Throwback Thursday review: Ideal Kissy

Another Ideal doll???  Hey, this isn't even the last one!  Kissy is my mother's doll, and she arrived in Mama's life in 1963, at the beginning of that complicated part of childhood known as the pre-teen years.  That was the year that Grandpa gently told Mama that Kissy would be the last doll she received for Christmas due to her age.  Oh yes, I remember getting a speech like that when I was the same age...only Daddy was more blunt, stating flatly that I was "too old to be asking for a Barbie" at my age.  Yeah, fun times.  I did eventually get the Barbie that I wanted, and Daddy became more accepting of my fondness for dolls, but that's for another post.  Anyway, Mama's Kissy is well-maintained and much-loved by the whole family, so what better doll to review?  Here she is.

In all my years of doll collecting, I've NEVER seen another Kissy...not in real life, anyway.  I've seen tons of them online, but not in any of the shops or flea markets I've frequented.  As I mentioned above, Kissy is an Ideal doll, and from what I understand she was fairly popular.  She was sold from 1961 to 1968 (a good run for a doll) and came in a number of sizes and variations, but all had the same gimmick.  Ideal tried to make their dolls' gimmicks fairly obvious from their names, and so it is with Kissy; if you gently press her arms together she'll pucker her lips and make a kissing sound.  Most Kissy dolls (including mine) function this way, with the sole exception being Cuddly Kissy, whose mech was activated when one gently squeezed her tummy.

Some Kissy dolls were younger babies like Cuddly Kissy is, and the last edition was modeled to look like a child of about four, but mine is designed to look like a toddler and she's sized so as well.  Here's how she compares to her Ideal comrade Crissy and to Denise, one of my American Girl dolls.

Twenty-two inches is a lot taller than eighteen, folks!  For some reason size discrepancies like this weird me out a bit; Kissy is clearly a much younger child than Crissy and Denise are, but she towers over both of them.

Regarding hair, I've seen Kissy dolls that had dark hair, but mine is a little blonde.  It's straw-colored and appropriately short, with a left side-part.

The right side has a longer hank of hair that I suspect may have held a hair ribbon or some sort of decoration like that.  Some illustrations show Kissy with a bow in her hair, so I think she may have had one.

The rooting is a little thin, and the plugs show in places.

Mama says that when Kissy was new her eyes were blue-green, and they still have a definite blue-green tinge.  I thought they'd changed over the years, but I'm wrong.  Topping the eyes are soft rooted lashes and delicate eyebrows that are a little too red to match Kissy's hair.

Moving down, Kissy has rounded, rosy baby cheeks and a slightly open cupid's bow mouth.

Notice that Kissy has a small hole molded into her mouth.

This surprised me initially since this doll is not supposed to be a drink-and-wet doll, but then I remembered that this hole probably helps her make her kissing noise.

Now to the body.  Like Crissy, Kissy has a vinyl head on a hard plastic body, and that plastic body is where the gimmick "lives," so to speak.  But that's where the similarities end.  Being a toddler, Kissy has an appropriately shaped toddler body with a rounded torso and stubby, chubby arms and legs.

She's got a few rolls of baby fat here and there like all good toddlers do, and she's got the cutest little belly.  See how it sticks out?

I love her little bellybutton!

Kissy's limbs are also appropriately shaped; she's got little fat puffs on her elbows...

...and five stubby little fingers with knuckle creases and nails molded on.  Notice that Kissy's hands have darkened somewhat over the years; once upon a time they matched the hard plastic of her arm.  This discoloration is apparently normal.

In a similar manner, Kissy has chubby little legs with dimples on her knees.

...and her feet are...surprisingly shapely for a toddler's!  Well...okay, they're squat and boxy from the side...

...but from the front it's easy to see that she's got surprisingly long toes for such a young child.  She's also got little toenails molded in.

Okay, I think I've made it loud and clear that I like the way this body is shaped, and that I think it's appropriately shaped for a doll that is supposed to depict a toddler.  However, I can't say that I love this doll's joints.  Kissy is jointed at her shoulders, hips, neck, and oddly her wrists, and all joints have a great range of motion.  Her little hands rotate due to that wrist joint.

She can sit, stand, hold her arms up, or hold them out, and unlike Crissy, she can turn her head without me breaking anything!

The problem is that these joints feel extremely loose, like they'll break if they're pushed too hard.  I have to be extremely careful about moving this doll's limbs, and I also have to be careful that she's properly balanced before setting her down, as a fall could be disastrous for this doll.  I even use extreme care when picking her up; usually I lift a doll this size under the arms, but in Kissy's case I don't want to stress those shoulder joints any so I have to get her by the waist.  That's not easy to do because my hands are small and Kissy's waist is wide.

