1968 Sindy Outfits and Separates
1968 was a wonderful year for Sindy, but also bittersweet. She got a fabulous new makeover, but lost her boyfried.
Sometimes called the ‘New Look Sindy” she was restyled, with long hair, curled in a flip at the ends and with a side parting hence the name “Sideparts”. She had ‘real’ eyelashes and a twisty waist. Her 1967 box (shown left) was updated with a new paper wrapper proudly announcing the newly styled doll and pointing out that she came with a “lovely gift from Sindy”.
Sindy was given some great new clothes, and now you could buy her in four new outfits which replaced the original ‘Weekenders’. Each doll came with the gift, a new gilt-metal Sindy charm bracelet which Sindy could wear as a long necklace or which could be worn by her new owner. Sindy’s friends now included a charm of their own which could be added to the bracelet.
Although Sindy was now made in Hong Kong, for those sold in the UK she was packaged with some wearing Made in England outfits.
Sadly Paul was no more, but she still had Patch for company and a whole new group of friends who also have their own page on this website.
There are few things to note from the 1968 style leaflet; the black ‘Leather Look’ skirt was now named ‘Leather Looker’, and the leaflet still referred to the light green long-sleeved turtle-neck sweater that we have so far been unable to identify.
Fashion Girl (Ref 12 GSS1) (Boxed doll outfit)
A purple and purple-check, all-in-one cotton mini dress. It was designed to look like a mini skirt with braces over a short-sleeved top. The dress fastened at the back by two flat metal poppers, they can be black painted, white painted or plain chrome. It came with purple kitten heel court shoes. It was subsequently redesigned in pink (please see 1969 Sindy).
Beach-time Girl (Ref 12GSS2) (Boxed doll outfit)
A pretty casual seaside outfit. The multi-coloured sleeveless fuschia pink, orange, yellow and white striped cotton top was finished with yellow cotton bias binding around the neck, where it fastened at the back with a flat chrome coloured popper. The top had two side vents and it was sewn up to Sindy’s waist at the back.It was worn with yellow cotton bermuda shorts which had a front fly fastened with a flat chrome coloured popper. This outfit has also been found with flat white painted poppers. The outfit shown right has a chrome popper on the top and a white painted popper on the shorts.
For her feet there were yellow coloured daisy sandals. They are softer and brighter than the usual mustard yellow daisy sandals. Shown above for comparison, on the left is the soft yellow sandal and on the right the more usual harder mustard yellow sandal. These soft yellow sandals came with outfit and so we think they are right, but we would be interested to know what others have found?
There is a variation of this outfit. The top has a baltic blue, orange/red, yellow and white striped pattern. The neckline is simply stiched and it fastens at the back of the neck with one dome shaped chrome popper. The bermuda shorts are cut are little tighter and shorter, and fasten with one dome shaped chrome popper. This outfit has a Made in Hong Kong label. As it is a Hong Kong made outfit, we suspect this version probably came with the more usual mustard yellow daisy sandals. Shown side by side on the left, we would be very interested to know what you have of if you have any comments?
Ice Skater (Ref 12GSS3) (Boxed doll outfit)
‘Skating Girl’ (Ref 12S05) was re-introduced in 1968 as a boxed doll outfit called ‘Ice Skater’. Essentially it was the same outfit as the original version introduced in 1963, but this Sindy was dressed in the Hong Kong version of the outfit.
A circular felt skating skirt and matching red cotton jersey tights. A red, white and black striped jumper with white ribbed cuffs, neckband and waistband. There was a matching hat and scarf which could be found with red or white wool pompoms. It also had the white felt mittens with red over-stitching and white skating boots with silver blades (please see 1963 Sindy Outfits for a fuller description).
Miss Beautiful (Miss Sindy) (Ref 12GSS4) (Boxed doll outfit)
A spectacular outfit consisting of an empire-line, long royal blue velvet dress. It had long sleeves with bell cuffs lined with a stiff matching netting. It fastened at the back with two flat metal poppers. With it came a white silky ribbon sash which had “Miss Sindy” printed on it in black, it fastened with a little dainty gold stud similar to a split pin. She also had a pearl necklace (the same as the one used for ‘Come Dancing’) and a silver crown. She wore black kitten heel court shoes on her feet.
Like ‘Fashion Girl’ this dress can be found with a variety of poppers, they can be black painted, white painted or chrome coloured (see photo below), there is even a version with white plastic poppers.
We know of four variations of this dress, as well as the royal blue, there is a pink velvet version, and a dark red velvet version with two flat black painted poppers. There is also a red, fine needlecord version of this dress.
There is some debate as to whether these crowns were metal or whether they were plastic. Metal shown left and plastic right.
Given the number of dresses seen, the number of metal ones are very scarce by comparison and we have wondered whether they might have originally been metal but were quickly replaced by the plastic version. We know for certain that the royal blue version originally came with a metal crown and that the red velvet and needlecord versions came with a plastic crown; but we are unsure as to the pink version and we would be keen to hear what crown came with the pink velvet gown.
This outfit was renamed ‘Miss Sindy’ in 1969.
