YEARS ago, I wrote a little article with a passing reference to Samsonite-branded, Barbie-sized luggage.

I found a few more pieces, and these are definitely OFF BRAND and CHEAP.

On first glance, they look like regular Barbie / Samsonite luggage, but... 

The Samsonite-Branded luggage has a handle that is hinged, and movable (and often missing!), but this one has a molded-in-one-piece handle, though it visually is identical to the Samsonite-branded luggage.  The quality is noticeably cheaper, and it is unmarked.  The red one is marked "Made in the U.S.A." but again, no hinged handle.  The plastic is flimsier and lighter.

g

Maybe Samsonite kept making them and just went cheaper on production at some point.  Who knows how long these things were even made.  Definitely 1960s - 1970s, but these were found with 1980s dolls.

I've also never seen this brown color "NRFP," but to be fair I haven't looked that hard.

NONE of this luggage is super-easy to find.  You see the ecru and teal ones pretty frequently but other colors are scarce.

This one at least has proper hinges and doesn't fall apart like the brown one.  Maybe it's legit, but the handle gives me pause.

Clone or legit, these are very fun to collect... you can really use them for storage, or travel, too!

Anyway, that's all!

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.

Summer Finds

Well, summer's almost over but it's still ripe yard sale and flea market weather.  That means lots of goodies out there just waiting to be found!

As luck would have it my friend Greggo found me a little box of Barbie stuff at a yard sale.

It was a typical double-Barbie case with some fun stuff inside.  Let's see what we got!

This adorable clone Skipper outfit was in there, with an unusual number of clone Skipper items.  I know nothing about this outfit (I don't think it's mom-made) but it might have been my favorite thing in the lot.  (Skipper was not included.)

There was this white turtleneck top...

And this red and white one... I'm not sure which top is supposed to go with it, but they both look cute.

Do this jacket and leggings go with it too?  Your guess is as good as mine. :)  Only the jacket is tagged with a Hong Kong label.

These pieces from Skipper's Outdoor Casuals #1915 were included, the outfit came with white shoes but this light-blue Japan-marked shoe was in there.  The comb was hidden under the drawers of the case... you always find something under there so don't forget to look, even in the crappiest doll case, there's usually something good hiding in the cracks.

Also Skipper's Dreamtime #1909, which wasn't complete but did include one slipper!  The robe is actually in pretty good shape, considering those ties are usually yanked off.

Ricky doll's pants from Sunday Suit #1503, and some cute clone Skipper pants in a pretty pink gingham.

And a headless Skipper body...?

Barbie's Singing In The Shower #988, just a few pieces!  The robe's in really nice shape, and the lid of her talc box was found stuck in the glue under the drawer of the case.

Suburban Shopper #969 in decent shape with purse in so-so shape.

Some PAK pieces, a blue knit dress and a yellow PJ top.  Usually the elastic in the knit dress is all stretched out but in this one it's still pretty good.

A clone version of Skipper's Silk n' Fancy #1902, and the purse from Barbie's Red Flare #939, missing it's button.  This Skipper outfit was frequently cloned by various companies.  You can tell the difference in numerous ways, mostly the quality, but also the Skipper version will be tagged.  This one has a Hong Kong tag.  Also Skipper's has an underskirt and this one does not.

With Barbie, there's always something random that doesn't belong with everything else.  With all that Vintage-Era Barbie stuff was this one piece of Mod-Era clothing, the overdress from Patio Party #1692.

And some random stuff!  The Skipper swimsuit is for a bend-leg Skipper, but the Skipper body included isn't a bend-leg body.  The green hat is from a Maddie Mod outfit.  There was also a cheap plastic ring that says "I'm Sexy," lol!

Here's Skipper again in her cute outfit :p

I also had some other finds this Summer...

Found this at the flea market last week, one of my favorites!  Barbie's Dancing Stripes #1843 from 1968... in a box of totally modern 1990s Barbie clothes.

I also won an auction lot of Mod-era clothes, which I'll maybe talk about some other time.  I put them away for some reason before taking pictures :I  Kinda stupid of me.

Oh well!

Anyone else find anything good this summer?

Nostalgic Barbie Fabric

I was delighted to find this vintage Barbie polar fleece fabric at Jo-Ann's for half off!  (Which ended up being about $7 a yard.)

It's furry and fluffy and I'll probably make a blanket.

Plus, it features actual Barbie outfits!

Here Barbie wears Swirly Cue #1822.

Here she's in her original swimsuit #1160 from 1966.

They can't really make "silver" for the top, but she's wearing Zokko! #1820.

And All That Jazz, #1848

Really fun!!!

The fabric is made by Cranston fabrics and is probably available at your local Jo-Ann's as well.

