#totsy younger sisters

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Hey, middle sister! Why are you 8.75" in a 10" world?

This cheerful girl is from Creata's obscure 1991 Today's Girls Sisters line, the final extension of its successful 6.5" Today's Girls line that was launched in 1987. As @dollsahoy taught me in replies to this post, Today's Girls was not Creata's first use of the 6.5" body. It first appears in the Flower Princess Little Sisters and Her Forest Friends line in 1985.

Here's our 1991 girl with an example of the 6'5" line: Today's Girls Pony Club "Hilary."

The Flower Princess Little SIsters were not assigned names in the box. Today's Girls were: the initial trio was Katie (white-blonde or yellow-blonde), Kelly (brunette), and Pepper (redhead). These characters most persist as the core Today's Girls, though there are releases with different names, swapped names, and no names. In 1988, Creata did its first Today's Girls brand extension, with 11.5" Candy (yellow-blonde), Cookie (brunette), and Trish (redhead). These are characterized as, respectively, the older sisters of Katie, Kelly, and Pepper. (I've spent a lot of time squinting at photos of boxes on eBay, and this is also broadly confirmed by the 1990 Creata/Tandem catalog that Jillybean generously shared on Flickr.)

This 1991 girl was the last Today's Girl extension. Box text indicates these middle-school sisters are the middle sisters to the 6.5" and 11.5" Today's Girls. I have only seen in-box a School Dance line, with the girls in pouffy dresses. (The doll arrived from eBay in some kind of fairy dress that was too big for her.) Box text does not include names! Since this girl must be sister to Candy (presumably legally named Candice) and Katie (presumably Katherine), my pick from the roster of most popular baby names is Kimberly. This is not canon.

Kimberly comes with a lot of mysteries, starting with why is she a 9-inch doll, when the standard had shifted to 10" with Skipper's age-up in 1988?

The early 1990s had a lot going on with Skipper-sized dolls. This is going to take a lot of words and involved unclothed dolls, so let's do it after the jump.

The girls in the photo above are:

Kristy from the second (1992) iteration of Kenner's Baby Sitters Club (detailed here), height 9.75" without hair. (I may have been erroneously referring to these as 10.25" for a while; but I took out a tape measure today.)

Piper (1992), the Kid Kore equivalent of Skipper, height 10". Back in 1990, Kid Kore had launched itself with 6.5" Girls Club, a blatant rip-off of Today's Girls. The box art is in the same style, and the bodies are near-identical. They quickly added Kelly, their Barbie-equivalent (later Kelsey). Then in 1992, Mattel did a Barbie "sisters" multi-doll gift box (Barbie, Skipper, and relatively new 8" Stacie). Kid Kore was right there with its own alternatives (Kelly/Kelsey, brand new Piper, Katie who put the GC head on an 8" body, and optional Carla, the original GC 6'5" doll).

Kimberly, our Creata middle-school sister (1991) nominally 9".

Lacey (1994 stamp, so probably 1995), the Totsy entry in this race.

If we line them up unclothed, with their waists roughly level, in order of date stamp, we get this:

Kimberly is not just shorter: she is on a younger body with the older-style slanted twist-and-turn waist. Now, laid out this way, this looks logical -- we'd have 1991/2 as the transition between 9-inch dolls and 10-inch dolls.

This is reckoning without the Ur-younger-sister, Skipper.

1963-1978: Skipper is a roughly 9" doll on a flat-chested body, intended to 8-9 years old.

1975: Novelty release Growing Up Skipper has Skipper hitting puberty, which involves growing a little taller and gaining small bosoms. This body type does not wash the original one out of the market.

1978: Skipper settles into being a tween, with new Superteen body (a little taller than the original, small bosom similar to Growing Up Skipper) and a new head mold. This body looks like the Creata body. BUT -- it has a straight waist line, not a slant.

1984: Skipper gets the Hot Stuff head mold, stays on the Superteen body.

