star.

Pleased you have a good outcome. When I used to make doll's clothes for my girls (to match the ones I made for them) where possible I always made them open down the back and closed them with little pieces of Velcro. I remember bought Sindy outfits were always difficult to get on and off.
I loved sewing in those days, but DDs and GCs all grown now! I even made rag dolls in replica outfits for their bridesmaids' presents, copying hair, eye colour etc.

"I loved sewing in those days, but DDs and GCs all grown now! I even made rag dolls in replica outfits for their bridesmaids' presents, copying hair, eye colour etc."
How lovely, shysal!

Now that’s a result, suealpha! Customer service as it should be.