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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