More random dolls that I don't need but like

What can I say, I like doing posts like these.  They keep the blog alive and hopefully keep y'all entertained while I wait to hear from my doctor.  Nope, still haven't heard back from him.  He said he was sending my X-ray to "someone else," presumably for a second opinion, but I haven't heard anything yet.  That said, today's dolls will largely be baby dolls, and most of the images will be screenshots from YouTube because I don't own most of these.  Apologies.

BABY THIS 'N' THAT

COMPANY:  Remco
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  1976, 1990

Baby This 'n' That!  Baby This 'n' That!  She does a lot of this and she does a lot of that!  I think I've told this story before, but one time while my great-grandfather was playing with one of the family babies it apparently loaded its pants, and Great-Grandpa hollered "One of y'all better get in here!  This baby's done a lot of that!"  I guess he was too good to change diapers himself.  Baby This 'n' That doesn't load her pants like some baby dolls do, though.  Rather, she holds items in her hands, items like a rattle and a toy telephone, and she moves her arms when you squeeze her goofy-looking little toes.  She also can move her mouth, which I didn't remember her doing, and I just think she's cute.  The family joke helps my opinion of her a bit too, of course.

Now here's where my head spun a little bit.  In 1990 Baby This 'n' That got a revival and an update.

I didn't know this doll existed.  I didn't know Remco was even still in business in 1990.  Awww, phooey, there's plenty that I don't know, about dolls and about a lot of other things I like.  Sweet Baby This 'n' That didn't do everything that her seventies self did, but she did brush her hair, sip on a straw, and blow kisses, so that's something.  Again, she's cute, and she appears to be...kinda obscure.  eBay has PLENTY of the older Baby This 'n' That, but the 1990 version...not so much.  Challenge accepted.

MAKE ME BETTER BABY

COMPANY:  Geoffrey, Inc.
YEAR:  1998

Make Me Better Baby was strictly a Toys R Us thing, but otherwise she was your average little sickie.  She'd cough, get red glowing cheeks, and run a fever, or she'd develop a red glowing ear and moan in pain, but either way the remedy was the same.  Cough syrup for the cough, ear drops for the ear, and she'd announce "All better!"  This doll-child appealed to me because I've always been attracted to sick dolls, and because she had short, low-maintenance hair, but I didn't like her enuff to want her or ask for her.  I was able to find a used one on eBay though, and guess what?  The white version has violet eyes!  I always like that.  Oh, and surprise, surprise, Baby Alive has/had a doll with the same name and the same gimmick.

Her cheeks even light up!  Poor love could also receive a shot, which makes me cringe because I hate the thought of babies getting stuck with sharp things.  I'm pro-vax, mind y'all, and a lot of those shots prevent very, very bad things from happening to innocent little kids, but no one in their right mind likes hurting small children...or small pets either, for that matter.  My animals always ran a fever when they got their first round of shots, but it kept my dogs from getting parvo so it was worth it.  A more recent Baby Alive with the same name trades the shot for a tissue box...or maybe those are baby wipes.  This one does load her pants, after all.

I'm willing to bet there are other Make Me Better Babies out there, but the one from Toys R Us kinda started it all.

POTTY DOTTY

COMPANY:  Playmates Toys
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1998

I hated this doll when she was in production, and I'm willing to bet other kids did too, because this pet is pretty obscure.  The picture is pretty self-explanatory; Dotty is a drink and wet doll, though she didn't actually drink because she's mechanical.  She'd react to her bottle, then she'd announce to her "mommy" that she has to go potty, and then when you put her on her little potty she...makes a sound like she's taking a leak.  But there's a catch!  If you don't get her panties off fast enuff she makes the tinkling sound anyway and then she says "Uh-oh, I'm sorry, Mommy!"  Believe me, Dotty, sciatica does a number of fun things to one's body that I wasn't originally aware of, so I understand accidents.  The human nervous system is so weird; kidney stones make one throw up, and sciatic nerve problems screw around with a lot more than just one's ability to walk.  Anyway, what really bugged me about Potty Dotty growing up were her huge, wide-set eyes.  She's just a funny-lookin' little goober...kinda like Baby Alive, now that I think of it.  She was innocent enuff, though.  Indeed, I'd rather have a doll that makes a tinkling sound than one that craps slime.

