Disconcerting Dollikins

Just when we thought we'd sorted it all out, a Dollikin dressed in a rare floral jumpsuit turns out to have light brown hair! This page is dedicated to her and to all the other Dollikins that mystify me.  At $162.49, paid in March 2003, this groovy girl sets the record for Dollikin auctions on eBay in the last two years. (Thanks to seller hitcherx, who shot the photos of the brunette floral Dollikin.)

In the past, we've seen a picture of a basic redhead Dollikin in a coral-red, pale-orange, yellow and green combination (pictured at left). We've also seen a picture of a basic blonde Dollikin (pictured below) MIB in a pink, blue, yellow and green scheme. Finally, we've seen my own played-wtih redhead (pictured further down) in a coral-red, pale-orange, dull-gold and blue version of the floral jumpsuit. (There is no sash with this type of jumpsuit.)

But I was careless when I didn't closely examine the box's pictures of ponytailed dolls wearing the flowery suit. So the pale-brown-haired beauty was a shocker. If the pictures on the box are a reliable guide to the dolls in this series, we can hope to one day see a ponytailed doll with golden-blonde hair in the coral-red, pale-orange, dull-gold and blue version of the jumpsuit. Note that compared to the Action Dollikin, this doll's ponytail not only has less pouf, it also hangs over the opposite shoulder. Surprisingly, the back of the Action Dollikin box uses pictures of the floral Dollikins, suggesting that they predate their Action cousins.

We've also been speculating about a possible "third hairdo" for Dollikin: one without any form of bangs. I've come to the tentative conclusion that the doll pictured at left originally had a poufy side ponytail and hair drawn across her forehead. The hair that had been thatch-rooted to cross her forehead has simply strayed back into line with the rest of her plugs. The actual "third hairdo" is only a variation on the ponytail style: as seen on the floral Dollikin pictured above, this ponytail is thinner and hangs limply in a single curl. Weirdly, the doll pictured here has extremely thick hair, which seems to have originally been tied into a ponytail over her left shoulder. Thus it would seem that she is not a floral-line redhead, whose hair should be limply curled and pulled to the right. This doll arrived in my collection with both a floral jumpsuit and a pink Action Donna outfit in her wardrobe, further confusing the issue of identification. Since there is no sign that Action Donna boots have been pried from her feet, she could still be a floral Dollikin. The most likely possibility: the doll's previous owner mixed an Action Donna head with a floral Dollikin body. Dollikin dolls often appear paired in auctions. Perhaps the dolls were cheap enough that parents bought them in twos.

When a Dollikin came up for auction dressed in a crazily psychedelic jumpsuit, I figured the American seller had simply provided the doll with a generic outfit. Not two days later, a seller in England listed another Dollikin in the same groovy suit. Could be coincidence. But it could also be the appearance of yet another delightful Dollikin variation. Within a week of the first two dolls' appearance, the doll at right also turned up on eBay in a differently coloured version of the suit (worn with random belt and boots).

The golden-blonde haired Dollikin is the ultimate mystery because she has never been auctioned MIB. Although the floral Dollikin box depicts a golden-blonde doll in a floral jumpsuit, this doll has only ever turned up at auction in borrowed clothes or in a pink jumpsuit. Because the doll pictured above right came with bolted-on pink shoes, she is likely dressed in an original pink outfit with Action sash. The doll above left appears to have the same limply-curled hair as the other doll, but her hair is a shade darker. Add to this the fact that each of these girls' ponytails hangs over her left shoulder and we seem to have come up with a blonde Action Donna doll rather than a floral-suited Dollikin. I was lucky enough to acquire a golden-blonde Dollikin on eBay. She came to me nude and missing one foot, but her remaining foot featured a bolted-on pink shoe, suggesting that she originally wore a pink Action Donna jumpsuit. Her head, with its wonderfully curly ponytail, now sits atop another intact Dollikin body. At left, my doll wears an unidentified swimsuit and lace pants (with stitched-in underwear), as well as a pair of Dollikin wardrobe boots.

The pink suit, which properly belongs to the WT Grants exclusive, the redheaded Action Donna, turns up frequently. A platinum blonde in a pink suit has not only appeared loose on eBay, but also features on the box of an Action Donna outfit, pictured below. I've also seen a brunette Action Dollikin in a pink jumpsuit, shown here NRFB. It's entirely possible that, like other doll-makers, Uneeda marketed its overrun of dolls and jumpsuits in random combinations. Unfortunately, given its ubiquity, the pink suit is the most likely of the dolls' outfits to fade.

Above, my basic blonde, golden blonde and platinum Dollikins put their heads together at the spa. Can they figure out the Dollikin mysteries?

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