A Girl for All Time Closing
Frances Cain announces closure of her independent doll company's US warehouse.
Announced last week, A Girl for All Time is shutting down their US Business. This is due to the recent tariffs placed on goods produced in China and shipped to the United States, making dolls like A Girl for All Time 150% to 200% more expensive to make and buy. A Girl for All Time is one of many doll ranges forced to slow down or stop production all together until the tariffs are lifted or lowered. Here is what founder Frances Cain posted on social media regarding the closure.
A Girl for All Time made their debut in 2011 with the release of their inaugural doll Matilda Marchmont, from Tudor times. Similar to how American Girl is rooted in American history, A Girl for All Time is rooted in British history, following the Marchmont family tree and covering over 500 years of history.
Other dolls in the line include Elinor (Elizabethan), Helena (Regency), Lydia (Georgian), Amelia (Victorian), Clementine (1940s) and Sam (1960s). To add a bit more diversity to the line, there were also 4 modern dolls released: Bex, Nisha, Maya and boy character Max.
While all of these 16” vinyl dolls are standouts, my favorite 3 are Helena, with her blonde hair and green eyes, Elinor, with beautiful copper hair and, of course, the one who started it all, Matilda, with her long features and distinctive expression. Ironically enough, Matilda is the one doll I don’t have in the historical doll collection. I’ve seen them occasionally at our local doll shows, so maybe one day, I’ll add Matilda to the group.
In March of 2025, before the introduction of the tariffs, a 1920’s girl, Daisy, was announced as the next doll. Alas, it seems like she’s been shelved. While the brand may be quiet for now, I am hopeful that we’ll see it again when the market calms down. CEO Frances holds the IP to the designs and can bring them back whenever she chooses to, if (when) the market turns favorable again There are many videos on my channel spotlighting A Girl for All Time. One is below.
While the dolls are worth praise, I also want to shout to shout out Frances Cain, CEO and founder of the brand. She’s been so kind over the years supplying samples of dolls for my blog and YouTube channel, Kewpie83. Frances has always been excited to share, even though my following is not as large as others in the doll niche. She was even kind enough to chat with me over Zoom a while back for this fascinating interview, which you can view below.
At the time of this writing, you can actually still order Clementine, the 1940’s girl, and a few select outfits at half price, so if you haven’t picked up an A Girl for All Time, this is the time to buy! I’m half tempted to pick one up for my youngest daughter for Christmas, honestly, as the price is right and the quality is fantastic.
Who is your favorite doll in the line? Do you hope they return? Let us know in the comments!