2 superstar outfits from Italy

This is the back of the 1980 Fur and Leather box.

Beauty Secrets Barbie models the fur suit
pictured second from left on the bottom.

The SuperStar Barbie logo was still being used in Italy in 1984.
This is the back of the Moda Profumata box.

Great Shape Barbie wears the
Profuma Liquerizia sweater dress,
even though it is too big on her.

I own two SuperStar Barbie outfits from Italy, one from 1980 and the other from 1984.  I am wondering if the Barbie dolls sold in Italy in the 1980s were slightly taller than their American counterparts, as the outfits were always too big on my dolls.  None of the outfits were numbered, although one set's outfits were named.

The 1977 SuperSize Barbie is on the cover of the Fur and Leather outfit, but it is not her size.  The liner notes were in English, French, German and Italian.  The English one said "Genuine fur, leather and woolens fashions."  The copyright information, translated from Italian to English, read, "Giacatollo conforme alle prescrizioni di sicurezza del D.M. 31/7/79," that is, "Giacatollo complies with the safety requirements of the D.M. 31/7/79. " I assume that Giacatollo was the Italian manufacturer, while D.M. is the copyright or trademark.  Since the exact date was listed, July 31, 1979, I presume the sale date was 1980.  The doll modeling all the outfits was the 1979 Sun Lovin' Barbie.

The 1984 Moda Profumata (Fragrant Fashion) package pictured what I think was the 1984 Crystal Barbie on the front, while the back showed 1980's Beauty Secrets Barbie modeling the four sweater dresses.  Sweater dresses were quite popular in the 1980s; I owned two of them and wore them a lot! The outfits were named:

Profumo Fragola/Scent of Strawberries

Profuma Liquerizia/Scent of Licorice

Profuma Cola/Scent of Cola

Profuma Ciaccolata/Scent of Chocolate

The liner notes were tiny!  They read, "Giacatollo conforme alle prescrizioni di sicurezza della legge 18/2/83 No. 46."  It meant, "Giacatollo conforms to the requirements of security of law 18/2/83." Again, since the exact date of Feb. 18, 1983, was mentioned, I assume the outfit was sold in 1984.

Some notes:  The scent of licorice on my outfit is long gone.  The bottom center leather outfits on the package are really cool and look like something for a female Robin Hood, or perhaps Maid Marian.  The leather outfits should really be worn by a straight-armed doll, as the leather is just a little stiff for bent arms to get through.

2 very similar baby dolls

Meg and May

The dress on the left is untagged;
the one on the right says "Dapperdo Originals."

I wonder if these were made by the same manufacturer
as the snaps are the same.

I purchased two sets of baby doll items during my trek of the US 50 sale last weekend (more about the sale in another post).  One was a doll wearing a dress that was too big for her; the other set of items was a bunch of baby doll clothes in a Barbie and Francie case (there were no Barbie clothes in the case, just baby clothes; I just wanted the case).

First, an explanation.  The doll you see on the left is a drink-and-wet doll, her eyes close and is 20 inches tall.  She is the doll I had as a little girl in the mid-1960s.  The reason she is in mint condition is that she was kept at my grandmother's house for me to play with there, and the doll didn't come home with me until I was in high school after my grandmother died.

I have no idea what the doll's name was or who the manufacturer was.  Her only markings on are the back of her neck, which say, "U 6V."  I have one store-bought dress for her, although I don't know if it is what she originally wore.  The beautiful white satin dress with the pink lace trim you see on the left is untagged but I have always had it.  The funky sandals the doll is wearing have also been around for as long as I can remember.  They have cardboard soles and the blue straps are cut out of what I believe is wallpaper!  But they have to be store-bought as well because of the push-in snaps.

I bought the smaller doll, 16 inches tall, during my sale-ing last weekend.  She is also a drink-and-wet doll and her eyes close.  Her eyes are faded and the poor thing is missing her left set of eyelashes.  I've given her a good bath which brightened her immensely.  Her markings on the back of her neck say, "Jolly Toys Inc." and there is also a logo just above her buttocks that says "3A."

She was wearing the other white dress when I bought her.  It's too big for her and has a tag that says "Dapperdo Originals."

I also bought a Barbie case with baby doll clothes in it; some of which fit the bigger doll and some which fit the smaller doll.  There were some Chatty Cathy clothes in there as well, which my Cathy has claimed.

What attracted me to the smaller doll was how closely she resembled my original doll.  Look at the moldings of the fingers and toes; they are identical.  The eyes are the same as is the hair.  They could be sisters!

What are these dolls' real names?  Was my original baby doll made by Jolly Toys?  Was her original dress made by Dapperdo?  Their secrets will puzzle me until the day I die!

As an adult collector, I named the bigger doll "Meg" after a friend of mine.  I have decided her "sister" will be named "May."

On a related note, when I gave May her bath, I noticed after I had picked her up out of the water that she had really gained weight!  I'm not sure how, but her torso had filled with water!  It's taken several days for her to pee out all the liquid!  I joked about this with another woman and she suggested buying the doll--who is probably 50 years old--some Depends!  Is there such as thing as Depends for old dolls?  Maybe I have found a new market for the adult diapers?!

tractor statue

This first photo looks like a farm girl (it's Generation Girl Nichelle) in her overalls
in front of a statue in an agricultural area.