1988: Skipper's body gets taller and bustier, along with switching to the Big Eye head mold. This is the body type used by Baby Sitters Club, Kid Kore, and Totsy. (As seen in the body comparison here.) The most similar head mold among my girls is Baby Sitters Club, which is faced-up with smaller eyes.

I'd toyed with the idea of buying a Superteen-body Skipper for comparison, but I'm not crazy about the face-ups or quality of that era. Fashiondollz Info and Katti's Dolls both exist, plus you can join me in spending hours perusing eBay, scrutinizing Skipper's bust. I'm confident that my 1991 doll is "inspired by" a Skipper body type that stopped being used 2-3 years earlier. Boxes for the Today's Girls Sisters line even promise she can share clothes with other 9" dolls... which aren't much of a thing by 1991.

I wonder if Creata had intended to do a Skipper-equivalent much earlier (possibly as a Flower Princess line extension), didn't get around to it for some reason, and then used the intended (now outdated) body with a new head mold in 1991.

Speaking of head molds...

This is ahead of Skipper, who switches to a head mold with a similar smile circa 1995. The Superteen and Hot Stuff head molds have smiles, but not like this. Big Eye has a similar face shape but is closed-mouth.

I thought I'd taken a pic with examples of knee motion, but apparently not, so you'll have to take my work for it that:

Totsy has rubbery free-bending legs.

Creata has a small click range.

Kid Kore has a larger click range.

The whole Skipper-equivalent issue faded to irrelevance in the late 1990s. Skipper aged to 16 in 1997, gaining a taller body that nobody seems to have copied. From a low-cost analogue brand's perspective, what would have been the point?

As early as 1992, the key battleground among little sister rivalries had switched to a category of 8" dolls that replaced Skipper as the "elementary school sister": Mattel's Stacie, Kid Kore's Katie, and later Totsy's Candee. Come the middle of the decade, it centered on the 4.5" category: Mattel's Kelly, Kid Kore's Jodi, and (in Europe) Simba's Evi Love.

Here the girls with their 6" Creata and Kid Kore siblings.

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Kerri has arrived! Totsy’s younger sister dolls are generally much rarer than Kid Kore’s. Kerri is the Kelly clone.

More on her later, but the good news is that OG Kelly clothes fit her!

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6. Isabel and other!Brook hit the road

Two of my five Kid Kore Katies are hitting the road because the group was feeling too large. Today's @look-back-month-challenge prompt is "Any you're thinking of getting rid of?", which coalesced my vague prickles of dissatisfaction.

Katie -- usually known as Kid Kore's Stacie clone -- was huge in the 1990s. These gals are all over eBay, to the point that I suspect she was at least as big as Stacie.

The Katie head mold (stamped 1990) was first used on a smaller 6.5" Girls Club doll, later re-staged as younger sister Carla, who used essentially the Creata Today's Girls body. That 1990 date makes Katie's head mold older than Stacie's! Unlike Stacie, who is canonically platinum blond (with redheaded friend Whitney and Black friend Janet), Katie came in endless hair colors. As well as appearing in the big "sisters" set that was all the rage circa 1992 (Mattel did one for Barbie; Totsy did one; Kid Kore did several variants), there was an entire Katie's World line, where Katie enjoyed her own civilization.

The Dancing Brook (Native American Katie) was my first Katie! While I probably put more thought into buying her than into any Katie since, I like my longer-braid Dancing Brook (who came with a clothing lot) better.

The golden-haired Katie, I bought for her unusual hair color, in the same lot where I got the brown-haired Katie who later became Ben (featured here). This Katie's hair wasn't falling out, so I set it with perm rollers and boil-washed it into curls.

I think of myself as liking this doll, and then I never want to fit her into family groups or do anything with her. It finally dawned on me that I "like" her in the way I "liked" some of Mom's 1950s dolls that she insisted were important (Cisette, Vogue Jill, Muffy). They're aesthetic, and I could dress them up fancy, but I don't really want to engage them. So she's going in the eBay drawer on her way to a more appreciative home. Reducing the Katie kount by two also leaves more outfits for the survivors.

