1.
Barbie
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Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. Barbie is the figurehead of a brand of Mattel dolls and accessories, including family members. Mattel has sold over a billion Barbie dolls, making it the company’s largest and most profitable line, however, sales have declined sharply since 2014. The doll transformed the toy business in affluent communities worldwide by becoming a vehicle for the sale of related merchandise, Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most childrens toy dolls were representations of infants, realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattels directors, during a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli. The adult-figured doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them and she gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a character appearing in a comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper Bild. Lilli was a bombshell, a working girl who knew what she wanted and was not above using men to get it. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955, and although it was sold to adults. Upon her return to the United States, Handler redesigned the doll, the doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9,1959. This date is used as Barbies official birthday. The first Barbie doll wore a black and white zebra striped swimsuit and signature topknot ponytail, the doll was marketed as a Teen-age Fashion Model, with her clothes created by Mattel fashion designer Charlotte Johnson. The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in Japan, with their clothes hand-stitched by Japanese homeworkers, around 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold during the first year of production. Louis Marx and Company sued Mattel in March 1961, after licensing Lilli, they claimed that Mattel had “infringed on Greiner & Haussers patent for Bild-Lilli’s hip joint, and also claimed that Barbie was a direct take-off and copy of Bild-Lilli. The company additionally claimed that Mattel falsely and misleadingly represented itself as having originated the design, Mattel counter-claimed and the case was settled out of court in 1963. In 1964, Mattel bought Greiner & Haussers copyright and patent rights for the Bild-Lilli doll for $21,600
2.
Doll
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A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. The earliest documented dolls go back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, the use of dolls as toys was documented in Greece around 100 AD. They have been made as crude, rudimentary playthings as well as elaborate art, modern doll manufacturing has its roots in Germany, going back to the 15th century. With industrialization and new materials such as porcelain and plastic, dolls were increasingly mass-produced, during the 20th century, dolls became increasingly popular as collectibles. The earliest dolls were made from materials such as clay, stone, wood, bone, ivory, leather. Archaeological evidence places dolls as the foremost candidate for the oldest known toy, wooden paddle dolls have been found in Egyptian tombs dating to as early as the 21st century BC. Dolls with movable limbs and removable clothing date back to at least 200 BC, Greek dolls were made of clay and articulated at the hips and shoulders. There are stories from ancient Greece around 100 AD that show that dolls were used by girls as playthings. In Rome, dolls were made of clay, wood or ivory, Dolls have been found in the graves of Roman children. Like children today, the members of Roman civilization would have dressed their dolls according to the latest fashions. When Greek and Roman girls got married they would dedicate their doll to a goddess, rag dolls are traditionally home-made from spare scraps of cloth material. Roman rag dolls have been found dating back to 300 BC, traditional dolls are sometimes used as childrens playthings, but they may also have spiritual, magical and ritual value. There is no defined line between spiritual dolls and toys, in some cultures dolls that had been used in rituals were given to children. They were also used in education and as carriers of cultural heritage. In other cultures dolls were considered too laden with magical powers to allow children to play with them, African dolls are used to teach and entertain, they are supernatural intermediaries, and they are manipulated for ritual purposes. Their shape and costume vary according to region and custom, Dolls are frequently handed down from mother to daughter. Akuaba are wooden ritual fertility dolls from Ghana and nearby areas, the best known akuaba are those of the Ashanti people, whose akuaba have large, disc-like heads. Other tribes in the region have their own style of akuaba
3.
