Fashion doll
Encyclopedia
Doll
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...
s primarily designed to be dressed to reflect fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
trends. They are manufactured both as toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s for children to play with and as collectibles for adult collectors. The dolls are usually modeled after teen girls or adult women, though child, male, and even some non-human variants exist. Contemporary fashion dolls are typically made of vinyl
Polyvinyl chloride
Polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer. It is a vinyl polymer constructed of repeating vinyl groups having one hydrogen replaced by chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is the third most widely produced plastic, after polyethylene and polypropylene. PVC is widely used in...
or another plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
.
The earliest fashion dolls were French bisque doll
Bisque doll
A bisque doll or porcelain doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of bisque porcelain. Bisque dolls are characterized by their realistic, skin-like matte finish. They had their peak of popularity between 1860 and 1900 with French and German dolls. Bisque dolls are collectible, and antique...
s from the mid-19th century. Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
was released by the American toy-company Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
in 1959, and was followed by many similar vinyl fashion dolls intended as children's toys. The size of the Barbie, 11.5 inches (290 mm) set the standard often used by other manufacturers. But fashion dolls have been made in many different sizes varying from 10.5 inches (270 mm) to 24 inches (610 mm).
Costumer
Costume design
Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
s and seamstress
Sewing
Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era...
es use fashion dolls as a canvas for their work. Customizers repaint
Repaint
A repaint is a toy that was created entirely from a mold was previously available, however the colors of the plastic and/or the paint operations have been changed...
faces, reroot hair, or do other alterations to the dolls themselves. Many of these works are one-of-a-kind. These artists are usually not connected to the original manufacturers and sell their work to collectors.
History and types
Bisque doll
A bisque doll or porcelain doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of bisque porcelain. Bisque dolls are characterized by their realistic, skin-like matte finish. They had their peak of popularity between 1860 and 1900 with French and German dolls. Bisque dolls are collectible, and antique...
s from French companies were fashion dolls. These dominated the market between approximately 1860 and 1890. They were made to represent grown up women and intended for children of affluent families to play with and dress in contemporary fashions. These dolls came from companies like Jumeau, Bru, Gaultier, Rohmer, Simone and Huret, though their heads were often manufactured in Germany. In the Passage Choiseul area of Paris an industry grew around making clothing and accessories for the dolls. Child like bisque dolls appeared in the mid-19th century and overtook the market towards the end of the century.
Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
was launched by the American toy-company Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
in 1959, inspired by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Bild Lilli doll
Bild Lilli doll
The Bild Lilli Doll was a German fashion doll produced from 1950 to 1964, based on the comic-strip character Lilli. She is the predecessor of Barbie.-History:...
. Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for fifty years.
Many fashion doll lines have been inspired by Barbie, or launched as alternatives to Barbie. Tammy was created by the Ideal Toy Company
Ideal Toy Company
Ideal Toy Company was founded as Ideal Novelty and Toy Company in New York in 1907 by Morris and Rose Michtom after they had invented the Teddy bear in 1903. The company changed its name to Ideal Toy Company in 1938...
in 1962. Advertised as "The Doll You Love to Dress", Tammy was portrayed as a young American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
teenager, more "girl next door
Girl next door
The cultural and sexual stereotype of the girl next door or the All-American girl is invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming femininity, as opposed to the culture's other female stereotypes such as the tomboy, the valley girl, the femme fatale, girly girl, or the slut. The...
" than the cosmopolitan image of Barbie. Sindy
Sindy
Sindy is a British fashion doll created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys in 1963. A rival to Barbie, Sindy's wholesome look and range of fashions and accessories made it the best selling toy in the United Kingdom in 1968 and 1970...
was created by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Pedigree Dolls & Toys
Pedigree Dolls & Toys
Pedigree Dolls & Toys, also known as Pedigree Toys, is a toy company located in Exeter, England. Best known for launching the Sindy doll in 1963, Pedigree also produced the Tommy Gunn action figure from 1966 to 1968...
company in 1963 as a rival to Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
with a wholesome look. In the late 1960s and early 1970s Ideal Toy Company released several larger fashion dolls with hair with adjustable length. The Crissy Doll
Crissy Doll
Crissy is an American fashion doll with a feature to adjust the length of its hair. Crissy was created in the Ideal Toy Corporation's prototype department in 1968. She has auburn hair and is 18 inch tall...
and friends are 16" and Velvet Doll and friends are 18". British designer Mary Quant
Mary Quant
Mary Quant OBE FCSD is a British] fashion designer and British fashion icon, who was instrumental in the mod fashion movement. She was one of the designers who took credit for inventing the miniskirt and hot pants. Born in Blackheath, London, to Welsh parents, Quant brought fun and fantasy to...
