Pleasant Company released the first mini dolls in 1995. They were all cloth bodied dolls with glass inset eyes. In 2000, Mattel/American Girl kept the cloth bodies but changed to painted eyes. The all vinyl bodied AG dolls were released with the Beforever line around 2014. Everything before that has a cloth body. All of the historical dolls have mini doll versions that changed with each edition of their original books. They also have limited edition versions with the minis in Christmas outfits. The all vinyl dolls in the Beforever line have Beforever meet outfits and birthday outfits. The GOTYs released as minis are from 2013 (Saige) -2017/8(?) (Luciana). Courtney is the only historical doll without a mini Courtney doll because she has a mini Molly in her collection. I am still hoping they make a mini Courtney!
The 18 inch dolls in production before and after the Beforever line have both the cloth bodied and all vinyl dolls. If you are looking for a Kit, if she is in her original outfit, whether the outfit is the Meet outfit before the Beforever line or after it will tell you if the doll is cloth bodied or all vinyl. The cloth bodied dolls would only be second hand at this point. The all vinyl dolls have neater, smoother hair. The original hair was a wild mess!!! (Another way to spot a cloth bodied doll when dressed).