This leaves me with three Katies: the Dancing Brook I'm keeping (Brook), the Romany Katie (Rosa), and my trans boy Katie (Ben).

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Family portrait: February 2024

The crowd has changed a great deal since the last family portrait in July 2023, but this is within a few dolls of the long-term permanent size of what this collection will be.

Who are these tacky people?

Back row, L to R.

Kid Kore Kelsey with titian hair.

Kid Kore "Legends of Ancient Lands" blond gladiator, now named Sylvester, with the widest hips ever.

Manbun Ken, a.k.a. Kenzo.

Kid Kore "Chief White Eagle" in his Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt, called Brodie by most friends outside his tribe.

Kid Kore Kelsey with inset eyes, now named Kenzie.

Remco Babysitter's Club Kristy, younger sister of Kenzie.

Center row, L to R.

Dollar Tree knee-jointed Black fashion doll with replacement Monique wig, named Delilah.

Dollar Tree knee-jointed Black fashion with darker skin, straight ponytail, and excellent shades, now named Joy. Second daughter of Delilah.

Elspeth, consisting of a white-label clone head, an AliExpress jointed pregnancy body, and a Monique wig. Wife of Kenzo.

Fashionista Teresa from 2012. Half-sister of Kenzo.

Totsy Teen Fun Lacy from 1990s. Sister of Sylvester.

Cool Sitter Teen Skipper from 1998, girlfriend of Lacey.

Kid Kore Baby Allison. Daughter of Sylvester, niece of Lacey.

Creata Today's Girl Hilary. Younger sister of both Kenzie and Kristy. Grateful to have a name that doesn't start with K.

Front row, L to R.

Wulf, Kenzo's dog. A Target Xmas ornament some time between 2018 and 2021.

Ben, a Kid Kore Katie who's socially transitioned to being a guy.

Tigger, Sylvester's tiger.

Evi Love, youngest daughter of Delilah.

Neveah, a Kid Kore Jodi of the early 2000s.

Simply Fresh Kylie on a MTM body. Oldest daughter of Delilah, half-sister of Kenzo, mother of Neveah.

Bette Mae, niece of Brodie. A Kid Kore "Dancing Brook." Officially Seminole.

Mr. Peabody, pet dog of Skipper's family.

Brooke, my first Kid Kore "Dancing Brook." Younger sister of Brodie.

Rosa Lee, a Romany Kid Kore Katie.

Kelly, younger sister of Skipper.

Lucky, a Lucky Industries Tommy clone. Younger brother of Lacey and Sylvester.

Isabelle, a Kid Kore Katie. Younger sister of Lacey and Sylvester, older sister of Lucky.

Joelly, a Kid Kore Jodi with brown-red hair. Younger sister of Kenzie and Kristy.

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2023 in Review, part 4: Teen baby sitters

My teens got an unexpected addition late in the year with the arrival of Remco Babysitters Club "Kristy." She was in an eBay lot with unhelpful photos and limited description, but between the two dolls in it, at least one was definitely on my wish list as something, and the price with free shipping was great.

Doing a body comparison with the two 10-inch girls reveals a lot of similarity. Lacy (Totsy) has bendier legs due to their internal wire, while Kristy (Remco) has regular click legs that don't click very well any more. Lacy has a more developed chest. Kristy's arms are set more "outward." These bodies are so similar, though, that I now wonder if Lacey is not a Skipper clone (since she's neither anime-eyed nor tall), but a Babysitters Club clone. The timing on mold stamps is plausible.

A quick Googling for Babysitters Club dolls isn't showing me a short-haired blonde, but cloning is sometimes more of the concept than of the specifics. Lacey would have been compatible with them and able to wear most clothing.

The addition of Kristy does raise the question of how much height equals age. Babysitters Club gals were canonically in junior high, so 14 at the absolute oldest. I've been treating Lacey as about 16, and thus old enough to date canonically 16-year-old Teen Skipper.

