American Girl ~ Skating Star and Skating Gear

Some American Girl items do not have tags or labels. 
In this blog I would like to tell about American Girl Staking Star from 1997.  It comes with dress and barrette.  The barrette tag can fall off very easy.

Skating Star has some accessories too. Skating Gear complements Skating Star.

Comes with skates with blade guards and bouquet of yellow roses. The bouquet comes with sticker on the stem.  It can fall off.

The skate blades have no tag and marks.

                          

American Girl Hard to Identify Items

I have been working with American Girl for a years.  I have noticed that some items are hard to identify.   Some American Girl items do not have tags or labels.  Older clothes are not all labeled especially American Girl Today.  This can come in handy with buy at garage and flea markets.  I have noticed that people buy the labeled clothes more then unlabeled.  When buying I look at all  the doll clothes.  I have come home with good piece because of this.

In this blog and future blog I will identify some of the hard items to identify. 

Starting with 1995 Ballet Costume.  It a great ballerina outfit that come with tutu bodysuit, tights, slipper, tiara, wings and wand.  The slipper, tiara and wand have no tags or labels.

Changes in the early Barbie

When I first started collecting Barbie I learned that the first Barbie was made with different plastic then the later dolls.  Earlier plastic can have numerous problems.  Barbie 1 - 3 can had problems with plastic.  The #1 Barbie, #2 Barbie and #3 Barbie can be sickly white.  The #4 Barbie had a new plastic, that does not turn white. but some #4 Barbie's can have limbs that are sickly white. 

Now years later after I moved from Texas to New York.  I did not unpack my Barbie items when I first.  I knew what they were and they were packed well, so I just kept them in the box for safety.  I recently started to unpack them.  I noticed that my first year bubblecut Barbie now has very tan legs. 

So now after 50+ years do the #4 Barbie's also have a plastic problem.  Did it just take that long to come out? Does this mean that the plastic will continue to age unexpectedly.

Is it Vintage or Reproduction Barbie outfit: Enchanted Evening

That is the question for a lot of piece in the Barbie line.  And for someone just starting it very hard to till sometime.  If a reproduction items does not have a label how do you till.  I did blog showed to difference between. 

This will about Enchanted Evening.

Enchanted Evening come with gown, stole, long gloves, choker necklace, dangle earrings and clear open toe shoes with gold glitter.  The gown comes two different ways.  The most common is with a rose, but it also came with three rhinestones. 



The reproduction Enchanted Evening comes with gown, stole, long gloves, choker necklace, pearl earrings and shoes.  The reproduction gown comes with a rose.   The label is in the stole and does have reproduction on it.


The difference start with the necklace and earrings.  The reproduction necklace and earring are plastic and the earring are not dangled.  The snap are plastic.

 

American Girl

I was not luck to be a child when American Girl dolls came out.  I was just getting into Barbie collecting.  A couple years after they were out I see my first American Girl.  She was Samantha, I wanted her.  She was not to come to me for many years.  I was to get a Kit doll first.   I now have Samantha as while.  I have been luck in getting American Girl items up at estate sales and garage

I was not luck to be a child when American Girl dolls came out.  I was just getting into Barbie collecting.  A couple years after they were out I see my first American Girl.  She was Samantha, I wanted her.  She was not to come to me for many years.  I was to get a Kit doll first.   I now have Samantha as while.  I have been luck in picking up American Girl items at estate sales and garage sales.  Even second hand they are not cheap, some are priced higher they the regular price. 

 
Since American Girl are expensive. And everyone wants to go cheap so they buy Target, Walmart or other 18" doll clothes.  They fit why not.  Here is why.
 
I have brought American Girl at sales and have not removed the clothes, we all do it.  The doll look great and you want the items with so you just buy it.  You then get home and remove clothes and see that she has marks on her.  Ok you try to remove the stains.  You cannot.  So you go to the American Girl site to see what they say.  Now you have a choice send the doll to American Girl for new limbs or keep as is. 
 
Here is a key to know you have to look at the doll closer before you buy. 

Is it wearing American Girl clothes?

Does it come with clothes that you know are American Girl?
Does it come with clothes you do not know?
Is it still being played with or was it stored?

The answer is simple.

  If you know it in American Girl clothes you most likely do not need to look closer.

If you have no idea of the clothes you should look closer.

If there are a lot of unknown clothes you should look closer.

Here is why, American Girl doll should never be storage in anything but American Girl clothes.  If you have handmade or other doll clothes on the doll when it just being storage it can stain the doll.  I learned this learn the hard way.  I bought a doll that I love the outfit on her.  It was not an American outfit.  It stained the doll on the legs and arms.