Regarding clothes, Kissy is another one of those dolls that's a special shape, but I don't have to worry terribly about dressing difficulties for a number of reasons.  One of those reasons is that this particular doll has most of her original outfit.

Kissy's shoes are currently MIA but very much alive, as I've merely stored them somewhere and have forgotten where.  They're mixed in with my doll clothes though.  I know that much.  Kissy also had a hat but that piece IS gone and was long gone before I even knew who Kissy was.  The hat that she now wears is one of my old hats, probably dating back to the Cherry Merry Muffin days or longer.  Otherwise Kissy's outfit is complete, and that's a fairly easy feat since her outfit is a one-piece romper anyway.  Kissy's romper is made up largely of red and white gingham.

The sleeves are little cap sleeves and should be puffy, but I think they've been laundered a few too many times to puff out much.

The armholes are trimmed with delicate white lace that has remained in good condition over the years.

The bodice has a white collar that is trimmed with the same lace.  I have trouble getting this to lie flat sometimes.

At the waist are these two white flaps...I'm not sure what they're for, unless they're just there to look cute.  Each flap is topped with a single red button.

In back these flaps taper off into ribbons, which tie to make a sash.  These too are a little tired and could do with a light ironing.

Also at the waistline is something that I either never noticed before, or noticed and forgot.  This ribbon looks like just a wadded-up strand of ribbon...

...but when I unfolded it I discovered (rediscovered?) that it serves as a name tag!

Below the waistline the bodice flares out, creating an illusion that this outfit is two pieces.  This effect is enhanced by a white lace-trimmed ruffle.

Under this ruffle lie some little attached...bloomers?  Shorts?  Balloon britches?  Either way these bottoms are constructed similarly to the sleeves, being puffy, gathered at the legholes, and trimmed with lace.

I'm not sure if these were supposed to be fitted, but if they were, then they need new elastic.

The back of the romper opens up and is held shut with three stainless steel snaps.  The loose fit of the garment can be adjusted with the sash.

Ideal was good about releasing sizeable wardrobes for their dolls, and Kissy did have some extra outfits available...but I've never seen them, online or in person.  Despite her large size, her age, and my inability to find factory-made clothes, Kissy is not a hard doll to redress if one chooses to, provided one knows what size clothing to shop for!  As suggested above, Kissy can wear stuff for human babies, but getting the correct size makes all the difference between looking cute and looking comical.  The two pictures below show my attempts to buy clothes for my dolly.  The first image shows Kissy in an outfit sized for a one-year-old.

Children today might get more excited over characters from Frozen, Cars, or Dora the Explorer, but for me, it's all about Winnie-the-Pooh, Big Bird, Charlie Brown, and Bugs Bunny.  See Pooh and Piglet? 

Ahem...where was I?  Yeah, despite Kissy being built similarly to an older baby, she isn't the same size as one, and this outfit is WAY too big for her.  It's impossible to see her cute little leggings, in fact.  If she were a real little girl I'd just say "No biggie, she can grow into it," and toss it into the closet for a month, but Kissy is NOT a real little girl so I can't do that.

Lemonade from lemons, though.  Poppy Elizabeth, my biggest Cabbage Patch Kid, can wear the one-year outfit without it looking too stupid.  It's still a little bit too big, but Cabbage Patch Kids are goofy-looking anyway so no problem.

Further, Kissy can wear Poppy's onesie, which has one of my favorite critters on it:  frogs. 

It's sized for a six-month-old and is thus still a little roomy, but the fit is better.  Besides, who likes to sleep in too-tight pajamas???  Still, it would probably be wise to at least try another size smaller.  I don't mind experimenting on the smaller end of the spectrum because if a zero-to-three-month outfit proves to be TOO small, Sally the Creepy Baby can wear it.  Here's the Winnie-the-Pooh outfit again, because I want that to work sooooo bad for Kissy!

I couldn't find this outfit in a zero-to-three-month size, so I got a three-to-six-month sized outfit instead.  The fit is not perfect, but it's not as ridiculous as the one-year outfit.  There are other options too, if one doesn't care for the hit-and-miss sizes and styles of baby clothing.  Jan's Doll Closet has several cute dresses for the various sizes of Kissy doll, including a few that have her name on the bodice, and a few in yellow, and a few with polka dots.  There's even a replica of Kissy's original outfit!

Time to wrap it up, and this is one of those times where I can't muster up much criticism.  My main problem with Kissy is that she's fragile, more so than most of my other vintage dolls.  I'm not sure how these joints are attached, but the connection is fairly loose and I have to be careful with how I pose this doll.  Otherwise Kissy is a great doll.  Her mech still works, her eyes are bright, her paint is nice, and she's fairly easy to dress.  She's a very pleasant doll to own, and I'm glad Mama kept her nice.

Love,

RagingMoon1987