Mod Ken - Part 2

Part 2 

Continuing the series on Ken's mod outfits, let's look at a few more of them, hmm?

In 1969, Ken got 4 new outfits, plus one gift set.  In 1970, he got 6 additional outfits.  He also got a new friend, Brad!  Brad was African American and known as Christie doll's boyfriend.  He came wearing his own unique outfits.  Brad was Mattel's first African American boy doll.

There seems to be some debate over whether Ken's mod PAK items were available during 1970 or only 1971.  Perhaps they came out late in the year for Christmas.  Since they seem kind of scarce, I'm thinking they weren't available for long.  I'll discuss them in a later article.

====================================================

Here's a list for you for 1969 - 1970 outfits:

Ken 1969:

-  Breakfast at 7 (#1428)  -  (1969 - 1970)  (See previous article)
-  Rally Gear (#1429)  -  (1969 - 1970)
-  Town Turtle (#1430)  -  (1969 -  1970)
-  Guruvy Formal (#1431)  -  (1969 only)
-  Fabulous Formal Gift Set (#1595)  -  (1969 only)  (Sears Exclusive with Barbie)
-  Talking Ken Original Outfit (#1111)  -  (1969 only)

Ken 1970:

-  Play It Cool! (#1433)  -  (1970 only)
-  Big Business (#1434)  -  (1970 only)
-  Shore Lines (#1435)  -  (1970 only)
-  Bold Gold (#1436)  -   (1970 only)
-  Casual All Stars (#1514)  -  (1970 only)  (Sears Exclusive)  (NOTE:  Some pieces came in several color variations.)
-  Talking Ken Original Outfit (#1111)  -  (1970 only)  (Same stock number as 1969, but different outfit.)
-  Bendleg Ken Original Outfit (#1124)  -  (1970 - 1971)
-  Bendleg  Brad Original Outfit (#1142)  -  (1970 - 1972)
-  Talking Brad Original Outfit (#1114)  -  (1970 - 1973)
-  Red, White, And Wild Gift Set (#1589)  - (1970 only)  (Sears Exclusive)  (NOTE:  Not to be confused with a later 1972 outfit that has the same name)

=====================================================

ANYWAY:  I'm going to share pictures for as many outfits as I have in my collection!  I'm not going to go in any particular order, sorry.. just whatever outfit I felt like putting on Ken at the time, haha!

Play It Cool! (#1433)

Here's Ken's lovely Play it Cool! (#1433) from 1970.  What a crazy pair of pants, huh?

The pants are made out of a very loose knit that is prone to threads pulling from the weave.  The shirt and socks are a soft knit that tends to get pilly and is also prone to tearing at the seams.  The shirt closes with snap in the back and has raglan sleeves.

The jacket is a very nice, high quality felt-like material which seems to hold up really well.  A really nice imitation of camel hair.

YKK zipper and knit-weave close-up.

The pants have a YKK zipper fly and a hook-and-loop closure.  Here you can see the loose knit close-up.  Mine are pulling a little around the top, probably from aggressive pulling by some kiddo of the past.  These are difficult to get onto Ken's sticky bend-legs, so remember that baby powder if they won't pull on, and avoid rips or damage to the fabric.

The coat is the only tagged piece.

The coat is the only tagged piece.  The little teeny threads that hold down the collar are often found snapped, actually, I accidentally snapped one while I was putting it on Ken doll.  Thankfully, it's a quick-and-easy repair, so don't worry too much about it.

Also, do you notice something above the tag?

Close-up of pull-string hole.

Some people think this is a hole or damage to the outfit, but it's not!  It's a hole for Talking Ken's pull string.  Most Ken outfits from this era have a hole in the back of at least one piece so that the pull-string can be easily accessed while Ken is wearing his clothes.  What a cool idea, huh?  They are very carefully put in, too.  So, if you see one, it's not a flaw.. it's the perfection of Mattel's design on this one. :)

Squishy-style JAPAN dress shoes.

The shoes are squishy-type (and fit nicely over the socks), and they are marked JAPAN. 

Outfit without coat.

Here's Ken wearing the outfit sans coat.  Those are some pants!  These pants were in my collection for a long time when I was a young collector and it took me a long time to identify them.  The print is so large, but trust me, guys really did wear pants like that.

Coat

Here it is with the coat, with my chopstick holding down the collar with the snapped thread.  (Oops!)

A really nice thing about this coat is that the sleeves are generously cut so that the sweater sleeves don't get all wrinkled and bunched-up when you put it on over top.

Play it Cool! as pictured in the Barbie booklets.

Next up, here's Rally Gear (#1429) from 1969 - 1970.

