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Tropical Doll History

Malibu Barbie was the first Tropical Doll and she was sold from 1971 to 1977. Each year the doll would change a little bit. Sun Lovin' Malibu Barbie had tan lines in 1978. Barbie had many beach dolls friends in each incarnation. Her normal line of friends included PJ, Ken, Christie, and Skipper (her younger sister).  1975  Hawaiian Barbie and Deluxe Hawaiian Barbie, 1982 New Hawaiian  Barbie, 1986 a newer Hawaiian Barbie until Hawaiian Barbie was replaced by the Miko Doll.  There was Sun Gold Barbie 1983, Tropical Barbie 1985 with the longest hair ever (until Totally Hair Barbie) Tropical Barbie with a black flower print suit 1986 .To compete with Jem Mattel began to change focus away from Beach Dolls to Music Dolls. Barbie and the Rockers in 1986,  followed by Barbie and the Sensations in 1987 ( a Swing Dance Barbie), and in 1988 by Dance Club Barbie.  The Tropical Barbies kept coming: Island Fun 1987, Beach Blast 1988 (with the darkest tan of all), Wet and Wild 1989, Hawaiian Fun 1990, Sun Sensation 1991 with dark makeup. Dazzle Beach Shani and Beach Streaks Shani 1992 were an African American line of Beach Dolls. Shani had two friends Asha and Nichelle and her boyfriend was named Jamal and he was also a beach doll. Kira and Lea were Asian American Friends of Barbie that also had beach dolls.  Glitter Beach Barbie 1992 (This doll had a lighter tan then the doll before her, Sun Sensations), Beach Fun 1993, Sun Jewel Barbie 1993, Tropical Splash 1994 (scented doll), Sparkle Beach Barbie 1995, Hula Hair Barbie 1996 and  Splash 'n Color Barbie, Pearl Beach 1997, Florida Vacation Barbie 1998, Palm Beach Barbie 1999, Surf City Barbie 2000. In 2001 the new Palm Beach Barbie had a very light tan, the era of dark tan dolls was over.  But, Beach Barbies are still being made, such as Fun in the Sun Barbie and Surfs Up Barbie, but they have very light tans. Cali Girl Barbie and Ken Dolls came out in 2004 and Ken has real hair.

Other tropical dolls besides the Mattel line

Tuesday Taylor was a doll with a sun tanned version. Her skin would turn darker tan when put in the sun. Tuesday also had a boy friend named Eric who came in a sun tanned version with molded blond hair. Action Dusty Doll was made by Kenner. Dusty sporting a deep dark tan, white lips, and freckles her wrists rotated for playing tennis and golf.  Maxie had a tan, but hers was a lighter tan. Sun Tan Ellie is a Takara Fashion Doll.  Here is a Mini Mod Doll with a dark tan. Here is Brandon from the TV show 90210 in 1991 with a dark tan. There are so many examples, but when dark tanning fell out of fashion beach dolls tans became lighter.

 

Fashion Doll History and the History of Clone Dolls

In 1955 Bild Lilli was the inspiration for the Barbie Doll. She was designed for adults but children liked to play with her. Barbie debuted in March of 1959.  Clone dolls began to appear as Barbie became more and more popular.  Early Barbie dolls had holes in their shoes and feet for the stand.  Vintage Barbie clothes were well made and good quality, but this changed as time went on. Clone dolls are sometimes easy to spot, because they use a thinner lighter weight plastic.  Mattel makes clones or copies of any non Mattel doll that is popular, but Mattel copies are good quality, and not made of  thin plastic. One could say any non Mattel Fashion doll is a clone or a copy of Barbie, but if the doll is high quality you may want to call the doll a Barbie Competitor. Clones are usually made by obscure non company Sometimes clone dolls are called knock offs because they are quickly made. Normally clone dolls have lower quality more cheaply made clothes, as well as a lower price. Being more cheaply made clone dolls don't last as well as original dolls, and are more likely to break when played with. Barbie's appearance is ever changing, and the clones change along with Barbie If you look at clone doll from any given time her appearance will usually be somewhat close to the current look of Barbie. Parents may buy clones as an impulse purchase when they see them in variety stores.  But, now real Barbies can be found at any Walgreens, and clones have moved to more obscure lower priced stores like dollar stores, but still can be found in major drugstores. For more information on the History of Barbie, I suggest the book series Barbie Fashion by Sarah Sink Eames, there are many volumes and editions. The first volume shows the clothes and how they were so well made with little zippers and snaps before the invention of Velcro.

