Doll-A-Day 68: Tammy in Tennis the Menace

  Today's doll is Tammy by Ideal.

Tammy was Ideal's Barbie competitor. She was more wholesome to some mom's than Barbie. She had a younger, more innocent appearance.(She sure piles on that red lip stick though, huh?)

She was produced from 1962 to 1966. Hey! She was born the same year I was.

Her figure,clothes and hair were a bit less sophisticated than Barbie's.

This is a nice, simple outfit called Tennis the Menace. (Like Dennis the Menace. Get it?) It's supposed to have a string belt and a yellow head band.I don't come across Tammy clothes and accessories nearly as often as Barbie ones. That makes sense I guess, since Tammy didn't sell as well as Barbie. There just isn't as much out there to be found.

  This isn't an actual Tammy tennis racquet, but it works.

  We had one Spring like day, and she's feeling all light and Springy in these clothes.Unlike me. I'm feeling decidedly un-light. Time to get back on that diet!
  The house is 'Tammy's Ideal House'.You may have seen it when I posted a picture last summer, when I found it at a yard sale. The lady I bought it from said she had been having to explain to people all day who Tammy was. She had been describing her as 'Barbie's competitor'. It says a lot that she had to tell people who Tammy was. She's not very well remembered today, or even heard of at all to younger people.
  There were several different Tammy's over the years, including Posin' Tammy, with wired bendy legs,and Grown Up Tammy. And yes, I had a Tammy as a kid. I don't know if  I was bought a Tammy because that is my name. (My mom told me I was named after the Debbie Reynolds song, from the movie, but my sister says I was named after somebody on a soap opera. I think my mom ought to have known who she named me after!)I barely remember having her. She got thrown away when I was really tiny. I also don't know why. I suspect it was because her head broke off. That seems to be a weakness in the Tammy dolls. (Including today's doll. That head's just sitting in there.) Unlike Barbie, her head couldn't be popped on and off at will. All I have left of my Tammy are her gym suit and tennis shoes. I do remember that she had the same colour hair as this Tammy, which is the reason I had this one originally. I have obtained a few more by now,to have somebody to wear the cute clothes.
Tomorrow is my birthday, so we'll have a closer look at a doll you may already know.