Debbie Behan Garrett mentioned the lovely economy not too long ago, and her desire to only buy essentials, and I sadly am in the same boat. Miss Debbie lists black dolls as essentials, and the one she's got coming is awesome. I understand that mindset, but since I don't specialize in one particular type of doll my collection is a bit out of control. And bills were outta sight last month. And a branch broke a window on March 4th. AND Uncle From St. Louis's car went on the blink and Mama and I had to pay for that. Bottom line, I'm sick to death of money. I'm sick of talking about it, of thinking about it, of hearing about it. Wouldn't y'all know, that would be when I see this awesome list of dolls from the late eighties, nineties, and early oughts. Timing couldn't be worse. I don't need these dolls and I'm being a very good girl and not buying them, but I do like them. As usual, these images are not my own.
P.J. SPARKLES
YEARS OF PRODUCTION: 1988-1991
"P.J. Sparkles, shine your love on me! Shine, shine, shine!" I love it when a doll or toy has a catchy jingle! P.J. Sparkles is a little orphan doll kinda like Poor Pitiful Pearl and Little Miss No-Name, but since she's an eighties entity some magic came into the fray. P.J.'s backstory states that she wished fervently for a name, and she got that wish...and parts that lit up! The little doll has a button on her chest, and when it's pressed her hair bow, her earrings, her bracelet, and her heart all light up. Her hair has tinsel in it, and her dress changes from a short dress to a nightgown. Y'all probably know by now that I love things that light up, so P.J. Sparkles attracts my fancy. P.J. had a friend with a similar gimmick (Starbrite Sparkles), a baby sister (Baby Sparkles), three younger friends, and some pets, all of whom can be seen on Ghost of the Doll. P.J., Starbrite, and Baby Sparkles all came in both black and white versions, and I saw an in-box black Starbrite go for two hundred bucks on eBay. She's cute, but eBay can keep that, thanks.
SALLY SECRETS
YEARS OF PRODUCTION: 1992-1994
I never had Sally Secrets, but I did have four of her smaller counterpart, Li'l Secrets. Li'l Secrets kept bags of little treasures hidden in their ample ponytails, and I freaking loved them and their bright colors. Miss Emily reviewed these, and...and the first doll she reviews is just like one of mine!!! I don't have my Li'l Secrets anymore; they went to charity like so many of my toys did, but I had fun with them when I was little! Now Sally Secrets, oh, I love how nineties this doll is! She's got the big hair and the bright clothes, and I love her. Sally's secrets weren't really as secret as the surprises that her smaller companions hid, but she had plenty of cute things to offer. Her shoes and earrings doubled as stamps, and she had a roll of stickers as well (I LOVED stickers growing up). The stickers were a limited time thing, of course, and while refill sets could be had they were expensive. One redditor dismissed Sally as forgettable once her gimmicks ran out, but I beg to differ. She's cute even without stickers. Sally Secrets could also be black or white, and in the early 2000s she saw something of a revival, though those dolls were smaller, kinda like the Bandai-era Strawberry Shortcake bunch.
PENNI SECRETS
YEARS OF PRODUCTION: 1993
Penni Secrets is a member of Sally Secrets' "family," so to speak. The Secrets bunch was kinda like Baby Tender Love; they all had similar names but weren't really "related," so to speak. Anywho, I like Penni even better than Sally...except for the cutesy "I" at the end of Penni's name. Reminds me of a prick I knew from Egypt who wanted to be my boyfriend and kept calling me "hunni." It's "honey" and "Penny," thank you. "Penni" was a fitting name for this doll, idiotic spelling notwithstanding, as her ruffled outfit concealed little inkpens, and the stars on her dress concealed little stamps. Her earrings doubled as stencils (I loved stencils when I was little), and stickers were concealed in her hair bow. Oh, and her hair...did y'all see those awesome bangs! Penni could be the brunette seen above, or a blonde, or another little doll of color, but all three versions had those highlights. I'm not gonna lie, y'all, Penni may come home with me in the future. The very distant future.
TAPSIE
YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1990
Tapsie, not to be confused with Tappsy (blick, licorice!), is a little tap dancer. She has a slight fifties vibe to her with that skirt, and her shiny black shoes make me think of Harmony B. Sharp (who was also a dancer). If Pinterest is to be believed, Tapsie required no batteries...so how in blazes does a doll like this dance if she's got no batteries??? Harmony B. Sharp had a stand that allowed her to gyrate, but Tapsie doesn't have that either. Apparently one presses her hands up and down to get her to dance to her cassette tape. I guess Tapsie is kinda obscure, because I couldn't find a commercial for her! All of the other dolls in this post have a commercial, so I figure Tapsie's gotta have one too, but it's not on YouTube. Tapsie was also black or white and adorable either way, though that pink skirt looks better on her black self. What can I say, I like pink on dolls of color; Addy Walker made me a fan of the combo.
LI'L MISS MAGIC JEWELS
COMPANY: Guess who. Mattel!
YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1991
I think I vaguely remember this one. She initially wore a plain pink Sleeping Beauty-style dress, and the jewels would come out of a magic wand. I have no idea how the jewels stick, but they adhere to human hair too so maybe the jewels are sticky...no, Reddit says they adhered with Velcro. I'll bet that was fun to get out of one's hair, kinda like those Bunchems. Still looks like fun, though. The wand could be refilled, just like Sally Secrets' stickers could, but I figure the refills were probably pricey again. Li'l Miss Magic Jewels could be either black or white, and from what I can tell the white version has unusual violet eyes. I always like it when dolls have violet eyes.
