I haven’t started to ID many of the dolls yet. In fact, I think that a lot of them it might be really hard to work out exactly who they are unless there are identifying features I can use. I have however, started tidying them up.
Here are four I picked out to work on.
Number four as you can see, has an ink stain on her face so she has been diverted to the Oxy 5 lounge and will rejoin the other three later.
The others were just in need of a clean. They all got a bath and their hair washed and conditioned.
Number 1.
She has a twist waist and her pearl necklace and earrings seem to be original. My guess is that she is from the mid to late 90s. I think that her lips may have been repainted as were her fingernails.
I took her plaits down because there were some brownish stains in her hair. I think that it may have been some kind of product that had been used to hold the hairstyle in place. Unfortunately, it didn’t all wash out but with her hair loose it doesn’t notice too much.
Number 2.
This doll is a bit older; I think, but still 90s. She too has the twist waist. I think that the little stars on her chest may have been added by her previous owner.
She was very grubby but cleaned up quite well. I left her two tiny plaits and joined them at the back of her head.
Number 3.
The third doll is a modern belly button type. She has the regular body, not the “hobbit” body. The mark on her leg was just dirt and washed off. I think her hair had been cut but after washing and conditioning it came up quite nicely. The girls’ hair was still a bit damp when I took these photos.
So, three down and 177 to go! Well, to be honest we didn’t count the dolls so I don’t know if there are 180 altogether. I think not because Annie was going to keep a few favourites to display. I’ll be back with a few more very soon.
Dolls, Dolls, Dolls 
I’m surprised that the dolls don’t have a date stamped on the back. Are they worn off. I have a Brunette twist waist Barbie whose eyes and lips are similar to doll #1 (pale coral lipstick). Her arms are also in the same position. She is dated 1985. I know the year is accurate, because she was used as a wedding party doll around that time. Hope that helps. I wish I could find an early Barbie at a reasonable price. I have many, many clothes patterns from the 60s through the early 80s and even the slight changes in the bodies affect the fit. My own dolls were passed down many times to my sister and cousins. I at one time had the original Barbie, Ken (with fuzzy head) and Midge. My younger sister had an original Francie and Skipper. They were bought to be played with and gave pleasure to many.
Love your blog and Newsletter.
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Hi Bette Ann. The dolls do have dates stamped on their backs. At least the Barbie’s do. we have many dolls that are just stamped “Made in China” (or Hong Kong if they are old” However the stamp does not give you the exact age of the doll, it shows when that particular body type was first released. Same with heads. It helps but not to find out a specific doll. Country of manufacture can help you date a doll too. There are some very clever people who can look at a Barbie and by looking at the eyes, lashes and other facial features can narrow it down to a specific doll. I’m not that good at it yet. I started collecting Barbie in the late 90s so Doll #1 reminds me of the ones being sold around that time and Doll #2 looks like early to mid 90s to me so I’ll have to do a bit more work to find out exactly what they are.
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Fun stuff, fairly sure #2 is 1996 Flowe fun. The dress is for certain, check your face with the one on a thousand splendid dolls/flikr..the pic in my 90’s book is too hard to tell.This was one of my daughters dolls I replaced a few years ago.I always check the head/body dates too for tags,..It would be awesome if you get some dolls in correct outfits..always like a BONUS!
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I swapped a couple of the outfits around. I had taken the clothes off a bunch with broken necks which I may try to fix. I’ll check out Flower Fun.
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I had a look, Yes it is that dress but this doll has more green in her eyes than Flower Fun 96. The search continues.
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