Housework (Ref 12S25)
A complete Spring cleaning outfit plus all the cleaning tools Sindy would need to do the job properly. Her outfit consisted a pair of beige drill trousers with a front-fly opening fastened by a brass coloured metal popper. On top she wore a bright orange, short-sleeved cotton shirt with a round collar, turned-up sleeves and two white & yellow gingham patch chest-pockets. The shirt fastened at the front with three brass coloured metal poppers. She had a white & yellow gingham frilly half-apron with ties of the same material and two orange patch pockets. She also had a matching headscarf. On her feet she wore brown flat lace-up shoes. The tools were wonderful replicas of cleaning tools of the time; a cylinder vacuum cleaner with a hose and floor attachment and there was even a white lead with a grey three pin plug at the end of it. There was a brown broom, a real turkey feather duster on a plastic stick (similar to the stick used for the burgee in “Sail Away”but brown rather than cream), a red plastic bucket and a tin of Ajax scouring powder (which actually appears to have scouring powder in it but whether this has been added we cannot say).
Rainy Day (Ref 12S26)
Described as “the most up-to-date colour combination”, this bright red and yellow outfit is now very hard to find in good condition. It is made of soft coloured vinyl with bonded seams and with a indented ‘stitch’ pattern decorating both the edges and the yellow trim detail. The wide coat is bright red with a yellow collar, attached belt and two large patch pockets. It fastened with three brass coloured metal poppers. For her head a yellow Sou’wester with three rows of indented ‘stitching’ decorating the brim. There was also a pair of yellow Bermuda shorts with front-fly opening fastened by a brass coloured metal popper and the same indented ‘stitching’ at the waist and on bottom of each leg. The yellow of the hat and shorts matched the trim on the coat. A pair of red knee-high boots completed the outfit.
White Winter (Ref 12S29)
A beautiful white fun fur outfit comprising a white collarless knee-length coat lined with white taffeta which fastened with two sewn-on metal snap fasteners, a matching cossack hat and white calf length plastic boots trimmed with fur.
Town and Country (Ref 12S31)
Trouser suits were “in” and because Sindy was always the first to wear the latest outfits, naturally she had one in a groovy 60s pattern in apple-green and orange that was described as “way-out”.
Made of thick drill cotton, this outfit consisted of a suit with a collarless, long-sleeved jacket which fastened at the front with two brass coloured dome shaped metal poppers. She then had the choice of a matching mini-skirt or trousers. The mini-skirt fastened with one brass coloured dome shaped metal popper at the back of the waist and the trousers had a front-fly which also fastened with a brass coloured dome shaped metal popper.
Under the jacket, Sindy was given a sleeveless, roll-neck top in apple green thick drill cotton which fastened with one brass coloured dome shaped metal popper at the back of the neck.
Sindy also had a choice of footwear; for the mini-skirt she had a pair of shiny black knee-high boots and for her trousers a pair of apple-green flat lace-up casual shoes.
This was the first of Sindy’s Mix n Match outfits
We do have this very interesting outfit to show you, which some believe to be a variation of Town & Country. It is cut very similarly, although the jacket on this version is more shaped than the original, which is cut straight down from the armpits. It is also a slightly tighter fit. Whilst we are inclined to believe it maybe a variation because we have seen it in a clothing bundle lot on eBay with the green top, boots and shoes, we have never seen it Mint in Box and as yet we have not found one with a label, whereas the original Town & Country is labelled as Sindy. We also respect that some old school collectors do not accept this as being genuine Sindy. All we can really say is, it might be, but as yet its authenticity is unproven. Unless you know otherwise, in which case do let us know?
Casual Frock (Ref 12S80)
A sleeveless low-waisted dress made of a purple silky fabric which fastened with a brass coloured metal popper at the back. It had a fuchsia coloured hip-height belt with a gold buckle and the hemline was also edged with the same silk fuchsia material. There was a matching fuchsia ribbon made of the same material for her hair (not shown).
Hat, Bag and Shoes (Ref 12S81)
Lovely accessories to complete Sindy’s outfits consisting of, a turquoise, dark blue and gold block print wide floppy brimmed hat trimmed with a co-ordinating turquoise blue binding, a white patent handbag with a real opening flap with separate compartments which was decorated with a blue strap and a gold metal buckle, and a pair of black kitten heel court shoes.
Two Tone Frock (Ref 12S85)
Apparently inspired by the famous “Mondrian” dress by Yves Saint Laurent, this was an up-to-the-minute fashionable colour block sleeveless mini-dress made up of four panels of pink linen and tangerine silk. It fastened at the back with one brass coloured dome shaped metal popper.
Pack A (Ref 12S86) Party
Sindy’s party pack and a way for Pedigree to use up excess items. In the description and picture in the style guide, this pack consisted of the portable record player (from ‘Dream Date’), two Coke bottles (from ‘Bowling’) and the Dollybeats pop poster (from Paul’s ‘Time Off’). For Sindy herself there was a pair of white kitten heel court shoes and the necklace (from ‘Bridesmaid).
However we have an unopened version of Pack A (shown above) where the gold clutch bag from ‘Dream Date’ has been substituted for the necklace and it hasn’t got the shoes.
