1971 is another quite complicated year to write about because again both the 1971 Pedigree trade brochure and the 1971 Pedigree Sindy style booklet doesn't quite match the outfits that collectors know about.
Without wanting to turn this into a history lesson, it is still probably worth noting what was happening to the company at this time. The V&A Museum of Childhood notes that Lines Bros. Ltd, at that time the biggest toy manufacturer in the UK, had recorded a record £4.5 million loss in 1970. But the company had been confident of a rescue offer from the American tobacco giant Gallaher. This offer did not materialise. In August 1971 the company collapsed and went into receivership and the subsidiaries of the Lines Bros. Group were separated and sold off. It is uncertain as to how far these difficulties affected Sindy manufacturing but detailed information from this era is very hard to find and some information contradicts other accounts.
A lot of the outfits are shown in the brochure with big white plastic poppers and different fabrics, it could well be that these were prototypes which were made up for the photo-shoot for various brochures and catalogues and which were then altered as Pedigree went into full scale production in the Far East, where they might have been subject to cost-cutting or rationalisation because of the company difficulties.
So, this perhaps explains some of the discrepancies that we find with the outfits for 1971, or it could be unrelated, we just don't know. But of all the Sindy references, this year has the most outfits that are not the same as the photos and we will point out the differences whenever we can. It should also be noted that there are slight name differences between the trade brochure and the style booklet and we will document those differences also.
It is also uncertain as to when the outfits and dolls were actually available during the course of this tumultuous year, but given that we know that they existed (because we have them), we will list them as being this year's releases in accordance with the official Pedigree Sindy brochure. Any additional information about this year would be gratefully received.
The 1971 brochure shows three types of Sindy dolls:
- Sindy Walker Sidepart in the yellow jumper and yellow and green check skirt (Ref 12WS1) (see 1970 Sindy)
- The new Lovely Lively Sindy (which was shown in the 1970 Christmas catalogues for both Tri-ang and Hamleys). These dolls are known as “Gauntlets” because in order to give the doll a poseable body including bending arms, these dolls were given separate lower arms which were attached at the elbow to provide a bendable joint. These lower arms look like big gloves, hence the name.
- All the other boxed dolls shown are Centreparts.
We also know that towards the end of the year at least two new boxed dolls could be purchased, again in time for Christmas.
- The first of these was a Centrepart Sindy wearing a new outfit called 'Day Girl'.
- The second was the new Trendy Sindy, she can be found in the Tri-ang Christmas catalogue for 1971 wearing 'Hot Pants'.
As these outfits on these dolls are not shown in the 1972 brochure, we will show them here also.
We are also going to show you:
- The Centrepart Walker who was dressed in the original Walker outfit. She was also shown (but not described) in the 1970 Tri-ang Christmas catalogue but because we have been unable to find any other references for her we are going to show her here in 1971, which really was the year of the Centreparts.
- Additionally, we need to document somewhere an unknown dress which we believe came on a Centrepart boxed doll but which we have so far been unable to identify. Because we can't find any references for it, again we will show it here in the year of the Centreparts. We have wondered whether it was just a variation of 'Day Dress' dress, but it is sufficiently different to show separately. We have also speculated whether this quite cheap and cheerful outfit was used to shift Centrepart dollie stock after 1972, or could it be the fabled 'Outdoor Girl' which was supposedly a 1970 release? Any further information on this outfit would be gratefully received.
All the boxed dolls still came with the golden charm bracelet with the Sindy medallion. All the Centrepart dolls came wearing a coloured rubber elastic headband.
There are two outfits shown in the brochure which we have to raise a question mark against:
- 'Happy Holidays' Ref 12S41, this outfit is widely believed to have never been available for purchase.
- Amongst the “New Pocketwise Fashions” Vicki is shown wearing a cream coloured sweater and a yellow and brown check mini-skirt. However this outfit is unreferenced in the Pedigree Catalogue but it called “Sweater and Mini' Ref 12S104 in the Sindy style booklet. However, we can't find evidence to support that it was available for sale and Frances Baird in “British Teenage Dolls” lists this reference as unused. We have wondered whether this outfit was subsequently used instead for the Trendy Walker variation outfit, because we know something very similar to this outfit did exist. We would be pleased to hear of any information regarding this outfit
Neither of these outfits appear in the 1972 brochure.