SHOP 'N' BOP BABY

COMPANY:  Playmates Toys
YEAR OF PRODUCTION:  1998

Now I know why this doll's commercial was always shown immediately after Potty Dotty's!  Both Playmates dolls, both a little strange.  Shop 'n' Bop's gimmick was admittedly stranger than Potty Dotty's was, but then again I loved shopping carts when I was little.  I loved riding in them, I loved riding under them (that was possible at one of the grocery stores in Malden), and I loved helping push them "like a big girl."  I was never allowed to ride on the front of the cart, like Shop 'n' Bop did here.

Mama and Daddy thought it wasn't safe to hang onto the front, and indeed some of the stores had signs up warning parents not to let their kids ride the carts like that.  Some little brats did it anyway, and I saw at least one kid get injured that way.  I don't think Shop 'n' Bop sold well either, by the way, as pickin's on eBay are pretty slim.

BOUNCY BABY

COMPANY:  MGA Entertainment
Year of production:  1996-1997

MGA Entertainment's first doll is a far cry from the dolls that followed her!  Indeed, when someone brings up MGA in conversation the first dolls I think of are usually Bratz, L.O.L. Surprises, or Rainbow High.  I thought Bouncy Baby was cute, but like other dolls I've seen she was more of a toy than collector fodder, so I never got nor really wanted this one.  Bouncy's gimmick is another simple one:  squeeze one wrist and she'll sing one song, squeeze her other wrist and she'll sing another, press her tummy and she giggles.  Despite what the commercial suggests, one apparently does not have to bounce this doll to get her to sing.  She has a soft body with simple clothes and hair that's easy to take care of, and those look like rainbow highlights in that lousy screenshot, but they're actually streamers on her hair bow.  I love that.  Everything's better with a hair bow.

In 1998 Bouncy Baby spawned a spinoff, one that was around until 2000 or so.  She was Bathtime Bouncy Baby.

This version of Bouncy Baby could be played with in the tub or in the pool, though I don't think getting her fully submerged was a smart idea.  According to an archived Reddit post this doll was capable of singing and vocalizing at the tiniest little movement, and taking out the batteries did no good.  My sister thus would've HATED this doll!  Still would, probably!  Anyway, I didn't find this doll's commercial anywhere near as catchy, but I liked her a lot better than the original Bouncy Baby because of her brightly colored swimsuit.  I also got to hold a friend's Bathtime Bouncy Baby, and her vinyl felt nice.  I liked this doll quite a bit.

BABY GO BOOM

COMPANY:  GC Toys
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  2001

Oh, I remember this one!  She did and said a number of things that I did and said when I was small, and thus I thought she was really cute.  Baby Go Boom did pratfalls, kicked her legs, and talked and giggled.  She also reacted when you tickled her, which I think is cute despite the fact that I loathe being tickled myself.  I think it's interesting, by the way, that when you're an adult and you do a pratfall it can do some serious damage; indeed, that's part of the reason why my sciatica is so bad.  But when you're a little kid you're lighter and have a diaper covering your tushie, and falling down isn't as big a deal.  Indeed, Baby Go Boom makes a big joke of falling down and going "boom," rather than crying about falling like some children do.  So this doll is a cute doll, but...well, she's mechanical.  Y'all know I've got an aversion to mechanical dolls, even though I seem to have plenty of 'em, LOL.

