Continuing Swimsuit Saga

 

In the continuing saga of the "Black Francie Clone Swimsuit," I was browsing auctions and found the  same fabric on this little "Bottle Baby" doll:

Just in case you weren't convinced this isn't a Mattel product.

The Mystery of The Floral "Black Francie" Swimsuit

 

A few weeks ago, I bought a lot of clone-type dolls in an auction.  I like clones, and I was having fun going through the stuff that came with them. 

One doll stood out a bit.. her swimsuit looked... familiar...

"Oh neat!," I think, "It looks like "Black Francie's" swimsuit!  Neat!"

So, I got to googling, and low-and-behold, several websites were claiming this swimsuit was a rare variation of Black Francie's original swimsuit.

Now, believe me, I would LOVE THAT TO BE TRUE.  I would LOVE to own a rare and impossible-to-find Francie swimsuit.  I would love to tell you that I found an impossible-to-find Francie swimsuit in a $17 auction.

However, I can guarantee you this cute swimsuit is NOT A MATTEL PRODUCT.

This is a clone swimsuit.  Is it made to look like Black Francie's swimsuit?  100% definitely yes.  Is it made by Mattel?  100% definitely no.

I'm going to tell you how I know, since other websites that picture this swimsuit do not give any additional information.  Let's learn all about the MYSTERIOUS, ULTRA-RARE, BLACK FRANCIE, FLORAL SWIMSUIT.

- First of all, this swimsuit is only referred to online, by uncited sources.  It doesn't appear in Joe Blitman's Francie Book, not even the vaguest mention.  Mr. Blitman is arguably the world's most Franci-est expert on Francie.

- It doesn't appear in Sarah Sink Eams's Barbie Clothing Book, maybe the most complete Barbie fashion book ever written.

-  Heck, it doesn't even appear on Mattel's Website.

-  This swimsuit has SNAPS.  Francie's swimsuit has BUTTONS WITH LOOPS.

-  The straps are different.

-  In my opinion, Francie's swimsuit is more of a boy-short bottom, while this is more of a brief.

-  IT IS DEFINITELY NOT TAGGED FRANCIE.  Francie's swimsuit is tagged.

-  The quality is not like Mattel's.

ANYWAY, so where did this swimsuit come from?

The clone I found it on is a "Made in Hong Kong," type, possibly PEGGY ANN.  Was it her original swimsuit?  Maybe.  I haven't found one in package to prove anything.

Was this swimsuit ever sold on a African-American / Black doll like Francie?  Maybe.  It's possible some company made a knock-off type doll to compete and copied the swimsuit too.  Again, no in-package examples have been found.

Enjoy a few more pictures of this cool swimsuit:

The doll I found it on, probably a "Peggy Ann" or Peggy Ann type.

Front view, off of the doll.  The fabric is very cute.  It's not poorly made, but it's not up to Mattel standards.  It's quite fragile and not sewn very well.  The red part is definitely cotton.

 

ANYWAY... mystery... sort of solved?  It's not a Francie swimsuit, but I'm intrigued to find out where it came from.

If anybody out there knows, please let me know!  If anyone has an example mint-in-package, PLEASE help let's solve this mystery for good.

PS. Since we're talking about Black Francie, I'd like to remind you that Black Lives Matter.  Please support social justice and equality in your community.

Meet The Go-Go's!

MANY years ago, when I was but a wee flea-market picker...still a little girl, I found a Dawn Doll at the flea market for a very low price.. probably under a dollar.  I LOVED her to pieces, and played with her a lot,  but this being the days before the internet, I had no idea who she was or where she came from, just that she was super-cute and fun to play with.  Shortly after, I found another one... dressed them alike in cheap outfits from dollar store dolls, and those were my only two Dawn dolls for many years.

Eventually, somehow I found out she was called DAWN and made by a company named TOPPER.  I picked up Dawn dolls whenever I saw them for cheap.  Over a decade after my first Dawn, I purchased a Dawn Doll ID book.  This book had an extra section on Dawn-like dolls and clones, and that's how I met "THE GO-GO's"  (The ... improper apostrophe ... is theirs.)  Though there were only tiny pictures, I thought these dolls were super-unique and interesting, and I decided I would keep an eye open for them at the sales and flea markets.