From the faces, Kristy is significantly younger than Lacey, Honestly, Lacey's proportions look to me like she's the younger sister of a 14-inch adult, not a 12-inch adult. However, 14-inch is a size that doesn't interest me, so Kristy just hit her growth spurt, while Lacey is naturally petite.

Kristy is too young to be a rival in Lacey and Skipper's romance.

Kristy makes a reasonable sister for Creata "Today's Girls" Hillary, though Hillary's head is larger than Kristy's, and her expression looks more mature.

The parentage of Kid Kore Baby Allison remains unknown, though she now is very well-supplied with sitters! Acquiring Baby Allison was one of those weird unexplained urges that hits a doll collector occasionally. If I were Mom, I'd soon have two of each Kid Kore baby, plus representatives from multiple other brands. However, I bought my favorite baby first, so there's no need for more. The only other baby that tempts me is the Totsy Native American baby, as that one also has hip and shoulder joints.

Over the long haul, if I keep Kristy, that skintone mismatch between head and body, plus the worsening condition of her legs, makes it likely I'd find a better articulated body for her. I'm not sure how well she fits into the community, but every time I question buying her, I notice she has amazing hair (much better quality than the usual 1990s fiber) and a sweet, if someone vacant, face.

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Kid Kore Katie joins the fam

Stacie, Whitney, and Hilary have a new friend: Katie, who is a mid-1990s Kid Kore "Dancing Brook."

in thinking about my small community of dolls, I'd been pondering who isn't represented. A glaring omission is Native Americans. So I went looking for indigenous girls among vintage clone dolls, and in a weird clonish way, I hit pay dirt.

We need to backtrack a second, to Maureen Trudelle Schwarz' "Native American Barbie: The Marketing of Euro-American Desires." Schwarz looks only at Barbies -- and, oddly, doesn't address Mattel's Pocahontas dolls, even though Pocahontas was likely at the heart of the 1990s craze for Native American dolls -- but this narrowness of focus doesn't change the validity of her point. She argues that Native American fashion dolls have been consistently marketed as "other," "historic," and spiritually tied to the earth, in a manner that has no equivalent for white fashion dolls (or even Black ones).

Hooboy is she right about that for Kid Kore's many, many Native American dolls, as well as Totsy's smaller assortment. Kid Kore's are part of the Heartland series, complete with actually labeling dolls as "Indian Princess." Totsy's are packaged as Heroes of Yesteryear. Everyone is in a movie-western version of "traditional" garments. Nobody except the men have any attempt at a head mold that isn't also used on the white dolls. And yes, the boxes have friendly information about historic close-to-the-earth practices.

"Dancing Brook" is a Kid Kore Katie, the 7" younger sister of flagship doll Kelsey. She is also cute as all get-out, and I'm less concerned about head molds on a character that's a mid-sized little girl. I bookmarked a bunch on eBay and bought the one whose seller offered me the best deal.

She arrived in her "traditional" costume, in really great shape. I don't think she'd ever been undressed.

The first step is, of course, to get her out of that costume, since she's here to be a little girl among other little girls. In the long haul, all of the 6-9" little girls are going to belong to a children's performing arts group that requires them to have traditional dance dresses, but this requires getting out the sewing machine, which means getting some eBay listings done first. Point is, Katie will be defined by her "traditional costume" exactly as much as Stacie, Whitney, and Hilary.

Speaking of which, here's Katie showing that she's a little shorter than Whitney (Stacie) and about an inch taller than Creata Hilary. She's also reminding me that I'll need to sew casual outfits for the whole gang, as the clothes I think are Stacie clothes mostly fit Kelly, Skipper, and hypothetical other dolls that may not exist.

Let's see what's under the clothing.

Katie has a pretty simple body, but because she's Kid Kore, she has a secret.

It's not in how she does splits.

It's not in how she sits much more gracefully than Hilary.

No, it's in how Kid Kore handled articulation. Those legs are bendy!

It's unsettling, but allows for a range of motion.