KINDER GARDEN BABIES

COMPANY:  Up Up and Away, Marvel Entertainment, Toy Biz, Playmates Toys
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  1997-2005

I really loved these!  Kinder Garden Babies were small baby dolls that resided in fabric flowers, and the flowers in turn converted into carriers for the doll.  They were scented like the flower that they replicated, and oh my, were there a LOT of flowers!  The two pictured above are a blueberry and a raspberry, but because they're from the Playmates era I don't know if they had names or not.  Up Up and Away's blueberry doll was named Briget, and Toy Biz named their blueberry Brenda, so the names varied anyway.  Perri Pussywillow, from Toy Biz, and Betsy Beehive, from Up Up and Away are my two favorites.  Perri is both a wildflower and a cat, and she shares a name with a Little Golden Book that I once loved.  Betsy is...well, bee-themed!  I love bees.

There was also a spinoff of the regular Kinder Garden Babies called Water Lilies, and like Bathtime Bouncy Baby they could be put in the water.  Their hovel converted into a shower, and I have a hazy recollection of the hovels floating as well, but I may be mistaken there.  When I was a child I liked these the best since I loved to play in the water.  These seem to be a bit more obscure than the regular Kinder Garden Babies, but I liked 'em enuff to ask for one.  Alas, there were none to be found in podunk Malden or anywhere close, so I never got one.  These also remind me a little of the Shining Stars, which I discussed in the past; both are small baby dolls, both have cute carriers that appealed to my fantasy-flavored imagination, and I need both of 'em like I need a hole in my head.

BABY AH-CHOO

COMPANY:  Mattel
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  2007-2009

This one's cute, and like Make Me Better Baby she's a doll that I actually would've played with as a kid (I loved to doctor and baby my stuffed animals).  Baby Ah-Choo's gimmick is self-explanatory:  she's got a cold and her owner has to get her through it.  Squeeze her tummy and the poor love sneezes, coughs, asks for help blowing her nose, and reacts to her thermometer and her medicine spoon.  She also asks to be held and occasionally will sigh "make it go away."  Poor dolly, I think we all know what that's like.  Indeed, I remember being sick during my sophomore year of college.  I had a simple cold like Baby Ah-Choo does, but my throat tickled so bad that I couldn't stop coughing, and in the middle of the night I wailed "MAKE IT STOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!"  Of course the tickle DIDN'T stop no matter what I did, and I scared the bejesus out of my roommate when I yelled, LOL.  That was the night I mixed sleeping pills with cough syrup, so desperate was I to MAKE IT STOOOOOOOOOOOP, and y'all can probably predict how that went.  Arguably the dumbest thing I ever did.  Anyway, during that same illness I also desperately wanted to be held, even though I was a full twenty-two years old!  So I can relate with this doll.  As an aside, Baby Ah-Choo is kinda different from the sickies I grew up with, in that she came in Caucasian, Latina, and Afro-American variations.  By 2009 this was commonplace.  

Since I'm here on the subject of sick dolls, Li'l Sniffles is also worthy of mention.  She's a little older than Baby Ah-Choo is; I remember her from my high school days, but though I've searched her commercial is not on YouTube.  Li'l Sniffles does many of the same things that Baby Ah-Choo does, but she also sings when she feels well, and her manners are a tad better than Baby Ah-Choo's are.  When she asks for her soup or her meds she says "please," and after she's received what she's asked for she says "Thanks, Mommy."  I don't know how popular either doll was, but I was able to find both of them on eBay for reasonable prices.  With Lulu Achoo, Hedda Get Bedda, and Bless You Baby Tender Love hanging around, I doubt I need more sick dolls.

