Dolly Dress Discussion: Bibi-bo outfit

I'm baaaaaaack.  Didja miss me?  Wait...don't answer that.  LOL, anyway, today's outfit belongs to a doll that is on a similar scale to Barbie...but isn't Barbie.  No, today I'm going to discuss an outfit that belongs to an elusive Greek creature named Bibi-bo.  I know very little about this doll except that she has inset eyes and was apparently made by El Greco to compete with Pedigree Sindy.  According to Lucretia's Dollhouse, Bibi-bo was quite popular with Greek children during her run, but she's now quite rare.  Indeed, it's extremely difficult for me to find a decent picture of her to link in, let alone find one for myself.  The few dolls I did find for sale were more than I can afford at the moment, so I satisfied myself with an outfit instead.

Just for the heck of it I photographed the back of the box.  I cant read a word of the writing, but it's still interesting to look at.

These images provide a rough idea of what Bibi-bo looks like, and one picture even shows her boyfriend, Tzon-Tzon.  I like Tzon-Tzon, by the way; he has a sweet face that a lot of boy dolls don't have.

Tzon-Tzon apparently means "John-John."  Hmmm...does that mean that Bibi-bo was dating a Kennedy?  JFK, Jr's mama Jackie-O did marry a Greek multimillionaire, after all.  Maybe that's where El Greco got the name?  I'll probably never know the truth behind that one, but one can always pretend, right?  Furthermore, if "Tzon-Tzon" means "John-John," then I wonder what "Bibi-bo" means?

Right then, back to the outfit.  Apparently Bibi-bo and Sindy were so much alike that they even had similar body construction...but I must remember that my Sindy is not a Pedigree doll.  That might thus mean that this new outfit won't fit her the same, or at all.  We'll cross that bridge when we come to it but first...well, y'all know the drill by now!

Look at those colors!  Nice and bright, just like I like 'em.  Further, the style is perfect for the time of year, as summer is just around the corner.  As promised with the Dolphin Magic outfits, the main piece of this is a swimsuit.

This particular swimsuit is lime green and sleeveless, with a lopsided blue and yellow ribbon sewn to the chest.

The material is very stretchy, but to my complete surprise the leg holes are not hemmed.  Anywhere.

If it's one garment that needs hemming, it's a swimsuit.  Stretchy fabric like this is almost always knitted, and knitted fabric will come apart if it's not properly hemmed.  The top part IS hemmed, with a hem that looks a little clunky.

With knitted material, I much prefer a clunky hem to no hem at all.  God only knows what El Greco was thinking when they did that to the leg holes.  The fabric there isn't running yet, and the interior seams are clean as well...

...but I'll have to be extra careful with those legholes just the same.  At least if they ravel they'll be covered up with this skirt.

As grass skirt, no less!  It's not real grass of course, but rather strands of flat plastic...cord?  Cloth?  Whatever it is, it looks very realistic.  The waistband is elasticised and has blue and yellow zig-zags woven in.

I assumed from pictures on eBay that this last bit was some sort of leisure or inner tube, but it's another danged ponytail holder.

The band itself is neon yellow, and the attached ribbon is yellow, green, and pink, all fluorescent shades, of course.  Reminds me of a set of markers I had when I was a kid.

Matching the bright pink on the hair ribbon are these shoes.

These shoes are tansparent high-heeled pumps, not terribly unlike the shoes Barbie was wearing during the years she and Bibi-bo coexisted.  I love these shoes though; they're a delightful shade of pink.

Unlike the vintage Barbie clothes that I've recently reviewed, the Bibi-bo outfit comes with jewelry.

These pieces, two earrings and a necklace, are pink plastic, though they're not the lovely transparent deep pink that the shoes are.  No, these are a shade duller than hot pink.  Each piece has a teardrop-shaped dangle with a black bezel or gem painted in.

Oops, I forgot the bracelets!  There's four of those, two in neon yellow and two in a shade of pink that matches the shoes.

Now the moment of truth:  will this fit a Marx Sindy doll?

Yes it does...most of it.  Sindy's ears aren't pierced so she can't wear the earrings.

Maxie can wear them, though.

The rest of the outfit fits fine.  It's a little skimpy for a goody-goody doll like Sindy, but it fits her fine.  The swimsuit's leg holes show no sign thus far of ravelling, and these wrinkles in the bodice are a result of the skirt cinching it tight rather than a poor fit.

The shoes fit average-well, occasionally falling off and having to be rescued from my snoopy cats.

The fit of the necklace is a little odd.  Being stiff plastic on a slightly conical neck joint, it won't lie flat.

I was worried initially about the fit of the bracelets since they don't stretch, but I needn't have worried.  They fit Sindy with no problems.

I was able to use the hairband on Sindy's hair.  It looks a little silly, but it works.

In the handful of images that I've found online, Bibi-bo appears to have a head full of thick hair.  Thus this headband might look better in her hair than it does in Sindy's more realistic tresses.

Overall I think this looks adorable on my Sindy and would look equally cute on any Sindy doll out there.  I'd love to see what this particular outfit looks like on Gayle's dark vinyl too.  That being said, I advise caution when seeking out a Bibi-bo outfit, as some parts may or may not be hemmed, and pieces from the line are pricey.  Indeed, I could have bought two Butterfly Art Barbie dresses with what I spent on this one outfit.  I'm not going to knock this outfit for the price, but it'll also be the last Bibi-bo outfit I buy for awhile.

Always,

RagingMoon1987