Previous outfits and separates that were still shown in this brochure are:
'Discotheque'
'Belle of the Ball' (called 'Bell of the Ball' in the style booklet)
Flower Frillies'
'Bedtime Beauty' (dressed back to front on the Sindy)
'Trendsetter' is pictured but is now called 'Summer Dress'
'Catsuit'
'Winter Coat'
'Day Dress'
We also know that 'Shopping-in-the-Rain', 'Bowling' and 'Cordon Bleu' which were previously boxed outfits were sold just carded.
The labels were again changing, they were still made of paper and printed in green on white paper. They said “Made in Hong Kong” in a green edged box. Some labels have another box to the left of this box which contained either a number or a letter but we do not know the significance of this referencing.
Some outfits, notably on the boxed dolls, still used white plastic poppers. Other outfits and separates used a combination of painted metal poppers and/or sewn-on metal snap fasteners. Some of the dome-shaped metal poppers were still prone to rust. These rusty poppers are very noticeable on some of the outfits from this year such as 'Look Warm' and 'Midi Coat, which were made of quite thick material and so probably took longer to dry so the poppers were wetter for longer.
The 'Weekenders' revival outfit was still available now exclusively on a Centrepart doll. For a full description of the outfit, please see 1969 Sindy. In addition, the doll is shown in the brochure wearing a red headband, which we think was more like a rubber elastic band rather than the earlier red stretch elastic tape, unfortunately we don't have one of these to show you.
A boxy-shaped fake fur coat and matching cossack hat with an elasticated chin strap which matched the colour of the fur. The garments were unlined. To our knowledge these squashy fur coats were available in three colours, chocolate brown, mushroom and cream. The 1971 brochure shows the outfit in the mushroom variation and the 1972 brochure shows the outfit in cream.
What is not so well known is that under the coat, Sindy wore a little nylon dress, you cannot see it in the 1971 brochure but you can just see the hem of it in the 1972 brochure.
These dresses are not referenced in any descriptions but original owners and collectors have confirmed their existence. These simple, sleeveless dresses are made of floral nylon and have decorative trimmings at the neck, at the hem or at both. They fastened at the back of the neck with one white plastic popper. It is easy to mix them up with Patch's 'Babydoll' outfit (see 1970 Patch). Our not very scientific way of telling them apart is that they are slightly too long for Patch to be described as a babydoll nightie. Other collectors tell us that there are many versions of this nylon dress, we have two that we can show you. It is uncertain as to whether a particular dress was teamed up with a specified fur colour. The 1972 cream version is shown with the little pink dress peaking out from underneath but we don't know if this was by design or just a random pairing. Any more variations or information as to whether a particular dress was paired with a specific coat would be gratefully received.
One final thing to note, the 1971 Centrepart is shown in the brochure wearing black kitten heel court shoes, whilst in the 1972 brochure the Trendy is shown wearing white calf length boots. In the absence of boxed dolls we can't say for certain if that was how they were actually sold. We have used black kitten heel court shoes to match the 1971 brochure for the mushroom coloured fur and white boots for the 1972 cream coloured fur. We have also used black kitten heel court shoes for the brown fur version in the absence of any definitive information.
A pretty sleeveless long dress made of a cotton-like material with blue and pink horizontal textured stripes and decorated with a silver threading. The dress was gathered at the waist and trimmed with a small silver ribbon. It fastened at the back with two large white plastic poppers. In the brochure Sindy is shown wearing a blue rubber elastic headband and white kitten heel court shoes.
There are two versions of this dress, the most common is the predominately blue striped pattern and there is also a version which is predominately pink (see photo above right).
A new 'Fashion Girl' all-in-one mini-dress designed to look like a two-piece outfit. This dress was made of cotton and looked like a multi-coloured patterned round-necked pinafore over a short-sleeved, pink turtle-neck blouse. There are both pebble-like patterns and floral patterns. It opened all the way down the back and fastened at the back with two large white plastic poppers. In the brochure Sindy is shown wearing a blue rubber elastic headband and purple kitten heel court shoes.
There are a number of variations to this outfit and it is easy to confuse it with the same outfit that was issued on the 1972 Trendy. We think that the 1971 version tended to use cotton thread and the the 1972 version used nylon. However, this could simply be a difference between two factories making the same garment. For 1971 therefore we are showing a cotton thread version (as shown in the 1971 brochure) in the main photo and all our variations from 1971 and 1972 in the photo above right. If you have any other variations or some more information as to how to truly identify a Centrepart dress from a Trendy version, we would love to hear from you.
