90s doll catalogsAfter delving into the world of Madame Alexander, I started remembering the 90s doll companies who marketed to my generation. Despite being very loyal to American Girl (shout out to Samantha), I received a wide variety of doll catalogs in my mailbox. Turns out that some of the dolls in these catalogs have now become collector’s items. Here’s a quick update on some 90s doll companies you might remember and what happened to them.

90s Doll Companies

Did you read any of these 90s doll catalogs?

Magic Attic Club

90s doll companiesThis blatant rip off of American Girl had a cute premise: four friends played dress up in a magical attic and were transported on adventures. Like American Girl, this 90s doll company’s products included dolls, accessories and accompanying paperback books. Some of the story themes are a little heavy on the cultural appropriation for today’s standards.

Current Status: Closed in 2007.

MyTwinn

90s doll companiesThis slightly creepy product line was actually founded with a heartwarming intent. An emergency room physician noticed that her young patients were attached to their dolls for comfort because they looked like them. Believing that dolls helped boost a child’s self-esteem, in 1993 he developed a doll-making technique to create replicas to resemble children’s features. The company gained immense popularity through 2001.

Current Status: After running into quality issues when manufacturing was sent to China, the company closed in 2016. MyTwinn dolls are highly collectible and have sold for over $1000. More details can be found on this history of MyTwinn.

American Girl

90s doll companiesCurrent Status: still crushing it, even though they retired some familiar characters from the original historical line.

Did you have any of these dolls? I’d love to hear your memories of them in the comments section!

2 Comments on Doll Catalogs of the 90s

  1. Yikes, I had/have a my twinn doll that my parents had made of me in the late 90s. I think I was around 8. I remember being really excited going through the catalogue and picking out the features you wanted the doll to have, filling in the freckles, picking out the exact eye color. The whole thing was really precise.

    When I got it -as cringy as this is- I named it after my dead older sister whom I never met, and I played with it a bit. My parents actually had professional pictures taken…just so so so cringy lol.

    Any way, after like a year or so it just got creepy, sitting on my bed staring at me. It went in to storage and I’ve never known how on earth to get rid of it! Lol, the whole thing is so embarrassing, I’d love to know if other girls in the 90s had weird stories about their twinn dolls too.

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