PRINTEMPS

COMPANY:  Sekiguchi
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  1970s

I found this image on Pinterest, so if this is your doll, please let me know and I'll either credit you or take the picture down, your choice.  I offer my compliments to your collection; I can't tell if those are Smart Dolls or Dollfie Dreams in the background, but this is a beautiful trio.  Printemps actually did go on my wish list...for about five minutes!  At minute six I saw their prices on eBay and that was the end of it.  $375 for one of these???  Forget it!  If I'm gonna cough up multiple Benjamins for a doll I want it to be a Smart Doll or a super-nice Simon and Halbig.  Printemps is an interesting little creature, though.  She's got the aesthetic common to both dolls of the seventies and to Japanese dolls of any decade, complete with huge, hypnotic eyes.  The eyes have a catch:  they initially look dark, but they glow bright blue when the light hits them just right.  I love the creepy factor!  I also love their otherwise mild faces.

MAKE ME UP DARLINGS

COMPANY:  Hasbro
YEARS OF PRODUCTION:  1989-1990

This entry is a little ill-timed, as I recently brought Cookin' Cathy home, and she's popped into the blog a couple'a times already.

Make Me Up Darlings are a last-minute addition to this post (I wanted an even ten), but they're still pretty interesting, and I didn't discuss them in depth the last two times Cathy popped into the blog, so yeah.  These small dolls were scented, and they also had faces that would change with warm or cold water, like so.  Even their eye color could change, though I can't yet test this with Cathy.  Hot water issues, y'know.  The Make Me Up Darlings also came with outfits and accessories that fit their theme.  Mary Mermaid, seen above, came with a tailfin that would allow her to do the Ariel thing without giving up her voice.  Cookin' Cathy's wardrobe change is less drastic; she's got an overskirt that doubles as an apron, plus an oven mitt.

According to Ghost of the Doll there were two waves with six dolls each, and three playsets with one doll and extra accessories, but the gimmick remained the same.  The dolls could be dressed as animals, as fantasy beings, or as everyday occupations; my favorite of them all is Chessie Cheerleader, because she shares a name with one of my cats, AND with my favorite railroad mascot, after whom my cat is named.  I like Annie Artist too, with her bright outfit and hot pink hair.  The dolls are a little cartoonish, but then a lot of dolls are.  They'd fit right in with my Strawberry Shortcake/Cherry Merry Muffin bunch.

As usual, dear readers, your input is welcomed.

Love,
RagingMoon1987

International Doll Day 2025

I almost forgot all about it, being both Flag Day and a work day.  But the second Saturday in June is International Doll Day.  The Popcorn Trio wishes all of y'all a good one...

...as do my trio of nineties blondes (Alexis, Tiffany, and Suzie)...

...and Candela Laura, Sour Apple Mia, and Ilaria. 

Oh, Sour Apple Mia?  She's new.  I nickname my Mia dolls based on hair color, with this one being sour apple green.  Oh, and dig these freckles!!!

That's the other reason why I wanted this Mia in my crew.  Some Mia dolls have freckles and some don't, and I wanted one with (my other two don't have 'em).  Oh, and Ddung wanted to join in the fun.  She saw this Reddit post and politely asked to stand with Teal Mia, since the doll in the Reddit post looks like one of the smaller Mia dolls.

So cute!  I need to do a post on big-headed dolls; for some reason they seem to be popular.

Oh yeah, my new-to-me Sun Rubber girl also wants to drop in.  She hitched a ride to work with me today.

I love those sugar skull buttons!  The bag on my walker has two of them, one black and one white.  My little doll is not bothered by them; some dolls and people get freaked out by sugar skulls. 

That's it for my International Doll Day this year; being on that walker has put the kabosh on carrying my dolls to a more interesting location for pictures.  Hopefully soon that'll change.

Happy International Doll Day,

RagingMoon1987

A visit to the doctor

Ilaria and I are kindred spirits!  She and I both have a gimpy leg, but she doesn't let it discourage her like I have.

At the behest of my boss and my mother I spoke to the doctor about my leg.  See, he'd given me a prescription painkiller, and while it did help my pain it also made me very sleepy.  I would prefer not to fall asleep at work, and indeed one of my favorite patrons had to rouse me once.  Can't have that.  And besides that, I wanted answers, not medicine.  I wanted to know why I need to use a walker at my still relatively young age.