A long-sleeved floral dress made of either cotton and sewn with cotton thread, or nylon and sewn with nylon thread. The dress had an elasticated waist and cuffs. The neck and cuffs were trimmed with white nylon lace and it fastened at the back with two large white plastic poppers. In the brochure Sindy is shown wearing a red rubber elastic headband and white kitten heel court shoes.
As with 'Fashion Girl' there are a number of variations to this outfit and it is also easy to confuse it with the same outfit that was issued on the 1972 Trendy. We think that the 1971 versions were made of cotton with a navy blue background and that the 1972 versions were nylon with much more 'funky' flowers, but there might have been some cross-overs. For 1971 therefore we are showing a cotton version (as shown in the 1971 brochure) in the main photo and for 1972 a nylon version, with all the variations from 1971 and 1972 in the photos below. If you have any other variations or some more information as to how to recognise the Centrepart outfit from the Trendy version, we would be pleased to hear from you.
We also have this possible variation to show you. It is made of the same nylon fabric as the later Trendy versions, with the same plastic poppers and lace trim. It is the same size and shape as the others, but it doesn't have elastic at the waist or cuffs. Is this another 'Midi Look' dress or does it belong to someone else? Do let us know if you know.
This outfit was called 'Midilook' in the style booklet.
This outfit on a Centrepart doll was not shown in the Sindy catalogue but we know she was available in September 1971. This was a simple sleeveless short dress made of orange silky cotton with a contrasting blue cotton trim down the front of the dress. This dress fastened at the back with the usual large white plastic popper. We think she wore a blue rubber elastic headband and white kitten heel court shoes. One collector has told us that they think this outfit came with a pair of purple nylon pants but after rummaging through our knickers bags we don't have any. If you have a boxed doll and you wouldn't mind peaking up under her dress, we'd love to know if she wore purple pants?
Just like 'Fashion Girl' and 'Midi Look' there are a number of variations to the trim on this outfit and it is also easy to confuse it with the same outfit that was issued on the 1972 Trendy. We don't know how to tell the dresses apart so if you have any other variations or some more information as to how to recognise the Centrepart dress from the Trendy version, we would be pleased to hear from you.
This is the first sighting of a Trendy Girl that we have. We know she was available in September 1971 and she is shown in the 1971 Tri-ang Christmas catalogue but she was not shown in the 1972 Pedigree brochure or Sindy style booklet which is why we are showing her here. This outfit is sometimes mis-described as a variation of the 1972 “Pocketwise Fashion” also called 'Hot Pants' but that is not correct, this was a boxed doll outfit in its own right.
It was another all-in-one outfit designed to look like a two-piece. The yellow hot pants had a bib and two yellow ribbon 'straps' which were sewn into the shoulders of the top. They were made of a slightly stretchy waffle-weave polyester fabric. The short-sleeved turtle-neck top was made of white and brown floral printed cotton. The hot pants fastened at the back with two large white plastic poppers. In the Tri-ang catalogue Sindy is wearing a blue rubber elastic headband (shown here with a matching yellow one) and the same knee-high yellow plastic boots as the 1970 Sindy Walker.
A trendy jumpsuit with a white waist belt designed to show off the Lovely Lively's poseable body. The pattern of this outfit differs from the one that was shown in the brochure. It is also a different pattern from the one shown in the 1970 Tri-ang Christmas catalogue and the Hamley's 1970-71 catalogue. This jumpsuit was made of a pink, lilac and yellow paisley patterned nylon. It had elasticated cuffs, a turtle-neck and a white sewn-on PVC belt with a gold buckle decoration. It fastened at the back with two poppers, the top one at the neck was a dome-shaped chrome coloured popper, the one at the waist was a metal press stud. We believe she wore a pink rubber elastic headband but we don't have one of these.
We don't know what the Lovely Lively's original footwear was as all our sources differ, which does make us doubt the one boxed doll that we have. We have found brochures and catalogues showing Lovely Lively's wearing this jumpsuit with white ankle boots, white kitten heel court shoes, white sneakers and red kitten heel court shoes. We do know that later models wore white Trendy shoes. If you have an original 1971 boxed doll we would be interested to know what shoes she is wearing. We have chosen the white ankle boots from the 1971 Pedigree Sindy brochure, and for the variation red kitten heel court shoes from the 1972 brochure.
There are variations to this outfit where the jumpsuit is much paler in colour and we have seen one which has a slightly different pattern. We have just one other that we can show you (see photo top right). Although on first glance it just looks faded, this version has a slightly different pattern and we now know a number of collectors also have this version, so we do think that it is a true variation.