Rally Gear #1429

My outfit isn't in the best of shape.  The jacket is in pretty poor condition and the pants are stained.  The shirt seems to show up way more commonly than either the jacket or pants.

The jacket's collar is folded up, it should be folded down.  It's made out of a faux-leather-like material that doesn't hold up very well.  You can't really tell here, but it is double-breasted and has two rows of buttons.

The pants are a cotton-like fabric with a YKK zipper and hook-and-loop.  The shirt is a nice, crisp high-quality shirting-type fabric with three buttons.  It closes with hook-and-loops.

No socks were included.  The cowboy boots are squishy and should be marked JAPAN, though later boots are nearly identical and may be marked with other country names.  Uhm, I don't think mine are an actual pair since the color isn't the same.

Showing the tag and hole for talking string.

The shirt is the only tagged piece.  As you can see, it has a hole in the back of the neck to accommodate the talking string.  Remember, it's not a flaw, it's a clever design element!

Showing the slit for the talking string in the jacket.

Here's the slit in the back of the jacket for the talking string.  You might think this is a flaw, but it's supposed to be there.

It's a bit difficult to get the jacket over the sleeves of the shirt without wrinkling them something terrible, which is why I haven't put this on a doll for you. 

Booklet picture.

Here's Rally Gear in a Barbie booklet from the era.  See how the jacket is double-breasted with a fold-down collar.  The pockets are real, by the way.  Note the talking ring sticking out of the back.

I hope you enjoyed Part II!  I'll be back with more MOD KEN soon.

Click here for MOD KEN PART 1

Mod Ken - Part 1

Part 1

Barbie's had a super-cool MOD wardrobe. Francie's Mod style is beyond compare and well documented.  Both are well-loved by collectors all over the world. Mattel's amazing marketing campaign of Barbie and Francie, pushing their new MOD look and wardrobe, made sure every little girl knew about it.  Even little Chris, Tutti's friend, got into the Mod Act with her Fun-Timers Gift Set.

But what about Ken?  I've not seen many articles or even that many mentions of Ken in the mod years.

So I thought I would do a little series on some of Ken's mod outfits.   Maybe Ken couldn't go out in a loud mini-skirt like Barbie, or wear a see-through vinyl raincoat like Francie or Skipper.. but he could rock that Mod style in his own way.

First, let's start with a little bit of history.

Ken disappeared from the market for a while, when Barbie was busy going Mod and getting a serious makeover.  Where did he go?  What was he doing?  Why did he leave?  I guess it's irrelevant what Ken was up to, but let's just say he went from this:

To this:

Okay, so maybe Ken had been working out for a few years!

Anyway, "old Ken's" clothes were way too small for "new Ken."  Even his shoes were too small. He needed a whole new wardrobe, and he got it!

Breakfast At 7 #1428

Here's Breakfast at 7 (#1428), Ken's brand new 1969 pajamas set.  I've been longing for this set since I saw it at a flea market years ago when I was just a kid.  I didn't buy it, because the tag was missing, and back then there wasn't reliable identification of Ken clothes from this era, so I didn't know it was actually a Mattel product.  Someone else bought it and I was kicking myself ever since, but I've picked up several pieces of the outfit since then.

One thing that pictures don't show and doll book/website descriptions don't mention is the actual feel of the fabric.  The orange robe is kind of fuzzy.  The other items are all cotton feeling.. the slipper is some sort of faux leather fabric and is pretty stiff.  They have cardboard glued in-between, so don't get them wet.  Everything else is pretty washable, in my opinion.

My set isn't in the best shape, obviously, and also it's got some issues (and could use a press.)  I'm missing a slipper, the elastic on the shorts is all stretched out and the cord on the razor is missing. This razor was included with many Ken outfits from the early 1960s to around 1972.

Anyway I think it's a keen set, and I really love doll pajamas for some reason.

I think it's convenient to tell you where the outfits are tagged.  This outfit is tagged on the robe only.  Also can you see the furry texture of the robe?

It's also fun to note that the yellow and orange check fabric showed up in other outfits that were made from destashed fabric by Mattel...such as in PAK items that can be found in any number of fabrics, and in at least one European Tutti outfit.

If you are lucky enough to find an unknown outfit in this fabric.. you can be assured it is a Mattel product!

Here's Breakfast at 7 pictured in the 1969 booklet that came with outfits.

OH!  One last word of caution.  All Kens from the Mod-era have bendy legs.. so putting on pants can be a big pain.  You'll often find pants ripped for this reason.  If you are having trouble dressing Ken, some baby powder on the legs can help pull those pants up,

Anyway, that's all for now, I'll be sure to update some more about Mod Ken soon. :)

Night Ken!

Click here for MOD KEN PART 2