So I got an X-ray yesterday and long story short, I, at the ripe old age of 37, am going to need my left hip replaced in the not-too-distant future.  The doctor showed me the image, and the difference between my two hip joints was plain as day.  The right hip had a space between the two bones like it's supposed to and the left one did not, meaning that the cartilage in my left hip is degenerating.  Cartilage doesn't regrow, so I saw the writing on the wall, but I asked anyway:  "Am I lookin' at a hip replacement, then?"  He smiled apologetically and said "Yep."  So there y'all have it.  I'm not even 40, and I need my hip done.

I don't know when or where this surgery is going to be done, but Mama and my doctor both say sooner rather than later, and I don't want it done during the winter since winter weather is so unpredictable.  Either way, it'll have to be done.  I'm just glad to have some answers, and I'm glad it's not something related to my nerves or my muscles.  I don't have insurance, but I do have some savings so I'm...well, I'm mildly worried about the cost, but we'll see.  Either way it looks like I'm going under the knife either this fall or next spring.  I don't know what changes that'll bring to the blog, but there might be some slow spells.

As always, prayers and good vibes are welcome.  As for Ilaria...I don't think anything will help her, but she's feeling no pain.

"Nope!"

Hugs,

RagingMoon1987

Miss Suzette

What is it about this doll that makes her so expensive?  For the uninitiated, Miss Suzette is a Barbie-sized Uneeda doll, with multiple hair colors and a very pretty, very early sixties face.

Needless to say, I'd like to own one...but look at these effing prices!!!

Killecrankie, that much for a Barbie-sized doll???  It's not like Suzette is highly jointed like her Uneeda sisters Dollikin and Miss Dollikin.  I own Miss Dollikin myself; she's east to find and inexpensive.  My poor girl still needs a dress.

A redhead, of course.  So what gives?  I know the market was oversaturated with Miss Dollikin, hence why there's a glut of them on eBay and they're so inexpensive.  Is Miss Suzette rare?  Jenjoy notes that Miss Suzette was sold only at a store I've never heard of, W.T. Grant's, so I bet she is indeed rare.  I guess that for now I'm just gonna have to look at Miss Suzette and covet, as I'm having to spend my money on X-rays and a back patio.  Yep, we're putting in a small deck out back, and I can't wait to see how it looks!

Love,
RagingMoon1987

An interesting take on toddler dolls of the nineties

Several weeks ago (May 15th, to be exact) I watched this video by Don't Call Me Doll.  LOL, I love that handle name!  Makes me think of how I'm always telling Uncle Man-Child not to call me stupid nicknames.  Mama is the only one allowed to call me "hun," thank you too much.  Her and anyone lucky (unlucky?) enuff to marry me, and the nice lady at our local Taco Bell, but then she calls EVERYONE "hun."  Back to the point, Don't Call Me Doll released that video that skimmed the history of an unusual doll trend, one that lasted from 1989 to 1996, and had an usual reason for coming to an end.  I thought it would make a good blog post, so I'm ripping the video off.  I'm doing it because while I knew the objectifying of children was an issue, I didn't know these dolls (some of whom I like) may have had a role in it.  Oh, and spoilers, I will be discussing some of these dolls further in future posts.  Or I've done them already, as is the case with P.J. Sparkles (1989).

P.J. isn't really what I'd call a toddler fashion doll since she didn't rely heavily on clothes, makeup, or looks to sell herself, but she does sparkle.  Don't Call Me Doll lists her as the first of what I call the glitzy toddler dolls, so named because some of 'em look like they could compete in a glitz beauty pageant.  Coexisting with P.J. Sparkles were the Make Me Up Darlings, which were significantly smaller than P.J., but have a makeup theme and a toddler-like build.  Cookin' Cathy here is mine.  Again, they relied on a heavy dose of fantasy, but still!  They wore makeup!