For a detailed description of the original 'Walking Sindy' outfit please refer to 1969 Sindy. However we wanted to show you this doll because there is a slight difference that we have noticed. The Centrepart Walker had the same body as her Sidepart Walker sister and so her polka dot skirt-suit was the same. But, her blouse was different, it is the same shape as the original version but it was made of nylon which fastened at the back of the neck with one sewn-on metal snap fastener. Please see above right for a comparison photo, the CP Walker blouse is the one on the right.
We believe her to be completely authentic, however we cannot confirm whether she also came with the yellow coat-dress because she didn't have one. We presume so, but obviously we cannot document any differences. If you have a Centrepart Walker and can help to contribute to this description, we would be very pleased to hear from you.
This simple mini-dress and scarf outfit was made of nylon with a floral design of a white background and red flowers. It had a white turtle-neck collar and it fastened at the back with white plastic poppers. The scarf was the same shape and length as the scarf for 'Tangerine Dress'. We do not know what shoes came with this outfit.
Any more information about this outfit would be very welcome.
A pretty three piece bedtime set made of strawberry pink nylon trimmed with white nylon lace. There was a sleeveless short nightie trimmed with lace at the neck and along the hem which fastened at the back with one dome-shaped white painted metal popper. On top there was a long-sleeved negligee also trimmed with lace around the neck, hem and front edges. It was fastened with a white ribbon tie belt. For Sindy's head there was a pretty elasticated mob hat also trimmed with lace. For her hair three blue curling pins (the same as used for 'Sleepy Time') and for her feet a pair of white daisy sandals. It should be noted that in the brochure her sandals appear to have little red pom poms but we have never seen these.
This outfit is different to the one shown in the brochure. The brochure version is shown as a yellow and black striped outfit with black sock. This outfit was available but confusingly there are two types. One was made for the Centrepart Sindy and the other is a little smaller and was made for the Trendy Sindy. The Centrepart version is made of knitted cotton and consist of a short-sleeved turtle-neck mini-dress and matching beanie hat. The stripes are pink, airforce blue, lime green and dark blue. The dress fastened at the back with one dome-shaped white painted metal popper. There was a dark blue vinyl waistcoat and a matching wide belt with a gold buckle. For her legs Sindy had a pair of blue knee-high socks and she carried a little green suedette satchel trimmed with black stitching, gold buckle and black suedette buckle-strap.The little handle was affixed to the bag with two gold rings. In the 1971 brochure, Sindy is shown wearing her usual white sneakers.
The Trendy version is smaller and made of nylon, the colours of the stripes are therefore brighter. We have shown the two dresses together (top right) so that you can see the difference and we will show the later version as a complete outfit on a Trendy in 1972.
A very pretty outfit made of brushed nylon. The sleeveless wide-legged jumpsuit and matching belt were made of a light pink and dark pink striped brushed nylon. The jumpsuit fastened at the back of the neck with one dome-shaped chrome coloured popper. The shoulder bag was made of dark pink brushed nylon with a front flap which fastened with a metal snap fastener decorated with a little gold bead. The shoulder strap was a gold chain. For her feet Sindy had a pair of gold daisy sandals, but they are not bright gold as shown in the brochure.
This outfit has also been found with one large white plastic popper, dome-shaped white painted metal poppers, and sewn-on metal snap fasteners. We have also found a variation in the fabric used, as shown in the comparison photo below. The version shown on top is made of a much finer brushed nylon and the difference in colour between the stripes is subtler. This version came with a sewn-on metal snap fastener, so we think it might be later version.
We had difficulty with this outfit in that the brochure shows a coat with four big plastic white poppers, but confusingly the style booklet shows a coat with six, two of which appear as decoration - one on each of the patch pockets. However on closer inspection of the photographs, it is exactly the same outfit and the shoulder bag is simply covering the pocket poppers in the Pedigree brochure photo.
We now know that this coat with plastic poppers exists, but it is very rare which leads us and the owner to suspect that it was a prototype or a rep's sample. We are documenting our outfit as this is the one more usually seen and we are going to show you the plastic popper version below for your own information and knowledge.
