Human Size Ken Doll Sandals at Target

  I just wanted to share this amusing find. Tuesday while we were out for Emma's birthday we were shopping at Target when Emma spotted something;

Target sandals.

These sandals, which she immediately recognized as dead ringers for these sandals

Vintage Ken doll sandals.

   I had to laugh, because she was absolutely right. Ok, they do come in other strap colours, (yellow and orange, I think, were the only two other colours.),but the red ones look exactly like vintage Ken doll sandals. "The only thing they need," I said, "is to have had cork soles." "They do!" Emma said, and showed me the side view.

The inner lining covers the cork, but the soles are indeed made of cork! Are they paying Mattel anything for rights on these things?
  The only thing is, they are women's sandals, so if you were thinking of making your husband part of a Barbie and Ken costume team next Halloween, he'd better be a guy with small feet.

Doll-A-Day 58: Ken with Original Box

  Today we return to the Yard Sale Tale we started on Sunday. If you read Sunday's post you'll know I told the story of how I had gone to a garage sale and was met with a table full of vintage Barbie and friends dolls and clothes. On Sunday we saw the Chris doll I bought there. On Monday we saw the Francie. Today we're having a look at the Ken I bought there.

This guy has his original box. That's a rarity when you buy a doll at a garage sale.

The box shows some of the fashions available for Ken.

The box isn't too bad. The dolls were all pretty nice. Maybe this lady didn't play with her toys very much. Three of the dolls I bought from her were in their boxes.

Ken was just wearing his original striped beach jacket when I bought him. Today he's feeling a bit more modest. He's wearing the Dr. Ken smock from 1963, with a pair of black pants. (His white ones are in the wash. No, really.)

He's another of those blonde Ken dolls that I only ever saw in the catalogs. My sister and I both had crew cut Kens,but they were both brunettes.

  Tomorrow we'll see another doll from the same garage sale.

Doll-A-Day 45: Straight Leg Ken (Shortie)

  Today we conclude Ken Week with a straight leg Ken from 1962.(Hey, he's my age.)

Looks like Ken has put on a little weight, (as Ken's are wont to do.), as his vest is pulling at the snaps a bit.

How do we know this guy is from 1962? He's what they call a 'Shortie' Ken. He's about 1/4" shorter than the other Ken's.

The previous Ken's have been going a bit casual, so today's guy decided to dress up a bit. He's wearing a Pak blazer and Pak vest with his white dress shirt and gray pants and what's probably somebody else's tie.

I have no idea why Mattel suddenly decided to shrink Ken.After this he went back to his usual size.

This guy is supposed to have slightly shorter legs and bigger knee caps, as well as bigger arms.

My sister and I both had brunette Ken dolls.

Ken faces vary so much. This guy reminds me very much of my childhood Ken we saw earlier this week.He has nice heavily painted lips and dark eyebrows.His blue eyes are just a bit pin pointy though.

I never had a blonde Ken until a couple of years ago. (Other than the 'Ken" I married!)

I decided I wanted one of the dolls I used to see in the catalogs. I still think of those catalog pictures when I see these blonde Ken's They seem foreign to me, something unattainable.
  So there you have Ken Week. Join me tomorrow for Skipper Saturday.

Doll-A-Day 44: New Good Lookin' Ken

 Today's doll is New Good Lookin' Ken, from 1969. This is his original shirt and swim trunks.

You are soooo good looking.

"New Good Lookin'"? What was Mattel saying about all the previous Ken's? "We have made some UGLY dolls before, but this new one is 'Good Lookin'!" Sheesh!

When I got him he had somehow been squeezed into a red shirt from the good old skinny Ken era. It was super tight on the biceps.

I'm kind of expecting to see a pack of cigarettes rolled up in one of those sleeves...

This guy has the same head mold as New Good Lookin' Talking Ken from the previous year. In fact, Mattel must have thought this head mold was so 'Good Lookin' that all Kens had this head until 1978!

Sorry Mattel. It wasn't that hot.

This is when Ken's still had bendable legs that actually bent.

He came with a stand that could be flipped over and double as a seat, and I love the blurb on his original box: "Stand me up or sit me down." Wow. He's full of play possibilities.
  See you tomorrow for the conclusion of Ken Week.

