#Doll history

[marzipanandminutiae]

not sure who needs to hear this tonight but:

Barbie was not the first fashion doll

nor yet the first one marketed to children

dolls depicting adult women have been found in ancient children's tombs (see also: the Grottarossa Mummy Doll) and existed continuously throughout history (16th-century doll at the Royal Armoury Museum in Stockholm, 18th-century wooden dolls often called "Queen Anne style," French fashion dolls of the 1850s-90s, etc.)

(yes, late 18th and 19th century fashion dolls WERE usually children's toys; the idea that they existed only to demonstrate fashions for adults is no longer widely believed by most researchers)

Barbie was a game-changer in her era because she came out in a time when baby and child dolls had been dominating the market for about 70 years, she was smaller and less expensive than most of the fashion dolls that did still exist, and she was the first children's doll in a long time to have a decidedly adult-looking face as well as breasts and hips

[lantura]

Doll History: Catwalk Kitties

Tagline: “Sleek, chic, and très magnifique, these fabulous felines do everything with poise and style! So get ready to strike a pose and strut your stuff, because every trend starts on the catwalk…”

Company Lanard

Debuted: 2005-2006

Height: 11 inches/28 cm

History

Catwalk Kitties is a series of anthropomorphic feline fashion dolls who work as models at the Catwalk Kitties modeling agency in Paris, France. Unlike other toys, there was a focus on making sure there was as little advertising as possible-only appearing in a few toy catalogs. The series designer stated that the dolls were designed with the aim of being profitable to Lanard with minimal advertisement:

“With the doll market being incredibly competitive, the goal was to come up with a new idea for fashion dolls that would instantly appeal to girls and be profitable to Lanard without advertising.   I really felt that the only way to compete against Barbie and Bratz, who were both heavily advertised, was to have a new hybrid type of fashion doll.  The idea for the line came from "hands on" manipulations, drawing, painting and markering, on a naked fashion doll body with an enlarged head. I brought a couple of trend tear sheets and  a porcelain cat/ fashion/ collectible statue along with the rough model into a brainstorm  to pitch the idea.  I then worked with and creatively directed the talented group of artists & designers at Lanard to sketch and formalize all of the feline fashions and details that are uniquely the Catwalk Kitties.  Traditional fashion and hair grooming play patterns were used by wrapping the world of modeling around the dolls.”

According to the catwalk kitties wiki: While complete dolls are rare on the secondhand market, It is common to find unused factory stock heads on sites like Aliexpress and Ebay. Many collectors purchase these heads and put them on the bodies of other dolls such as Monster High and Barbie.

Characters:

Anika- a light gray cat with purple hair streaks.

Callie- a calico cat with orange and gray hair. 

Chase- a pink cat with magenta hair streaks. 

Jet- a black cat with white hair streaks. 

Minx- a red point Siamese cat with blonde hair.

Purrl- a white cat with magenta hair streaks.

Sienna- a tortoiseshell cat with auburn hair.

Sushi- a gray and white tabby with purple hair streaks.

Toffee- a yellow tabby with blonde hair.

Topaz- a light gray and white tabby with blue hair streaks. 

Doll Lines

Series 1

The first series of Catwalk Kitties dolls with a total of 6 dolls

Characters Included: Anika, Minx, Purrl, Sienna, Sushi, Toffee

Series 2

This line included four of the original six characters from Series 1(excludes Sushi and Minx). The dolls were identical, only with their hairstyles differing slightly. They also had fewer pieces and were stamped 2006 on the packaging.

Playsets

Four playsets were released as a part of the Catwalk Kitties line. Each playset came with a new character doll: Callie, Chase, Jet, and Topaz

Fashion Photographer - Jet

Makeup Artist - Topaz

Modeling Agent - Chase

Deluxe Paris Runway Playset - Callie

Petite Dolls

A line of 5.5” (14 cm) mini dolls were released, featuring the same characters as the mainline. A total of 10 mini dolls were released.  

