History
Sindy‘s history is well known and there are many websites devoted to her especially in the UK where she was born. I will just give a brief overview of how she came to be and her first few years.
Pedigree Dolls and Toys introduced Sindy to the public in September 1963. The company had been making dolls for over twenty years and after seeing the success of Barbie they decided to produce a twelve inch fashion doll of their own. In fact, and I only read this for the first time today, Mattel offered Pedigree a licence to produce Barbie. However, the Pedigree company had done market research which suggested that Barbie was not popular with British buyers. I am not sure how widely available Barbie was in Britain at that time, certainly I never saw one although Tressy and Tammy were both available there.
Pedigree decided that they would base their doll on Tammy who was made by the Ideal Toy Company. With permission from Ideal Pedigree adopted the same advertising slogan for their new doll “The Doll You Love To Dress”.
When Sindy was released, she had a wardrobe of clothes that any little girl would want. I know I did! I still have my Sindy Set booklet from 1965 with marks next to all the outfits I really wanted.
Sindy was soon given a boyfriend called Paul. The first issue of Paul had painted hair but the second one had rooted brown hair in a Beatle cut. In his collarless suit he looked suspiciously like Paul McCartney and it is believed he was modelled on him as this was during the height of Beatlemania.
Later Sindy got a little sister called Patch. Patch had freckles and hair that looked like she might have trimmed it herself. Patch also had a wardrobe of cute outfits.
Pedigree produced accessories too, a dog called Ringo, horses, a car and furniture. There was even a Sindy record.
Over the years Sindy was given several makeovers, a new hairstyle and new hair colours, a twist waist, poseable hands and a slimmer body. Her height varied as well and several Sindys became known as the Mini Sindys because they were so much smaller than the originals.
Sindy was sold in the USA by the Marx company in 1978 & 79. Marx made some very nice accessories too but Sindy was never as popular as Barbie.
In 1987 the Hasbro company bought the rights to Sindy and relaunched her with a new look which was so similar to Barbie that Mattel took them to court.
In 2006 Pedigree bought the rights to Sindy back and redesigned her once again.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5346182.stm
Since then, there have been various incarnations of Sindy including a version by Vivid Imaginations, Tonner and another marketed by the British Tesco stores which came in 18 inch and mini sizes (about 7″ I think). These did not look much like Sindy in my opinion.
https://www.tescoplc.com/news/2016/sindy/
https://flyingpurplemonkfish.blogspot.com/2018/01/tesco-sindy.html
The latest Sindy’s are by Kid Kreations who released a collector’s line doll and have followed up with playline Sindy’s with outfits and accessories.
Photo of Hasbro Sindy & Vivid Imaginations Sindy taken by Smirky Becca. https://www.flickr.com/photos/smirky-becca/
My Sindy’s
I got my first Sindy in early 1965 I think. I was about seven or eight. In those days many grocery stores used to give stamps which you would stick in a book and eventually redeem for goods. That’s how mum got Sindy for me. I can still remember her sticking the “Green Shield” or “Pink Shield” stamps into the book every week and how we would count up how many we had and how much longer it would be till Sindy came. I think I may have initially wanted a blonde one but I got a dark one and was just as happy. Sindy was heavily advertised on television and there were even Sindy paper dolls.
I was given Patch for Christmas that same year. I had a few Sindy fashions, mostly the cheaper ones but I did have “Emergency Ward” the nurse outfit. Over the years I lost most of the bits. Patch’s head came loose and stupidly I got rid of her but Sindy stayed.
Fast forward to 1999, my husband and I were on holidays in Tasmania. We stopped at a little town on the Midland Highway, I can’t remember now if it was Ross or Cleveland but there was a Sunday Market in a local hall. Browsing I noticed a Sindy with beautiful face paint and hair. Her legs were stained and her arms covered in white paint where her young owner had given her “gloves”. I asked the stallholder “How much?” “Four dollars” she told me so Sindy came home with me. I managed to get most of the paint off her and hid the brown stains on her legs by displaying her in “Weekenders”.
Later on, I acquired another Sindy, a later one from the 1970s and then I found a Patch on a market stall for only eight dollars. Well, I was hooked then. I bought Paul on eBay so Sindy finally had her boyfriend and from then onwards I would look out for reasonably priced dolls and clothing. I decided that I would like to collect all the outfits from the “Sindy Set” booklet that I still owned but of course having more outfits meant I needed more Sindy’s.
My favourite dolls are still the early Pedigree ones from 1963 to 1966. I have several now and three Patches currently. I do have a small collection of 1970s and 80s Sindy’s who were bought mainly to model the outfits but I have become quite fond of them and whenever I consider moving them on to make room for more older Sindy’s I find I can’t do it. The later dolls are rather slim to wear the early Sindy fashions, as are some of the mini-Sindy’s but my plan is to eventually have enough older Sindy’s to wear the 1963-66 outfits and then collect a few 70s and 80s outfits for the other girls to wear. Of course, then I may need a larger space, especially if I manage to get a horse for the Sindy in “Pony Club”.
Note* I did get a horse, and a motorcycle as well as more Sindy’s including two by Kid Kreations. The Sindy’s need a larger home.
The Hasbro Sindy’s I don’t like at all and I will never have these or the Tesco dolls in my collection.
Funtime Sindy? 
Sindy from about 1982 after boil wash 
Lovely Lively Sindy 1974 
Sindy in Pony Club with dapple horse. 
1974 Active Sindy in Pony Club 
Sindy has a very hard head. 
First version? 