Doll-A-Day 43: 1983 Sunsational Malibu Ken

  Today's Ken is Sunsational Malibu Ken, from 1983.

He originally came in a pair of gold swim trunks.I don't have those, so he's wearing a Ken Twice as Nice Reversible Fashion from 1985.

He's actually only the second African American Ken produced. (Yes, it took that long.The first was produced in 1981, a year after the first African American Barbie.)

He's the first doll to use this head mold.African American Ken number one had a big rooted hair do. This guy has a nice tidy vinyl 'fro. They hadn't yet mastered rooted hair for guys yet, (as we saw with Mod Hair Ken!),or short rooted hair in general,so this may have been a better choice. The rooted hair on Ken's these days is done much better.

He would be the face of African American Ken for 4 years. He also lent his face to a few friends and the African American Heart Family Dad.

He has bendable legs, as Ken has had since 1965.He also has those bent arms that look so awkward!

I guess the bent arms work with this karate outfit!

See you tomorrow for another Ken.

Doll-A-Day 41: Mod Hair Ken

Ken week's Ken of the day is Mod Hair Ken.

I'm not sure what advantages there could possibly be to that hand sculpt,especially since his arms just go up and down.

Mod Hair Ken was produced in 1973. He still had bendable knees and giant eyebrows, and the same face he'd had since 1968. But he was the first Ken with rooted hair.He also came with various pieces of facial hair, including sideburns, a beard and mustache piece, and a couple of mustache's.

You have to love the hair pieces!

His original outfit is a brown and white checked jacket, a cream coloured 'dickey',(Where did I put that thing?),and brown or tan pants with a 'leather' or 'suede' belt, and brown shoes.

This guy is wearing his original jacket and pants with belt,but instead of dress shoes, he's wearing a brown version of the common Ken tennis shoes.Since he even has his facial hair, which is almost always missing,the plastic on his head, and the rest of his original clothes, I'm assuming these are his shoes too.
It's nice this guy has the plastic for his hair, because these Mod Hair Ken's can have some pretty crazy hair sometimes.

Left side guy's hair is nothing compared to some Mod Hair Ken's.

Tomorrow we'll check out another Ken. See you then.

Doll-A-Day 40: Happy Birthday Ken! with Bendleg Ken and The Beatles 50th Anniversary

  That's MY Ken, not Ken the doll. But since it's my Ken's birthday, we're celebrating with Ken Week! 
  The Ken doll was introduced as Barbie's boyfriend in 1961. He was in continuous production, in many different forms, until 2004, (except for a slight break between 1967 and 1969),when Mattel decided Barbie needed a different boyfriend. (What were they thinking?! Can't dolls even stay together any more?!) He reappeared in 2006. He has obviously overlooked being dumped for a couple of years because he and Barbie are back together.
  Today's Ken is one we saw recently, but he's 'my Ken' too, so it's fitting we take a better look at him.

This is my childhood Ken doll.He is a bend leg Ken, and was produced in 1965 I think.He was advertised as having 'Lifelike Bendable Legs'.

1965? Was I really only 3 or 4 when I got this guy?

Looks like he's doing that Pee Wee Herman dance.

He originally came in red swim trunks and a short blue jacket with a K for Ken on it.And of course, his little cork sandals.Today he's wearing a red shirt,(I like my Ken in a red shirt),and some really cool socks, which are more something I would wear, and WHY is he wearing shorts in the middle of winter? BECAUSE HE'S KEN! It's what they do, apparently.

As usual, bend leg Ken came in brunette or blonde. I always preferred dark haired men, but I married a blonde Ken.

Bendleg Ken has blushy cheeks.

 

My Ken has bendlegs and blushy cheeks too.His hair is alot crazier though.
Happy Birthday Ken! I love you!
Today is also the 50th anniversary of The Beatles first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. (Which was also a Sunday too.)

The Beatles as most of America first saw them, singing All My Loving on The Ed Sullivan Show.

It wasn't their first U.S. TV appearance, as they had appeared on network newcasts in November of 1963, and Jack Paar  had shown a film clip a month before the Ed Sullivan appearance,in January of 1964.It was their first actual performance on American TV. Credit to Ed, who booked them after a trip to England where he witnessed the huge crowds that met them at the airport