This outfit consisted of a shiny red vinyl cotton-backed mac with a sewn on collar, long sleeves with sewn-on faux-cuffs and two patch pockets. The popper detail on the front of the coat consisted of four dome-shaped white painted metal poppers, two of which fastened the coat. Under the coat there was a pair of blue nylon tights and a matching blue beanie hat for Sindy's head. She had a co-ordinating multi-coloured swirly patterned scarf cut from a piece of crimplene (the pattern of which is also different from the brochure). She carried a matching red vinyl shoulder bag which fastened with one dome-shaped white painted metal popper. On her feet she wore a pair of red knee-high plastic boots. The brochure shows the same boots as those for 'Shopping-in-the-Rain' (which might be right for the first version), ours are the much more well-known Trendy version which were made of a softer plastic with rounded toes and flat heels (see photo above right for a comparison photo).
There is a variation of the shoulder bag which has a red painted dome-shaped popper (shown here on the left) instead of a white one.
Shown below are four detailed photos of the plastic popper version of this coat. The owner has never ever seen another of these coats but she is certain it is genuine and has shown it to other collectors who agree. Interestingly it has a black and white "Made in Hong Kong" paper label which points to it being very late 60s/early 70s. But given that this is the only one ever seen so far, we can only assume that it was a prototype, sample or perhaps if it made it to mass production it was replaced very quickly by the more common version. In terms of Sindy outfits, it is a great piece of Sindy history!
Another outfit where the fabrics we have doesn't match the brochure photo which is shown as predominately pink with a pink ribbon trim.
This is a long dress with short puff sleeves. It was made of a floral cotton trimmed with a white nylon lace around the neck, end of the sleeves and around the gathered elasticated waist. About an inch above the hem there was a decorative white lace trim finished with a blue satin ribbon tied in a bow. The dress fastened at the back with two dome-shaped white painted metal poppers. For her head there was a matching headscarf trimmed with the same white nylon lace. She carried a 'bouquet' of flowers made from a white nylon swirl with a pink centre affixed to a silver paper leaf and decorated with a matching ribbon (see detailed photos above right). For her feet she had a pair of white kitten heel court shoes.
There are at least four variations of the floral print as shown below. At first glance the second outfit in the first photo on the left looks very similar to the first outfit in photo on the right. But if you look closely, you will see that the flowers have different coloured centres. In addition, whilst this pattern also looks very similar to the second outfit in photo on the right, this outfit is a very pale pink and the daisies are coloured pink. Whilst these three outfits might simply be the result of different fabric printing batches, they do provide excellent collecting opportunities for Sindy collectors.
Here is another outfit that has caused us some head scratching. We believe that there were two versions of this outfit. The first version released in 1971 was a two piece trouser suit and shirt. It is shown with big white plastic poppers in the 1971 brochure, but we have this and ours has metal poppers. The second version was a Trendy version and also included a skirt and we will show that one in 1972.
This sought-after outfit consisted of a two piece trouser suit and a shirt. This version is slightly bigger than the Trendy version, and it was made of a pale pink silky polyester nylon fabric and consisted of a pair of trousers, a long maxi-waistcoat and a floral shirt. The trousers had sewn-in front creases and fastened at the back with a dome-shaped white painted metal popper. The matching long maxi-waistcoat was sleeveless with two patch hand pockets. There was a co-ordinating short-sleeved cotton shirt. It had a sewn-on rounded collar with double stitching detail on the end of each sleeve and down the edges of the front of the shirt. It fastened at the front with two dome-shaped white painted metal poppers. There was a large navy blue vinyl holdall shoulder bag with a front patch pocket and front flap which fastened with a piece of velcro. The bag was decorated with two pink faux buckle-straps each adorned with a gold buckle. In the 1971 brochure the shoes shown are Sindy's black flat lace-up shoes (however the 1972 brochure shows the outfit worn with white Trendy girl shoes).
We know of two variations of the shirt, each had a slightly different floral pattern (see photo above right). The one that we think was the first version was pale blue with small pink flowers, smaller white flowers and with a slightly larger collar (as shown on Vicky in the photo). The second version was in a pink, white and green floral pattern on an airforce blue background. We think the first version is the 1971 version because there appears to be fewer of them, but it could be that this outfit was issued with either shirt, as we cannot be certain without seeing a boxed outfit. If you have any more information on the shirts, please let us know.
Another beautiful outfit which doesn't quite match the brochure as the hat, scarf, mittens and boots are a little different.