PROBABLY ANOTHER DECADE passed... and I finally found my first Go-Go doll at a flea market!  Since then, I've picked up a few more, and since there's not a whole lot of information on them out there, I thought I would do a little post about them.

My still-growing Go-Go's Collection.

These dolls are very cute and honestly, extremely high-quality.  I think they are super-underrated and totally awesome!

The photos on the box don't exactly match the actual dolls produced.

Here's the card from the back of every Go-Go's box.  The dolls were sold on their stands, in a plastic tube on a colorful plastic base, with a different backing card for each doll.  I don't know how or where these dolls were advertised and sold.. but to me.. they seem more like a trendy little thing a tween or teen could display in their room and less like a toy.  They were able to be displayed nicely in their tubes without being taken out.  Their quality and design is more display like and less play-like in my opinion.

These dolls pre-date Dawn by a few years.  Rare items related to them that I have confirmed existed are 1.) Carded Go-Go's original outfits (definitely sold in Germany, unknown if sold elsewhere) and 2.) A box set with one doll and multiple (but not all) outfits (ebay image shown below.)

So I'm really just rambling on here, let's get down to some pictures!

Here is "The Swinger."  She was the first Go-Go's doll that I found.  I dug her out of a box next to a giant spider!  That's how much I wanted her, lol.  She is complete with her stand, shoes, and jewelry.  Her face is faded out a little though.

Her beads seem to be glass, and her bracelets are plastic.  The necklace is one strand of beads wrapped around her head twice.  She has rooted saran-like hair (most of the other dolls are wigged, not rooted.)  She is marked "DELUXE READING (c) 1965" on her head.  Her body is unmarked.  Her features are very delicately painted!  (NOTE:  This Blog states that the rooted-hair dolls are a rarity and others were sold wigged.  I can't say for myself since I only have this one "Swinger" doll.)

Would you believe her TINY dress has a TINY zipper?  I never would have known from pictures online and in books.  It's really nicely made for such a TINY doll.  The zipper is marked "NBK."

Her dress (which is sort of a satiny-knit material.. maybe tricot) also has a nice tulle underskirt to give it shape.  She wears white, lace-trimmed, tricot panties underneath.

Her stand, which is clear hard plastic, is marked "1070 0404 7"

Her box picture makes it clear that she likes to dance!  I love the different fonts for each character.

Here is Private Ida.  She is a secret agent or spy!    She is WIGGED, not rooted, and her hair feels like mohair.  She wears a coat, belt, white lace-trimmed panties, and boots.  Mine is missing her hat and briefcase.

Here's her backing card... oooh mysterious!  Her marks are the same as "The Swinger," and her boots are both marked "HONG KONG"

These dolls all have the same body.  They barely have any boobs, just barely curved chests.  Basically genderless bodies with a butt!

Unlike many dolls with wires inside from this era, such as Mattel's Tutti, they don't seem to turn green from the wires inside.  Let's hope it stays that way!

Her eyes have a "Number One Barbie" look to them, eh?

Here is her picture on the card.  I love how the "I" is dotted with an "eye!"

Here's the TOMBOY!  I misplaced her glove and she is missing her bat.  I think she might be my favorite.  She wears a shirt, with paint splotches on it, which snaps with one snap.  Her jeans snap closed in the back as well.  No panties underneath!  Her harder-plastic hat is literally STUCK INTO HER HEAD WITH A STRAIGHT PIN.  Her hair is a WIG and glued on.  Her marks are the same as the other dolls.  Her shoes are the same as "The Swinger," but she may have been sold wearing other shoes.  She has a bit of wire on her wrist, which I assume originally wired her bat to her hand.

Her face is really something!  Such a cute expression with black eye and freckles.  Her wig hair is unusual.  It may be some weird synthetic or may be mohair.  I really can't tell.  It's very soft.

I have found her top loose at a sale, but I have no proof it was ever sold that way.