Now you can see that this is actually a statuette in a cemetery.
I know it's a little tacky, but I have wanted to photograph this for a long time.

qcbdc next doll show

The Queen City Beautiful Doll Club's next show will be on Sunday, April 24, at the Clarion in Sharonville north of Cincinnati.  I'm not setting up a sale table this time but will be at the door taking admissions from 12-2 p.m.  Here is the flier for the event.

Tutti and Heidi and Jan

That's me on the left, already in glasses and already dorky, with Barb (center) and Joan (right).  Those cone things on the lower left are Bedrock Boulders.  The printed cloth you see between Barb and Joan is a housecoat I received.  Except for the humans, the only things in the picture that still exist are the Nativity set, the music box under the tree (that's the dark thing behind Barb), and, of all things, the aluminum ladder!

My grandmother Matilda with my sister Joan, in her second outfit of the evening.  I think the reason they are looking down is because it looks like Heidi lost a shoe.  The TV thing you see on the left is a windup toy that played "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush."

At some point we got ready for bed.  Note that I am wearing the aforementioned housecoat.  I remember all the toys in this picture except for the bell thing that Barb is playing.  From left to right are a blackboard, Fisher-Price milk bottles (you can also see a bottle on the chair with Grandma),  a ball, the bells and a roller coaster.

These are two aunts, my grandmother Loretta, a bunch of my cousins, and me.  My cousin Jane Ann has my new Tutti while my cousin Cathy has Jan and Heidi propped on her shoulders.    I am wearing a nurse's smock and hat that I received.  Look behind my cousin Nancy (in the striped shirt),  for the Fisher-Price Chatter Phone, which I always thought was creepy.   The phone, not Nancy!

Another shot of Christmas Day evening (the infamous starburst clock says 6:55 p.m.).   The only toy item that still exists is the Tutti swimsuit, as the doll herself is long gone.  The other women in the back are an aunt and a great-aunt.  My cousins Chris and Karen in the back do not look happy.  I don't know what the baby doll is.  I also don't know why I am wearing a Star of David pin, which is really strange because everyone in the picture is Catholic!  Perhaps the pin came with the outfit?  The item under my Aunt Loretta's arm on the far left is an Etch-a-Sketch.

I've mentioned before that I never actually had Barbie as a child, although my sisters did.  I had Barbie's friends and relatives, though.  The first Barbie family member I received was Tutti, for Christmas 1966.  I also received the Remco Jan doll while my sister Barb got Heidi.  I have no idea why I, the oldest sister, was always getting the friends while my sisters got the main parts of the series.  

I was born in February 1961, so I was 5 at the time.  My sister Barb was 3 and my sister Joan was 1 1/2.

These photos were taken on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I'm just going to show you the photos and include long captions with them.

Skipper's Christmas outfits

I know this is a few days late but here is a list of Christmas outfits for Skipper.

1964 #1902 Silk 'n Fancy and #1906 Dress Coat (but you already knew about these anyway)
1965 #1914 Platter Party
1966 #1928 Rainy Day Checkers
1967 #1941 All Spruced Up
1967 #1948 Velvet 'n Lace
1970 #1730 Lots of Lace
1970 #1737 Velvet Blush
1971 #3477 Dressed in Velvet (Skipper's most lavish outfit ever!)
1977 #9710 Casual Fashion (despite its odd color combination, this is meant for December)
1985 #7982 Study
1989 #2633 Fashion Smarts (my all-time favorite Skipper outfit)
1989 Sweetheart Fashion #5886 red sweater and plaid skirt (sold only in Europe)
1007 Teen Sister #15890 red plaid jumper, red leggings
1998 Teen Skipper pack outfit shiny blue dress, white fur jacket
1998 Teen Skipper pack outfit sequined halter, light blue skirt with fur trim

Skipper has had tons of winter coats, plus outfits for skiing, sledding and ice skating, which are too numerous to list here.

The little girls' post-Christmas party, Dec. 27, 2015

In the apartment complex where I live, there are 12 girls between the ages of 3 and 12.  Since word got out last summer that I am a doll collector, the girls have been periodically asking (AKA bugging) me about doll clothes.  There are a LOT of naked baby and Barbie dolls in the neighborhood!
I always have extras.  Many of the outfits are leftovers from when I have bought a doll case full of stuff.  I take the stuff I want, but not all of the items left are re-sale-able.  I had a large amount of recent, good condition items, a mixture of dresses, pants, shirts, shoes and accessories in several sizes.  I distributed some of them to a few of the girls last summer, but I had acquired more.
The mother and grandmother of two of the girls and I planned a short party for today, Sunday, Dec. 27.  We invited all of the girls over to the foyer/hallway/steps outside my apartment.  I put all of the clothes in clear plastic baggies, and included a hanger and shoes with each item.  There were a few new pieces I had purchased, which I removed from their packaging and also placed in baggies.  There was clothing for Barbie, Ken, Skipper and some baby/toddler dolls.
Each of the eight girls who attended the party got a number.  I then pulled a number out of a large glass and that girl came up to the table and selected an outfit.  I figured this method would be fair and the girls couldn't fight over anything that way.  There were enough baggies for them to do this routine twice, so each girl took home two outfits.  A few outfits were left over, and the mother who helped me will give them to the girls who were unable to attend.
We also served punch and candy canes.
Going through the game twice took about 40 minutes.  One of the girls came up and hugged me at the end of the party.  Everyone seemed pleased with what they got.  I took pictures but I don't want to put them on the Internet because I didn't ask the mothers if I could do so.