Main Series

Contains: Chase, Purrl, Anika, and Toffee

Le Scooter Series

Contains: Anika and Toffee

Budget Dolls

A simplified version of the petite mainline

Contains: Anika, Chase, Purrl, and Toffee

Unreleased Dolls

Le Cafe Petite Playset (Sushi)

Le Boutique Petite Playset (Minx)

Le Coupe Petite Playset (Sienna)

Le Scooter Petite Playset (Topaz)

[nickysfacts]

The origins behind the girls with a passion for fashion!✨

💖💋💖

[alanaartdream]

The video that got me to go try to find and get my own kewpie doll

I love the mayonnaise it inspired as well

[stardrawsrmblogs]

To everyone on TikTok or Instagram who wants to talk about Barbie's history, please STOP saying, Barbie was based on a German Sex Doll.

If you all have no clue, please watch Darling Dollz's video to debunk these claims.

[desertdollranch]

Here's an interesting bit of doll history. This is Little Lost Baby Doll, a vintage doll with a very interesting way of showing her emotions....

[qwainte]

Everyone complaining about the so-called "anti-male" message of the Barbie movie when its real crime was telling people that Barbie was the first ever non-baby doll. Bild Lilli and the others deserve better.

[pinkaislepodcast]

Behind the Barbie -The Ruth Handler Story Part 2

This week, we continue to explore the life of Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, as we specifically discuss the process she went through in the creation of the doll. A process that included Japanese war criminals, unscrupulous business deals, and a shockingly horny psychologist. How was Barbie able to succeed in these strange and challenging circumstances? Listen and find out!

Listen to Part 1 Here

Listen on Itunes | Listen on Google Play | Listen on Spotify

Like what you heard? Be sure to rate us on your podcast platform of choice, and follow us at @pinkaislepodcast on Tumblr or  @PinkAislePod on Twitter. You can also reach out to us personally at pinkaislepod@gmail.com or support the show at patreon.com/henrykathman

Works Cited

“Barbie Doll Vintage Clothes Identified 1959.” Doll Reference, 2004, www.dollreference.com/barbie_clothes1959.html. Accessed 23 June 2023. Gerber, Robin. Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her. United States, HarperCollins, 2009. Kershaw, Sarah. “Ruth Handler, Whose Barbie Gave Dolls Curves, Dies at 85.” The New York Times, 29 Apr. 2002, www.nytimes.com/2002/04/29/arts/ruth-handler-whose-barbie-gave-dolls-curves-dies-at-85.html. Lepore, Jill. “When Barbie Went to War with Bratz.” The New Yorker, Condé Nast, Advance Publications, 15 Jan. 2018, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/22/when-barbie-went-to-war-with-bratz. Lindsey, Robert. “A Million‐Dollar Business from a Mastectomy.” The New York Times, 19 June 1977, www.nytimes.com/1977/06/19/archives/a-milliondollar-business-from-a-mastectomy.html. Accessed 23 June 2023. “MISS SAIGON" 1996 GERMANY CONVENTION BARBIE by ROBERT WEININGER | #497781847.” Worthpoint, WorthPoint Corporation , www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/miss-saigon-1996-germany-convention-497781847. Accessed 23 June 2023. Moore, Andrew. “Hedonism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 17 Oct. 2013, plato.stanford.edu/entries/hedonism/. Rainey, Clint. “A Horrific Environmental Disaster Is Happening in Ohio, and You May Not Even Have Heard about It.” Fast Company, Mansueto Ventures, LLC, 10 Feb. 2023, www.fastcompany.com/90848025/ohio-train-derailment-toxic-chemicals-pvc-spill-fire-disaster. Slater, Lee. Barbie Developer: Ruth Handler. United States, Abdo Publishing, 2016. Touvila, Alicia. “Bill-And-Hold Basis.” Investopedia, Dotdash Meredith , 18 Mar. 2023, www.investopedia.com/terms/b/buy_and_hold_basis.asp. Turner, Christopher. “The Hidden Persuader.” Cabinet, vol. 1, no. 44, 2011. Reading Design, www.readingdesign.org/hidden-persuader. Accessed 23 June 2023. “Vinyl Chloride - Cancer-Causing Substances - National Cancer Institute.” Www.cancer.gov, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 20 Mar. 2015, www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/vinyl-chloride#:~:text=Which%20cancers%20are%20associated%20with. Wong, Mia, and Robert Evans. Part One: The Slavery Loving Fascist Who Built Modern Japan. Coolzone Media, 21 Sept. 2021, www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-the-slavery-loving-fascist-87145628/, disc 1/3. Podcast.