Her face is adorable! I might want to do a little washing on her hair, but it's in great shape for a doll that's almost 30 years old. Unlike Hilary, she has kept her eyebrows.

She's looking forward to hanging out with her new friends... oh wait... her name!

Well, I'm not going to call her Dancing Brook. That's an obvious "white person romanticizing" name. I haven't decided what tribe she belongs to (which is going to be important in making her a more accurate festival dress). The major candidates are Northern Yokuts, Miwok, or Tohono O'odham [the first two for where I live now, the third for my 10 years in Arizona]. For naming, though, it doesn't really matter because west coast natives usually don't disclose their native names to white folk, for reasons that should be pretty obvious. So I'd only know her Anglo name, and... she's a Kid Kore Katie. As the first Katie in my little doll community, she gets the name.

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Collection part 3: Teens

Even in the teen category, things... aren't that bad. There are two more coming, if the eBay seller gets them shipped, but eight won't be bad.

Some dolls are classified as "teens" based on lore or height, others based on demeanor.

Let's go with the standing group, who are all around 10 inches tall.

The gal with the platinum curls and dimples is Totsy's Teen Fun Lacey. She is a lot less common than Totsy's Sandi. She is a great fit for many of the Dollar Tree fashions.

Babysitter's Club Kristy came as a lot with Kenzie, my inset-eyed Kelsey. She's wearing a fancy dress from Daiso.

Danika is my African-American Trisomy 21 Barbie. I debated on whether to align her with teens or adults. "Teens" won because it's weird that my teen set are so non-diverse. (I missed a brilliant chance at a Black Skipper from the late 1980s. Vintage non-white teens are really rare.)

Kid Kore Piper is new to the crowd. She's probably doing to be defined as the younger sister of Kenzie (2000s Kelsey) even though she's a 1990s doll. Kenzie's big-eye look is a better resemblance. Piper was not a huge success on the market, so it's a thrill to have found one who isn't platinum blonde.

The seated group:

Cool Babysitter Skipper was my choice of "if I have only one Skipper, who would it be." The brief phase when Skipper was 16 gave her a fascinatingly serene face. She's holding Kid Kore Alison, a baby that predates the very similar Mattel babies.

I've classified Anne, the Bass Pro Shops doll, as a teen because she exudes teenage awkwardness.

The new arrivals expected in January are a Mattel Courtney for comparison with Piper and a Mattel Scott because he came in a lot with Courtney for a good price. The only other teen on my wish list is Jazzy, Barbie's cool teen cousin.

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State of the doll collection

I'm in the mood to catalog things but too lazy to take photos.

11.5" adult women

Articulated Fashionista Teresa

Simply Fresh Kylie

Emma the Career Doll (rebodied onto MTM Curvy, waiting to be wigged)

Kid Kore Kelsey

Cinderelsa (waiting for new body)

Wish list: honestly nothing, but I'll have extra AliExpress wigs and bodies for future inspirations.

12" adult men

Manbun Ken (to get an articulated body next year)

Wish list: articulated friend for Ken.

Teens in the 9-12" range

Cool Sitter Teen Skipper

Totsy Teen Fun Lacey

Wish list: Creata Today's Girls middle schooler sister, Kid Kore Piper, possibly a male pal.

Young people in the 6-8" range

Four Kid Kore Katies (Dancing Brooke, Rosa, a blonde, and a brunette)

Creata Today's Girls Hilary

Wish list: Kid Kore Carla or her Girls Club equivalent, Kid Kore Pistol Pete, probably a red-headed Katie to be Kelsey's younger sister.

Toddlers in the 4-5" range

Articulated Kelly

Lucky Ind Todd clone

Funville Sparkle Girlz with bright red hair (Ruby)

Zuru Glitzeez (Jania)

2002 black Kid Kore Jodi (Neveah)

black Evi Love

Wish list: red-headed 1990s Kid Kore Jodi for Kelsey (might do a Sweetheart Sisters twin set, as they have different face-ups!).