The focus of this outfit was a beautiful long-sleeved, turtle-necked skating dress made from a rich deep red velvet with a white faux fur trim around the cuffs and hem of the short skating skirt. The dress fastened at the back and we have found two methods of fastening. On the earlier version the fasteners were two dome-shaped red painted metal poppers and there is also a version which fastened with two metal snap fasteners. Accompanying the dress was a pull-on pixie hat, long scarf and mittens with shaped thumbs made of red, white and blue striped knitted nylon. The hat and scarf were trimmed with blue chenille pom poms. These items differ from the photo which showed them as being red and black striped with blue pom poms. For her legs she had a pair of thick white nylon knitted tights and she was given a pair of red moulded skaters' boots. Again they differ slightly from the photo which shows them as having white or silver coloured blades, but we have checked ours very carefully and they have never been painted.
This outfit is shown in the Pedigree brochure as being aubergine in colour but we have never seen this version. We have only ever seen this outfit in a mint green colour. It is a smart outfit but it is very difficult to find in good condition because the poppers have a tendency to rust and this often ruins the fabric.
The outfit was a mint green thick cotton trouser suit consisting of a coat and matching trousers. The coat was double-breasted with a sewn-on collar, wide notched lapels and two patch pockets. It had four dome-shaped white painted metal poppers, two of which actually worked to fasten the front. The matching trousers had a front fly opening which fastened with one dome-shaped white painted metal popper. There was a pretty co-ordinating multi-coloured scarf made of a silky nylon (see photo above right). Sindy was given a white vinyl shoulder bag with an extra long shoulder strap so that it could be worn across the body from the shoulder. It had a front pocket, and a front flap that fastened with a white metal painted popper. For her feet she had short white calf-length plastic ankle boots.
This has to be one of our favourite outfits and luckily it almost matches the brochure.
The highlight of this outfit was the yellow all-in-one ski suit. It was made of yellow nylon with a yellow painted YKK metal zip, but we have also seen this outfit with white zips with unpainted teeth, as is shown in the comparison photo on the right. It had an elasticated waist and elasticated cuffs and ankles. The attached hood was trimmed with a glorious red faux fur.
Underneath the ski suit Sindy wore a red high-necked stretch nylon jumpsuit with long sleeves which fastened at the back of the neck with one dome-shaped red painted metal popper. To keep her hands warm Sindy was given a pair of red mittens made of the same fabric as the jumpsuit which were trimmed with the red faux fur. For her feet a pair of red and white striped nylon socks.
Her boots, skis and ski poles are worth noting. The boots are very similar to 'Winter Holiday' but there are slight differences. They were slightly shorter and the toes were not quite so elongated, the moulded laces have a different pattern. The skis were quite different, they were made of sky blue plastic with moulded boot holdings replacing the metal and spring fastenings used in the earlier version, there was a moulded Sindy “S” on the top of the blade at the front of each ski. The ski poles are almost identical to the earlier version apart from the baskets which were now black rather than silver.
To keep the snow out of her eyes Sindy was given a pair of snazzy new sunglasses which were much more contemporary, big round rose-tinted lenses in a white plastic frame.
We also understand that there is a variation of this outfit with maroon coloured fur.
This is another outfit that does not match the brochure, which shows this coat as being made of a geometric, predominantly brown, tweed-like fabric.
In reality this coat, which is often described as a Russian Dr Zhivago style coat, was made in pillar box red with a black faux trim. These coats were immensely fashionable at the time. The red material is hard to describe, it is like a fine wool flannel with a brushed surface which feels like felt, it is very hard to find in good condition as the fine weave is prone to splitting and the felted surface can end up with bald patches. The long-sleeved coat was trimmed with black faux fur around the cuffs, collar, down the front and around the hem. It fastened with two metal snap fasteners at the neck and waist. There was a matching cossack-style hat in the same red material with a band of black faux fur around the brim. It had a matching black faux muff with a black cord strap to hang round Sindys neck. There is a more unusual variation of this outfit where brown faux fur was used instead of black (see photo above right).
The outfit was completed with a pair of white plastic knee high boots (which we can't help feeling ought to have been black). As with other outfits from this year, the brochure shows the 1960s knee high style of boots similar in shape to the 'Shopping-in-the-Rain' boots, and we do have an original pair of these to show you (see main photo). Later this outfit was sold with a Trendy version which like the other Trendy boots were made of a softer plastic with rounded toes and flat heels.
This outfit was called 'Midiwinter' in the style booklet.
