Posts Tagged ‘collectibles’
Polly Pocket of the 1990s
In the 90s, there was a girl named Polly Pocket. She was an inch tall and lived in some pretty fancy little hinged plastic houses, leading an active life of skiing at Swiss chalet resorts, swimming in water park oases, attending school, and enjoying her many luxury properties.
As the decade drew to a close, Polly Pocket became larger (and presumably less of a choking hazard). Anyone who has seen the original 90s Polly Pocket will know that this change was an abomination. Polly is supposed to be about an inch tall and actually fit in a child’s pocket. Mattel has apparently put the toy line out of its misery for the time being, pausing manufacture in 2015.
After finding some of the original Bluebird Toys 90s Polly Pocket editions made in England, I was reminded that these toys were pretty genius. EBay and Etsy think so too! If you have any 90s Polly Pocket toys still in your possession, most are going for around $10- $30. I’ve seen some for closer to $100, but I’m not sure how fast they’re selling at those prices. Complete sets, the Disney collection and sets still in the packaging are being sold at $150-$500.
Polly Pockets Ranked in Order of Glamorousness
After photographing some 90s Polly Pocket sets in their natural habitats, I realized that A) Polly is super rich, and B) She kind of has many lives. I’m confused-is she one person or many? Does she just have a lot of friends, or multiple personas? While we’re waiting for an answer to this, let’s take a look at a few of the many diverse incarnations of Polly Pocket, ranked in order of glamorousness.
4. Ski Chalet Polly Pocket
Polly’s parents own several ski chalets in St. Moritz, including one just for Polly. Polly tells her friends back at boarding school that she’s an avid skier, but really she just takes a lot of selfies in the chalet, eats Muesli and doesn’t clean up her boots. It also appears in this photo that she lost her arm to frostbite in an avalanche.
3. Prep School Polly Pocket
Polly only gets the best, so she attends an elite prep school with a maximum enrollment of 3. How else would she get the proper attention for piano lessons, computer skills, swimming class and remedial math?
2. Tropical Resort Polly Pocket
Each year, Polly goes on a tropical vacation to a private island. It’s an educational trip to learn about ecosystems, but let’s be real: there’s totally a water park inside this island vacation house.
1. Rooftop Garden Mansion Polly Pocket
Polly Pocket’s mansion was decorated by a team of designers from Paris and Milan. The retractable roof garden is what makes it truly unique. It’s ideal for hosting brunch parties and was voted “#1 most Instagrammed mansion” by Polly Pocket Weekly. All the plants are grown organically and the mansion is powered by sustainable energy.
Want more throwback posts? Check out Ode to the 80s. And let me know your Polly Pocket memories in the comments.
Madame Alexander Doll Convention
To celebrate the theme of “Shall We Dance,” my Irish dance group was invited to perform at the 2016 Madame Alexander Doll Convention in Minneapolis. You didn’t know there was a convention? Me either! There are people who love the classic Madame Alexander dolls so much that they come from all over the U.S to attend a convention. These people love dolls. A lot.
The Madame Alexander Doll Convention
This was a really fun event to observe and be part of, even just for the short duration of our dance show. We performed during the dinner hour, and the entertainment was a surprise to the attendees.
Every table had a centerpiece with a doll in an Irish dance costume spinning around. Not too surprisingly there were a lot of dolls in the place, period. Everyone there was incredibly nice and it was fun to see people following their interests and getting to know others with the same hobby.
After, the other dancers said, “this is right up your alley.” “You’re going to write an article about this, aren’t you?” They know me well.
So I decided to do a little research on these dolls.
Who is Madame Alexander?
On a quest to learn more, I unearthed some interesting tidbits from the Madame Alexander website. Some highlights:
- Madame Beatrice Alexander was a real person who founded the company in 1923.
- She was the child of Russian immigrants and was raised over her father’s doll hospital in Brooklyn. She often played with the dolls in the hospital and was inspired to start her own doll company at age 28.
- Today, the product line has expanded to include more than just collectible dolls. There are larger dolls for toddlers and soft dolls for infants.
- Madame Alexander is a master of disguise, known for her many costumes such as Cat Woman, the Wizard of Oz and yes, even Frozen.
- You can join the doll club for $45 per year and attend events like the annual convention that I danced at with Mactir Academy of Irish Dance.
My mom has one from her childhood, so I asked her to take it out so I could add photos of it to this post. She’s pictured above. And of course I need to share the paper doll version of Mme. Alex:
Are these dolls part of your life? If you have more information on her to share, I’d love to hear from you.