Sally Secrets came next, meaning that Penni Secrets wasn't far behind.  I guess I'll count Li'l Secrets too, though they're built more like little girls than full-tilt toddlers.  Again, that Li'l Secrets doll is mine; she's just like one I owned when I was little.

Sally, Penni, and the little dolls didn't go as hard with the beauty factor as later glitzy toddler dolls did, though Sally's clothes could be decorated with stickers.  But for the most part these dolls focused on hidden little surprises, stuff like pens and stamps, stickers, stencils, and In the case of the Li'l Secrets, pencil toppers and charms for a bracelet.  Sally and Penni do look a little like they're wearing makeup, but that wasn't the focus of their gimmicks.

The Li'l Miss crowd...oh my, these put the "G" in glitzy toddler dolls!  This line started in 1989 with Li'l Miss Makeup, whose gimmick was just like that of the Make Me Up Darlings.  Her eyeshadow, lips, and cheeks would change color with hot or cold water, as would her nails and earlobes.  The commercial shows it better.

Li'l Miss Magic Hair focused on hair.  She developed rainbow streaks...or shapes, if that's what you wanted.  Her face doesn't change color, but she's pretty made up, with pink lips and a heart on her cheek.  This one is my favorite of the bunch; I've had to exert a lot of self control with her.

Triple Change Li'l Miss Makeup had the makeup gimmick, but also had multiple outfit pieces that one could change around.  She could thus qualify for both glitz and natural pageants.  Yep, there are beauty pageants for kids that don't rely on a ton of makeup and a fancy dress to win the grand prize.  Triple could easily do both.

The last Li'l Miss doll of 1989 was Li'l Miss Dress Up.  This one had the makeup gimmick, the hair color gimmick, and the multiple-piece outfit, and pieces of her clothing also changed color.  This one was about as pimped out as it got.

The Li'l Miss line didn't really pick up again until 1991, with Li'l Miss Singing Mermaid.  Despite her commercials, Miss Mermaid wasn't supposed to be completely submerged, as doing so would fry her singing mech.  The other Li'l Miss that year was one of my favorites, Li'l Miss Magic Jewels.

Both of these dolls had ample hair and at least some sparkle to their name, and Magic Jewels threw in a fancy ballgown to sweeten the deal.  Oh, and Miss Mermaid's stripes and seashells changed color in the water.  They both have some eyeshadow and hearts on their cheeks, so they're fairly made up, though not so much as Li'l Miss Makeup.

The final new doll in the Li'l Miss lineup came in 1993, with Li'l Miss Candi Stripes.  She has/had Li'l Miss Magic Hair's gimmick, but her hair was striped in shades of orange and pink...mmmm, like sherbet.  Or like the sunset, take your pick.

Don't Call Me Doll only touched on the Wee Li'l Miss bunch, but they too were a thing during the reign of the larger Li'l Miss dolls, kinda like Li'l Secrets.  These dolls were also a lot like Make Me Up Darlings, in that they could be one thing or another and had at least one color change feature.  Wee Li'l Miss Roller-Skater is my favorite of these because she had very dark hair and could go from roller skater to girl rocker.  Her dress would change from rainbow to black and back again with various temperatures of water.

Both Li'l Miss and Wee Li'l Miss had extra fashions too, so these dolls had pretty much everything that made them fun.  But as fond as I am of these dolls, especially Wee Li'l Miss Roller-Skater, they're enuff to make some folks uncomfortable.  We'll get to that.

Hasbro also had glitzy toddler dolls; Don't Call Me Doll lists their first one as this one, Starla.  She came out around 1990 and was in production for a couple'a years.

Starla had a small microphone for herself and a bigger one for her owner, and when the owner talked or sang into the big mike Starla would sing along in her own voice.  Her lips would even move.  Despite Starla's focus on music rather than beauty, she's pretty pimped out, with a shiny skirt and stars on her bodice, and tinsel in her bangs (kinda like P.J. Sparkles).

