My Child

Last updated
A My Child doll My Child dolls by Mattel.jpg
A My Child doll

My Child dolls are a toy made by Mattel from 1985-1988. Most had felt "skin" on their heads although some had vinyl skin.

Contents

The dolls are around 35cm in height, with petite features and poseable limbs. The sales slogan was that every child could have a doll just like them. These highly collectible dolls have a large international fan-base.

History

The first dolls were made in Taiwan. Their features differ slightly from those made later in China. A rounder face, smaller belly button and longer toes are just some of the differences. Taiwanese dolls are also known for eyes which protrude from their face and, as they age, are more prone to facial "sagging" and make-up fading (but are less prone to felt pilling) than those made in China.

Between 1987 and 1988, Mattel brought out a vinyl faced doll called a "Loving Baby". These dolls had bodies made with the same soft fabric as a My Child, with similar skin-tones, posable legs and solid arm-joints and pink or blue torsos. A button on their back allowed them to hug. Their skin-tone was either pale or peachy, and they had red, brunette, ash-blond or blond hair. They came with one outfit, a two piece short and top set in either blue or pink.

Description

Dolls came as boys or girls, with four different skin tones: American pale (with a green heart on the bottom), Australian/European peach, African-American, and Hispanic. Canada also produced its own dolls (identified by having two tags, instead of the normal one).

Eye color varies too. All African-American and Hispanic dolls had brown eyes (Hispanic dolls eyes have orange rays above their pupils). The other dolls had blue, aqua, green, or brown eyes. Occasionally a doll can be found with a factory 'flaw' and their eye color can vary from the standard, for example hazel, lilac, blue-gray, blue-green, and green. However, some people attribute this to aging rather than to a factory flaw.

There is also a variety of hair colors. The African-American dolls have black hair; Hispanics have dark brown hair, and the others had platinum blonde, ash-blonde (two tone), brunette, red, and (in the last year of production) strawberry-blonde. Strawberry-blonde therefore being the rarest and most valuable, followed by red heads and brunettes. Upon production, red heads and brunettes were batched at a lower ratio to the ash-blondes and platinum blondes (making them the most common).

Hair styles varied as well. African-American girls all came with 'curly pigtails' (two pigtails with a short fringe right around the head). The other girls had 'top-knots' (short hair with one small bunch on the side), 'double top-knots' (short hair with a small bunch on either side), 'curly pigtails' (similar to the African-American dolls). Only American dolls had these hair styles. Hispanic girls came with a v-part style (hair worn down, with little bunches on either side of the head, but with a difference being that they did not have a full fringe typical of other My Childs). Australian and European dolls (identifiable by the 'HR' visible at the end of the ID code on the tag, and peachy skin) were manufactured with other variations of pigtails (known as 'double ribbons' and 'ringlet ponies'). As well as the v-part and crimp (similar to the Hispanic girls, only with a full fringe) and the 'ultra-long' (nearly to dolls' ankles) worn in bunches on either side. In 1988, as part of the 'Ribbons & Bows' collection introduced solely to the Australian market, the 'side-part', and 'mid-part' were made. These dolls had long tightly curled hair (similar to antique dolls) worn down. Boys' hairstyles were either curly with no part or straight with a short part.

Other facial features differ between dolls. Eyelashes range in color from peachy-orange through to dark brown (found on peach eyeshadow only). Or dark grey to near black (found on 'grape' or 'charcoal' eyeshadow). Cheek color is either pink or peachy-orange. Lip color varies between pale to dark cool pink and pale peach to dark peachy-orange. Grape and charcoal eyeshadow are the most sought after, and come only with pink cheeks and lips. Peach eyeshadow however can be found with either the peach cheeks/lips or the pink cheek/lips. African American and Hispanic dolls have charcoal eyeshadow, with warm red cheeks and lips and are the only ones to have this combination.

Clothing

The dolls came with many different clothing outfits. Girl dolls had sailor dresses, pinafore outfits (with or without a little book and pocket bear), smocked party dresses, seersucker overall outfits, sleeper sets (with fluffy slippers and a teddy bear), ducky dresses, flare dresses, playtime/ABC dresses, Australian pinafores/jumpers, school dresses and many others. The boys had their own outfits; some of these are the sailor outfit, ducky overall outfit, vest and shorts outfit, sweater outfit. Other outfits were available separately.

Shoes were sold in 2 different styles, a Mary-Jane/t-bar style or a lace-up Oxford.

My Pets

My Pets were also sold. They were puppies (blue and tan), bears (gray and brown), cats (yellow and pink) and rabbits (purple and white). With the same "My Child" eyes, they had an animal-style mouth, with fur covered bodies (their hands, soles of their feet and stomachs showing through).

Collecting

A collection of My Child dolls My Child dolls.JPG
A collection of My Child dolls

Collectors look for many things when looking to purchase a doll. Certain facial features, eye and hair colors, styles and skin tone may affect a doll's desirability and so will influence the price. These dolls are now around 30 years old, and as they were designed as a children's toy, many are in "played-with" condition, which varies from slight pilling, eye scratches and other damage, stains, broken joints, "melted-eye syndrome" and hair-cuts.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midge (Barbie)</span> Doll in the Barbie line

Margaret "Midge" Hadley Sherwood is a doll character in the Barbie line of toys by Mattel that was first released in 1963. She was marketed as Barbie's best friend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blond</span> Human hair color

Blond or blonde, also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be from the very pale blond to reddish "strawberry" blond or golden-brownish ("sandy") blond colors. Occasionally, the state of being blond, and specifically the occurrence of blond traits in a predominantly dark or colored population are referred to as blondism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown hair</span> Human hair color

