The New Historical American Girl Dolls Are Set In 1999

The five original, historical American Girl dolls — Felicity, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, and Molly — are pillars of my childhood. A good chunk of my American history knowledge is owed to them, and it was always really special to share the stories with my grandmother who grew up during WWII and could relate so much to Molly. Now, my own girls will have a historical American Girl doll that someone in their life can also relate to — me. Yes, friends, it’s time — American Girl’s new historical doll is growing up in 1999. And for the first time ever, she’s not just one American Girl — it’s a set of twins, Isabel and Nicki.

Feels like there’s a joke here about how if there’s a historical doll collection and they decide to add in a doll from your own childhood era, you need to upgrade your skin care routine. But honestly, I’m just too thrilled about this. My childhood in the ‘90s was bliss, and I’m always willing to go down the road of nostalgia to remember those happy days. Specifically, one of my favorite elements of the ‘90s was the obsession my sister and I shared for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and all of their videos and movies. Well, I can’t wait to play with a set of American Girl doll twins set in 1999 — you know their clothes and accessories are just going to take us all the way back.

Isabel and Nicki are not just twins, though. They are twins who are very different from each other. Isabel is the bubbly, extroverted one who loves happy pop music, while Nicki is the introverted, thoughtful twin who’s really into skateboarding. The two girls are growing up in 1990s Seattle, Washington, which makes me hope there’s a Nirvana reference or two and maybe a fight between the sisters over whether they should listen to *NSYNC or Foo Fighters.

The historical part of the story is clearly going to include a lot of ‘90s nostalgia, but I’m excited that one big storyline for the girls is that they are preparing for the new millennium and working on a Y2K countdown list. Everyone my age has their own story and thoughts about NYE 1999, and I can’t wait to read this with my girls and share Isabel and Nicki’s story along with my own.

Isabel and Nicki’s stories are written by real-life identical twins, Julia DeVillers and Jennifer Roy, so I’m hopeful there’s some fun twin info in there. (Pretty much every girl in the ‘90s was obsessed with twins thanks to Mary-Kate and Ashley, and Lindsay Lohan’s Parent Trap, so there’s a plethora of twin ‘90s references to mention in the books.)

The dolls also look the part in 1999, with Isabel in platform shoes and a mini skirt, and Nicki in a t-shirt dress and flannel. Their accessories are pretty perfect, too — Isabel has a beret and beaded flower necklace while Nicki has a ribbon necklace and baseball hat.

But where their story really comes to life is in the furniture and play sets. American Girl is known for details, and I am always obsessed with every single furniture and play set I come across from the brand. There are desktops with dial-up sounds and floppy disk drives, a Pizza Hut set with personal pan pizzas (that they definitely earned with the BOOK IT! reading club), and even a skateboard/tennis court set for both girls to pursue their interests. (You know there’s some inflatable furniture and smiley face accessories, too.) And to get really meta, I’m obsessed with the fact that their bedroom set accessories will also include a ‘90s-era American Girl magazine. It’s too good.

Beyond just the nostalgia love, I’m also excited for the Isabel and Nicki American Girl set because of how much of the ‘90s was so important in women’s history. Girl power was an absolute anthem, and to see it come to life this way is really wonderful. Even the twins’ mom has her own moment of girl power in the story, and I’m just delighted to share 1999 and what it was like to be a girl then with a new generation of American Girls, including my own.

The Isabel and Nicki American Girl collection is available online and in American Girl stores nationwide today.