Don't Call Me Doll lists the Li'l Miss's competition as this doll:  Makeup Beauty, dating to 1993.

Killecrankie, this little gal could be gussied up!  Hair streaks, makeup, jewelry, nail polish...are those temporary tattoos???  Like Li'l Miss Makeup this doll reacted to hot and cold water, and her tools were held in a skirt-tray that went around her waist.  As far as I know she came with no clothes, just her painted on...underwear?  Bikini?  That's...kinda grown up for a little doll, but then little girls do wear two-piece swimsuits sometimes.  Mine was orange and pink with little frills at the legs!

Tyco's Kenya wasn't as glitzy as the Li'l Miss bunch, but she did go pretty hard on hair play and fashion so I'm including her here.

There was...I guess Flower Magic Mary counts as a glitzy toddler doll.  She kinda delves into fantasy, but she does involve gussying up an otherwise simple little doll, and her flowers are sparkly.  As with several of these, I'm VERY fond of Flower Magic Mary and I'll be discussing her in a future "dolls I like but don't need" post.

Another of my favorite dolls from the glitzy toddler doll era is Twist 'n' Style Tiffany, who had hair that one could style in infinite styles.  Again, I'll be discussing this doll in a future "random doll" post, and I may break my own rule, because I think this doll is super-cute.  Occupying the same timeline was My Pretty Topsy Tail, also a hair play doll that could be beautified.  Tiffany is on the left and Topsy is on the right.  Tiffany dates from 1994 and is a Hasbro doll, while Topsy is a year older and is a Tyco product.

Notice that Topsy's dress is even glitzy, with that foil-looking stuff that was...actually kinda popular on dolls of the nineties.  I didn't like it much, myself, because it was crinkly and stiff and held wrinkles like mad.  As for Tiffany, Don't Call Me Doll noted that her commercial (seen here) was the first one to give the black doll and the white doll equal billing.  The others largely focused on the white doll, though there were black variants in many cases.

Okay, what year is it...I forgot to date the ones above <goes back and does this>.  Oh right, 1995.  Chloe Charms debuted that year.  She had little silver baubles that could decorate her (or your) hair and clothes.  She's got the beauty pageant smile, I must say!

As with Twist 'n' Style Tiffany, I like the black doll better.  Her smile is bigger.

Tyco's entry in 1995 was Surprise Hat Susie...another Susie!  Susie's hair was concealed under her hat, like so.

According to Ghost of the Doll Susie's highlights could be one of four different color combinations, so there was a little bit of blind-boxing going on.  Her hat doubled as a purse and could carry Susie's hair do-dads when they weren't being used.

The last of the glitzy toddler dolls came in 1997, with this pet, Pretty Crazy Curls.  Don't Call Me Doll says that she did not sell well.  My doll is used and is thus a little frowsy, but I'm working on giving her her glitz back.  Her pet name is Alexis.  Look at her eyes!

Pretty Crazy Curls was yet another hair play doll, and she came with rollers that allegedly could give her boingy-sproingy curls with a spritz of...water?  Of something that was in her spray bottle.  My doll came with her very beat-up box, and I don't think her box self is as cute as her real self.

Oh, by the way, dig this price tag.  I remember when Wally World did these green stickers, AND I remember when a good-sized doll like this was a Jackson...or less.

Pretty Crazy Curls may be worth a closer look in the future.

Now...is there anything wrong with any of the dolls above?  Not really.  Yes, it's kinda weird that a little doll would be wearing full makeup, but I always saw it as a little kid wearing Mommy's makeup, which I myself did as a child.  Harmless, right?  So why did the glitzy toddler doll trend end so abruptly in 1997, you ask?  Don't Call Me Doll opines that this young lady may have been the reason.

