Paul Mam'selle Outfits
There were five Mam’selle fashions especially made for Paul including two smart new suits which reflected the fashions of the day. The range was introduced in 1966 when the Pedigree Division was formed. According to Frances Baird in “British Teenage Dolls 1956 to 1984” they were only made for one year (pg 132). This would tie in with Paul being dropped by 1968. Paul outfits are therefore particularly difficult to find.
String Set (Ref DR450)
Paul’s underwear was a vest and Y-front pants made from a fine white cotton mesh edged with a white cotton trim. The set included a magazine for Paul. Thank you also to the kind collector who carefully took the carded outfit out of the original box for this photograph, so that you could see the detail of the boxed outfit. The third & fourth photos below show a close up of the magazine (with Sindy’s MGB on the front cover).
Track Suit (Ref DR451)
An all-in-one, zip-up cotton jersey track suit. It was a rust colour with the collar and wrist & ankle cuffs made of a contrasting mustard colour ribbed fabric (which was the same material as used for Sindy’s ‘Gad Abouts’ jumper and the sleeves and neck of Patch’s ‘Autumn leaves’). On Paul’s left chest a torch was printed in mustard and white, and was described in the brochure description as a “club emblem”. The outfit came with a pair of Paul’s white lace-up sneakers.
We thought the torch might be something to do with the Olympics, but we can’t match it – could the torch be something to do with car racing?
As you can see from the MIB (Mint In Box) photos right, the guitar had a green and orange body. The guitar was strung with black string. It also came with an orange plectrum.
Group Gear (Ref DR475)
A Beatles inspired suit consisting of a collarless jacket and trousers made of a fine silky cotton black and white houndstooth check. The edges of the jacket were trimmed with a black cotton binding and it fastened with four black flat painted poppers. The trousers had a front fly opening and fastened with one flat black painted popper.
For his feet Paul had a pair of black Chelsea boots and he carried a green and orange plastic guitar.
Sunday Date (Ref DR476)
A dove grey felted wool single-breasted suit with a collar, notched rever-lapels, two slanted faux-flap hand pockets, and a single faux-breast pocket on the left chest containing a off-white satin handkerchief. The jacket fastened at the front with three flat black painted metal poppers and the trousers had a front-fly opening fastened by one flat black painted popper. Under the jacket Paul wore a white, striped cotton long-sleeved shirt with a fine red, pink & mauve vertical stripe, it had a white vinyl collar and it fastened at the front with two flat white painted metal poppers. The suit came with a red tie (not shown), it was made of the same material as the hanky and it was shiny with a criss-cross pattern. This outfit was worn with black Chelsea boots.
There is a variation of the suit which is a darker charcoal grey, shown right.
We would love to show the tie if anyone has it please?
King of the Road (Ref DR477)
King of the Road consisted of a stiff, cotton-backed black textured vinyl zip-up bikers jacket and matching trousers. The jacket had a collar and a fitted elasticated waist band which fastened with one flat chrome coloured metal popper. The jacket was trimmed with a smooth black vinyl fringe at breast height front and back. The trousers had a front-fly opening fastened by one flat chrome coloured popper. These trousers are very long and have been turned up in the photo left to match the look of the 1960s ‘Cafe Racer’ style.
The nickname of “Rockers” which distinguished this look from the “Mods” wasn’t because they listened to rock music, but from the rockers found in their 4-stroke motorcycle engines.
Paul wore a moulded yellow plastic pudding basin crash helmet, which had an orange chinstrap made from the same soft faux leather fabric as the Made in England/Irish Republic 1963 ‘Leather Looker’ (Ref 12S51).
The shaped chin straps were attached to the helmet with a staple on each side. One chin strap is cut to create a pull-through buckle similar to Mam’selle Sindy’s ‘Fan Club’ red belt (DR354).
The outfit came with a pair of moulded black boots.
The zip fastener on the biker jacket has an interesting heritage. Similarly to the English Newey popper fastenings found on Mam’selle outfits, the Lightning zips were English.
Lightning Fasteners Ltd were founded in 1926 and operated from the Kynoch Works in Witton, Birmingham. Lightning zip fasteners were used by the British military and were also popular zips used on 1950s and 1960s biker jackets. A nice piece of British history again captured in miniature.
This outfit was found in a box of Action Man at a car boot sale many years ago. In the box was a pair of white plastic gloves and a pair of google type glasses which so far the owner has not been able to identify. However, the Mam’selle leaflet does not mention these items and so the owner is unsure if they actually came with this outfit.
If you are interested in the ‘Cafe Racer’ style there is a very nice page which explains more about it and from where we learnt where the name “Rockers” came from https://www.ageofglorygarments.com/style-cafe-racer/