Small, strangely appealing, generic 1950s vinyl dolls were cheap place-holder toys when they were made. It's a shock to see the prices asked today. When I was 9 and had an allowance of a quarter a week, a little doll at Woolworth cost 35 cents. When
I had fifty cents in my hot little hand, I bought her. She figured prominently
in my games with Little Miss Revlon.
She was 5 1/2 inches,
vinyl, and painted in colors that lacked subtlety. No one spent much time designing her
or the package she came in. She had a standard 1950s dolly face with sparse red hair in a ponytail. She had molded shoes and
socks, and wore white shorts. Sometimes she came with a tiny bottle, sometimes
she was in a tiny washtub. The country
of her origin was usually Japan. The name on the header for the cellophane bag
she came in might be Soft Vinyl or Vinyl Doll.
When I began collecting dolls, I began seeing the dolly face everywhere,
in 4 inch to 5 1/2 inch sizes. When she showed up in 9-inch size with an adult
body, I bought.
My first 9 incher is the basic squishy soft vinyl . It became
a challenge. Could I make her more appealing by taking the time to provide her
with clothes that fit? If I spent time on the clothes, would that help? Using a
pattern mean meant for Ginny, I made her
a dress, pinching darts in the front. I
added rayon floss trim to the front bodice, made matching panties, and a button
closure in back. She acquired a coat
from a scaled down pattern for Little Miss Revlon,
from Sewing for Twentieth Century Dolls. Tucks gave the coat shape. Two of the
smaller dolls acquired dresses in the same fabric, and little blue coats. They are a 1950s dimestore family.
I
really have to admire the inventiveness of the doll factories. Toddler
body, generic doll head; toddler head, lady body. Sometimes they
resculpted the arms, sometimes chubby toddler arms went on a lady body,
making her look like a wrestler. Now I have lady versions in 7 1/2 to 9 inches. Some are soft vinyl with only a hint of color. Others are firmer,
with darker vinyl. One even has sleep eyes and more than enough hair to cover
her scalp. She was undoubtedly sold as a play alike for Little Miss Ginger,
because she can wear cha-cha heels.
The Little Miss Ginger play-alike on the right has freckles, red hair and
sleep eyes. Way too much time in a hot barn baked her vinyl to brown. 911 from Twin Pines helped restore her vinyl
to a lighter shade with a more pleasant
feel. She has rejected every dress
I've made for her. I resized patterns for Little Miss Revlon down to 9 inches, and someday I will sew for her. Right now she says she'd like toreador pants and a bolero. Yes, she is bossy. But cute.