LI'L MISS MAGIC HAIR
YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1991
I think I vaguely remember this one. She initially wore a plain pink Sleeping Beauty-style dress, and the jewels would come out of a magic wand. I have no idea how the jewels stick, but they adhere to human hair too so maybe the jewels are sticky...no, Reddit says they adhered with Velcro. I'll bet that was fun to get out of one's hair, kinda like those Bunchems. Still looks like fun, though. The wand could be refilled, just like Sally Secrets' stickers could, but I figure the refills were probably pricey again. Li'l Miss Magic Jewels could be either black or white, and from what I can tell the white version has unusual violet eyes. I always like it when dolls have violet eyes.
LI'L MISS MAGIC HAIR
YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1989
Like the Secrets and Baby Tender Love lines, Mattel did a number of dolls under the "Li'l Miss" moniker. Li'l Miss Magic Hair had temperature-sensitive hair, and it should be no surprise that I like her quite a bit, though even without the streaks she still has a lot of attributes that I like. Like Sally Secrets, Li'l Miss Magic Hair is very nineties, with big bangs and brightly colored clothes, and I love her sweet little face. And I LOVE THOSE SHOES!!! I do kinda wonder though...items from this era that change color often turn color and won't change back. I wonder if that's the case for Li'l Miss Magic Hair? I have seen plenty with their stripes showing, though that doesn't bug me much.
BABY ALL GONE
COMPANY: Good ol' Kenner!
YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1991
The glut of Mattel dolls ends with this adorable little Kenner baby! This one I do remember from childhood, and I remember being intrigued by the vanishing cherries in her spoon. I also remember the jingle, which was very catchy just like P.J. Sparkles' jingle was. Baby All Gone is similar to early versions of Baby Alive and even shares a name with later versions of Baby Alive, but she is NOT a member of the Baby Alive squad. Indeed, as far as I know Baby All Gone doesn't need any batteries (Baby Alive does). Her bottle is one of those "magic" bottles that empties and fills on its own (I had many a baby bottle like that growing up), and of course, those awesome cherries. I loved cherries too when I was a kid, and I still do! I could eat a whole can of cherry pie filling and be happy as a lark...until all that sugar kicks in! LOL, Baby All Gone was apparently popular enuff to spawn one spinoff, Choosy Baby All Gone.
Choosy is a younger baby, and in addition to milk and cherries she's also got a bowl of peas. Blick, I hope they're frozen; I loathe canned peas. These look like peas with carrots mixed in, and oh, does that take me back! I had just turned twenty, was recovering in the hospital from a kidney stone, and when they served me dinner one of the dishes was canned peas and carrots. I ate everything but that, to the nurse's amusement. LOL, being dolls means that Baby All Gone and Choosy Baby All Gone don't ever have to worry about the hell that is a kidney stone. Both Baby All Gone and Choosy Baby All Gone could be either black or white, and black Baby All Gone is adorable!
YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1991
The glut of Mattel dolls ends with this adorable little Kenner baby! This one I do remember from childhood, and I remember being intrigued by the vanishing cherries in her spoon. I also remember the jingle, which was very catchy just like P.J. Sparkles' jingle was. Baby All Gone is similar to early versions of Baby Alive and even shares a name with later versions of Baby Alive, but she is NOT a member of the Baby Alive squad. Indeed, as far as I know Baby All Gone doesn't need any batteries (Baby Alive does). Her bottle is one of those "magic" bottles that empties and fills on its own (I had many a baby bottle like that growing up), and of course, those awesome cherries. I loved cherries too when I was a kid, and I still do! I could eat a whole can of cherry pie filling and be happy as a lark...until all that sugar kicks in! LOL, Baby All Gone was apparently popular enuff to spawn one spinoff, Choosy Baby All Gone.
KENYA
YEARS OF PRODUCTION: 1992-1995; other companies carried her after Tyco got bought out
I think I remember seeing Kenya at Kmart when I was young! I remember her colorful box. Kenya was a bestseller and came in several different forms, but Beautiful Hairstyle Kenya (seen above) is the one that caught my eye because it shows Kenya's hair being styled in ways that I saw at school. When my black friends were little their hair would be done up in teeny little braids with pony beads or barrettes attached, or they'd have puffy little pigtails that I loved to gently touch. The beads were always my favorite because there were so many colors. Kenya also came in other forms like baby sister Keyara (left) and Sparkle Pretty, the latter of which would've made a good friend for P.J. Sparkles. I think Keyara is so cute!
Other honorable mentions in the list were dolls I already own like Magic Nursery, Cupcakes, Cherry Merry Muffin, Puppy Surprise, Puffalumps, Quints, Glo Worm, My Lickety Treats, and of course, the Cabbage Patch Kids. Wait a minute, y'all have never seen my Glo Worm! He was a good friend of mine, especially during nighttime thunderstorms. He's in storage, tucked away with my childhood stuffed animals, but I still have him. So! Did any of y'all have any of these dolls at one time? Would you have any of 'em in your collection? Discuss.
All of my love,
RagingMoon1987
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