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.

Doll-A-Day 215: Talkin' 'Bout Boys Week: Ricky

  Today we're looking at Mattel's idea of the All American Boy from the 1960s. It's Skipper's friend Ricky.

Ricky was introduced in 1965 as a 'tan skinned' doll. (Those are the ones with the grayish complexions.) The next year he was available with the new pink skin tone, but, alas, not the bendable legs that Skipper and Skooter now found themselves with.

Ricky has pretty detailed molded red hair, and cute freckles.

I have been wanting to put a pink skinned Ricky head on a Living Skipper body, so he can ride a bike and look like he's really playing.

1966 was Ricky's last year. The tan skinned Ricky's can be had for a decent price, but the high colour pink skinned dolls are more expensive.

My beautiful little pink skinned guy was more affordable because he has a nick on his nose.

Most collectors think, or at least want to think, that Ricky is Allan's little brother and Skooter is Midge's little sister. But if the books written about Barbie and family are to be taken into consideration, Ricky and Skooter are brother and sister, and no relation to Allan and Midge.

Unlike Skooter, Ricky was given his own wardrobe.

I'm sorry Top Right and Bottom Left pictures, but Ricky's legs CAN NOT move like that.

 I suppose that was necessary. Skooter could share all of Skipper's clothes, but Ricky was more limited in that respect. He does look good in Skipper's green and blue plaid shirt from Fun Time,and aside from the Ricky tag, there isn't much difference between Ricky's white short sleeved shirt from Sunday Suit, and Skipper's similar shirt from School Days.(Ricky's shirt has a shaped tail and his collar buttons.)

 

Four fashions were sold for Ricky in 1965,and two in 1966. The limited number of fashions makes it possible to complete a whole collection of Ricky items. His clothes are a little harder to find than most of Skipper's though, and can be a little pricey.

This guy is wearing Little Leaguer, from 1965.

Little Leaguer consists of the red baseball hat with an 'M' for Mattel, red shirt with blue stripe,denim jeans, red socks with a blue stripe at the top,(They match his shirt.),white tennis shoes, baseball glove and ball. I have the ball, but the bat from Ken's 1963 outfit, 'Play Ball' was easier to get him to hold.

 

Actually, Ricky is wearing the Barbie jeans to Picnic set, because I think they fit him better!

Unlike some of the other members of the Barbie line that have been discontinued, Ricky has never come back. I think that's a shame. He was a cute little guy, and there just aren't enough boys in the Barbie world. I suppose that's because little girls don't want to play with boy dolls as much as they want to dress and style the hair of girl dolls they can live vicariously through. And now days, little girls are raised to believe they can do anything boys can do. So whatever adventures little girls of the past might have lived out through Ricky, they can now live out through a girl doll,or even live it themselves.
  Tomorrow we'll see another boy.