60's and 70's Dolls

Mod Era 60's fashion dolls had rooted eyelashes, but the Malibu Barbie of the 70's did not.  The early 60's Barbies had the highest level of quality for the clothes, but the dolls themselves did not hold up so well. There is discoloration of the plastic and ear greening from the metal earrings. If a doll had wire inside her frame to make her more bendable the wire begins to create green and blue discoloration on the plastic or even poke through the plastic. The first Barbie Doll, called number 1, wore a black and white stripped one piece swim suit, so the girl could then select the clothes to dress Barbie in. There was a bubble cut Barbie, and a Barbie with white lip stick. Fashion Queen Barbie was bald and came with three wigs. Color Magic Barbie had hair that changed color.  Early 60's Barbie was a traditional 50's housewife with outfits that had names like Suburban Shopper. But, during the counter culture movement Barbie wore head bands and fringe. Hippy Barbie  played folk guitar. Francie and Casey were introduced as younger and hipper dolls. Fashion Model Twiggy had a doll made in her likeness. Malibu Barbie was introduced as a sun tanned doll that lived the surfer lifestyle.

There were many doll companies making fashion dolls besides Mattel, but most of them went out of business or were acquired by other companies. Every doll that becomes popular generates clone dolls. Groovy Girl was a doll with a sideways glance and protruding plastic molded eyelash ridges who looked like Bild Lilli and early Barbie. Groovy Girl was a Peggy Ann Doll, and there were many Peggy Ann Clone Dolls made in Hong Kong during the 60's. Eegee made Barbie clones Babette and Annette in the early 60's. Princess Grace made a doll called Maddie Mod in 1967 with a beautiful wardrobe created by designers.  Maddie Mod changed from 1968  to 1973.  Prince Grace may have been bought to Mego Company. Mego also made some later Maddie Mod Dolls. Mego also made a lot of celebrity dolls. Maxi Mod and Mini Mod were made by Shillman company.  Hasbro created the World of Love Dolls for the Hippy Era. Petra was a German Fashion Doll made by Plasty. Uneeda made Suzette, Wendy, and other Barbie and Bild Lilli Clones. The Ideal Company made Misty, Mitzi  Tammy, Tuesday Taylor and Tiffany Taylor, and took over making Tressy a growing hair doll from American Character. Tuesday Taylor was Barbie size and Tiffany Taylor was much larger. Just to be clear Barbie size is 11.5 inches. Crissy was a 18 inch size doll with red hair that was made before Tiffany Taylor by Ideal.  Tiffany Taylor is more well known then the Crissy doll line. Most people have heard of Tiffany Taylor the larger doll due to the television commercial campaign in the 70's. Little known Tuesday Taylor was a Barbie sized doll. The African American version was called Taylor Jones. Tiffany and Tuesday had hair both blond and brunette hair.  Some Tuesday dolls did not have color change hair like the one in my collection. Tiffany Taylor ended production in 1976. Sears designed and sold their own line of Fashion Dolls. 

Character dolls and Celebrity dolls were popular and continue to be popular to this day. Every pop group that makes it big gets dolls made after them, and popular TV shoes and movies also generate character dolls. Character dolls tend to look odd because they are attempting to look like the characters who have distinctive facial features  A recommended guide book to Celebrity Dolls is The Collector's Guide to Celebrity Dolls by David Spurgeon. Mego was the largest maker of celebrity dolls.  Mego Cher Dolls have gone way up in value, while the Spice Girls Dolls have gone down in value. Princess Dianna has many dolls made in her likeness. Shirley Temple may have been the first celebrity doll. But, celebrity dolls did not really take off until the 60's. Some people make character dolls out of other dolls and sell them on eBay.