[taperwolf]

Neat piece on the collaboration Saitama's Iwatsuki Ningyo Museum did with Suzuki Dolls and My Dress-Up Darling ahead of Hinamatsuri, going into the area's long history of doll production and modern developments.

One bit I found intriguing is the mention of "nisegao ningyo": dolls from the Edo period of popular Kabuki actors, with different outfits and changeable faces; apparently fans would buy these in shops near the theaters to collect and trade them.

[marzipanandminutiae]

"oh barbie was the first woman dol, it was only babies before her"

crepereia tryphaena didn't die for this kind of slander

you are so right

crepereia tryphaena (2nd or 3rd century CE) did not die at the age of 20 and get buried with her clearly beloved ivory lady doll for this

(this doll had fucking JEWELRY. and G*rwig says Barbie was the first fashion doll? give me a break)

honestly, most of the Firsts or Onlys people want to attribute to Barbie aren't real.

"but she was the first fashion doll meant for play, not just showing off clothing!"

there's actually less evidence of dolls meant only for displaying new fashions in history than dolls intended for children to play with AND to incidentally show their mothers and older sisters the latest styles. even so-called "milliners' models" of the late 18th-early 19th century are now believed to have been primarily toys

"but she was the first one with a [cis] woman's body!"

see above. the ancient Roman doll has breasts. she was not the last doll with breasts before Barbie- and lots of the intervening lady dolls weren't flat due to prudishness as many suppose, but because the same bodies were often used for male dolls. saves money, work, and time to just bang out a bunch of gender-neutral stuffed or carved bodies and let the clothes and hair determine the gender. Creatable World isn't new, either

the reson for Barbie's massive success wasn't that she was the First Fashion Doll in a sea of baby dolls. it's that she filled a very specific niche that was empty when she came along: a small, relatively affordable fashion doll that gave a 3-D paper doll experience. (Everyone likes to talk about Barbie's roots with the Bild Lilli doll; nobody brings up that Ruth Handler was equally inspired by her daughter's movie star paper dolls.)

lady dolls WERE scarce when Barbie came out, and she DID face pushback for her adult, somewhat sexy look. That's true. But she was not unique in history- she was just the right idea, in the right place, at the right time

[marzipanandminutiae]

so, let's talk about this. because it's not quite true

Barbie was not the only fashion doll on the market (much less the only one to ever exist, a worrying claim from the first Barbie movie trailer). Dolls like Madame Alexander's Cissy, Ideal's Miss Revlon, and Uneeda's Dollikin were all available before Barbie's 1959 release

While Mattel would love for you to believe that Barbie was the first, Cissy- released in 1955 -would like a word.

Ruth Handler might well have SAID that she "noticed the only dolls on the market were babies," but she and her husband ran an existing toy company; Barbie was not Mattel's first project. She 100% would have been aware of the other fashion dolls available. In short: if she said that, she was...almost certainly stretching the truth.

There was indeed pushback against fashion dolls from cultural commentators who thought little girls should only play with baby dolls, to encourage Maternal Instincts(TM)...but that dates at least back to the French fashion dolls of the 1860s-1890s, which were accused of making little girls "worldly" in magazines of the day. It wasn't a new idea developed especially in response to Barbie.

What set Barbie apart from other fashion dolls was twofold:

She was smaller and cheaper. Cissy retailed for like $13 in just her lingerie, which was quite pricey for a doll at the time (Barbie cost $3 originally), and stood 20" tall. Miss Revlon was similarly large and unwieldy for a child to carry around. As I understand it, Handler noticed her daughter's fondness for movie star paper dolls and sought to create a 3-dimensional version.