Here's her original backing card.  Note that the "completely flexible" picture is different than on Private Ida's.  I love how the exclamation mark is a baseball bat and baseball!

I took her to a baseball game once.  Gosh, I really miss baseball games!  Hopefully this quarantine will be over someday and we can go to baseball games again.

As you can see, she was sold with a bat, but since I don't have one, I don't know what it was made out of, wood or plastic?  Look at how different her hat is on the box.  I'm not sure if she was ever sold with red shoes like in the picture.  Mine has one blue shoe.

Here's "Hot Canary," again, SUPER well made.  Her dress is satin, and again she is wigged, not rooted.  Hair feels like mohair, but could be synthetic.

Such an expressive face!  I don't know who sculpted these dolls, but major props to him or her.  They are beautiful, especially considering how tiny they are.  The beads, again seem to be glass.  The necklace is sewn onto her neck.  The hair beads are fastened into her hair with a brass-like piece of metal.  Her hair is in a fairly elaborate updo.  I can't see her marks under her wig, but you can assume they are the same as the others.

What a great face!

Again, a tiny "NBK" zipper in the back.  Mine is missing her shoes and her microphone, and as you can see, the wires are sticking out of her feet pretty badly.  If she ever had panties, she doesn't anymore.  But maybe she never did, since her dress is so tight.  The tulle at the bottom of her dress is the kind of quality that is hard to get these days!

Here she is with her microphone, and apparently she had a bracelet, too.  I don't know what her shoes were like!

Here is COOL CAT, a total beatnik!  Bet she plays down at the local coffee house.  She wears a terry-cloth sweater which closes with a hook and thread loop.  Her green knit skirt also closes with a hook and thread loop.  She's missing her shoes.  The guitar is a replacement.  If she ever had panties, they're missing.

My doll's hair is in quite a state... it's a wig, feels like mohair.  Pictures of other people's dolls would suggest that mine is missing some hair.  Again, I love that face!  Her marks are the same as all the other dolls.

Here you can see more what her guitar should look like.  Also, the FONT IS SO GREAT.  Her hair looks totally different on the box though.

Here's "Brenda Brush," spotted some time ago at a doll auction.  I don't currently have one, but I have just ordered one, so when she gets here I'll fill you in on some more information about her!  (Like not sure if wig or rooted.)

I'm trying to fill in the rest of my collection!

Here's an often-lost paper that was in with the dolls... showing how to use the doll and her stand.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE:

If your doll is not on her stand.. DO NOT KEEP HER IN HER TUBE / BOX.  The soft leg plastic will melt into the plastic tube and it can RUIN the packaging, and harm the doll.  Store the tube separately and FAR AWAY from any squishy doll bodies.

Otherwise, these dolls seem to hold up pretty well, and though they're somewhat hard-to-find, I've never really seen them in "VERY POOR" condition.

Sadly, no male dolls ever joined the line, but Topper had a similar line called TOPPER TIGERS.  These were little army dolls, sold in the same kind of tube.  Maybe you could put them in some hip Dawn doll clothes and they could hang out with the Go-Go's.

That's about all for now!  I hope you enjoyed the pictures. :)

Tammy Doll Outfits

When I first started collecting Vintage Barbie almost 30 years ago, I definitely had a negative view of her competitors.  Nobody was much interested in them in those days, me included.

But the longer I've been collecting, the more Barbie clone and competitor items I've picked up.  I've definitely changed my opinion about some of them... especially Tammy!

Tammy was a very nice doll to compete with Barbie, made by IDEAL.  Her ultimate downfall probably came because she was bigger than Barbie and they can't share clothes. 

Anyway, in my opinion, Tammy doll's CLOTHES specifically are equally nice in terms of quality as Barbie's clothes.  The accessories however, are definitely not.  The attention to detail in Barbie clothes and accessories are missing from Tammy's small wardrobe.  However, the quality in the clothes is pretty neat.  Here's just on of Tammy's outfits.

Here's Tammy's Walking Her Pet.  I would say the clothes in this one are very nice quality, but the accessories are not as nice as Barbie's.  Overall, of course, it's very cute.