's Daisy
Daisy (doll)
Daisy Doll was a famous 1970s doll designed by fashion designer Mary Quant.-Design:Mary Quant's Daisy doll was released in the UK in 1973. With the tag line 'Mary Quant makes Daisy the best dressed doll in the world'...
doll from 1973 had a large selection of contemporary 70s fashion designed by Quant.
Fulla
Fulla (doll)
Fulla is the name of an 11½ inch Barbie-like fashion doll marketed to children of Islamic and Middle-Eastern countries as an alternative to Barbie. Her concept evolved around 1999, and she hit stores in late 2003. Fulla was created by a UAE manufacturer from Dubai called NewBoy FZCO...
is marketed to children of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic and Middle-Eastern
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
countries as an alternative to Barbie. The concept of her evolved around 1999, and she hit stores in late 2003. Bratz
Bratz
Bratz is an American line of fashion dolls and merchandise manufactured by MGA Entertainment. Four original 10" dolls were released in 2001 - Cloe, Jade, Sasha and Yasmin...
were released in 2001, designed by Carter Bryant and manufactured by California toy company MGA Entertainment
MGA Entertainment
MGA Entertainment is a manufacturer of children's toys and entertainment products founded in 1979. Its products include the Bratz fashion doll line, Lalaloopsy, Kachooz!, Moxie Girlz, Moxie Teenz, Hugwallas, BFC, Ink. and Rescue Pets. MGAE also owns The Little Tikes Company...
. They are distinguished by large heads with skinny bodies and lush, glossy lips. Mattel introduced the My Scene
My Scene
My Scene is an American series of fashion dolls created by Mattel in 2002. Mattel's Barbie character is one of the dolls in the My Scene line, and the My Scene dolls have slim bodies similar to earlier Barbie dolls, but with larger heads...
line in 2002 and the Flavas
Flavas
Flavas is an American line of fashion dolls created by Mattel in 2003. They are multi-ethnic and have an urban, hip hop style with "bling-bling" jewellery and stick-on tattoos, described as "ghetto-fabulous" by Newsweek. They were designed to appeal to tweens and compete with the widely successful...
line in 2003 to rival Bratz.
Asian fashion doll
Asian fashion doll
Asian fashion dolls are fashion dolls that are made by Asian manufacturers or primarily targeted to an Asian market. Some have received international attention, such as with Momoko Doll, and in 2005 the first annual Dollstyle convention was held in Tokyo....
s are made by Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n manufacturers and primarily targeted to an Asian market. Blythe dolls with oversized heads and color changing eyes were originally made by American company Kenner
Kenner
Kenner Products was a toy company founded in 1947 by three brothers, Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, which is just north of Cincinnati's Union Terminal.Kenner introduced its...
but are now produced by Japanese company Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
. Another doll with an oversized head, Pullip
Pullip
Pullip is a collectible fashion doll created by Cheonsang Cheonha of South Korea in 2003. Pullip has an oversized head on a jointed plastic body, with eyes that can change positions and wink. Pullip was first marketed by Jun Planning of Japan, but since early 2009, it has been marketed by Groove of...
, was created in 2003 in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
.
In the mid-1990s dolls like Gene Marshall
Gene Marshall
Gene Marshall is a 15.5 inches tall collectible fashion doll inspired by Hollywood's Golden Age. It was created by the illustrator Mel Odom...
from Ashton-Drake, Tyler Wentworth
Tyler Wentworth
Tyler Wentworth is a 16" fashion doll created by Robert Tonner produced by the Tonner Doll Company, Inc. for adult collectors. Tyler Wentworth dolls are constructed of vinyl and hard plastic and have rooted hair or wigs...
from Tonner
Tonner Doll Company, Inc.
Tonner Doll Company, Inc. is a collectible doll design and distribution company located in Hurley, New York. Founded by Robert Tonner in 1991, Tonner Doll designs and markets original doll lines as well as a number of licensed dolls for movies such as Harry Potter, Spider-Man 3, and Twilight...
and Alexandra Fairchild Ford from Madame Alexander
Madame Alexander
Madame Alexander is a brand of American collectible dolls introduced in 1923.Madame Alexander is also the business name of Beatrice Alexander, who was born Bertha Alexander, later changed her name to Beatrice, married Philip Behrman and then started her doll business...
appeared. They are between 15.5 and 16 inches (395 and 410 mm,) larger than other common fashion dolls. These dolls are mostly marketed to adult collectors.