Tammy, Sindy, and Blythe Dolls

Tammy is an important doll because she had a large family of dolls associated with her, and her sideway glance made her look significantly different from Barbie.  Barbie had changed her eyes so she now looked straight ahead. I think it was determined that forward looking eyes and a smiling face were more friendly looking to children.  The Polly Play Pose Clone from the 60's has a sad face which was very rare. Some of the early clones had such high eyebrows that they looked surprised.  Tammy was slightly larger than Barbie and wore larger clothes. Tammy and Sindy Dolls were more demure then Barbie. Mothers liked this type of doll for their children, but most girls preferred Barbie. Tammy dolls are no longer made.

Sindy was a Barbie Competitor made the UK by Pedigree Dolls & Toys in 1963. Sindy paralleled Barbie in many ways. There was a walking Sindy, around the time when Mattel was making Walking Jamie in the Barbie line. In the 90's Sindy was bought by Hasbro and remodeled to look like Barbie. Mattel sued Hasbro over Neo Sindy and came to agreement. Sindy is not made any longer.  Fashion designer Mary Quant created a fashion doll called Daisy. Daisy looked a lot like Fleur. Fleur was made in Holland because Sindy was not in the Netherlands. Both Fleur and Daisy looked a lot like Sindy.  Simba Toys made a doll called Steffi Love who looks very much like Neo Sindy. This doll is a Sindy/Steffi Clone.

Kenner's Blythe was a doll was an extremely large head, and eyes that changed color when a string was pulled. Blythe was introduced in 1972, but she only lasted one year. There were only four original Blythe Dolls made. Blythe became popular again when Gina Garran published her book of Blythe photographs called This is Blythe. Ashton-Drake remade the original Blythe Dolls in 2005 and 2006 after getting the permission from Hasbro who bought Kenner in 1991.

Smaller size dolls

Eight Inch Dolls

From 1949 to 1972 Vogue produced Ginny Dolls in the USA. Ginny was an 8 inch doll, that had many outfits. In the beginning the outfit were made in USA by home sewers. Early Ginny Dolls were made of hard plastic and were strung. Virga Doll Company made Lollipops dolls to compete with Ginny. The Betsy McCall 8 inch doll made by American Character also competed with Ginny. Betsy McCall has also been made by Ideal, and Tonner. Betsy McCall comes in many sizes from big to tiny. Nancy Ann Dolls of San Francisco made the Ginny Size (8 inch) Muffie Doll, and also many Storybook Dolls, but went out of business in 1965. Madame Alexander Doll Company could also be considered competition for the Ginny Type Market, but many Madame Alexander dolls were much larger in size. In 1972 Vogue was bought by Tonka and production was moved to Hong Kong. In 1977 Lesney took over and made skinny "fashionable dolls" that no one liked including Sasson Jeans Ginny.  In 1995 Vogue bought back Ginny and continued to make Ginny Dolls that looked more like the vintage Ginny Dolls.  For the history of the Ginny Doll please see the book, The Collector's Encyclopedia of Vogue Dolls, by Judith Izen.

Five to Six Inch Dolls

Dawn Fashion dolls were a smaller size doll (half the size of Barbie) made by Topper Toys from 1969 to 1973. Dawn dolls were just six inches tall, and were popular and so generated many clones, such as Mattel's Rock Flower Dolls. Rock Flower Dolls had a  psychedelic wardrobe and spun around a LP record for your record player. Palitoy made a Dawn sized doll in the UK called Pippa. Lil' Disco Doll and the Lil' Miss Fashion were made by Fun World. Tina Mod was another dawn clone. Mego created jointed Dinah-Mite which was a smaller sized doll, but these dolls were jointed for action play instead of just fashion posing. Checkerboard Toys created reproductions of Dawn from 2001 to 2003.