The outfit that we have doesn't match the brochure but if anything the outfit that was produced is far superior to the one shown. For the record, and because we understand that some collectors do apparently own the version in the brochure, it was of a yellow long dress with a red rick-rack trim just above the hem. There is a matching long-sleeved floor-length coat in red with a red ribbon tie at the neck, yellow rick rack down the front edges of the coat and a yellow lining to the wide bell sleeves. There was a matching yellow evening bag with a red bead or button clasp. Colette Mansell in “The History of Sindy” describes the shoes as “yellow wedge-heel sandals” which are perhaps the mustard coloured daisy sandals that have previously been described on this website.
The outfit that we have instead is extraordinary and it is difficult to believe that it was made for a children's toy. It consisted of a long, sleeveless dress made of a woven satin-like fabric in a rich mulberry pink. The dress was trimmed with gold thread rick rack around the neck and just above the hem. The dress fastened at the back of the neck with one metal snap fastener. The evening coat was beautiful. The mulberry pink cotton coat was floor-length, with long bell sleeves (lined with the same material as the dress), a small mandarin collar, and yellow satin ribbon ties at neck. But, the highlight of this coat is its wonderful brocade pattern in gold thread. There was a small matching evening handbag made of the same material as the dress decorated with a single gold bead. Again there is some doubt as to the shoes, we have seen references to both white daisy sandals and also to the “gold” version – we have opted for the gold because they looked nicer. We would be very interested to hear from any collector who has a boxed version as to the type and colour of the shoes for this outfit.
There are variations to this outfit. There is a lighter pink variation of the coat where the brocade pattern is slightly different (see the inset photo on the right above). We also understand that there may be other patterns and a slightly different dress.
A pair of pull-on thick white nylon knitted tights and a very useful addition to Sindy's wardrobe, given the number of mini-dresses she had and a perfect accompaniment to 'Winter Coat'.
A pretty floral mini-dress and quite similarly to some of the dresses referred to above on the boxed dolls, we think there is a Centrepart version and a later Trendy versions. Again this is not scientific but we think the 1971 version was made of cotton and the 1972 versions are made of nylon and they are slightly shorter. We will show the nylon variations in 1972.
The 1971 Centrepart version was made of pink cotton with a delicate floral pattern in a darker pink, blue, white and yellow (which is a different pattern to that shown in the brochure). It had long puff-sleeves and a gathered waist with a full skirt. It had elasticated wrists, and the neck, cuffs and hem were trimmed with white nylon lace. There were two tiny buttons sewn onto the bodice just below the neckline. It fastened at the back of the neck with two dome-shaped white painted metal poppers. We think it came with white kitten heel court shoes.
A jaunty two piece for riding which was much less formal than the 1960's 'Pony Club' ensemble. It consisted a white long-sleeved thick cotton top with a turtle-neck, elasticated cuffs and waist. It had raglan sleeves often associated with a more casual, sporty look. The arm sleeve seam slanted from the underarm to the neckline, with the result that the back, front, and sleeve all taper towards the neck and with the upper edge of the raglan sleeve forming part of the neckline over each shoulder. It opened down the back and fastened with two dome-shaped white painted metal poppers, one at the neck and the other at the waist. The wide-cut jodhpurs were made of red cotton twill. They had turn-ups and the front-fly opening fastened with one dome-shaped red painted metal popper. Although the 1971 brochure shows this outfit with white boots, we have only ever seen it with black plastic calf-length ankle boots.
The sweater was updated in later years to one made of thick white nylon. We are able to date them because the outfit shown above was found on an early Gauntlet from an original collection. But we also have the nylon version which was again found on a Gauntlet from an original owner, but she was the later version with the sewn-in eyelashes. The sweaters are almost identical apart from the material they made from and the fastenings. The later version has sewn-on metal snap fasteners, which would also indicate that it was later. See comparison photos below, the nylon version is at the top.
This coat is almost the same as the brochure except that the brochure photo shows what looks like white plastic poppers but we don't have this.
This long-sleeved, midi-length coat was made of a sea green, thick fabric which feels like a coarsely woven linen. It had a sewn-on collar and notched lapels. The front of the coat was decorated with two panels of a mustard coloured PVC. The same PVC was used for a wide sewn-on belt with big gold coloured buckle. The coat fastened with two dome-shaped white painted metal poppers.
The brochure shows the same yellow plastic knee high boots as those for 1970 second Sindy Walker outfit (which might be right for the first version), ours are the much more well-known Trendy version which were made of a softer plastic with rounded toes and flat heels (see photo above right for a comparison photo).
