MUSINGS FROM THE BOWER 33

Ellowynne Wilde - fashion dolls created for adults

I spent Saturday at the V&A Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green, a great place to visit if you wish to rekindle memories from long ago. The museum was holding a special event,  a ‘Teenage Doll Study Day’, and I had been asked along to be one of the guest speakers. It’s surprising how many enthusiasts love teen dolls – especially Sindy – but many other kinds too. It was the first time I had used a power point presentation with slides, but thankfully, I managed to work it without clicking on the wrong picture. Also, I much preferred the hand-held microphones that were at the museum to the ones that clip on as that kind tend to go wrong on me – they either develop a penetrating whistle or fall off onto the floor!

 I’m sure that many people, whether interested in dolls or not, are aware that the usual type of teenage doll measures around 11-12 inches tall, and is somewhat curvy (or in the case of Barbie, exceedingly curvaceous). Fashion dolls have a long history: by the seventeenth century dolls or ‘mannequins’ were dressed in the latest styles and sent to fashionable ladies so that they could see the correct outfits they should wear at court or when attending grand events. Often, the dolls were shown to dressmakers who copied the outfits, ensuring their customers were up to date with fashion. Yet, centuries before, as far back as the fourteenth century, there are accounts of ‘dolls’ sent to Queens and noble ladies by French costumiers, but it is believed that these were life-sized dummies made to the measurements of the intended recipient.

By the mid-1800s, dolls were made from bisque china with padded kid bodies, to represent a woman’s figure, and were dressed in fashionable garments. These were intended both as gifts for women, but also as playthings for the children of rich parents.  They showed young ladies the correct garments to wear and also, it was hoped, taught them grow up gracefully – the aim being to resemble a neat and tidily-dressed doll. Often these dolls had impressive trousseaus, all beautifully sewn and embroidered.

1930s boudoir doll

The 1920s and 30s saw the influence of Hollywood, as ‘going to the pictures’ became a popular pastime, and resulted in a craze for glamour dolls intended to be show items rather than playthings. These dolls were known as Boudoir Dolls, because their main purpose was to lounge on the bed or couch. Boudoir dolls were often quite large, around 26 inches or so, and had very long legs. They were floppy, usually made from cloth, with faces moulded from silk, muslin or plaster. The glamorous boudoir dolls featured extravagant eye makeup with ultra-long lashes, red cupid’s bow lips, rouged cheeks and elaborate hairstyles. They were dressed in long showy gowns trimmed with ribbons and lace, and sometimes had a cigarette dangling from between their painted fingertips. It was also fashionable for women to carry these large dolls with them when they visited restaurants or met up with friends! I can’t help wondering what their husbands or boyfriends made of it.

1950s 20" teen

In the 1950s, manufacturers began making plastic ‘teenage dolls’ for children. These dolls were still quite large, usually between 16 - 24 inches, and they featured arched feet, which meant they could wear high-heeled shoes. The dolls were dressed in the fashions of the time, which, being the late fifties and early sixties, were surprisingly formal – before the advent of Beatlemania, Mary Quant and the whole ‘Swinging London’ scene, teenage girls tended to dress like their mothers.

However, in 1959, changes were afoot when Barbie, a small, 12” high, plastic doll, was issued in America. This doll, based on a German newspaper character, a ‘good time girl’, proved amazingly popular, although she made little impact in Britain being too sophisticated and hard-featured for British tastes. Then, in 1963, Pedigree introduced Sindy, a 12” high ‘girl next door type’ of doll, dressed in an outfit designed by top fashion 60s designers Tuffin and Foale. When the Pedigree reps approached the owners of toyshops, they were told that they were reluctant to stock such a small doll, being so used to the large fashion teens – but they soon changed their tune when they were inundated by girls who had seen the television advert featuring the small doll in her iconic red, white and blue T-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers. Almost overnight, the larger fashion dolls were discontinued, and many other smaller teens appeared, amongst them Tressy, Pippa, Action Girl, Daisy and Dusty.

Sindy

So, right up till the 1990s, the majority of teen fashion dolls were small – until a gentleman called Mel Odun created a large doll for adult collectors, called Gene. This was a turning point, a completely new idea. Gene was a 1940s’ style doll, with glamorous Hollywood costumes, and was not a plaything. Once more, other manufacturers followed suit, and today there are some stunning fashion dolls around intended for adult collectors, representing various decades from the more formal years of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, right through to today’s ‘anything goes’ fashion styles.

Gene - the turning point in fashion doll design.

Meanwhile, children still play with Barbie (she’s much more acceptable in Britain now, ever since her softer makeovers which began in the 1960s), as well as with Bratz, Liv, Moxie Girlz and all the other small, 12” teen fashion dolls, that fill the toystores. But now grownups can have their own, special doll and indulge in their love of fashion, with dolls made especially for them

Moxie Girlz and Bratz - children's current favourites

Delilah Noir - A doll designed for adults