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| Lammily Doll in middle |
And not to the leave the guys out reading this, I know that some of you had your favorites. My son had a "Ronnie-Donnie" doll, a McDonald's rag doll version of Ronald McDonald. I washed it until it fell apart and disappeared one day never to reappear again.
A recent post on Facebook about the new Lammily doll brought back some fond memories of my experience as a girl.....
As a young teen, thirteen-years-old, my best friend and I decided one day we were "too old to play with dolls." At school all of the other girls it seemed were busy gossiping about boys and 'who liked who' etc., so playing with dolls just didn't fit into our worlds anymore.
But emotionally, my BFF and I were torn, unwilling to let go just yet.
We embarked on setting up a secret society of sorts known only to us. After school or whenever possible we would secretly smuggle our doll collections across the street in paper garbage sacks between our homes. We also liked to play in a wooded area nearby. Fun days. We fired up our imaginations and had a ball, playing mamas with our baby dolls or 'mean headmistress' at the orphanage (our favorite) with our older dolls.
Although available, I didn't have Barbie dolls for some reason. I think my mother worried about those boobs and exposed legs, although my last doll was adult size, full-breasted and dressed in formal lace and black taffeta. She fit perfectly into any romantic scenarios I came up with. It all seems kind of silly now, this nostalgic glance back at the crossroad of becoming a young woman, yet role playing is how everyone learns, and it's just as important to girls and teens today.
[Click my post for history of Barbie Doll: "B is for Barbie Doll,
Inventions by Women]
<http://shells-tales-sails.blogspot.com/2015/04/b-is-for-barbie-doll-inventions-by.html>
Unlike the pencil thin Barbie dolls with unrealistic body measurements, the Lammily doll is proportioned as a real girl or budding teen might look today. Cute, a bit on the pudgy side and without makeup. I grew up ultra skinny, reacting to my body shape in reverse, 'flat as a pancake' as a teen. Neither of the reactions, fat or skinny, did much for our self esteem growing up. Too many girls (and adults) struggle with low self-esteem based on their body weight and shape, so I want to congratulate the family and makers of the Lammily doll, Lammily, LLC
<https://lammily.com/special-offer-2/>
Interesting, the creator of this doll was an uncle who had purchased a
Barbie for his niece in Pittsburgh and thought doll makers could do a
better job. Click the below link for his story and a special offer (dolls
available only online).
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLammily/videos/1100892270019074/
Below are kids' reactions on YouTube:
Kids react in school.
A Mom asked her girls what they think.
I'm celebrating
the return of spring,
blogging again, and
the return of spring,
blogging again, and
this special story about dolls
Have a nice weekend everyone!
To join "Celebrate the Small Things: visit Lexa Cain's blog
Co-hosts are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog
Go Lammily doll makers! I had "Dawn" dolls as a kid, just like Barbie but smaller. I loved those things and was always begging my mom to buy new clothes for Dawn and her friends. I'm thrilled to see normal proportioned dolls. I was always a chubby kid and would have loved a doll that resembled me. Great post & welcome back to the blog hop!
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with Dawn. Too many out there to remember. Thanks for the welcome back!
DeleteBarbies and the like had yet to be invented in the 50s. I had one large doll named Amanda but she was a sadly neglected child. I don't think we had so many toys in post-war Britain as children had in later years. My youngest sister ( almost 18 years younger) had the full Barbie kit though, including Ken!
ReplyDeleteSame with my sister 10 years younger. I'm a 50s child too, although Barbies were available
DeleteI could see my youngest smuggling dolls like that. How cute! I was a definite non-doll girl, but my best friend adored them.
ReplyDeleteHow true the differences among us. My daughter didn't play with dolls much either.
DeleteYour doll story is eerily similar to my life as a tween/teen! My friends and I would play with them in secret, too, so as not to be ostracized by those that scoffed that they're for 'little kids'. My mom never bought me an actual Barbie - she got Barbie for my older sister, and I ended up with Barbie's friends instead (while my younger sister got Skipper). As an adult, I ended up with a vast Barbie collection, then went on to making custom One Of A Kind Barbies until my daughter was born - and now that I finally have a dedicated Craft Room, will be picking that up once again. ;) Sorry, I'm rambling! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Lammily dolls - but I need to get some for my creations for sure! Love the background story!
The return of spring, blogging again, and your doll story are definitely things to celebrate! :) Have a great weekend!
Friendly Fill-Ins While Celebrating the Small Things to make Friday Fun!
Oh I do love that you relate Stacy. These little stories of my childhood will always be a part of who I am and remind me of how much we have in common despite our many differences
ReplyDeleteI was never much of a doll fan, but I had a friend who was obsessed with Barbies for a while, so I played with them to keep her happy. Glad someone has made a doll that looks like a real girl because Barbie has such ridiculous proportions!
ReplyDeleteMy granddaughter and I have had fun playing with her Barbie collection. I wouldn't give that up for amything. But so true, looking like one as some of us tried to do with anorexic models is so wrong.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea that you and your friend played "mean headmistress at the orphanage" with your dolls. That shows so much imagination. No wonder you are a writer.
ReplyDeleteThanks! My grandparents gave me a German grandma doll from Germany during their stay there. She had a gray bun and was the perfect head mistress!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Lamilly. When I was little I had a Sindy and a Pippa, and several dolls in national dress that my dad brought home from work trips abroad. This included a black doll, which was pretty unusual for the UK in the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteThat must been a treat looking forward to his gifts. I really enjoyed my German doll.
DeleteYes I too had Pippa and her friends (who were from around the world so different skin tones available) but I did get one Barbie who I adored dressing up and was part of my games with my knitted Minnie Mouse, my plastic cat, my little teddy and my vintage 1950s tiny doll - happy days :) My own DD had so many Barbies but I certainly like the idea of the Lamilly doll as more realistic - some of the comments made by those children were very insightful. A great return to Celebrate, Sharon - so glad to have you back :)
ReplyDeleteSpecial Teaching at Pempi’s Palace
Thank you! We had a way of making up stories back then didn't we? Such fond memories. I enjoyed the videos too :)
ReplyDeleteI remember playing with dolls in secret after most of the girls I knew deemed them babyish. I still loved using my imagination and playing out all kinds of scenarios. I did have Barbie dolls, but I like the idea of a more realistic doll for kids. Girls have a lot of pressure to look a certain way and often people do not realize that there are many factors putting the pressure on kids today. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
I just finished watching both videos. It was great to hear what kids thought of the new style doll and how they felt like she looked like people they know (sisters, aunts, etc.). In the second video the girls seemed to like the doll better without the stickers. I thought it was interesting that the mom kept calling the doll "chubby" when really, she is just more realistic. No one has Barbie measurements. Asking if the doll was pretty, even though she's chubbier seemed like sad wording to me. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteHi, I agree. The pressure on girls to look a certain way is so real. It's especially hard on girls with weight problems. I'm glad you listened to the videos! I chose these because of the contrast you noted. The girls really picked up on their Mom's attitude in the second one--I should have mentioned this in my post for more discussion. Thanks!
ReplyDelete