Fashion
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Fashion is a popular style or practice, especially in clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup, body, or furniture. Fashion is a distinctive and often constant trend in the style in which a person dresses and it is the prevailing styles in behaviour and the newest creations of textile designers. Although aspects of fashion can be feminine or masculine, some trends are androgynous, early Western travelers, traveling whether to Persia, Turkey, India, or China, would frequently remark on the absence of change in fashion in the respective places. The Japanese Shoguns secretary bragged to a Spanish visitor in 1609 that Japanese clothing had not changed in over a thousand years, however, there is considerable evidence in Ming China of rapidly changing fashions in Chinese clothing. Changes in costume took place at times of economic or social change, as occurred in ancient Rome. In 8th-century Moorish Spain, the musician Ziryab introduced to Córdoba sophisticated clothing-styles based on seasonal and daily fashions from his native Baghdad, modified by his own inspiration. Similar changes in fashion occurred in the 11th century in the Middle East following the arrival of the Turks, who introduced clothing styles from Central Asia, the beginning in Europe of continual and increasingly rapid change in clothing styles can be fairly reliably dated. This created the distinctive Western outline of a tailored top worn over leggings or trousers, the pace of change accelerated considerably in the following century, and women and mens fashion, especially in the dressing and adorning of the hair, became equally complex. Art historians are able to use fashion with confidence and precision to date images, often to within five years. These national styles remained very different until a counter-movement in the 17th to 18th centuries imposed similar styles once again, in the 16th century, national differences were at their most pronounced. Ten 16th century portraits of German or Italian gentlemen may show ten entirely different hats, albrecht Dürer illustrated the differences in his actual contrast of Nuremberg and Venetian fashions at the close of the 15th century. Though textile colors and patterns changed from year to year, the cut of a gentlemans coat, by 1800, all Western Europeans were dressing alike, local variation became first a sign of provincial culture and later a badge of the conservative peasant. The Haute house was the established by government for the fashion houses that met the standards of industry. Since then, the idea of the designer as a celebrity in his or her own right has become increasingly dominant. The impact of unisex expands more broadly to various themes in fashion including androgyny, mass-market retail. Fashion weeks are held in cities, where designers exhibit their new clothing collections to audiences. Modern Westerners have a number of choices available in the selection of their clothes. What a person chooses to wear can reflect his or her personality or interests, when people who have high cultural status start to wear new or different clothes, a fashion trend may start
4.
Toy
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A toy is an item that is used in play, especially one designed for such use. Playing with toys is supposed to be a means of training young children for life in society. Different materials like wood, clay, paper, and plastic are used to make toys, many items are designed to serve as toys, but goods produced for other purposes can also be used. For instance, a child may fold an ordinary piece of paper into an airplane shape. Newer forms of toys include interactive digital entertainment, some toys are produced primarily as collectors items and are intended for display only. The origin of toys is prehistoric, dolls representing infants, animals, the origin of the word toy is unknown, but it is believed that it was first used in the 14th century. Toys are mainly made for children, the oldest known doll toy that has been found is thought to be 4,000 years old. Playing with toys is considered to be important when it comes to growing up, younger children use toys to discover their identity, help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships, and practice skills they will need as adults. Adults on occasion use toys to form and strengthen social bonds, teach, help in therapy, most children have been said to play with whatever they can find, such as sticks and rocks. Toys and games have been unearthed from the sites of ancient civilizations and they have been written about in some of the oldest literature. Toys excavated from the Indus valley civilization include small carts, whistles shaped like birds, the earliest toys are made from materials found in nature, such as rocks, sticks, and clay. Thousands of years ago, Egyptian children played with dolls that had wigs and movable limbs which were made from stone, pottery, in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, children played with dolls made of wax or terracotta, sticks, bows and arrows, and yo-yos. When Greek children, especially girls, came of age it was customary for them to sacrifice the toys of their childhood to the gods, on the eve of their wedding, young girls around fourteen would offer their dolls in a temple as a rite of passage into adulthood. The oldest known mechanical puzzle comes from Greece and appeared in the 3rd century BC. The game consisted of a divided into 14 parts. In Iran puzzle-locks were made as early as the 17th century, Toys became more widespread with the changing attitudes towards children engendered by the Enlightenment. Children began to be seen as people in and of themselves, as opposed to extensions of their household, the variety and number of toys that were manufactured during the 18th century steadily rose, John Spilsbury invented the first jigsaw puzzle in 1767 to help children learn geography. He created puzzles on eight themes - the World, Europe, Asia, Africa, America, England and Wales, the rocking horse was developed at the same time in England, especially with the wealthy as it was thought to develop childrens balance for riding real horses
5.
