My Fashion Blogger Sindy

Stock Photo of Fashion Blogger Sindy

The name on the box is Sindy Fashion Store Playset. Sold only in parts of the United Kingdom, (but made in China), I have her thanks to a wonderful doll friend. They know who they are, and I've already thanked them several times for getting Sindy for me. 

I opened the shipping package the morning after Sindy arrived and was and still am thoroughly pleased.  I took several pictures of the doll in the box before opening it. The following three are the best of the several initial photos.

The initial photo illustrates Fashion Blogger Sindy in the unopened box with the backpack and laptop visible through the cellophane.

A large illustration of Sindy is on the back of the box. A removable wrap-around piece of cardstock on the lower box illustrates this Sindy and others.

A close-up headshot while still in the box

I gingerly removed all the adhesive stickers that held the lower wrap-around piece in place and those that held the box closed before removing the doll and accessories from the box and photographing additional box details.

This is the front of the lower wrap-around cardstock. On the far right, Sindy is shown with the doll box decorated with the fashion display cutouts that are included.

 

The back of the lift-out box lining contains cutouts to create a clothing display with rack and hangers.

Fashion cutouts and a mannequin or clothing form for displaying the fashions are on one sheet of heavy cardstock.

This is the flip side of the fashion and mannequin cut-out sheet.

The open box illustrates store shelves and clothing racks.

Next are out-of-the-box photos of Sindy and her accessories.

Sindy poses in front of her undecorated box with her three accessories.

A backpack, a laptop, and a Sindy Fashion booklet are the accessories. The laptop can fit inside the backpack.

Wearing her backpack, Sindy strikes a pose...

...and takes a final headshot.

Spreadsheet Entry Description

11-inch vinyl fashion doll with articulated elbows, wrists, knees, ankles, and the usual other five points has brown side-glancing painted eyes, slightly parted lips painted coral, thickly rooted waist-length brunette curly hair held away from the face with a lavender cloth headband. Each earlobe has a preplaced area for piercing. Sindy wears a purple-trimmed silver lamé jacket, a lavender T-shirt that circularly reads "Since 1983" above and below the centered "Sindy" registered signature. A purple and lavender tulle tutu, black and metallic-silver leggings, and purple mock-lace sneakers complete her fashion. Accessories include a black vinyl backpack that can accommodate a gray plastic laptop, and a Sindy Fashion booklet that contains a quiz, puzzles, crafts, fashion design activities, haircare instructions, and other dolls and accessories to buy. At the beginning of the booklet, Sindy introduces herself as Fashion Blogger Sindy. The box transforms into a fashion store with box graphics, fashion and mannequin cutouts, and hanger and rack cutouts. Licensed by Pedigree Toys and Brands, 2021; manufactured by Kid Kreations, Ltd. Mulberry House, the doll was made in China.

So she is actually Fashion Blogger Sindy as indicated in the accompanying booklet.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Pedigree Delite Toddler Gets Enhancements

1950s Pedigree Delite Toddler Boy

First seen on this blog in a post written on March 10, 2010, I recently took the above-updated photo of this 1950s Pedigree Delite toddler to share in one of my Facebook groups that focuses on dolls made in England. He measures 13 inches tall and is marked on his head, Pedigree/England. This version was probably marketed by Pedigree as their 14-inch doll. He has a nonworking crier.

His back is marked Pedigree/Made in ENGLAND

In British Hard Plastic Dolls of the 1940s & 1950s, Frances Baird writes:

Delite Dolls of 10" and 14" tall, came with straight or bent legs, wigged or moulded hair, dressed as boys/girls/babies, and a negro girl and baby in 14" size*. They had sleeping eyes and jointed limbs. 

Baird's book documents larger versions, e.g. 16 inches, that use this head sculpt as well.

Before taking updated photos of my 13- (14) inch boy, I knew my doll's astrakhan wig was deteriorating in spots as illustrated by the scattered white areas that almost expose the wig lining. For cosmetic purposes, I decided to fill in the areas with black yarn clippings.

What Was Done

Thin clippings of yarn were used to fill in the thinning areas of his wig.

Aleene's Tacky Glue was applied to the thin areas before yarn shavings were applied and then rolled into place using a toothpick. This was repeated in all the needed areas.

In the above photo, the white areas of thinning can be better seen.

He is seen in a close-up photo after the yarn was applied to all thinning areas.

His enhancements were done at the kitchen table over a two- to three-day period, where the doll remained until completed. During a conversation with my husband, while we watched the memorial service of Congressman John Lewis, my husband said, "Oh, you did a good job on the doll's hair." I had to do a double-take before thanking him because he rarely provides unsolicited compliments. 