For those of y'all who don't know, that is JonBenet Ramsey, a six-year-old beauty pageant veteran who was found beaten, molested, and strangled in her own home on Christmas Day of 1996.  Her murder was never solved.  I hypothesize that her brother killed her and her parents covered it up, but that's both conjecture and straying from the subject.  The murder was extremely high-profile, and most of the publicity pictures used were like the one above, showing JonBenet with professionally styled hair and a fair amount of makeup, both must-haves for a glitz beauty pageant.  As such she bears an eerie resemblance to the glitz toddler dolls, especially Li'l Miss Makeup.  I guess that gave parents (potential buyers of glitzy toddler dolls) the heebie-jeebies, and I can't say as I blame them.  The first segment of this video, showing JonBenet in big hair and a full skirt, dancing and singing into a microphone, makes me think of Wee Li'l Miss Roller-Skater, who transformed into a singer with big hair and a poofy skirt.

Of course it's conjecture that JonBenet's murder tied in with the fall of the glitzy toddler doll, but the timing of the fall speaks volumes, as does the rest of the doll market.  Coincidentally, American Girl's Just Like You line was beginning to gather steam in 1997 (they were American Girl of Today then), so that might've also been a factor.  I dunno.  Either way, regular baby dolls, the ones that could be nurtured instead of beautified, continued to sell normally, and as far as I know Barbie did too.  But glitzy toddler dolls never recovered, and they're not ubiquitous anymore.  That said, every so often we do see a revival of made-up, slightly (or very) vampy baby and toddler dolls, as Bratz Babyz (left) and L.O.L. Surprise's "Look, I'm So Big" line.

I'll go as far as to include the Jaggets, even though they're not wearing makeup like the Bratz and L.O.L. dolls are.  Indeed, the only thing super-edgy about the Jaggets are their clothes.

But these are...kinda the exception to the rule.  Kinda.  The L.O.L. Surprises are ridiculously popular in small form, and I think they count as glitzy toddler dolls even though they're small, but for the most part the dolls we find in stores nowadays are stuff like Barbie, American Girl imitators, and baby dolls, with something unusual finding its way in every so often, stuff like #FailFix and Fidgie Friends, or like Pinkie Cooper and Cutie Pops, if you remember that far back.  The Disney toddler dolls are sometimes sparkly, but then they're...well, they're Disney!  Disney dolls always have a little magic and a lot of fantasy thrown in.

I did find one exception, dating from 2000.  This is another Hasbro doll, Makeup Mindy, and she's a fairly obvious toddler doll.

She came with a Play-Doh beauty mask!  Okay, I don't know if it's brand-name Play-Doh, but it was something similar.  The rest of her reacted to temperature as far as I know, and I didn't find any evidence that this doll was popular.  eBay has a few of 'em for cheap, and YouTube has a commercial, but as far as I know this doll is pretty obscure.  I love obscure.  And hey, at least this one has clothes!  Poor ol' Makeup Beauty only had that stupid bikini.

I have to admit, I didn't think of this too much!  The dolls with heavy eye makeup did make me lift an eyebrow a little, but then I remembered how little girls often like to play with Mama's/Auntie's/Grandma's makeup (I was one of them, as I said above).  Another way to play make-believe, basically.  But...butbutbutbut, there's a big difference between a little kid playing with Mama's makeup and putting said little kid in a glitz pageant to strut around in front of God knows who.  I can definitely see why adults got the heebie-jeebies from glitzy toddler dolls, especially after JonBenet was murdered, since a lot of these dolls look...well, like they're going to compete in some sort of pageant.

What say y'all?  Are glitzy toddler dolls harmless toys that rely on make-believe, or do they give you the ick all over?  Or do you not give a crap?  Discuss.  As for me...sigh, I admit that Twist 'n' Style Tiffany is on her way to Casa Pizarro, and I already own Pretty Crazy Curls.  I think the objectification of children is definitely an issue, but...well, these are dolls.  I just see them as a way to play make-believe.  But as always, I welcome respectful dissent in the comments!

Glitzy love
RagingMoon1987