Four Inches and under dolls

Liddle Kiddles were tiny sized dolls, only 2 or 3 inches high, made by Mattel beginning in 1966. Some Liddle Kiddles are so small they can be worn inside lockets or even rings. Some Kiddle Dolls were scented and came in a plastic perfume bottle. Liddle Kiddles dolls also produced a large number of clones. Mattel's Kelly Dolls can be considered to be an imitation of Liddle Kiddles, but they are a bit larger. Uneeda's Pee Wee Dolls are similar to Kiddles and began to be made in 1965 and continued through the 80s and 90s, see example Pee Wee Baby from 1998. Petal People also made by Uneeda were small dolls based on flowers, that came inside a flower pots. Many Kiddles were also flower based or flavor based. Some Kiddles came in plastic soda bottles or ice cream cones.  Hasbro made Dolly Darlings, Flowerkins and Storykins. Some of the Kiddles were also based on storybook tales. The smallest Kiddles were too small to dress up, and their clothes are non removable. Remco made dolls that fit inside a pursue called Pocket Book Dolls, and tiny finger puppet dolls some with colored hair called Finger Ding

Fashion Dolls in the 80's and 90's 

80's Barbies were colorful reflecting 80's fashions treads. One of the earliest Barbies from the 80's is Winking Western Barbie. She had blue eyes that winked, and she looked like a 70's Barbie.  As the 80's progressed Super Star Barbie was the most popular Barbie with a big hair, big earrings, and a big pink gown. There are several versions of Super Star Barbie including a Wal-Mart Exclusive. Barbie and the Rocker were important 80's dolls with garish makeup and huge grey earrings that made her look like Frankenstein's Monster.  In the 90's when fashion became more minimalism so did Barbie. Barbie had smaller, flatter hair styles, toned down make up, and simpler outfits. The late 80's and early 90's saw Barbie dolls with bigger eyes  influenced by anime style, but later in the 90's there was a return to smaller eyes. In the late 80's Barbie hair became finer and lighter as a reaction to the so called greasy hair Barbies of the 70's. This hair becomes instantly tangled and damaged when touched, combed or played with.  Barbie's body was redesigned in 1997 from the classic hour glass figure to a modern navel baring version that was thinner. Her head looked bigger, but maybe this is just because her body was thinner. The New Barbie Body mimicked the looks of young Hollywood starlets, almost anorexic.

 Barbie clothes also became cheaper and cheaper as time went on. Early Barbie clothes in the 60's were very high quality with tiny zipper and snaps. The closures on Barbie's clothes changed to Velcro to make it easier for children to dress Barbie. Unfortunately,  Velcro sticks to other doll clothes and causes wearing and snagging.

In 1980s Barbie began to appear as the International Dolls of the World Series. Ginny had already had the Dolls from Faraway Lands Series much earlier. These dolls were dressed in costumes of the countries of the world. Many dolls companies had been making dolls of world for some time because Mattel began to do it with Barbie. The International Barbie Doll Series was popular with both adults and children. 

Fashion Designers made clothes for Barbie and designed Barbie Dolls most notably Bob Mackie. Some Barbie Dolls were only sold in certain department stores and these dolls were store exclusive dolls. Sears and Toys R US had many exclusive Barbie Dolls. Barbie became more diverse in the 80's and 90's  She branched out into more careers and so many dolls were made by Mattel no one has ever written a definitive guide book. No one can keep track of the many Barbie dolls that came out during this Age of Excess. Due to the low wages paid in foreign countries and outsourcing Barbies were cheaper then ever, but still  high quality dolls Fewer small toy companies were making clones as most had gone out of business or had been absorbed by large toy companies

In the early 90's people were impressed by how much the value of early Barbie Dolls had gone up in value. People began to buy boxed Barbie Dolls to save for 20 years and sell at a great profit. However, this never came about because too many people saved boxed Barbies causing a glut on the market, and Barbie clothes were not the same high quality that they had been in the early 60's. Instead of collecting children's Barbies adult collectors preferred collectors series dolls. These dolls were higher quality, more expensive, and only made to be displayed,  not played with by children.