This handsome guy poses here and in the photograph below for full-view photos after the hair treatment.

He is feeling even more confident now.

While working on him, I remembered that his right eyelashes were missing and decided to remedy that issue, too.

Missing eyelashes (his) right eye

Eyelash Repair

I cut the bristles from a paintbrush, spread these on a paper towel to the approximate width of the other eyelashes, and applied a dab of Aleene's Tacky Glue to the cut ends. 

The glued-together paintbrush bristles were held together with a metal clip as illustrated above to allow the glue to dry completely.

After the bristles dried, these were placed in the slot in the doll's eyelid. I brushed a dab of glue on the edge of the eyelid slot and the inserted lashes. A toenail clipper was used to trim off excess length.

Replaced eyelashes

Before this guy was returned to his place of display, we went into the backyard where his final photograph was taken and to get about five minutes of direct sunlight.

With the exception of going on quick errands for necessities, I think going outside on days like the day this photograph was taken to take doll photos will be my new "safe" outing during this COVID-19 pandemic that we continue to face. 

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Photos of this lovely, approximately 15-inch Pedigree Delite baby girl are what inspired me to give my doll his much-needed attention. Thank you, May McNeal, for the inspiration and for allowing me to share your photos here. 

*After the London, England surgery in 1953 to separate Nigerian-born conjoined twins, Wariboko (Boko) and Tamunotonye (Tomo) Davies, 10-inch bent legged Pedigree Delite dolls with this dedicated "negro" head sculpt were frequently referred to as Boko and Tomo. There is no evidence, that Pedigree actually manufactured dolls with those names.

Related Links

Dolls From Around the World: England

The Story of Baby Boko

Siamese Twin, The Survivor

Wariboko at age 62

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. Use the contact form on right of the home page, visible in web viewing, to contact me.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Walking African Girl and African Baby by Pedigree

1950s Walking African Girl and African Baby by Pedigree of England

Purchased in June 2009, the Walking African Girl by Pedigree (shown on the left above) is a 16-inch head-turning walker with brown flirty eyes.  At the time of purchase, her manufacturer’s-given name was unknown.  I later solicited identification help from a noted England-based doll historian.  The toddler is a recent purchase.

The lovely, ebony-complexioned walker had the opportunity to record her purchase in blog-form, which was published in my book:  The Doll Blogs:  When DollsSpeak, I Listen.  Her entry is as follows:

Friday, June 26, 2009

Debbie found me on eBay in the search results for “black Pedigree doll.”  The “Southwest” United Kingdom seller listed me for GBP 125.00 buy-it-now or best offer.  Debbie recently saw an auction for a doll like me that ended for over GBP 250.00.  Debbie decided to place an offer of GBP 95.00 and said a silent prayer that the seller would accept the offer.  Less than 24 hours later, she accepted it.  Debbie immediately paid using Paypal and is anticipating my arrival. 

I was described by the seller (with minor editing by Deb) as:

“A fine example of the 1950’s hard plastic PEDIGREE WALKING DOLL. “Still has a lovely sheen and good colour all over.Full black astrakhan wig with red bow in. “Lovely clear amber flirty eyes, she retains her eyelashes, earrings, two top teeth. “WORKING MAMA.Her walking action is excellent with her head turning from side to side. “Pretty red spotted dress with a Faerie Glen, Made in England label inside.  White pants and red Cinderella sandals.  No cracks, splits, repairs or bad odours.Just a few minor scuffs.” 

I should arrive in the US within the next two weeks.

Love,

1950s Hard Plastic Pedigree Walking Doll

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After her arrival, she made one additional entry in the aforementioned book, using the same photo shown immediately above:

Monday, July 6, 2009

I arrived in the US from Honiton, Devon UK sooner than Debbie’s calculation of two weeks’ travel time.  In her eyes, I am as beautiful as the auction pictured and described.  My amber colored eyes are clear with all eyelashes intact.  I still have my two pearly white upper teeth.  My Astrakhan wig is full without discolorations.  The brass hoop earrings in my ears may be replaced ones, but Debbie is not sure.  My head-turning walking mechanism and my mama voice box both work well. 

I wear a red, circle-print dress that is tagged Faerie Glen Made in England for 16 to 18-inch (40.64 to 45.72cm) dolls.  The fabric of my white panties matches the white trim of my dress.  Debbie thinks I have been redressed and very nicely so.  My vinyl, red Cinderella sandals may be original.  Debbie removed my socks to give me a more fashionable look. (She considers socks with sandals a fashion faux pas.)  She is quite pleased that she browsed eBay for “black Pedigree dolls” on the day she found me and made the seller a decent offer. 