Plastic
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Plastic is a material consisting of any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic compounds that are malleable and can be molded into solid objects. Plastics are typically organic polymers of high mass, but they often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals, due to their relatively low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and imperviousness to water, plastics are used in an enormous and expanding range of products, from paper clips to spaceships. They have already displaced many traditional materials, such as wood, stone, horn and bone, leather, paper, metal, glass, and ceramic, in most of their former uses. In developed countries, about a third of plastic is used in packaging, other uses include automobiles, furniture, and toys. In the developing world, the ratios may be different - for example, the worlds first fully synthetic plastic was bakelite, invented in New York in 1907 by Leo Baekeland who coined the term plastics. Toward the end of the century, one approach to this problem was met with wide efforts toward recycling, the word plastic is derived from the Greek πλαστικός meaning capable of being shaped or molded, from πλαστός meaning molded. The common word plastic should not be confused with the technical adjective plastic, used for insulating parts in electrical fixtures, paper laminated products, thermally insulation foams. Problems include the probability of moldings naturally being dark colors, One of the most expensive commercial polymers. It forms the basis of artistic and commercial acrylic paints when suspended in water with the use of other agents, polytetrafluoroethylene – Heat-resistant, low-friction coatings, used in things like non-stick surfaces for frying pans, plumbers tape and water slides. It is more known as Teflon. Urea-formaldehyde – One of the aminoplasts and used as an alternative to phenolics. Used as an adhesive and electrical switch housings. Early plastics were bio-derived materials such as egg and blood proteins, in 1600 BC, Mesoamericans used natural rubber for balls, bands, and figurines. Treated cattle horns were used as windows for lanterns in the Middle Ages, materials that mimicked the properties of horns were developed by treating milk-proteins with lye. In the 1800s, as industrial chemistry developed during the Industrial Revolution, the development of plastics also accelerated with Charles Goodyears discovery of vulcanization to thermoset materials derived from natural rubber. Parkesine is considered the first man-made plastic, the plastic material was patented by Alexander Parkes, In Birmingham, UK in 1856. It was unveiled at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London, parkesine won a bronze medal at the 1862 Worlds fair in London
6.
Francis I of France
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Francis I was the first King of France from the Angoulême branch of the House of Valois, reigning from 1515 until his death. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and he succeeded his cousin and father-in-law Louis XII, who died without a male heir. Francis reign saw important cultural changes with the rise of absolute monarchy in France, the spread of humanism and Protestantism, Jacques Cartier and others claimed lands in the Americas for France and paved the way for the expansion of the first French colonial empire. For his role in the development and promotion of a standardized French language, he became known as le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres. He was also known as François au Grand Nez, the Grand Colas, following the policy of his predecessors, Francis continued the Italian Wars. In his struggle against Imperial hegemony, he sought the support of Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. When this was unsuccessful, he formed a Franco-Ottoman alliance with the Muslim sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, a controversial move for a Christian king at the time. Francis was born on 12 September 1494 at the Château de Cognac in the town of Cognac, which at that time lay in the province of Saintonge, today the town lies in the department of Charente. Francis was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. His family was not expected to inherit the throne, as his third cousin King Charles VIII was still young at the time of his birth, as was his fathers cousin the Duke of Orléans, later King Louis XII. However, Charles VIII died childless in 1498 and was succeeded by Louis XII, the Salic Law prevailed in France, thus females were ineligible to inherit the throne. Therefore, the four-year-old Francis became the heir presumptive to the throne of France in 1498 and was vested with the title of Duke of Valois. In 1505, Louis XII, having fallen ill, ordered that his daughter Claude and Francis be married immediately, Claude was heiress to the Duchy of Brittany through her mother, Anne of Brittany. Following Annes death, the took place on 18 May 1514. Louis died shortly afterwards and Francis inherited the throne and he was crowned King of France in the Cathedral of Reims on 25 January 1515, with Claude as his queen consort. As Francis was receiving his education, ideas emerging from the Italian Renaissance were influential in France, some of his tutors, such as François Desmoulins de Rochefort and Christophe de Longueil, were attracted by these new ways of thinking and attempted to influence Francis. His academic education had been in arithmetic, geography, grammar, history, reading, spelling, Francis came to learn chivalry, dancing, and music and he loved archery, falconry, horseback riding, hunting, jousting, real tennis and wrestling. He ended up reading philosophy and theology and he was fascinated with art, literature, poetry and his mother, who had a high admiration for Italian Renaissance art, passed this interest on to her son
7.