She had an adult face. As you can see above, Cissy may have had breasts, but she was also quite baby-faced. Barbie, with her arched brows and narrow cheeks, looked more like an adult woman in her facial proportions.

Still unusual! Just not unique

But I'm not really here to split hairs about which was the actual first 1950s fashion doll. My main thesis is this: Barbie was NOT originally meant to be empowering.

...or disempowering. Or anything but a fashion doll for which a businesswoman trying to make money felt there was a niche.

Yes, she had a career at the beginning- as a fashion model. Hardly a job many men were trying to keep women out of. The first non-modeling careers she had were ballerina, flight attendant, and registered nurse, female-dominated fields that nobody was challenging women's right to pursue.

(Original Barbie box. If you can't read the text, it says "Barbie(T.M.) Teen Age Fashion Model.")

That's not to say that Handler was completely without deeper thoughts on Barbie's place in the world. She was adamant that, while Barbie might model a bridal gown, she would never actually marry Ken to prevent her from being tied down as a wife and mother. And certainly later in her life, she got onboard with the "girls can do anything!" messaging of later Barbie generations.

But to say that Barbie was intended to be #empowering or make a statement from the beginning is just revisionist history that's bound to leave people disappointed. I mean, what's Twitter OP going to think when they discover that an early Barbie babysitting set came with a little book called "How to Lose Weight" that simply said "Don't eat!" on the back? Handler was still president of the company at the time- how does that fit with this starry-eyed vision of her creating an empowering doll for little girls?

Putting Barbie on a pedestal is going to lead to just as rude an awakening as casting her in the "worthless bimbo doll" role.

[lantura]

Doll History: Pinkie Cooper

Slogan: "Their world is their runway!" Creators: Carter Bryant and Anjanette Abell Company: Bridge Direct From: 2013–2014(Discontinued) Height: Approximately nine inches tall

History The doll line's first concepts first began back in 2009 with inspiration from Anjanette Abell’s cocker spaniel and dog of the same name, Pinkie Cooper. The dolls themselves were set apart from other doll lines by making the andromorphic dogs with humanoid bodies.

Abell and her brother Carter (the creator behind the original Bratz dolls) wanted to make a doll that “wasn't as edgy and was more sophisticated and glamorous.” The targeted age range they was hoping to appeal to was young children between the ages of 4 to 8.

They were released in the late Summer 2013. However, sales failed to match up to expectations and Bridge Direct soon discontinued the line.

Core Characters

There are three characters in the series:

Penelope "Pinkie" Cooper (Middle): Pinkie grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and moved to New York to study fashion. Her fashion sense is described as “Elegant and uptown with a touch of unexpected.” She runs her own blog called the "Pinkie Post" that is posted on the official website.

Pepper Parson (Right): Originally from New York City, she originally dreamed of designing theatrical costumes, before deciding to pursue her passion as a DJ. Her fashion sense is described as “off beat and eclectic with an ethnic touch.”

Ginger Jones (Left): Pinkie's other BFF who is from Los Angeles. Her fashion sense is described as “ultra-girly with dainty touches.”

Lines Released in the Series

Travel Collection- A line featuring Pinkie in fashions from various countries (London, Paris, and Beverly Hills)

Runway Dolls-There are two different variants, a release with hats/headbands and the original release without hats/headbands.(Introduces Ginger Jones and Pepper Parson)

Jet Set Pets- The dolls with their pets (Lil' Pinkie, Sprinkles, and Saltine)

Unreleased Lines

Cabana Cool

Deluxe Resort

Website The official website was launched along with the dolls in July 2013. It features character profiles, games, and crafts to make. It also features wallpapers, videos and webisodes, merchandise list, and a blog named Pinkie Post. The site is no longer supported. Web series:

A webseries was released with 7 episodes were made between in 2013 between July and December.

Pinky and Pepper Forever, the Graphic Novel TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE

This fan made graphic novel, based on the doll series main characters Pinkie Cooper and Pepper Parson, is considered to be more popular than the discontinued doll series itself.