I took this before I cleaned the blonde Sindy up. 
Sindy and boyfriend Paul 
Schoolgirl Patch 
Naomi’s Brunette Patch circa 1967 
Paul in “And So To Bed”. 
Paul wears a black pullover under his coat. 
Pedigree Paul 1968 
1967 Miniature Paul owned by Naomi.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this page there are some excellent Sindy sites on the internet. Here are links to some of them:
https://www.oursindymuseum.com/
https://www.wikihow.com/Identify-Sindy-Dolls
Vintage Sindy Collectors – https://vintagesindycollectors.com/
Dolls, Dolls, Dolls 
I so loved my 1960’s vintage Sindys! The clothes in those days were just stunning – much better quality than most dolls today. I especially loved her ski outfit with the blue quilted anorak with fur-trimmed hood. One of my biggest regrets is letting my mum pass them all on to jumble sales when I grew up… sigh.
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I do agree, the quality was much better then and the outfits more realistic. I have had a wonderful time collecting them as I didn’t have many of them as a child.
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Yes… and I searched high and low for the ‘Country Walk’ outfit your Sindy’s wearing in the first picture, but never found it. The catalogue picture (a sketch rather than photo) showed her walking a little white dog, and I’ve always wondered whether one came with the outfit… can you tell me?
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Yes the outfit did come with a little white dog, his name was Ringo! I see pieces of that ouftit on eBay from time to time I didn’t realise it was that uncommon.
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I enjoyed reading your Sindy story and those fantastic links! The second two were new to me. Thanks for sharing the Sindy photos and urls to other Sindy sites.
I have a Pedigree Sindy from 1978 USA and an imported Vivid Imaginations Sindy and Mel from 2000+. While the former has a larger head and none are buxom, I enjoy the variety they bring to my doll and action figure collection.
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What’s your oppinion on Tonner’s Sindy?
When I see your pictures I like the doll. She is cute, and she has a nice face. Tonner’s Sindy is expensive, and I don’t like her.
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I have only seen pictures of Tonner’s Sindy, never seen one in real life but I feel a bit the same as you. It is an expensive collectible doll. To me although it resembles Sindy they somehow didn’t catch the thing that made her appealing. Perhaps it is because this is a doll that was not meant to be played with while my childhood Sindy and her friends were made for children to play with- and I think mine cost about a pound or so in 1965 :).
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Our daughter Mandy just adored her Sindy doll. I remember making a whole shoebox full of clothes for her, which she passed on to her daughter. 🙂
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Hello
I loved your story thank you.
Ive just started collecting and learning more about Sindy . I like the 60s and 70s dolls as these were the ones I had as a child. I too only ever had bits and bobs of the furniture that my mum found in shops and boot sales. I think people find it amusing that I like them but to me its a reminder of good times and i like the history of the dolls. I cant and wont buy expensive dolls and accessories but thats part of the fun…searching for the exact hair colour,era or,clothes or accessories isnt it?
I only started my collection this year but i have 2 dolls and a couple of pieces of furniture and Im quickly learning what I like and want to add to my collection if and when i can.
My goal at the moment is a 70s Auburn long haired doll in good condition.
Fingers crossed xx
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Hi Diane I agree with you that these dolls remind you of good times in the past and their fashions are like a little piece of history as they mirrored what girls were wearing at the time. Luckily Sindy is not too hard to collect as long as you don’t care about mint condition. I’ve learned a lot about the later dolls of the seventies and eighties although I’m collecting 60s mainly. If I ever reach my goal of owning all the outfits in my Sindy Set booklet I may start on the long haired dolls as there are some nice dolls and outfits from those eras too. Not everyone understands why people collect dolls but don’t worry about them. There is a strong community online and we understand.
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I have a question about a Hasbro 1993 Talk With Me Sindy Doll English speaking. I cannot find any references to it anywhere. I only found references to 1991 versions that spoke different languages. Do you know if the English version was ever released? I found one in my electronic toy collection that was given to me by a UK Hasbro employee back in 1993 and was trying to find out if it is rare doll.
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I don’t know Bob but I know someone who might so I will ask her and get back to you.
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Thank you 😉
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I have some dolls but can not identify them , can someone help me?
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Hi Susanne. If you would like to send me an email with a description of each of your dolls and photos if you have them someone may be able to help . Have a look at our Doll Detectives page for some tips on what information to include.
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Loved reading this. I collect a LOT of things but Sindy is,and always will be,my number one. I have far too many to count and I love each one.
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My Sindy’s are special to me too.
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I also have vintage Blythe, Tressy,Daisy,Pippa…vintage Japanese fashion dolls, books, clothes,records, antique jewellery but I got from your postings you love Sindy as much as I.
I mean 1983-1985 when I say *Sindy*, only have Paint a Picture in the later incarnations and did NOT like that Tonner monster at all but I DO love this new playline, do you have one? Wondered what you think? xxx
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My favourite Sindy era is 1963-66 because that was my childhood era but I have come to love the 70s and early 80s girls especially the Lovely Lively’s. I don’t like the Hasbro Sindy’s or those so called Sindy’s that were sold in Tescos a few years ago. The Tonner Sindy never looked quite right to me. A pretty doll but not quite Sindy and of course she was wildly expensive. I’ve never seen one in real life. I think Kid Kreations did a good job with their collectible Sindy and the playline ones seem closer to my idea of how Sindy should be than any other revival.
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I quite like the Tesco ones but not enough to want to have one in my collection!
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Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful article. Thank you for supplying these details.
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