Isabella d'Este
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Isabella dEste was Marchesa of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whose style of dressing was copied by women throughout Italy. The poet Ariosto labeled her as the liberal and magnanimous Isabella, diplomat Niccolò da Correggio went even further by hailing her as The First Lady of the world. She served as the regent of Mantua during the absence of her husband, Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua, in 1500 she met King Louis XII of France in Milan on a diplomatic mission to persuade him not to send his troops against Mantua. She was a prolific letter-writer, and maintained a correspondence with her sister-in-law Elisabetta Gonzaga. Lucrezia Borgia was another sister-in-law, she became the mistress of Isabellas husband. Isabella dEste grew up in a family in the city-state of Ferrara. She received a classical education and, as a girl, met many famous humanist scholars. Due to the vast amount of extant correspondence between Isabella and her family and friends, her life is unusually well-documented and she was born on Tuesday 19 May 1474 at nine oclock in the evening in Ferrara, to Ercole I dEste, Duke of Ferrara and Eleanor of Naples. Eleanor was the daughter of Ferdinand I, the Aragonese King of Naples, one year later on 29 June 1475 her sister Beatrice was born, and in 1476 and 1477 two brothers, Alfonso and Ippolito arrived. In 1479 and 1480 two more brothers were born, they were Ferrante and Sigismondo, of all the children Isabella was considered to have been the favourite. In the year of Ferrantes birth, Isabella travelled to Naples with her mother, when her mother returned to Ferrara, Isabella accompanied her, while the other children stayed behind with their grandfather for eight years. It was during the journey with her mother that Isabella acquired the art of diplomacy, Isabella, being naturally gifted and intellectually precocious in her youth, received an excellent education. As a child she studied Roman history, and rapidly learned to translate Greek, because of her outstanding intellect, she often discussed the classics and the affairs of state with ambassadors. Moreover, she was acquainted with the painters, musicians, writers, and scholars. Besides her knowledge of history and languages, she could also recite Virgil, Isabella was also a talented singer and musician, and was taught to play the lute by Giovanni Angelo Testagrossa. In addition to all these accomplishments, she also was an innovator of new dances, having been instructed in the art by Ambrogio. She was described as having been physically attractive, albeit slightly plump, however, in 1480, at the age of six, Isabella was betrothed to Francesco, the heir to the Marquis of Mantua
8.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
9.
