Saturday, March 19, 2011
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
So where's Barbie? :D
Tee hee! She is awaiting her very own entry. I will return with what info I can glean, though my warning here is that I'm no expert (I was a Dawn fan myself)!
Monday, March 29, 2010
2001-2010
Peek-A-Boo Petites
The Peek-a-Boos are a kind of cheat because technically they are under the Barbie umbrella; but not really as a brief examination easily reveals the fact that stylistically they have far more in common with Bratz than with Barbie (could it possibly be the same designer? They came out at about the right time)!
These diminutive dolls (about 2 1/2") come in a bewildering array of styles; the one I show here is a necklace. (Yes, they do seem to be attempting the Kiddle ground - but oh they are SO not Kiddles! :( )
I won't so much as attempt an enumeration of the various types here; suffice it to say that there are probably hundreds! They are a great deal like modern Polly Pockets; they have accessories and play-sets galore.
These diminutive dolls (about 2 1/2") come in a bewildering array of styles; the one I show here is a necklace. (Yes, they do seem to be attempting the Kiddle ground - but oh they are SO not Kiddles! :( )
I won't so much as attempt an enumeration of the various types here; suffice it to say that there are probably hundreds! They are a great deal like modern Polly Pockets; they have accessories and play-sets galore.
1991-2000
Bratz
These dolls are the first in the blog to be truly in any way controversial. They have very exaggerated heads, with huge lips; they do show a post-pubescent female body, certainly, and the clothes that have been put onto these bodies have stirred up a great deal of controversy.
They are supposed to appeal to the working-class, multi-ethnic market that the rarified world of Barbie has never seemed to properly hit. The clothes have been called "trashy;" so have the dolls.
Apparently the creator was working for the maker of these dolls, MGA Entertainment, and Mattel at the same time. Mattel solved this problem in the approved 21st-century fashion: Within the past 2 or so years, they bought out the original producer and are now the sole proprietors of Bratz.
The dolls have plastic removable feet (you can switch out "shoes" this way), removable fashions and rooted hair. They have a kind of slyly beguiling quality in the case of some that appealed to me enough to get two examples of the 6" size "Li'l Bratz" - they come in 11", 6" & an even smaller size (not certain exactly how large) which size I resisted (I am a "tinies" collector) due to the fact that they have pop-on-off plastic clothing.
They are supposed to appeal to the working-class, multi-ethnic market that the rarified world of Barbie has never seemed to properly hit. The clothes have been called "trashy;" so have the dolls.
Apparently the creator was working for the maker of these dolls, MGA Entertainment, and Mattel at the same time. Mattel solved this problem in the approved 21st-century fashion: Within the past 2 or so years, they bought out the original producer and are now the sole proprietors of Bratz.
The dolls have plastic removable feet (you can switch out "shoes" this way), removable fashions and rooted hair. They have a kind of slyly beguiling quality in the case of some that appealed to me enough to get two examples of the 6" size "Li'l Bratz" - they come in 11", 6" & an even smaller size (not certain exactly how large) which size I resisted (I am a "tinies" collector) due to the fact that they have pop-on-off plastic clothing.
1981-1990
Kenner See Wees & Shimmers
With the '80's, we are now entering into the truly modern era (as opposed to vintage) - and also into the time of dolls which - alas!! - I am just a tiny bit too old to remember personally from my own childhood, though I was still young enough at this point to remember the commercials for these during Saturday morning cartoons, and be at least a little bit interested.
See Wees, manufactured by Kenner, were officially debuted in 1979. However, their candy colors and style of painting are very quintessentially 1980's in style.
First came the See Wee mermaids, with combs for their rooted nylon hair. They were next produced with small "babies" which were entirely molded. They came in shells with sponges. They were intended for the bathtub.
The next phase saw the production of so-called "Shimmers," which had the distinction of being painted with shimmery colors in place of the flat colors of the Sea Wees. This category had mom-and-baby combos of mermaids, but also centaurs, butterflies, deer and bird hybrids. All came with their own combs.
These are quite collectible, and are going for a respectable price in the collectible doll market.
See Wees, manufactured by Kenner, were officially debuted in 1979. However, their candy colors and style of painting are very quintessentially 1980's in style.
First came the See Wee mermaids, with combs for their rooted nylon hair. They were next produced with small "babies" which were entirely molded. They came in shells with sponges. They were intended for the bathtub.
The next phase saw the production of so-called "Shimmers," which had the distinction of being painted with shimmery colors in place of the flat colors of the Sea Wees. This category had mom-and-baby combos of mermaids, but also centaurs, butterflies, deer and bird hybrids. All came with their own combs.
These are quite collectible, and are going for a respectable price in the collectible doll market.
Polly Pocket
These tiny modern versions of the ancient "peg"-type of doll were released in 1989, though invented in 1983 by an Englishman; they were first brought out by Bluebird in 1989 in England. These were produced through 1992 or 1993; they were very much a late-'80's kind of concept, as they were bought out by their distributors Mattel in 1993. That was a turning-point for Polly, who thereafter was totally revamped; the concept of the doll changed considerably from the original versions.
The originals are now highly collectible; they were produced in large numbers though but for a limited time.
These peg-dolls are hinged in their middles; they are only slightly more than 1" high. They have tiny round bases which peg into the indentations and rings in the compacts that are meant to hold them. One can position them in many different places in the compacts.
They have many tiny accessories, etc. that also peg in place. There were Polly necklaces, palaces, houses, workplaces - just about anything you can imagine!
My own little examples light up. (Yes, they still work! ;) ) The one pictured is the heart-shaped Princess' palace, with her Prince Charming, `a laCinderella . The other I have is a star-shaped one, rather larger, which contains a tiny party palace, with a working Ferris wheel in the "grounds" in front.
I'm not much of a fan, personally, of pegs, or of the new idea of snap-on-snap-off plastic clothes, which one can find with the modern Pollys and also with certain of the smallest Bratz; I like real hair and clothes, myself. But the winning combination of diminutive scale plus lighting won me over in the case of my two. (Off to eBay to find MORE light-up ones... XD )
These tiny modern versions of the ancient "peg"-type of doll were released in 1989, though invented in 1983 by an Englishman; they were first brought out by Bluebird in 1989 in England. These were produced through 1992 or 1993; they were very much a late-'80's kind of concept, as they were bought out by their distributors Mattel in 1993. That was a turning-point for Polly, who thereafter was totally revamped; the concept of the doll changed considerably from the original versions.
The originals are now highly collectible; they were produced in large numbers though but for a limited time.
These peg-dolls are hinged in their middles; they are only slightly more than 1" high. They have tiny round bases which peg into the indentations and rings in the compacts that are meant to hold them. One can position them in many different places in the compacts.
They have many tiny accessories, etc. that also peg in place. There were Polly necklaces, palaces, houses, workplaces - just about anything you can imagine!
My own little examples light up. (Yes, they still work! ;) ) The one pictured is the heart-shaped Princess' palace, with her Prince Charming, `a la
I'm not much of a fan, personally, of pegs, or of the new idea of snap-on-snap-off plastic clothes, which one can find with the modern Pollys and also with certain of the smallest Bratz; I like real hair and clothes, myself. But the winning combination of diminutive scale plus lighting won me over in the case of my two. (Off to eBay to find MORE light-up ones... XD )
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