Brown hair, also referred to as brunet (male) or brunette (female), is the second-most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light brown to dark hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and lower levels of the pale pigment pheomelanin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blythe (doll)</span> Fashion doll line

Blythe is a fashion doll, about 28 cm (11 inch) tall, with an oversized head and large eyes that change color with the pull of a string. It was created in 1972 and was initially only sold for one year in the United States by toy company Kenner. In 2001, the Japanese toy company Takara began producing new editions of Blythe dolls. There is a network of hobbyists who customize the doll for resale and create clothing and shoes for Blythe. Enthusiasts share photographs of their work and other types of dolls on the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blonde stereotype</span> Stereotypes of blond-haired people

Blonde stereotypes are stereotypes of blonde-haired people. Sub-types of this stereotype include the "blonde bombshell" and the "dumb blonde". Blondes are stereotyped as more desirable, but less intelligent than brunettes. There are many blonde jokes made on these premises.

Polly Pocket is a toy line of dolls and accessories first founded and designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 and licensed by Bluebird Toys from 1989 until both entities/properties were acquired by Mattel in 1998.

Chatty Cathy is a pull-string "talking" doll originally created by Ruth and Elliot Handler and manufactured by the Mattel toy company from 1959 to 1965. The doll was first released in stores and appeared in television commercials beginning in 1960, with a suggested retail price of $18.00, though usually priced under $10.00 in catalog advertisements. Chatty Cathy was on the market for six years and was the second most popular doll of the 1960s after Barbie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crissy</span> Doll

Crissy is an American fashion doll with a feature to adjust the length of its hair. Crissy was created in the Ideal Toy Corporation's prototype department in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What's Her Face (doll)</span>

What's Her Face was a line of customizable dolls that straddled the line between traditional fashion dolls and creative activity toys. Made by Mattel, the line ran from 2001–2003, and enjoyed only a modest success in a market dominated by Mattel's iconic Barbie and MGA Entertainment's Bratz dolls. Following the discontinuation of the What's Her Face line, their body molds were used for the Wee 3 Friends line of Barbie-related dolls. Several fashion, wig, and activity packs were also released for the What's Her Face line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Scene</span> Fashion doll series

My Scene is an American series of fashion dolls that Mattel released in 2002. They were discontinued in the US in 2008, and worldwide in 2011. Mattel's Barbie character is one of the dolls in the toy line. The My Scene dolls' bodies are slim, similar to earlier Barbie dolls, but their heads are larger. The New York Times described their features as "exaggerated lips and bulging, makeup-caked eyes." My Scene were designed to appeal to the tween market and compete with the Bratz dolls from MGA Entertainment.

Diva Starz was a series of talking fashion dolls created and released by Mattel in October 2000. They are similar in design to MGA's Bratz and Tiger Electronics' Furby. Alexa, Nikki, Summer—later replaced by Miranda—and Tia were offered in the original debut. Originally produced as robotic dolls, Mattel would also release miniature and fashion doll versions in response to their initial success. The line was discontinued in 2004.

<i>Disney Fairies</i> Video game

Disney Fairies is a Disney franchise created in 2005. The franchise is built around the character of Tinker Bell from Disney's 1953 animated film Peter Pan, subsequently adopted as a mascot for the company. In addition to the fictional fairy character created by J. M. Barrie, the franchise introduces many new characters and expands substantially upon the limited information the author gave about the fairies and their home of Never Land. The characters are referred to within stories as "Never Land fairies." The franchise includes children's books and other merchandise, a website and the computer-animated Tinker Bell film series, featuring the character and several of the Disney fairies as supporting and recurring characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francie (Barbie)</span> Barbie doll model

Francie Fairchild is a fashion doll issued by Mattel from 1966 to 1976 and re-introduced in 2011. Marketed as "Barbie's MODern cousin" from England, the doll had an extensive line of "mod"-style clothing, often employing bright colors and geometric patterns similar to fashions associated with Carnaby Street in the late 1960s to early 1970s. At 11¼ inches tall, the Francie doll was shorter than Barbie, but taller than Skipper, making the character presumably between the two in age.

Color analysis, also known as personal color analysis (PCA), seasonal color analysis, or skin-tone matching, is a term often used within the cosmetics and fashion industry to describe a method of determining the colors of clothing, makeup, hair style that harmonizes with a person's skin complexion, eye color, and hair color for use in wardrobe planning and style consulting. It is generally agreed that the wrong colors will draw attention to such flaws as wrinkles or uneven skin tone while harmonious colors will enhance the natural beauty of the individual making them appear healthy, brighter, and possible more attractive or put-together.

Star Fairies was a doll toy series of the 1980s made by the Tonka company. The dolls had different costumes and personalities. Star Fairies was adapted into a televised special, made by Hanna-Barbera in 1985. Family Home Entertainment released the special on VHS in 1986.

The Barbie Basics is a line of collector's edition Barbie dolls. They were created by Mattel designer Bill Greening and were introduced in late 2009 to be officially released in the spring of 2010.

Bitty Baby is an American Girl line of 15" infant baby dolls for children ages 3 and up. Bitty Baby's arms, legs, and head are made from vinyl.

The blonde versus brunette rivalry is a rivalry—whether real, imagined, or fictional—between women with blonde hair and those with brown hair.. In popular culture and everyday conversation, the words blonde and brunette are sometimes used as nouns to refer to women by these two hair colors. This supposed rivalry is a common fictional theme in books, magazine articles, film, and television.