Hasbro Dolls

Darci was a 70's precursor to an 80's doll collection called Jem  made by Hasbro. A cartoon series Jem and the Holograms was created to support the Jem line of dolls. Jem used the body mold from Darci.  Jem only lasted from 1985 to 19888. The dolls were sold at Toys R U and other toy stores. Jem failed to sell well, because the price was higher then Barbie and the dolls were bigger then Barbie, and could not wear her clothes or shoes. Parents objected to buying dolls that needed a whole new wardrobe and disapproved of the "bad example for children" set by the Misfits Dolls. The Misfits Dolls were part of the Jem line of dolls that belonged to a rival band of bad girls. Jem and the Holograms were good girls, but many children preferred the Misfits as they were attractive and also had music videos. Jem's feet where much bigger then Barbie in spite of her only being one inch taller, and Jem and Barbie could not share shoes. The biggest mistake children point out about Jem Dolls is the earrings worn by the character that lite up on the doll with the help of tiny batteries were circles and not stars. The Jem/Jerrica character dolls had both blond and pink hair like Tuesday Taylor, but the idea did not work. It would have been better to create a separate doll with blond hair for the Jerrica character and make the Jem Doll with pink hair. Jem Dolls have arms and legs made of soft vinyl which is subject to damage and staining, but the torso are made of hard plastic which is fairly durable. Dolls clothes can stain or damage the vinyl parts of  a Jem doll.  When the Jem series was cancelled the Dolls that had been selling for $20 dolls each at Toys R Us were reduced to $7.99. A third series of Jem dolls was planned and proto-type  Stingers Dolls (who were third season characters) were created and never produced.  Jem was replaced by Maxie Dolls. Maxie was a teenaged southern California Beach going doll.  If Jem failed because she was not more like Barbie, then why did Maxie fail?  I think Maxie was not cute enough. Mattel made a Maxie clone called Jazzie. Jazzie disappeared as soon as Maxie failed.  Hasbro seems to have given up on the fashion doll market. The only dolls Hasbro currently makes are The Littlest Pet Shop Blythe and Strawberry Shortcake and these are not fashion dolls, but small children's dolls.

Sailor Moon Dolls 

 In 1995 the anime show Sailor Moon lead to fashion dolls made for the USA market that were Barbie sized, and dolls that were the smaller for the Japanese Market made by Bandia Toys. The Sailor Moon dolls (Suki dolls) made for the Korean Market featured rounder eyes and more plump faces. I don't know why they are called Suki. Here are is a photo of Suki Korean Sailor Moon Dolls. Sailor Moon Dolls have unattractive holes in their forehead for the positioning of the visor head band.  Irwin Toy Company made Barbie sized Sailor Moon Dolls for the Canadian Market. They also made 6 inch Sailor Moon Dolls, before going out of business in 2001. Irwin also made  Princess Serenity Dolls and a large number of villain dolls from the series that was not made by other companies. This was very creativity of them, but the Irwin dolls were unattractive and some of  them lacked noses. After Irwin went out of business eBay was flooded with Irwin Sailor Moon Dolls that were selling for as low as 99 cents. Igel made German Sailor Moon Dolls,  and Giochi Preziosi made them for Italy. Sailor Moon was dubbed into German and Italian.

Many lines of dolls were created along the theme of flowers, fruits, fragrances, colors, or flavors. The goal for the consumer was to collect all the dolls in the line to have a complete set. The company would sell more dolls if each buyer needed to have all dolls to complete the collection. The Sailor Moon Dolls were no exception, but they were themed around the planets. As new Sailor Girls were introduced on the TV show, they took the names of the planets in the solar system. Sailor Moon was not created to sell dolls. The series came from a popular comic book in Japan. The first year the series aired in Japan 1992, only one Sailor Moon Doll was issued.. When it sold well, many more Sailor Moon Dolls were produced including one of each character based on the planet for each season of  the show. The show lasted five seasons. But, the American Sailor Moon Dolls did not sell well, maybe because they had no noses, and parents are children found them unattractive. So, only a few sets of them were produced. Some of them even had the wrong colors on their costumes. Some Bandai USA Sailor Moons have purple skirts instead of blue. American Mercury had black hair with blue streaks instead of blue, and often Asian Mars had brown hair instead of black. USA Mars had red boots instead of red heels, maybe they thought the heels were too sexy for the US market? However, Barbie always had heels. Furthermore the USA boots did not even fit the dolls. Overall the Bandai Sailor Moon Dolls were good quality, in spite of the lack of product fact checking. Sailor Moon's hair was far superior to the hair Mattel was using to make Barbie Dolls. The USA lost the rights to license Sailor Moon the anime in America, and now the series is out of print and very hard to find on DVD.