Pinky & Pepper Forever was created by Eddy Atoms and was revealed at the 2018 Toronto Comic Arts Festival, before being widely released on May 30, 2018.

In summary, Pinkie Cooper is an art student who, after an argument with her girlfriend Pepper, commits suicide by submerging herself in resin in a bathtub for a fictional performance art piece called, “Final Piece”. Cooper gets sent to hell and Pepper decides to follow her. They become grim reapers with blow-up inflatable scythes. The comic was positively received by comic critics and was nominated for the Outstanding Artist award at the 2018 Ignatz Awards. To begin reading the comic:

[singingrainbows]

“The Complicated Legacy of Addy Walker“

I have zero interrest in, or experience with, American Girl dolls; but I still found this interresting.

Trigger Warnings for discussions of slavery and racism (though not overly graphic).

[randomclod]

Yes yes yessss. Also. The original Barbie was inspired by paper dolls, which themselves were highly stylized to best show off their outfits and the aesthetics of the time. She was also partly based on Bild-Lily, a collectible gag gift of a German doll based on a comic character. Barbie is unrealistic in her looks, of course, because she was never meant to be realistic. She's easy to dress, she's semi-articulated, she's a fashion doll. She's inhuman.

Barbie, as a doll and a character, was never about having real people try to emulate her. She was about encouraging imagination, ambition, kindness, and fashion sense. It's honestly sad that so many people never understood that there's a disconnect there; human beings aren't meant to look like Barbie, and she's not meant to look like a real human being. She's something to strive for, yes, but in about every way but looks. She's a collection of values and aesthetics in plastic humanoid form.

Barbie is an astronaut, Barbie is a girlfriend, Barbie is a supermodel, Barbie is an eldest sister, Barbie is a shade of pink. Above all else, Barbie is a doll.

And that's why I, too, am so excited for the Barbie movie.

I want everybody who’s calling Ken a Trophy Husband to know that he’s actually a Trophy Boyfriend, because when Ruth Handler invented Ken in the 1960s, she was adamant that he would never marry her and instead be her “handsome steady”, so that Barbie remained a figure of independence for the little girls and was never put in the position of housewife.

Her house is hers. She bought it and furnished it with money she made in her own job. In STEM, in politics, in healthcare, in fashion, in academy, in customer service. Her credit card is in her name (women in the US couldn’t have their own regardless of marital status until 1974). And it’s all pink and fashionable because femininity and badassness aren’t mutually exclusive. No matter who you are, you can be anything.

That’s why Barbie’s slogan is “you can be anything”. Teaching these ideals to little girls is why Barbie was created. Empowering women and empowering femininity is the original meaning of the Barbie doll. It’s not that you have to be all this to be a woman, but if you are all or some of this, you too are awesome.

And somehow pop culture deliberately changed that narrative. Sexualised, bimbofied, and villainised her, when she actually isn’t responsible for the impossible beauty standards — people are, she’s just a stylised, not-to-scale toy like most others.

Men are frothing because he’s just Ken and I guess they were expecting her to be just Barbie, but that’s exactly what Ken is. Canonically. A badass woman’s himbo boyfriend.

This movie has the potential to change the way we collectively see Barbie radically into what Ruth Handler’s intended, I’m so very excited

[pinkaislepodcast]

Introducing: Behind the Barbie - the Ruth Handler Story

Listen on Itunes | Listen on Google Play | Listen on Spotify

The Pink Aisle returns for the next three weeks in the leadup to the Margot Robbie Barbie film with Behind the Barbie - the Ruth Handler Story; a three-part mini-series which explores the life and legacy of Barbie's creator, Ruth Handler. Join Henry and Emma as they explore the challenges, changes, and mistakes Handler faced in her life and how this affects Barbie's past and future.

Like what you heard? Be sure to rate us on your podcast platform of choice, and follow us at @pinkaislepodcast on Tumblr or  @PinkAislePod on Twitter. You can also reach out to us personally at pinkaislepod@gmail.com