By 1965, for many Sindy had become the British fashion doll sweetheart. The 1965 style leaflet reflected Pedigree's growing confidence in their product and in how 60s teenagers viewed themselves. The leaflet said “The free, swinging, grown-up girl who lives her own life and dresses the way she likes.” She was given even more outfits described as “Clothes that go with the exciting and fascinating life Sindy leads!”
Some of these outfits were Made in England but others were now made in the Irish Republic (MIIR) which was shown on the labels. Both manufacturing countries used the flat, metal poppers, but some of the MIIR poppers were left unpainted. For example, the MIIR 'Leather Looker' skirt now appears with flat, unpainted chrome coloured metal poppers.
Some of the production lines were also switching to the Far East where manufacturing costs were much cheaper. These items had woven labels which bore the country of origin as “Empire Made”. One explanation for this imprecise type of label is that in the 60s, all sorts of products that were made in Hong Kong were perceived as being of inferior quality, and so Pedigree didn't explicitly say that this is where their garments were made. An example of the shift to Far East production is Bridesmaid. In 1964 the garment was MIE, however the 1965 version bears an “Empire Made” label. The poppers on "Empire Made" outfits are different, they are a much more rounded dome-shape.
All the previous outfits and separates were still available together with the new ones.
Skiing became very fashionable in the 60s and Sindy was given the perfect outfit. A bright blue nylon quilted anorak with a white lining and a white fur trim on the cuffs and attached hood. It fastened with three white poppers. Underneath she wore a white ribbed polo-neck cotton knitted jumper, which fastened at the back of the neck with a white popper, and orange/red pull-on nylon stretch pants with elastic stirrups. Black lace-up ski boots, skis, ski poles, mittens and sunglasses completed the outfit. The skis were made of black plastic decorated with a spray-painted silver edging around the top side of the ski and a silver bird near the curved front shovel. They had metal fixings to hold the boot in place with a metal toe strap and a fine metal spring which hooked behind the boot to fasten down the heel. The ski poles were made of black plastic with moulded hand grips and wrist straps. They had sliver coloured baskets (the flat disk located above the ski pole tip to stop the pole digging itself too deep into the snow).
The 1965 style leaflet does not refer to the mittens. This omission was rectified in the 1966 booklet and as a matter of interest the mittens were the same white felt, red top-stitched mittens that were used for Skating Girl.
We have seen three versions of the white fur trim. The Sindy photo on the left is a sheepskin trim. The photo on the right shows the more usual fluffy real fur trim. We have also seen a synthetic fur version.
A wonderful outfit. Sindy could now be a student nurse in a crisp blue and white striped nurses uniform which fastened at the back with four white poppers. In keeping with hospital uniforms of the time, the dress was completed with a white starched apron, the bib being attached to the dress at the front with a small gold pin and fastened at the back of the waist with a white popper. White cotton cuffs, a face mask and a nurses cap together with a white PVC collar and blue plastic belt completed the look. The cap, collar and belt were all also fastened using single white poppers. She wore black stockings and white lace-up shoes and she carried a white, cotton triangular bandage and a medical chart. She also had a white medicine bottle (with a red & white label - the label in the inset photo has been stained by the aged glue), but this was not referred to in the style booklet until the following year, and she had two hair grips to hold her cap in place.
A cotton waffle-knit dress available in two colours, mocha-brown and dark blue. They were straight cut to the knee, had polo-necks and a matching woven belt. They were fastened at the back with a real zip. A very simple dress that was really very fashionable. The belts in the picture are modern because they are quite difficult to find in good condition, please see the version in the packet for an example of how they look.
A cosy pyjama combination made in bright red flannelette cotton trimmed with white lace on the collar, yolk and cuffs of the pyjama top. Fasted with three white poppers. The pyjama bottoms had three-quarters length legs and an elasticated waist.
A glamorous hair-switch available in the same hair colours as Sindy herself. The hair was originally sewn into a piece of red cotton (similar to bias binding), attached to a piece of elastic so that it could be slipped onto Sindy's head. The red ensured that the hairpiece matched the Sindy Alice band 'look'. It came with hair grips and a hair styling guide, so now you could style Sindy's hair. This item was subsequently redesigned and the elastic was replaced with velcro fastenings and a small piece of velcro on the underside to stop the band slipping (it was probably one of the earliest uses of velcro for toys and certainly for Sindy's clothes). Any original packets were still re-used with labels stuck to the back of the leaflet to explain the difference. The velcro was described as “a touch and close fastening for easier fitting”.