Takara Jenny Dolls

Takara Toy Company in Japan makes Jenny and Lucca Dolls. These dolls are sold instead of Barbie in Japan. Jenny has a large number of friends all with biographies and even blood types. The Marine Doll is actually Jenny herself with a different name. Jenny dresses conservatively without the skimpy things that parents would object to their daughters wearing. Jenny is a nice girl, and a good role model for children. Jenny began in 1982, but she still called Takara Barbie until 1986 when Takara ended their agreement with Mattel to use the Barbie name. Jenny's boyfriend is named Jeff. Takara made many Jenny and friends dolls. Jenny actually has more friends then Barbie. Lucca has quite a few friends as well, but not as many as Jenny. Takara dolls are high quality dolls with higher quality clothes then Mattel Dolls, but are also more expensive. Takara Jenny and Lucca dolls are popular with adult collectors Not many children in the US play with Jenny due to the rate of the dollar vs. the yen.  For information on Japanese Barbie dolls before Jenny see the book, Barbie in Japan, by Keiko Kimura Shibano.

 Fashion Dolls Today

Mattel produces many dolls for adult collectors such as reproductions of the childhood dolls of adults and the Silkstone Doll line. Tonner makes high quality fashion dolls for adult collectors. Ashton-Drake makes the Gene Doll. There are other smaller companies make specialized dolls for adult collectors that can be found at dolls shows or online Vampire and Gothic Style dolls have become popular, and not all dolls are about beauty or cuteness. Some dolls are made to be striking instead of pretty.

 A new doll was created for children called Bratz. Bratz dolls have bigger heads then Barbie and larger lips then Barbie. Mattel created My Scene Dolls with bigger heads and large lips to compete with Bratz.

Volks began to make ball jointed dolls with pale white skin and big eyes for the Japanese Market. More Japanese companies followed with similar dolls. These dolls are made of resin instead of plastic and are very expensive. These dolls are not really fashion dolls made to be dressed up, but lifestyle dolls that go everywhere with their owners.

Takara of Japan began to produce a  remake of the Blythe doll called Neo Blythe in 2001 that continues to be popular. There are three different sizes of Blythe. Petite is the smallest, and then there is middle size and full size. Only full size Blythe dolls have color changing eyes. Neo Blythe comes in many exciting hair colors pink, blue, red, green, yellow and orange as well as the basic blond and brunette Some modern Blythe have been sold as Toys R Us exclusives. Pullip dolls are similar to Takara Blythe Dolls but made and sold in Korea They have large heads and changeable eyes, but they do look different form Blythe. I don't have any of them to show.  Mimi World is a company in South Korea that makes fashion dolls that are similar to Jenny called Mimi Dolls, and a Blythe like doll called Little Mimi. Most anime related dolls are action figures instead of dolls with molded hair and clothes.  See example: Sailor Moon Action Figure Star Healer .

 

 

Every fashion doll is closely related to other fashions dolls. Just like real fashion, fashion dolls run in trends. A new trend appears, becomes popular, clones are made and then the trend dies down to be replaced by a newer tread. Few dolls are truly unique, expect for Hasbro's Leggy Doll with very long legs, and Ideal's Flatsy, a totally flat doll, but if these dolls had been popular then would have been clones made. Here is an example of Modern Clone Doll.  As you can see she looks much like Barbie's current appearance, but her hair is thinner and her plastic is lighter and thinner, so she won't last as long. A high end vinyl fashion is doll is Rini made by Horseman. The quality of the plastic is good enough to hopefully last a life time, but after that no one knows. Proper storage is the key to prolonging the life of fashion dolls.

Doll Preservation and Storage

How long will plastic fashion dolls last? Vinyl is a softer form of plastic. Vinyl is sometimes used for doll heads and harder plastic for the bodies. Plastic slowly decays due to exposure to light and the elements. This plastic Maddie Mod Doll has been damaged. The color of the head has turned white. Kenner's Dusty Action Doll is in the process of melting. Certain Mattel Dolls have devolved white or orange spots on their legs. Mattel dolls with spots on their legs include the Jewel Secrets Line, Teen Fun Workout Skipper, and Island Fun Barbie. More problems are sure to show up with all plastic dolls as time goes by. This is why many doll collectors would rather collect porcelain dolls. Mattel did release some porcelain dolls, but now they make their collectors dolls out of Silkstone. Silkstone is made of a hard vinyl. Silkstone is a material that is made only by Mattel. Silkstone dolls look pale like porcelain doll. If you want a long lasting doll to give to your grandchildren porcelain is what you should collect. If you want something fun for the here and now plastic or Silkstone is a good choice. Plastic won't crack if dropped, and Silkstone dolls are reasonable priced, so it is possible to assembly a fairly good sized collection on a limited budget.