The hard thing was collecting anything is not every piece is tag.  You have to know what you are looking for.  American Girl is not like Barbie, Mattel only mark on item in a outfit.  American Girl from what I have since has marked all.  This helps out a lot.

So if you want to get home & enjoy your doll, it is best that you look at it.  Then you will not have to send it to the American Girl Hospital. 

Is it Vintage or Reproduction Barbie outfit: Red Flair

With all the reproduction Barbie outfit out there I decided to start a series on the differences.   I am starting with the reproduction Silken Flame doll.  It come with a reproduction blonde or brunette bubblecut which is wearing Silken Flame and Red Flair. 

The Red Flair outfit.  Is mostly the hardest to till.  The material very close to the original.  For my the different it the feel of the coat.  The older coat are soft and the reproduction feel harder.  It does have a reproduction label.  So the item to watch are the purse, gloves & hat.  There are no tag in these so they can be called vintage when they are not.  The reproduction gloves are more pointed and the vintage are curved.

 

The Silken Flame has plastic strips.  These strips come off the minute the dress is taking off the doll.  The reproduction dress is not tag and the original dress is tagged.  The reproduction dress has netting under the satin and the original does not.  The original Silken Flame come with dress, shoe, belt and purse.  The reproduction does not have the purse and the belt is made in cloth not plastic.

Barbie Shoes Japan with L and R

I have collected Barbie for years.  
I remember my first collection I bought,  I threw out a few split
open toes shoes.  At the time I did not know that if you place open toe shoes on the #1 Barbie they split.   Since then I have learned more things about Barbie shoes.  Like the fact that there is a left and right shoe.  Most left shoes are marked "Japan". But you can
find left shoes that have no marking. 

Just recently I bought a lot of Barbie's at a estate sale.  I was so excited because there were some great rare piece of clothes. 
I was surprised to find that the rare thing was not the clothes.  I found two pairs of white open toes and one pair of black open toes. 
What made them rare, both shoes are marked Japan.  But even better is the left shoe is marked "Japan L" and the right is marked "Japan R".  

If anyone knows more about these shoes please email me.

1965-1966 Japan New Midge doll

New Midge was available only in the Japan market. She came with molded brown hair with a center part and no bangs and a blue headband. She has side glancing painted eyes, no freckles, straight legs and a USA Midge body.

Here you see her in #947 Brides Dream. The USA version comes with gown, veil, shoes, long gloves, garter, necklace and bouquet.

As you see the Japanese version comes with gown, veil, shoes, long gloves, garter, necklace, bouquet and panties. Note she is wearing earrings. The USA version does not come with earrings.

 I would like to thank mrjohnl for the use of these beautiful photo's. I found these while searching ebay for some great buys.  As we all know photo's do not stay forever on ebay, so I asked mrjohnl if I could use his photo's on my blog and he agreed.

Barbie, Tammy and more Fashion Booklets

I collect vintage Barbie.  I love to find the booklet that comes with the clothes.  When I first started to collect Barbie, a Skipper booklet was my only form of information.  That is when I started my love of the fashion booklet that come with the dolls.

Fashion booklets are the best form of information. The collector books are great, but they are the knowledge of the author.   The best information is from the company that makes the items, and since we can not go to the company and ask, that means the dealer catalogs and fashion booklets that come with the toy are the best form of information.  

  

  

             Mattel included booklets with their Barbie line.           The first booklet is rare and hard to find.

It showed three outfits that where only in the first booklet.

Barbie came out in 1959 and had booklets with the doll and clothes until 1971.

They started including booklets again in 1978.

Store shopping catalogs are a good way to find out information on vintage dolls like Miss Revlon and Madame Alexander.  These doll clothes are hard to identify if not tagged.  Store catalogs can help on this.  Not just the major stores like Sear and Wards, but also local stores.  My sister just found a little booklet at a estate sale for a local store.  The booklet was from 1959 and mailed to the customer.  It has a page on Shirley Temple, and is a  great source of information.

Most company's had some form of booklets. 