The top seems to be real wool.  It has very nice twill tape trimming along the neck, sleeves, and hem.  It looks very professional and realistic.  The pockets are real and seem to be made out of the same vinyl as the skirt.   The skirt is just plain vinyl with no lining or anything and it doesn't hold up very well (it can shrink, dry out, or get stuck in a bent shape.) 

Showing the twill / bias trimming and the tag inside.  For some reason the heart is attached with a white thread.

Many of Tammy's outfits include a little brass heart like this one, on a little chain, or put on some other way.  This is really a nice design touch.  The little flower engraving is quite cute and delicate.

The back of Tammy's heart charms always is marked JAPAN.

The little dog is just made of pipe cleaners, more or less.  He came with a few Tammy outfits, but the dog also appeared in straight-up clone outfits, and he's not very well made and doesn't look much like a real dog.  The leash is just a chain with a piece of vinyl on the end to act as a handle.  It has a small grommet on one side only for the chain to loop through.  In mint condition, he has a tiny blue sticker on his belly that says MADE IN JAPAN.  (Maybe I can get a pic of this later... this is not the best-condition dog in my collection.)

The purse is a little oversized in scale, in my opinion.  If it were human-sized it would be a really big bag!  Though, that does mean a child could open it and put actual items into the purse.  The purse vinyl tends to get a white powdery substance on it from plasticizer leaching.  You can just wipe it off again.  The purse has a tiny blue sticker on the back that says "MADE IN JAPAN" that is usually missing.

The shoes are low heels.  They have a left and a right and are always marked JAPAN.  They are a little squishy.

This outfit also includes a scarf made of very wrinkle-prone organza-like material which I have not pictured... (because it was really wrinkly.)

Anyway I know I talked about this outfit before when I wrote about Peteena, but I think I'll picture some more of my Tammy outfit collection just for information of folks out there.

I always find out things I didn't know when I see an outfit in person so I want to share close-up pictures of many things!

My First Barbie (1980)

I picked up this 1980 My First Barbie for very cheap, and yesterday I cleaned her up.  I wasn't thinking much about it, I just washed her hair and her face.  However, I was so surprised!  She looked pretty she looked when she was finished.

For what it's worth, 1980 My First Barbie really was MY first Barbie.  These dolls are so nice, because they are easy to dress and have such a pretty, young-looking face.  That verry late 1970s, fresh-faced look... before the heavy makeup of the 1980s took hold.  They have very nice, long hair that stays soft.  There's enough there for a little girl to braid or put in a ponytaill.

One note, she was advertised as being "easy to dress" and overall, she is...she has legs and arms that are slick hard plastic, so clothes go on easily.  Her legs don't bend, and her arms only go up and down and not sideways.  So, yes, very easy!  But... that swimsuit.. it is so difficult to figure out how to put on the doll.  I had to look at tons of pictures online just to get her dressed, and I still don't think I have it tied correctly.  I remember playing with this doll as a child so maybe I had more sense then than I do now.

Anyway, picking up this "junky" My First Barbie has made me want a "new in box" one, even though I still have mine from when I was a child.

Head Case

A recent find was this "Sweet 16" Barbie head on this "Ballerina" Barbie body.. or at least a body with "Ballerina" arms.

This head

This body

Of course, I've never seen a Sweet 16 Barbie head on a Ballerina body in any kind of a box or package, but they turn up often enough mated this way in the wild.

Sweet 16 Barbie had "Mexico" style arms, called that because they were mostly produced at Mattel's Mexico factory (as opposed to Japan or Taiwan or elsewhere.)  Sorry I don't have any quickly available right now for a picture (while I'm thinking about it, lol.)

These arms had small nubs holding them on and they fell off easily.  Heads were still fairly removable and shareable during this time period, so I can only imagine that plenty of Sweet 16 dolls lost their arms, and their heads were transferred to Ballerina bodies.

Remember, if you see a head on a body that seems unusual, there's a 99% chance this is a child being creative with their toys and not some rare prototype or special doll.  Unless it's sealed in a package, there is just no proof.