We have heard from another collector who has the same pack as the one shown above, so perhaps this was the pack that was actually sold rather than the one described in the style guide. If anyone has a different party pack we would be pleased to hear from them.
Pack A (Ref 12S86) Riding
This pack contained extra accessories for Sindy’s riding interest. The pack contained her hard riding hat, crop, brown flat lace-up shoes and the two blue grooming brushes (from ‘Pony Club’). It also included the blue curry comb and a rosette (which we think were from ‘Sindy’s Horse’).
Pack A (Ref 12S86) Shopping
This pack contained extra shopping accessories. The red PVC bag, umbrella and two oranges (from ‘Shopping-in-the-Rain’), two Coke bottles (from ‘Bowling’) and bizarrely Patch’s wellington boots (from Patch’s ‘Sou’wester’).
Pack A (Ref 12S86) Walking
This pack contained Ringo the dog, his lead, bowl and bone (from ‘County Walk’) and Sindy’s red knee high boots and umbrella (from ‘Shopping-in-the-Rain’).
Pack B (Ref 12S87) Holiday
Sindy’s holiday pack and a way for Pedigree to use up more excess items. But another pack that doesn’t appear to match the style catalogue. This pack was supposed to include two pairs of shoes for Sindy, a pair for daisy sandals for beach wear (from ‘Seaside Sweetheart’) and a pair for evening wear (her black & gold, kitten heel two-strap backless sandals from ‘Dream Date’), but the unopened pack shown here does not. It contained instead, a brush, comb & mirror set in different colours (from ‘Undie World’ and/or ‘Sleepy Time’) and a toothbrush, toothpaste and soap (any of the Sindy, Paul or Patch bedtime outfits). There was a red toilet bag (from Paul’s ‘And so to Bed’). A pair of green lens sunglasses (‘Seaside Sweetheart’ or ‘Winter Holiday’). Lastly everything could be packed into a holdall but it is not the BOAC airline bag shown in the style catalogue but the grey bag with the Paris sticker (from ‘Happy Traveller’).
We would be very interested to hear if anyone has anything different in their pack.
Pack B (Ref 12S87) Picnic
Another strange little pack loosely associated with picnics. It contained a brush and comb (from ‘Undie World’ and/or ‘Sleepy Time’). A pair of green lens sunglasses (‘Seaside Sweetheart’ or ‘Winter Holiday’). The pink flask with a very light blue lid and white mug (from Paul’s ‘Motorway Man’). An orange (from ‘Shopping-in-the-Rain’). Sindy’s brown flat lace-up shoes and a pair of white nylon socks. And to put everything in there was a denim duffle bag (from Paul’s ‘Time Off’).
Pack B (Ref 12S87) School
An accessory pack for Patch. It contained her satchel, pen, pencil, ruler, ink and exercise book (from Patch ‘Schooldays’), a diary (from Sindy’s ‘Lunch Date’), an orange (from Sindy’s ‘Shopping-in-the-Rain’), either the pink or blue flask (we have seen both in unopened packs) and white mug (from Paul’s ‘Motorway Man’) and her ballet shoes (From ‘Swan Lake’). If you have this pack and would be happy to share it with others please let us know (it would of course be acknowledged).
Pack B (Ref 12S87) Traveller (aka Travelling?)
The Traveller pack (which may also have been called “Travelling”?) contained a pair of Sindy’s brown flat lace-up shoes, her newspaper from ‘Shopping in the Rain’, a pair of her green lens sunglasses (‘Seaside Sweetheart’ or ‘Winter Holiday’) and her camera and bag from ‘Happy Traveller’. An ideal travelling kit for its day!
Career Girl (Ref 12S88)
A long-sleeved mini dress made of thick pink cotton printed with orange polka dots. It had white cotton sewn-on cuffs and a matching button-down collar fastened with two minute white buttons. The dress had two shallow patch pockets (one on each side) and it fastened up the front with three white painted poppers. For her feet Sindy was given a pair of black kitten heel court shoes.
Mini Gear (Ref 12S89)
A trendy turquoise-blue suedette mini-skirt which fastened at the back of the waist with one black painted metal popper.The skirt was fashioned with slits in the material at hip height to form tabs to hold a black shiny plastic hipster belt with a gold buckle. There was a co-ordinating black long-sleeved ribbed jumper with a turtle-neck which fasted with one black painted metal popper at the back of the neck (which is very similar to Patch’s ‘Easy Life’ jumper). Black flat lace-up shoes completed the outfit (not mauve shoes referred to in the leaflet).
Sindy's Wardrobe Trunk (Ref 12SA14) (Scenesetter outfit)
With Sindy’s Wardrobe Trunk there was an additional outfit of a dress and a pair of shoes. The dress was a variation of the ‘Summery Days’ dress (see also 1963 Sindy). A short-sleeved cotton shift dress printed with a green and orange-hued multi-check. It was decorated with a five petalled yellow flower with a white centre and a brown stalk and two leaves in an orange circle. It was trimmed at the neck with a green/brown grosgrain bow and it fastened at the back with two chrome coloured flat metal poppers. It came with a pair of white sneakers.