Costume design
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Costume design is the envisioning of clothing and the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of particular to a nation. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the artistic, the most basic designs are produced to denote status, provide protection or modesty, or provide visual interest to a character. Costumes may be for a theater, cinema, or musical performance, Costume design should not be confused with costume coordination which merely involves altering existing clothing, although both create stage clothes. Four types of costumes are used in design, historical, fantastical, dance. Village festivals and processions in honor of Dionysus amongst the ancient Greeks, are believed to be the origin of theatre, the sculpture and vase paintings provide the clearest evidence of this costume. Because of their style of theatre many masks were used giving each character a specific look. Some masks were constructed with a cheerful as well as a side on the same face in an attempt to indicate a change in emotion without a change of mask. The same is true for the Romans, who continued the mask tradition, stereotypical characterization was key when clothing performers for this style of theatre. In most instances actors had to supply their own costumes when playing a character found in daily life, later, in Elizabethan performance during the 1500-1600s in England, costume became the most important visual element. Garments were very expensive because only the finest fabrics were used, ordinarily, fashionable garments were used in both comedy and tragedy until 1727, when Adrienne Lecouvreur adopted the much more elaborate and formal court dress for tragedy. Her practice soon became standard for all tragic heroines Major actors began to compete with one another as to who would have the most lavish stage dress and this practice continued until around the 1750s when costumes became relevant to the character again. Art began to copy life and realistic characteristics were favored especially during the 19th century, for example, Georg the second, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen took personal interest in the theatre and began managing troupes. He advocated for authenticity and accuracy of the script and time period and he also made sure the materials were authentic and specific, using real chain mail, armor, swords, etc. No cheap substitutes would be allowed, in August 1823, in an issue of The Album, James Planché published an article saying that more attention should be paid to the time period of Shakespeares plays, especially when it comes to costumes. In the same year, a casual conversation led to one of Planchés more lasting effects on British theatre, Planché had little experience in this area and sought the help of antiquaries such as Francis Douce and Sir Samuel Meyrick. The research involved sparked Planchés latent antiquarian interests, these came to occupy an increasing amount of his later in life. Despite the actors reservations, King John was a success and led to a number of similarly-costumed Shakespeare productions by Kemble, Planché also wrote a number of plays or adaptations which were staged with historically accurate costumes
10.
Sewing
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Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. For thousands of years, all sewing was done by hand, fine hand sewing is a characteristic of high-quality tailoring, haute couture fashion, and custom dressmaking, and is pursued by both textile artists and hobbyists as a means of creative expression. The first known use of the sewing was in the 14th century. Sewing has an ancient history estimated to begin during the Paleolithic Age, Sewing was used to stitch together animal hides for clothing and for shelter. The weaving of cloth from natural fibres originated in the Middle East around 4000 BCE, and perhaps earlier during the Neolithic Age, during the Middle Ages, Europeans who could afford it employed seamstresses and tailors. Sewing for the most part was an occupation, and most sewing before the 19th century was practical. Clothing was an investment for most people, and women had an important role in extending the longevity of items of clothing. Clothing that was faded would be turned inside-out so that it could continue to be worn, once clothing became worn or torn, it would be taken apart and the reusable cloth sewn together into new items of clothing, made into quilts, or otherwise put to practical use. The many steps involved in making clothing from scratch meant that women often bartered their expertise in a skill with one another. Decorative needlework such as embroidery was a skill, and young women with the time. From the Middle Ages to the 17th century, sewing tools such as needles, decorative embroidery was valued in many cultures worldwide. Some examples are the Cretan Open Filling stitch, Romanian Couching or Oriental Couching, the stitches associated with embroidery spread by way of the trade routes that were active during the Middle Ages. European imperial settlements also spread embroidery and sewing techniques worldwide, however, there are instances of sewing techniques indigenous to cultures in distant locations from one another, where cross-cultural communication would have been historically unlikely. For example, a method of reverse appliqué known to areas of South America is also known to Southeast Asia, the Industrial Revolution shifted the production of textiles from the household to the mills. In the early decades of the Industrial Revolution, the machinery produced whole cloth, the worlds first sewing machine was patented in 1790 by Thomas Saint. By the early 1840s, other early sewing machines began to appear, by the 1850s, Isaac Singer developed the first sewing machines that could operate quickly and accurately and surpass the productivity of a seamstress or tailor sewing by hand. While much clothing was produced at home by female members of the family
11.