Some collectors have found a little mustard coloured scarf made of a piece of roughly cut nylon with this coat (see photo above left). It is easy to mistake it with the 'Checky Coat' scarf (from 1975) but the 'Checky Coat' scarf is made of a silky nylon and it is hemmed. This scarf is thought to be original to the outfit and there other examples of 1970s outfits where some include additional items which are not referenced but which have been found in unopened boxed outfits and packets.
Although this outfit is only shown in the 1971 brochure, we do think that it might have been available for longer because we do have two versions of this outfit. Again the outfit in the brochure doesn't quite match what we have as the skirt appears to have four flat red plastic poppers and the blouse two white ones. Also the floral print of the blouse is not the same.
This outfit consisted on a raspberry pink needle cord midi-length skirt. It fastened down the front and had that wide waist band which was very fashionable at the time. The thick nylon long-sleeved blouse was made of a floral patterned fabric with a pink and orange and peach flowers on a pale pink background. It had a sewn-on triangular shaped collar and wide sleeves which were gathered at the shoulder and elasticated at the cuffs. It fastened at the front like a shirt.
We believe there were two versions because the first version (perhaps the earlier version we think) was a raspberry pink skirt, made from a wider needle cord, fastening the skirt and blouse at the front with four dome-shaped red painted metal poppers and two dome-shaped white painted metal poppers respectively. The second version (perhaps a later version) was a candy pink, smaller needle cord skirt, which had four metal snap fasteners to fasten the skirt, and which was trimmed with four small pink plastic buttons to give a button-down effect. Similarly, the blouse had two metal sewn on snap fasteners to fasten the blouse plus two white (but identical to the skirt) plastic buttons. Because this outfit is not shown in later brochures we are showing both versions here.
A pair of turquoise blue corduroy jeans with two big patch pockets at the back and two small hip pockets at the front. It had three turquoise suedette belt loops at the waist and the front-fly opening fastened with one dome-shaped white painted metal popper. This outfit came with a pair of white daisy sandals.
We have noticed two shades of blue for these trousers, one is a really rich shade of turquoise and the the other is a much paler turquoise blue (not shown).
This outfit was called 'Cord Casuals' in the style booklet and we have also seen an MIP (Mint in Packet) version called 'Levicords'.
We have never actually seen the version shown in the style brochure but many variations of this pretty blouse exist. It was made of brightly coloured nylon chiffon with long puff sleeves with elasticated cuffs and a high collar. It fastened at the back of the neck. Although this is only from our own observations, we believe the earlier versions had dome-shaped painted metal poppers (we have white and black painted poppers) and later versions were made with metal sewn on snap fasteners. There was a chain-link go-go belt to accompany this outfit. The belt is made of small white plastic polo-shaped disks joined together by tiny gold coloured double links. This outfit was packaged with a pair of white daisy sandals.
Because there are so many variations, we are showing all the ones we have here (teamed up with 'Casual Cords') so that you can appreciate the richness and variety of these blouses. If you have any other patterns, you would be very welcome to show them here also.
This outfit was renamed and renumbered in the 1972 brochure as 'Blouse and belt' Ref 12S107.
A long-sleeved tailored micro-mini dress made of a bright tangerine coloured cotton ribbed twill. It had two darts stitched down the front of the dress to shape it, and it had a sewn-on collar made of the same material. It fastened at the back of the neck with one dome-shaped white painted metal popper. A co-ordinating multi-coloured printed scarf made of nylon accompanied the outfit. Although we have shown this outfit with white kitten heel court shoes, we have seen this MIP (Mint in Packet) with white daisy sandals.
This outfit was shown in the Pedigree trade catalogue for three years from 1971 to 1973. We have never seen the multi-coloured printed scarf shown in the 1971 catalogue (which we think might have been a prototype). The scarf shown above in the main photo was shown in the 1972 catalogue, and the scarf shown above right was pictured in the 1973 catalogue. These scarves are fragile and fray easily, so all the edges were hemmed (predominantly with a red running stitch) and many can still be found with their paper "Made in Hong Kong" labels.
Very fashionable at the time was the Poncho, so naturally Sindy had one. Her's was made of a woven nylon with a tartan pattern. The neckline was bound with yellow cotton binding and the edges of the poncho were trimmed with a nylon braid with a loop fringe (again this differs from the brochure which shows a different tartan pattern and a cut fringe rather than the looped versions that we have). It fastened at the back and there are two types of fastening. One version (the earlier version we think) was fastened with two dome-shaped red painted metal poppers. The other version (perhaps a later version) was fastened with two metal snap fasteners.
There are a number of variations to the tartan pattern and we have seen the fringe in both yellow and white.
