The Sindy Set – Vintage Sindy and Paul

When I started collecting seriously, I got all of my childhood Barbie dolls out of storage, where they had been since high school, and put them in a display cupboard.  I then set about looking for my sister’s old dolls.  I knew she had a Little Tuppence doll, Skipper doll – which turned out to be a clone – and a male doll called Paul, who I knew to be Sindy’s boyfriend.   Paul had his original outfit and a couple of Ken fashions that somehow my sister managed to squeeze him into – he’s quite a bit chunkier than vintage Ken.  He’s also a bit of a – well, the Aussie word for it is dag, the American would be dork.  His body is undefined and chubby and he has skinny little legs, but he does have a sweet face, so I suppose that must make him ‘adorkable.’  I’ve always thought he looks a bit like Patrick Duffy who starred as The Man from Atlantis when I was kid, and later, in Dallas.  So, I bought a vintage Allan doll to wear Paul’s Ken fashions (I’ve always preferred Allan and Midge over Ken and Barbie – please don’t tell them) and resolved to get a nice vintage Sindy to keep Paul company, and some fashions of his own (although I did discover that a fashion I used to squeeze my 70’s Ken into was actually Paul’s ‘Seaside’ fashion).

Paul wearing ‘Time Off.’ He’s completely ‘adorkable.’

Sindy was first released in England in September 1963, but it wasn’t until 1964 that Cyclops & Lines Bros. (Aust.) Ltd. – the Australian branch of the British company Lines Bros, which was the parent company of Pedigree dolls – launched Sindy in Australia.  She sold for 27/6 (roughly $2.75) and had her own wardrobe of fashions ranging in price from 19/11 ($1.90) to 35/- ($3.50).  Sindy was just as popular as the Barbie doll, selling well even before the television ad campaign was shown here.  And I can understand why. I love vintage Sindy, with her soft, serene expression, she somehow seems friendlier and less confronting than vintage Barbie, who can look a bit haughty. Sindy looks more down to earth.  She’s also basically British, and back then I think Australia was culturally closer to England, than to America.  And then there’s the matter of the doll’s figure.  I’m betting a lot of mums found Sindy’s shape much more appropriate than the busty Barbie doll.  In 1965, Paul hit Aussie toy shop shelves, and the Sindy line was so popular, Cyclops & Lines Bros. (Aust.) Ltd. were unable to meet the demand for dolls and had to resort to bringing stock in by air freight.  Patch joined her big sister and Paul in 1966.

Sindy in ‘Dream Date.’ Shoes are ribbon not original.

Before I could buy my Paul his girlfriend, I was digging through a box of childhood bits and was shocked to pull out a vintage blonde Sindy.  It was a doll that had been passed down to me from a family friend and I must have been so young when I played with her that I’d completely forgotten about her. She was in excellent condition, with lovely face paint and gorgeous hair, and I was ecstatic. She’s just marked ‘Made in Hong Kong’ as these dolls found in Australia often are. I just couldn’t believe that I’d forgotten her, but seeing her again brought memories flooding back and I remembered she had some clothes, which were quickly located; her original striped top and another outfit, Paul’s ‘Time Off’ fashion.  The sleeves of the jacket had been turned up and stitched to suit Sindy’s shorter arms, but it was in good nick and complete, except for the little paper poster.  Many a happy dance took place that day.  I’d soon given Sindy a bit of spruce up and bought her a pair of jeans, and she and Paul looked very happy in the cupboard together.  They mean so much more to me too, knowing their previous owners and my childhood connection to them.

1st issue Paul and the later Paul with rooted hair in ‘London Look.’

Brunette Sindy wears ‘Bowling.’

Sindy with lovely coffee coloured hair in ‘Summery Days.’

 I still only have one 1^st issue Paul, although I do have the later Paul with rooted hair (see here), but I’ve added a couple more vintage Sindy dolls to the collection.  In 1965, Sindy got new, slightly slimmer solid vinyl legs – the early dolls had hollow, hard plastic legs – and I found a friend selling a gorgeous brunette at a doll show, so I had to bring it home.  Another friend later found one at an op shop and gave it to me and it has such an interesting hair colour – it’s a sort of coffee colour – that I was more than happy to add it to my collection too. I also have a mystery, Mary Poppins Sindy doll in my collection, and I’ve been trying to find information on her for years – more about her can be found at the end of the article here.

The mystery Mary Poppins Sindy doll.

I’ve bought a few Sindy fashions as well, many I’ve been able to piece together, bit by bit at doll shows or on eBay.  I’m not the sort of person who has to have everything in my collection pristine, so I’m happy to clean and restore items.  The pink dress from ‘Dream Date’ was found for $2 and had some ink stains on one shoulder.  A quick soak in nappisan and some replacement silk ribbon and it looks great on a doll.

And that leaves That Rascal Patch, the third member of the vintage Sindy Set, but she deserves a post of her own, so I’ll leave her until next week.  More about these dolls can be found at Our Sindy Museum – http://www.oursindymuseum.com/

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