Funkalicious Sindy

Sindy rocks her funky styles.

Today's doll provided an awesome (or, should I say "groovy"?) trip through the fashions of the 1970s. This  Sindy doll came in a lot of dolls and toys from the 1980s. According to my research, however, this Sindy is either the Pedigree 1976 version or the Marx USA version of 1978. Instead of the Sindy logo, this Sindy is marked 2 GEN 1077 033055X on the back of her head and Made in Hong Kong on her back. Sindy came with the mod, funky turquoise overalls and flowered shirt with the turquoise felt hat, but I can't find any record of it in any web sites showing her outfits. The overalls were actually sewn onto her body.

I'm not well-versed in Sindy dolls, but I read Sindy was developed as a UK alternative to Barbie. Her pretty face and more realistic, girlish figure appealed to British girls. Sindy also gained ground from Barbie because Pedigree produced many accessories and furniture for her right from the start, when Barbie still only had outfits. Sindy was acquired from Pedigree by the US company, Marx, around 1978 or so but they produced the doll, which was marked like this doll, for only one year before they went out of business.

Sindy's suitcase and clothing lot.

I had a lot of fun searching through my doll clothing stash for 1970s fashions. I don't often restore dolls from this era, so those clothes haven't been appropriate for the 50s and 60s dolls I usually do. I also had a cool retro suitcase which turned out to be the perfect size and style for Sindy and her stuff.

Sindy came wearing blue panties so tight I can't get them off, so she just has to wear them. I cleaned Sindy and brushed her lovely hair, but her bands are nice and tight so she didn't need any re-stringing. Sindy does have the melt marks you see all the time around the joints of dolls from this era. Sunshine Family dolls are prone to this as well. In Sindy's case it makes her hips tight but doesn't stop them moving and her arms move fine. This Sindy has what's called the "active" body. She's jointed at the neck, shoulders, waist, wrists, and hips, and then has bendable knees, ankles, and elbows, so you can really pose her. All her joints work except for one knee. That same leg has what looks like a straight pin pushed into one foot. I don't know if that's related to the knee or not. She has some discolored areas to her body and clothing form age. All in all, Sindy is really nice for her age and is still plenty sturdy to be used as a play doll for your favorite girl.

Sindy's ultra-poseable.

Sindy's marks

One foot has a metal pin.

Sindy's new puppy, Spot, is still learning to obey commands, so Sindy takes him to the park to practice. She wears her mod flower-inset polyester pants under a red cotton tunic. It's brisk outside, so she tops off her outfit with her leopard "fur" beret. Go-Go boots and her red and black velvet purse complete the look.

Ever-popular Sindy meets her friends at the soda shop after school. She's adorable in her cowl-neck acrylic sweater and blue twill A-line skirt, original to her logo outfit. Her go-go boots are the perfect choice again. Sindy's pink gold-edged plate and milkshake are included in her set.

Sindy's best friend is having a garden party, so Sindy wears her best orange maxi-dress. Her fuzzy pink headband, gold clutch, and "keen" amber shades ensure she's the most fashionable girl there. Sindy wears the only shoes in my entire enormous collection that fit her, hard plastic white pumps from the same era. Sindy's feet are large compared to other fashion dolls and even Sindy's own branded footwear came with instructions to rub talcum powder on her feet to assist getting them into the shoes and boots! These stay on her feet, although the heels don't stay in unless she's standing in the shoes.

I had a headband much like this in the 1970s!

Sindy's hair is thick and soft with no missing plugs. Her up-to-the-minute style of long layers can be finger curled into Farrah Fawcett wings and flipped up in the back. Her pink brush is marked "Hong Kong."

Sindy's hair brush

Sindy wears her original logo shirt and skirt with her go-go boots to a night at the bowling alley with friends. This outfit came on a different but nearly identical Sindy who is unfortunately missing her hands. That Sindy became my model doll and passed her outfit on to this one! The shirt has a couple faint spots and some missing stitches at the neck but is still cute.

Sindy's original logo outfit

On laundry day Sindy uses her squishy vintage laundry basket. I saw an ad for a Sindy laundry set by Pedigree and it showed a basket identical to this as far as I could see from the photo, so I believe this is a Sindy piece. It and the hangers are marked "Hong Kong." Sindy wears a red and white pin striped robe I think could be a Littlechap piece. There was no tie so I added one from grosgrain ribbon.

Sindy's laundry set

I love, love, love Sindy's case, which is a vintage Holiday Fair suitcase from 1968. This Japan-made cloth train case or toiletries case has its original lock but is missing its key. The strap and side pocket are a great size for Sindy and her things. There is wear to the edges and the frame has some bending, but the zippers all work and the pattern is just the right colorful, splashy style for Sindy.

Sindy's paint and hair are perfect.

Sindy can be strapped into the case.

The edges have wear.

The suitcase tag

Well,  I had a fantastic time playing with Sindy! I never had one of these, but when I see some of the original furniture sets and dolls with clothes I can vaguely remember seeing ads for them and thinking they were neat. This version of Sindy was available for such a short time in America and we lived in such a remote rural area I'm sure none of this stuff ever reached our stores. Eventually Hasbro bought the rights to Sindy in the 1980s and turned her into such a Barbie clone they were sued by Mattel if I'm not mistaken. This Sindy with the active body is by far my favorite. I've always had a thing for multi-jointed dolls! I tell you, if I had another little girl still young enough for dolls I'd keep this lady, but alas, I do not, so she's for sale, along with many other wonderful dolls in my Atelier Mandaline stores on eBay and Etsy,  so please check. Speaking of Etsy, I really need more followers or "favorites" of my store and listings, so please stop by and click on the little hearts to increase my visibility! I am very grateful for the help!