1970 Sindy Outfits and Separates

Writing about 1970 has turned out to be harder than first anticipated. Sources differ as to what dolls appeared in 1970. Some sources still refer to the Sidepart Sindys, other sources quote 1970 as the year of the Centreparts. Centreparts have the same faces as Sideparts but their beautiful hair is parted in the middle – a centre parting – rather than to one side. Many collectors love the Centreparts above all other Sindys.

Probably 1970 was a transition year, Sideparts were still sold and the 1970 Rovex Tri-ang Catalogue pictured Sideparts wearing the new outfits. But in all likelihood during the course of this year the Centreparts were appearing on the shelves. There are also some interesting cross-overs, such as the Centrepart Walker, dressed in a very similar outfit as the 1969 Sidepart Walker but she is definitely a Centrepart. This doll is not listed in the trade catalogues. The Tri-ang Christmas catalogue for 1970 is very interesting, it shows a Sidepart Walker, four Centrepart dolls and one new Lovely Lively Sindy. So we think in 1970, Sideparts are on the shelves in the shops at the beginning of the year, Centreparts start to come in as the year progresses, and in time for Christmas we see the Lovely Lively. We have therefore chosen to show the 1970s outfits on the doll which we think suits it best. And, it is likely that for the majority of 1970 that these outfits would have been worn by Sideparts, their brand new sisters the Centreparts, and by all the other Sindys, and Sindy’s friends who had gone before them. We will show the Lovely Lively in 1971 to match the style catalogue. All the boxed dolls still came with the golden charm bracelet with the Sindy medallion.

The poppers were still changing. More outfits were now using the plastic poppers. Plastic poppers have their problems, they are bulky and they can be very stiff to fasten and unfasten. Little hands were not always patient and so small doll’s clothes were easily ripped or the popper itself was pulled off. Other outfits still used the painted metal poppers but the composition of the metal appears to have been also changing (probably to one with a higher iron content), and we start to see poppers which have a tendency to rust. As a consequence clothes of this era can sometimes have popper problems. The poppers may have ripped the fabric or rusted leaving unsightly marks on otherwise perfectly good garments.

The labels are also changing and now you can find paper labels as well as the woven “Made in Hong Kong” labels. The first paper labels were very simply printed in black on white paper and they said “Made in Hong Kong”. Paper labels present a new issue for Sindy collectors – wash or not to wash. Sometimes when a new purchase really smells musty, the dilemma is to wash the outfit and perhaps loose the label or to keep it smelly (but who wants to add that to the collection or put it on a precious Sindy?).