With assistance once again from Susan Brewer of British Doll Showcase, Debbie now knows my manufacturer-given name. 

Love,

1950s Pedigree Walking African Girl

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From 2009 through 2011, my self-imposed mission had been to add similar vintage dolls to my collection, made in non-US markets.  The goal was to illustrate how black people had been perceived through dolls in these markets. The walker remained here with several other England, New Zealand, and Australian-made 1930s through 1950s dolls until the 15-inch baby arrived earlier this month.

1950s African Baby by Pedigree

The baby, described by the seller as harder to find with bent limbs, has the same head sculpt as the Walking African Girl. Her once flirty eyes are now fixed into position.  Like the walker, she also has an astrakhan wig and gold hoop earrings in both ears.  They both have two upper teeth.  Shown above in the photos taken by the seller, the baby arrived dressed in ill-fitting "1950s pink dungarees."  I elected to redress her as shown below.

1950s African Baby by Pedigree now wears a red and white floral print dress with a white hat, undies, and white leatherette shoes.  The dress and hat are the original clothes for a 16-inch Patty-Jo, reproduced in 2007 by Terri Lee dolls.

The lovely sisters pose in this final photo.

Additional dolls by Pedigree and other non-US companies can be seen here and here.


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Dusky Pedigree

In 2009, I began buying dolls from international eBay sellers with a focus on vintage black dolls made by Pedigree (the 1931-registered name of the doll-making subsidiary of Lines Bros, a British toy maker).  Years earlier I had acquired a pair of 1950s Pedigree-type dolls from a New Zealand seller.  That pair satisfied my Pedigree-doll thirst until my interest in these very dark-skinned dolls resurfaced in 2009.

Like my original NZ Pedigree-type dolls, my other dolls from other global areas have very dark brown to black complexions.  Made during the 1930s through 1950s, these deep hues were the norm for black dolls made in such places as New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom.  They are made of composition (1930s-40s) and/or hard plastic (a new material used in doll making beginning in the late 1940s).  See a group picture of some of these dollies below.

Black dolls, most marked "Made in England," circa 1930s through 1950s; the tallest two are my first Pedigree-type dolls made in New Zealand from Pedigree (Lines Bros.) doll molds.  The seated baby, 2nd row on far left arrived from Ireland. 

Absent from my collection was a rarer, blue-eyed brown skinned doll made by Pedigree, whose complexion is often described by British and Australian sellers as "dusky."  More often the doll is described as Asian and less often as "Indian," but never black.  The doll's physical attributes do not look Asian or "Indian."  Why is this one with the lighter  brown complexion not referred to as black, like the others?  Are the blue eyes or combination blue eyes and lighter brown skin tone the reason?  Dusky... that term puzzled me.

Even so, my search for Pedigree and other dolls made in England included one of these blue-eyed, brown-skinned dolls.  Unfortunately, the price of acquiring one on eBay was usually cost prohibitive, particularly after the asking price in pounds was converted to dollars.  The Australian dollar conversion is more comparable to the US dollar, but sellers' asking prices are usually well over 100 Australian dollars.  With shipping factored into the final cost, the doll seemed impossible to find at a price I was willing to pay.  Over $100 after conversion was not my willing price. 

Finally, I located one at a reasonable price and did not use out of pocket funds to pay for it.  Instead, I used some of the proceeds from the sale of over 50 doll magazines sold on eBay in June.  Interestingly, several of the magazine buyers live in the United Kingdom.


My little, 10-inch British girl arrived during the week of June 24, 2012, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Her feet were bare. Her dress was tattered and her hair needed combing, as illustrated in the seller's image below.

I was well aware of the doll's super preloved condition before completing the purchase but could see her potential.

I have since redressed this circa 1950s/60s, 10-inch, hard plastic doll, marked "Made in England," in Helen Kish's Bitty Belle Magnifique's original fashion and shoes.  She's an inch shorter than Bitty Belle with a wider torso, but I was able to get both the white underdress and sueded blue overdress to snap closed in back.

Circa 1950s/60s, blue-eyed brown doll by Pedigree, redressed with combed hair

She looks (and feels) so much better now. 

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The sun is setting as a shadow of darkness begins to appear.  That is what dusk means to me.

According to Onelook.com's multi-dictionary search, the adjective, dusky, means:

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not very bright

more...

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dark, because of shadows or because night is coming

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with dark skin. This word is now considered offensive.

more...

The third definition, with dark skin, is why this archaic term continues to be used by some to describe this doll's complexion.  Old habits are often hard to break, even when considered offensive.

I see her as brown. 

I see her as cute.

I see her as still loveable.



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