2nd arrondissement of Paris
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The 2nd arrondissement is one of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. The arrondissement contains the former Paris Bourse and a number of banking headquarters, as well as a textile district, known as the Sentier. The 2nd arrondissement is also the home of most of Pariss surviving 19th-century glazed commercial arcades, at the beginning of the 19th century most of the streets of Paris were dark and muddy and lacked sidewalks. A few entrepreneurs copied the success of the Passage des Panoramas and its well-lit, dry, ¹The peak of population actually occurred before 1861, but the arrondissement was created in 1860, so we do not have figures before 1861. The French newspaper LObs has its office in the arrondissement. Bourbon has its office in the arrondissement. All Nippon Airways has its Paris Office in the arrondissement, china Airlines also has its France office in the arrondissement. Aigle Azurs registered office is in the arrondissement, in terms of state-operated schools, the second arrondissement has three nursery schools, five primary schools, and one high school. The nursery schools are École Maternelle Dussoubs, École Maternelle Saint Denis, the primary schools are École Élémentaire Beauregard, École Élémentaire Dussoubs, École Élémentaire Etienne Marcel, École Élémentaire Jussienne, and École Élémentaire Louvois. Collège César Franck is the sole state-operated high school in the arrondissement, École Élémentaire Privée Saint-Sauveur is the sole private primary school institution in the second arrondissement. 2nd arrondissement travel guide from Wikivoyage
12.
Sindy
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Sindy is a British fashion doll created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys in 1963. A rival to Barbie, Sindys wholesome look and range of fashions, after Marx Toys unsuccessful attempt to introduce Sindy in the United States in the late 1970s, Hasbro bought the rights to Sindy and remodelled the doll to look more American. As a result, the dolls popularity declined and Barbie manufacturer Mattel filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement, during the 1990s, Barbies share of the doll market continued to grow while Sindys diminished, which led to Sindy being delisted from major retailers in 1997. Hasbro returned the dolls licence to Pedigree, and the doll was relaunched in 1999, Sindys 40th anniversary in 2003 saw a new manufacturer, New Moons, and another relaunch and redesign. After 20 years of producing dolls, Pedigree Dolls & Toys, American toy manufacturer Mattel offered Pedigree a licence to produce Barbie, which Pedigree declined due to market research showing Barbie was unpopular with British buyers. Instead Pedigree manufactured its own based on another American doll. With permission from Tammys manufacturer, the Ideal Toy Company, Pedigree also borrowed Tammys slogan, the name Sindy was chosen after a street poll where young girls were shown a photo of the doll and asked to choose their favourite name from a list of four. The most popular choice was Cindy, and the spelling was more distinctive for trademarking. The Sindy doll was launched in September 1963, and London retailers were sent a promotional 45rpm gramophone record to introduce the doll, Sindy is the free, swinging girl that every little girl longs to be. Sindy has sports clothes, glamour clothes, everyday clothes — a dog, skates, every genuine Sindy outfit is a childs dream come true. Each one is designed for todays young women by todays leading women designers. They are authentic miniature replicas of the latest adult clothes, Pedigree Toys market research was correct – Sindys girl next door look made her more popular than Barbie in Britain. Sindys boyfriend Paul was released in 1965, and her younger sister Patch in 1966, Sindys friends Vicki and Mitzi, and Patchs friends Poppet and Betsy debuted in 1968. Sindy was the best selling toy in Britain in 1968 and 1970, Sindys success in the 1960s was partly due to the increasing range of accessories, with up to 70% of Sindys turnover from sales of accessories. Mattel did not greatly expand Barbies accessories until the 1980s, during the 1970s, Pedigree focused on developing more Sindy products and neglected advertising and market research, risking Sindys girl next door image becoming old-fashioned. In 1978, Sindy was introduced to the United States market by Marx Toys, child star Susan Olsen, who played Cindy Brady on the popular family sitcom The Brady Bunch, was featured in a U. S. produced commercial for the doll. Most of Sindys accessories and fashions were similar to those sold in the United Kingdom, except for the addition of a friend, Gayle, Marx Toys went into receivership in 1980 and Sindy was withdrawn from the US market. Due to its success, a collection of designs was released the next year, including a bubble dress