Tammy accessories paks

 Tammy Accessories Paks


My sister collects Tammy doll by Ideal. I enjoy helping her get the items she needs.   I have always love the Tammy accessories pak.  They made sure that the paks cover everything from cleaning and pot/pan for Mom to fishing for Dad and Ted.   I have always been interested in the fact that the product number are so off.  Does this mean there are more paks what we know of?  It been my opinion that there is.  The paks that I know of are the following:
The first set pak I do not have a product number for. The second set is the basic Tammy pak items.  The third set is the Kooky and Switchable paks.  I do not know all of these, if you have something not listed I would love a photo.  Kooky set come in red, blue, yellow and white.

beach	Snorkel, Fins, Divers watch, Divers mask
cleaning	Broom, dust mop, dust pan, soap flakes, polishing wax, polishing cloth
cookout	grill, lighter fluid, coal, two utensils
entertainment	Reel-to-Reel Tape recorder with two reels
fishing	Tackle box with lid & hooks, rod and fish
kitchen	Pots and Pans - frying pan w/ lid and electric frying pan w/lid
sports	Baseball mitt, bat, ball, catchers mask
	red and white heels, camera, date book, red/black purse, red/white purse

9179-3	Plate of crackers, Glass of juice with straw, red glasses & newspaper
9180-80	Hose, Shoes, Belt & Purse
9181-80	hair spray, three curlers, mirror, comb and brush
9182-80	Newspaper, Radio, Glasses & Purse
9183-80	Camera, Luggage Case & Ticket(Tammy name on tag)
9184-80	Pizza, Phone, Book and Sandals
9185-80	Newspaper, Plate of Fruit, TV and TV Program
9186-80	Dog, Purse and Shoes
9187-80	Typewriter, Date Book, Phone and Book
9188-80	Tennis Score Book, Ball, Racket with Frame & Sneakers
9189-3	Purse, belt, necklace, handkerchief, black ribbon
9220-5	skirt, gold belt and date book
9221-3	skirt and red heels
9222-1	blouse, choker necklace
9223-9	slacks, white sandals
9224-7	pedal pushers, orange soda w/straw, Tammy New
9230-4	skirt
9231-2	blouse and red glasses
9232-0	blouse and black purse
9233-8	Jumper, red heels and red/black purse
9234-6	sweater and red glasses
9240-3	house coat, blue phone and book
9241-1	dress and gold belt
9242-9	nightgown, piece of fruit and pink sandals
9243-7	dress, black belt and black heels
9244-5	sweater and red scarf

The Kooky sweatshirts came in long and short sleeves.  They were also available  in different colors. 

They have been found in yellow, red, blue and white

9270-0	Kooky Sweat Shirts	Beatles "Ya Ya Ya"
9270-0	Kooky Sweat Shirts	Bees " What's Buzzin Cuzzin"
9270-0	Kooky Sweat Shirts	Lion "Meoow"
9270-0	Kooky Sweat Shirts	rocking chair  "Yours of your"
9270-0	Kooky Sweat Shirts	Stripes - white, red, blue & green - horizontal
9270-0	Kooky Sweat Shirts	Stripes - red & grey - vertical

The ? Mark in front means I have not seen on card or a Tammy Switchable ad.

9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 1	Yellow w/three buttons and tie - has 3/4 sleeves
9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 2	Striped
9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 3	Sailor red/white striped with blue collar and two red stars
9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 4	blue, white and red vertical with red and blue tassels
9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 5	red, white and blue horizontal with red fringe
9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 6	? Black & white top - one side black, the other white
9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 7	? White top with orange/white poka dot ruffle
9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 8
9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 9
9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 10
9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 11
9289-0	Switchables - Beau Blouses 12
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 1	bra, panties and half slip - white
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 2	yellow long sleeves gown
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 3	Multi color whole slip & panties - red, orange & purple
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 4	bra, half slip and panties - blue
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 5	Red /White Flannel top and  red bottom
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 6	red poka dot two piece - mid riff top and Carpi bottoms
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 7
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 8
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 9
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 10
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 11
9289-0	Switchables - Oomphy Undies 12
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 1	Star - red dress, white & blue stripes with navy blue stars
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 2	Blue & White striped with Flower(red)
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 3	Peach flower & circle - could Pink - top flower print & bottom solid
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 4	Turquoise with two pockets with eyes
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 5
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 6
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 7
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 8
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 9
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 10
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 11
9289-0	Switchables - Shorty Shifts 12
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 1	Blue with six buttons
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 2	Yellow w/black stitching & sock
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 3	Dark blue with triangles(red & yellow)
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 4	Dark blue  w/ three red buttons - red gingham lining & handkerchief
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 5
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 6
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 7
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 8
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 9
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 10
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 11
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Skirts 12
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks 1	carpi - yellow with black seams and socks
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks 2	carpi - red w/white stripe
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks 3	pink
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks 4	White with red thin stripes
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks  5	? White with thin yellow, orange and red stripes
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks 6	? Carpi - lime green, tie belt & matching socks - black stitching
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks 7
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks 8
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks 9
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks 10
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks 11
9289-0	Switchables - Swinging Slacks 12