It doesn't feel like it, but we're almost a month away from the release of 2 new American Girl dolls- American Girl's first twin dolls! They will release on February 22nd, and I have a few theories about these new 90's historicals, rumored to be named Nicki and Isabel Hoffman.
The first theory, one I've talked about before is that these 2 new characters are Jewish due to their Jewish last name. These will be the first Jewish dolls since Rebecca Rubin. I looked up Jewish-American history during the 90's, and I found out something interesting: about 300,000 Jewish people from the former Soviet Union, which broke up in 1991, immigrated to America in the 90s. I'm not sure if another Soviet-area immigrant would be in the cards considering Rebecca already is a Russian immigrant, but it is definitely something to note!
Another theory I've heard is that these 2 dolls will have polar opposite personalities. Nicki is rumored to be interested in sports, while Isabel likes the arts. I think that is interesting because if they had the same personality, it would be kind of pointless to get both dolls, which I'm planning to do!
Pop culture was very powerful in the 90s, even more so than the 80s. Tamogatchi toys, a type of virtual pet made by the Japanese company Bandai, were very popular in the US in the late 90s, but even more powerful were the Beanie Babies, which were so popular that they eventually became collector's items. American teen pop groups like Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and Destiny's Child were popular, and Nickelodeon cartoons were the most popular shows for kids. (Not SpongeBob, though. That didn't start until 1999.) Popular movies included Space Jam starring famous-in-his-own-right basketball player Michael Jordan, Titanic (which is still the third highest grossing movie of all time), and simple toys like yo-yos and visits to children's playplaces were popular.
Historical events between 1992 and 1996 include the end of the Cold War, the LA riots after the police killing of Rodney King, the appointment of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second women ever appointed to the Supreme Court, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the bombing of the World Trade Center, a crash of an airplane in New York, and the appointment of Madeleine Albright, the first woman to be Secretary of State and at the time, the most powerful woman ever in American politics.
As for their appearance, considering their Jewish ancestry I think they will have light skin and dark brown or black hair, with either brown or blue eyes. They'd probably look more similar to Lindsey Bergman, Girl of the Year 2001, than Rebecca. I think they'd either have the Classic or Joss mold, but for my prediction picture I will use the Classic because the Joss mold isn't available on Create Your Own.
This is my prediction for what Nicki will look like:
And this is my prediction for Isabel:
What do you think these new dolls will be like?