Doll-A-Day 55: Francie in It's A Date

This is the second doll from the garage sale I told you about in yesterday's post. This is a bend leg Francie.

There's always that one hair, isn't there? The problem is, I can't use the camera with my glasses on,(They're for close up work only.) and without them I can't see the hair!

I got the It's a Date dress and stockings at the same garage sale, so they actually belong to her.It's A Date is supposed to come with blue Francie shoes, but I don't have those. So Francie has borrowed Barbie's yellow bow shoes.

I thought it would be nice for her to wear the outfit she's owned so long. She was naked when I bought her.She was $7, and the dress and tights were $2.

She has some green around her ears, but her hair pretty much covers it.(Usually.) I can't afford a mint Francie, and would feel guilty if I kept one. (Actually, I might have one...)

She has all her eyelashes.

I washed and conditioned her hair, and the curl came back,for the most part.She still has quite a good flip to her hair.

Francie was supposed to be Barbie's 'MODern cousin', and was introduced in 1966, in straight leg and bend leg styles. In 1967 Mattel confused the public, (And angered some, I'm sure.) by introducing what was then called 'Colored Francie', and what is now referred to as 'Black  Francie'.(Some day she'll probably be "African American Francie', but I haven't heard anybody call her that yet, so I'm sticking with 'Black', and I hope I don't offend anybody.) A lot of people freaked out, and wondered how White Barbie had a Black cousin, ( I have Black cousins, and I'm whiter than white.),instead of just saying, 'Oh. Francie comes as a Black doll too.' Get over it people. Some day I'll tell you the story of how I got a Black Francie for a dollar, but that's another "Yard Sale Tale"...

My sister had a Francie when we were kids. When she outgrew her she gave her to me.She conveniently forgot that as the years went by. As I mentioned in my Doll-A-Day 20 post, at one point my sister asked me to sell Francie for her. I stood at a doll show and watched Francie leave in the hands of a stranger. I told the lady Francie's crazy history at the hands of my sister. She was amused.

It was painful watching Francie 'walk' away, and she wasn't even originally my doll. (Although I probably played with her as much or more than my sister had.I only had three 'store bought' Barbie and friends outfits when I was a kid. One of them was Francie's Satin Supper, which I remember buying with my own money. I thought it was so pretty.It must have gone with the stuff my sister gave away.) I can't imagine how the lady I bought this Francie from could watch all her childhood friends do a mass exit. I bought 7 Barbie and related dolls from her, (3 of them in their original boxes),and some clothes,for $67.
  Tomorrow we'll see another of that lady's childhood dolls.