Stoney Clover Lane made American Girl bags for the dolls too

Somewhere in your parents' house there is a doll in a box, and you know exactly which one. On Wednesday, Stoney Clover Lane and American Girl open a limited-edition bag collection for American Girl's 40th anniversary, and it is built for the two of you at once: seven character prints across full-size bags, and the same prints again in miniature, cut for an 18-inch doll.

The seven prints

Addy, Felicity, Josefina, Kirsten, Kit, Molly and Samantha each get their own signature print, drawn from their era and their books. Molly is a red and green argyle. Josefina is red with a small dark motif. Kit is a pastel check. The pieces are the quilted, ruffled Stoney Clover Lane shapes you already recognise from the airport, with the character's name embroidered in gold script across the front, and the collection runs through bags, purses, backpacks, pouches, novelty accessories and bag charms.

The part that will do the damage

There is a miniature Pouchette Purse and a miniature Backpack made to fit an 18-inch doll. So the doll carries the small one and your kid carries the big one, which is the whole idea and also the reason this will sell out. The brands' own campaign photography goes further: it shows the Meet books turned into doll-sized bags with the original covers printed on them, and a charm bracelet strung with the characters' faces.

Prices and date, once

MSRP is $34 to $45. It goes live on October 1 at stoneycloverlane.com, americangirl.com and both brands' own stores, and it is limited edition, which in Stoney Clover Lane terms means Wednesday morning rather than Wednesday. The listed age is 0 and up. Neither brand had the collection on its site as of this morning, so the prints you see now are the campaign shots, not a product page.

Who this is really for

If your kid is deep in American Girl right now, the miniatures are the gift, and $34 for a doll-sized backpack is a normal number in that world. If your kid has never asked about American Girl and you are feeling something anyway, that is the collection working as designed, and a $45 pouch is a cheaper way through it than a doll. We would buy one pouch, in your character, and let the kid pick her own.

Neither brand is in the club, but Manhattan Toy is, and its Groovy Girls are the soft-doll version of the same nostalgia: 10% off through Cubbie Club. See the Manhattan Toy offer →