American Girl, Mattel subsidiary and maker of the iconic doll line, continues to hold a massive place in the more wholesome girl cultural of today. Their dolls are deemed independent and full of pluck and harked as the anti-Barbie for their pre-pubescent bodies. This is all well and good but when are girls supposed to grow out of this feminine rite-of-passage? How old is too old to carry a doll around? It seems this is the sweet (uncomfortable) spot that New York photographer Ilona Szwarc has documented in her series American Girls. In her shots tween girls tote around these dolls, often dressing alike, seeming to hold on to a childhood that, to the viewer at least, seems visibly past.
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