Friday, October 6, 2017

Doll-A-Day 2017 #279: Skooter

  Today's doll is this cute Skooter.



Skooter was Skipper's best friend from 1965 to 1967.


Skooter came as a  blonde, brunette or red head,but all had brown eyes and those cute freckles.


The first edition of Skooter was a tan skinned straight leg doll.


That doll was followed by a pink skinned straight leg doll, a tan skinned bend leg doll, and a pink skin bend leg.


This is the pink skinned bend leg Skooter..


Unfortunately, this was the last edition of Skooter. After this doll, Skooter was discontinued.


This version of Bend Leg Skooter came in a polka dot cropped blouse and denim shorts. Today she's wearing Skipper's Trim Twosome outfit.


Trim Twosome includes the striped,pleated dress,white coat,orange flats, and orange purse.




I have two very similar orange purses, and I have never been sure which is the right one.

The one I used in the photos is on the right.


 Or are they both the right one? They're a little different. The style is the same,but the vinyl is completely different. I chose the less cheap looking one for the photos.



I've seen some pictures of the set in package, and it looks more like the cheap one. But I would think it would be the better looking one. Can anybody shed any light on this? 

While Skipper's friend Ricky had his own wardrobe,Skooter had to share clothes with Skipper. She had no clothes of her own, with the Skooter name on the tag. The only clothes made specifically for Skooter were included in a Sears exclusive, Cut N Button Costumes,similar to Barbie's sew Free fashions. Included in the set were a dress with sailboats design.a coat, and a night gown and cap.

 
Some interesting Skooter trivia:
  Skooter is NOT Midge's little sister. Nor is she Allan's little sister. She is, however, Ricky's sister. According to the Barbie novels published in the 60's, Skipper went over to "Skooter and Ricky's house".


  Skooter's somewhat cartoonish face (compared to the rest of the more realistic Barbie family and friends),is practically identical to the face of the much larger Charmin Chatty doll.

You may have seen these pictures on a previous post.
Who's copying who? Charmin came first.
Alot of the vintage Barbie and family dolls,including Skipper, have been reproduced. I think it would be interesting to see reproductions of Skooter and Ricky.  Just something to think about Mattel...


Tomorrow is another Shrunken Saturday. (Where does the time go?) See you then.

6 comments:

  1. That is interesting. I didn't know Skooter and Ricky were brother and sister.

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  2. Thanks! lovely photos. I have a bend-leg Scooter too with red hair! -- I didn't realize it was the last edition! thanks for these! I love the photos of Charmin Chatty and Scooter -- I did kinda realize they resembled each other, but didn't process that Scooter was probably a shrunk down version of Charmin Chatty!!! who did come about a year or so earlier. They made her eyes brown and got rid of her glasses! too bad! I have a redhead Charmin Chatty too! LOL!

    Unfortunately, Charmin Chatty and her ingenious talking mechanism were probably way too expensive for most kids -- I didn't realize prices when I was 8 (in 1963!) but I believe the full "Charmin Chatty Travels the World" set was $25!!!! that would be like $250 today!

    On the other hand, a Scooter was about $2.50.....1/10th the price.

    It was nice seeing them together though -- big & little sisters!

    (I always did think Scooter was Midge's little sister like Skipper was Barbie's -- after all, Scooter had freckles and similar smile -- but no proof of this. I guess BOTH Ricky and Scooter could be Midge's siblings...OR cousins or something? I don't think any of this was ever spelled out.

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  3. Thanks! Wouldn't a Skooter with glasses have been cute? I'm going to have to try a pair of Skipper's glasses on her.
    The Charmin Travels... set had some nice stuff.$25 was a lot in those days. You're right.Of course,now days you can easily pay $250 for some of the American Girl stuff. I asked for Little Miss No Name and That Kid the same year. (1965.) I got LMNN,but not That Kid. Now when I look at the prices in old catalogs, I see why!

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  4. As a kid I was always told that Skooter was Midge's little sister.I had both,but never knew. Now in my sixties,what a surprise. Lol

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    1. I think most people think of Skooter as Midge's sister. And you know what? It's play, so you can have her be whoever you want. Why mess with your childhood? : )

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Thanks in advance for your comments.