The best way to store your dolls is not in the cardboard box they came in. Many people leave the doll in the box because it increases the resale value, but this is not what is best for the preservation of the doll. It is most important that you keep your dolls in a dry area with low humidity at a constant room temperature away from dust and mold. Humidity in homes causes the development of mold. Mold can permeate the vinyl and cause green or glue mark to appear on the dolls. These marks are non removal because the mold is growing inside the body of the doll.  Don't wrap dolls in newspaper, the ink will stain the dolls. Cheap metal earrings will lead to a discoloration known as green ear. Plastic earring are usually safe. Do not spend a lot of time combing or styling your dolls hair, because this leads to frizzy damaged hair. Avoid playing and handling your dolls more then necessary for the preservation. Even daylight can be degrading to the plastic and the face paint. Some doll clothes made of cheap materials may leave marks on the plastic or vinyl of the dolls. It is best to store your dolls in archival tissue paper in plastic boxes away from the elements including daylight to keep the colors of the hair and faces fresh. Store your dolls without shoes, because dolls stored in shoes can ruin the feet by becoming molded to the feet or by staining the feet. Modern dolls now come with the shoes and accessories in little plastic bags instead of on the feet of the doll. If you get a dirty, dusty doll on eBay, clean the doll completely and let the hair air dry for a few days then pack the doll away in acid free tissue paper without the clothes. Dirt and dust increase the rate of disintegration. All plastic doll are in a state of decomposing, but plastic decomposes very slowly. Porcelain dolls are much more long lasting, but are subject to cracking. There are safe plastic doll cleaners that one can find online.  Some doll clothes can cause discoloration to the plastic or even actually damage in terms of puckering of the surface texture.  Rather then just collecting dolls, artistic minded doll enthusiasts remakes dolls redoing the clothes, hair and make up. Damaged dolls can also be restored to displayable condition by the process of customization. Blythe and BJD dolls are often customized because they have changeable eyes and hair. However, customized dolls and one of a kind dolls (OOAK) do not bring as much money on eBay as original dolls in good condition with all the box and all the accessories.

Fashion Doll Shoes

Barbie's foot is small and arched for heels. This is a positive because flat footed dolls are hard to fit in shoes. Ken has problems with wearing boots. Some dolls had larger feet then Barbie such as Jem or the Happy to Be Me Doll. Many clones have smaller feet then Barbie. Often clone feet are too small for Barbie Shoes, and need special clone shoes. Dolls with non-standard feet will have a problem finding shoes. When a non-standard foot size doll stops production, no more shoes will be made for that doll. If the doll remains popular reproduction shoes may be made. Some people complain Barbie's foot is too small and unrealistic. Barbie has non-realistic proportions to make her look more like a fashion model. Fashion is unrealistic. In Fashion Illustrations the legs of the drawing make up half of the figure size. Slim models better show off the clothing without unsightly bulges. So, why should her foot be realistic when the rest of her is not?

The Future of Fashion Dolls

We are definitely moving to a world where collectors dolls for adults will take center stage for new Fashion Dolls.  Adults won't collect children's dolls anymore, because they will be so cheaply made.  Children will play less with dolls because of computer games and other activities, such as dressing up virtual fashion figures. Children have already stop playing with dolls now by age six. Adult collectors dolls will become more expensive.

San Francisco Doll Clubs

I was a member of a San Francisco Barbie Doll Club, that is now defunct. We even had San Francisco Barbie Club Doll Sweatshirts for Barbie sized dolls. This was in the 90's when everyone was impressed by the resale value of Vintage Barbie Dolls. I would like to start a doll club in San Francisco that would include other dolls and not just Barbie. There are a few clubs for dolls in San Francisco Bay Area. You can find a Bay Area Club for Blythe Dolls on Meet up com, and there is website called Den of Angels that posts notices BJD clubs and get-togethers.

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