Looking back on previous Fashion Doll Friday’s they have all been dolls by Mattel so today, for a change, here is one of Barbie’s early rivals. Ideal’s Tammy. Specifically my childhood Tammy.

Tammy was given to me in 1964-5 and was my third fashion doll, the first being Tressy, then Sindy. I liked her at once. She has what my mum used to call honey blonde hair and a golden skin tone. I have got other Tammy’s now but I’ve never seen one with the same colouring as this one. My Tammy was bought in England and I’ve often wondered if dolls for the British market were different from the US/Canada ones.

The other thing that I liked about Tammy was the idea that she had a proper family with a mum and dad as well as brothers and sisters. I always wanted them but never saw them until years later when I became an adult collector.

Tammy is wearing an outfit marked Ideal Tammy and sneaking into the photo with her are her little sister Pepper, my original one and Pepper’s friend Dodi. You can see more photos of my Tammy family here.