She Wears Short Skirts, I Wear History: American Girl Redefining Americana
Deportation crackdowns, racial profiling, and building new walls at the Mexican border, in 2025, the Trump administration has made its vision of an American clear: white. Meanwhile, American Girl has just announced their 2026 “Girl of the Year,” a doll meant to represent and inspire American kids—and she’s Mexican American. In fact, Raquel Reyes will be the first Mexican American “Girl of the Year.” Her debut isn’t just about representation. Through her clothing and style, it’s a well-timed political statement.
Raquel Reyes is the great-great-granddaughter of the famous historical doll Samantha Parkington, who was introduced in 1986 and rereleased in 2014 and 2021. One of the first dolls released, Samantha, embodies the American Girl brand itself. The original can sell for over $2,000 on eBay.
With her early-1900s large bow, puffy sleeves, and girly frills, she represented a vision of classic, nostalgic patriotism. The caption of 1986 “Tea Dress” even describes her as a “proper young lady.” By directly associating Raquel with the famous, wealthy white doll that is Samantha, American Girl rewrites its own story about Americanness. It’s a statement about who gets to inherit the title of “American” itself.
Photo: American Girl Wiki
Both dolls even wear strikingly similar signature outfits: a gingham print, a matching bow, and chic Mary Janes. The pattern of her dress, gingham, encapsulates the idea of rural American wholesomeness and simplicity: picnics on summer lawns, farmhouse kitchens, and the iconic dress worn by America’s sweetheart, Judy Garland, in The Wizard of Oz. The style of her dress, with poofy sleeves and a hoop-like skirt, signifies wealth and class privilege, since such garments required excess fabric, constant upkeep, and were fashionable precisely because they were impractical for labor in the 19th century. In both pattern and style, Raquel, echoing Samantha, embodies two central themes of Americana: country sweetheart and sophisticated debutante.
Photos: American Girl
This idea of wealth materializes in Raquel’s other outfits, as well, like her “Coastal Stripe Pajamas” and “Piney Point Pickleball” looks. American Girl dresses her in privilege, subverting the American idea of Mexicans being unable to belong to affluent or genteel spaces.
Photos: American Girl
At the same time, we can see Raquel celebrating her Mexican heritage in her “Beach Party Dress,” inspired by traditional Mexican huipiles. She doesn’t just reserve it for cultural occasions, but wears it as a part of her everyday American life, when “she celebrates her special talent as a DJ.” To be American does not require erasing ethnic identity.
Photo: American Girl
American Girl has long used its “Girl of the Year” line to make quiet political statements through fashion and identity. In 2022, the brand partnered with 13-year-old (now 17) Mina Fedor’s organization, AAPI Youth Rising, to create the first Chinese American “Girl of the Year” amid rising Asian racism post-COVID-19. Fedor said, “It felt really nice…. to feel like our voices as Asian American youth were being heard by this large entity.” American Girl even raised $25,000, which they matched and donated to this organization.
A few months from now, little girls all over America will be circling Raquel Reyes with their crayons in the catalog, adding her to their Christmas wish lists. While the nation still burns with racism and division, American Girl is raising a new generation of women to fight for equality and change—stylishly, of course.
XOXO, The Fashion Stock Market
Cover Photo: My American Girl Dolls ARE Political!/Youtube
Editor: Felicity Field
