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.

Ken's Face!

These two Ken dolls are both 1st edition Kens with fuzzy, flocked, brunette hair.

But, look at how different they seem!

Of course, left-side Ken is slightly worse condition than right-side Ken, but a lot more is going on here.

-  Eyebrow shape and size is different

-  Head size seems different

-  Lip color is different

I've heard in the past that head sized varied due to molds changing during the production process.  A new mold would be less worn down and the head would be smaller.  A old mold would have been used longer and worn away causing a bigger head.  I don't know if this is true but it seems likely.

Lip color could vary depending on who was doing the painting that day.  Left-side Ken has pale lips, while right-side ken is very peachy.  All early Barbies were "hand painted" in Japan.... though what "hand painted" means varies.  (Brush / airbrush / stencils / etc.)

Eyebrows, again, varied on who is doing the painting that day.

I gotta say, I prefer Right-Side Ken.  I think Left-Side Ken is on the football team, while Right-Side Ken is on the baseball team, haha!

Theoretically speaking, Right-Side Ken is older than Left-Side Ken, but I don't feel positive about that proclamation, either.

I've been thinking about doing some videos to go along with this blog.  I've been collecting Vintage Barbie for close to 30 years, but I still see things that surprise me. 

Lots of times, when I haven't seen a particular outfit in person or up close EVER, or in YEARS, when I finally see it in person something will surprise me... like.. "oh, the closure is like THAT?" or "Wow, THIS is what the fabric feels like?"  Some things, you just can't portray well in a picture.  Maybe some videos would help other collectors know what they're looking for.