Review Time! Maru and Friends Winter Wear for Dolls, Part 1

   On my birthday, on the 10th, it was a nice sunny day that wasn't very much beyond cool. We went without coats all day. The next day it was very cold and snowing madly! While you may think I was disappointed, I wasn't. I had been hoping for snow, because I had a bunch of beautiful winter doll fashions to photograph! I was lucky enough to receive these wintry fashions from Maru and Friends for review, but as usual, you can expect my honest opinion on them.

  I took some of the pictures for this review on the day before my birthday. (Another nice day). I was afraid we wouldn't get the snow that had been predicted, but kept being moved farther ahead in the weather predictions. I wanted to take some pictures just in case things started to bud out and look too green and springy. As I said, I needn't have worried. It was just as well though, because even though we got snow the day after my birthday, it wasn't sticking or compiling enough for wintery pictures until later in the afternoon, when Ken had to leave for work. I wouldn't have had time to drive to somewhere picturesque because Ken needed the car. So my snowy pictures had to be done right here in my yard, which is a hard place to photograph anything larger than a Gene or something  similar. There's too much unpicturesque stuff always getting in the shot, like my neighbours' ugly fence that looks like it should be behind a convenience store, the houses across the street. my own siding, or parked car, or the barbecue grill and patio furniture. I like things to look in scale with the dolls. For these pictures I would have liked a snowy forest. Let's see how I did, and see these lovely winter things.

  Before I start the actual review, let me tell you that if you are interested in any of these outfits, or the dolls for that matter, Maru and Friends is offering free shipping on all orders, (within the first 48 states of the United States), from now until the end of the month, (March 2022.)

  I was sent four winter outfits. I say 'outfits', but two are outfits, and two are coat and hat, (and boots) sets. The Mini Pals outfits also fit Little Darlings dolls. Here are my girls all together, with their new gear on.

  From left to right, here are Maru and Friends dolls Mary Mary Quite Contrary, Pepper, Maru, and Joy, wearing Icicles in the Snow, Snowflakes, Pea Coat, and Cache Chic. This was the day before my birthday.

This is the unsnowy day. It was still chilly though.

Snowflakes, Icicles in the Snow, and Cache Chic.

We'll start with Snowflakes and Cache Chic. These are both Mini Pal outfits, although Snowflakes is also available for the larger 20" Maru and Friends dolls. 

Cache Chic is a full outfit. It includes a white turtle neck, a pair of leopard print stretch pants, a knitted capelet, and grey faux suede boots with folded down tops. 

The knitted capelet has a snuggly faux fur collar and diamond design.

And this is the day after my birthday. It was snowing like crazy and freezing cold!

It closes at the collar with a plastic snap. 

It's very soft, and I like the look of it.

It's thin enough to be in scale for a doll this size. It's not bulky on her.

Maru and Friends clothes are always nice quality. Look at the detail in the weave. It's so nice.

Her white turtle neck is a stretchy nylon type fabric. The pants are a soft stretchy fabric.

The shirt closes in the back with plastic snaps. I was glad to see snaps instead of Velcro. I hate Velcro for most things. With doll clothes you always have to worry about the clothes getting stuck in the Velcro and becoming snagged. Another thing I always think of is, kids these days don't learn to button or snap their own clothes by buttoning and snapping doll clothes like we did back in the old days. So it was nice to see snaps on doll clothes for several reasons. But, I had a terrible time getting the plastic snaps snapped. Maybe it was due to my eyesight, but the metal ones on Icicles in the Snow snapped fine. Just saying. I find plastic snaps are never as easy to snap. No idea why.

  The pants have an elastic waist, and a sewn seam down the front of the legs.

I'm not much for animal prints. I could do without the leopard print. I guess it's popular though.

  The boots are great. They look really good, and are an easy on and off. There is a faint texture on the bottom for realism.

The boots have a Velcro closure on the side.

Icicles in the Snow is actually more my thing. It includes a soft knit dress, white tights, white boots with faux fur trim at the tops, and a head band that matches the dress.

The dress is very soft, and is a thin knit, also in scale with a doll this size.

The dress has ribbed cuffs on the short sleeves, and a cute scalloped edge on the collar and placket.

The skirt part is a separate piece, sewn onto the upper half of the dress.

The dress closes in the back with metal snaps.

  There is a set of cute heart shaped buttons on the placket too.

They're so tiny, and are a really nice detail.

Remember these buttons for the next half of this review.

They're so tiny!

The tights are knitted tights, in a knit that is also to scale with the doll. The boots have faux fur trim at the tops, and the faint texture on the soles.

 

  The boots have a Velcro closure on each side, making them easy to get on and off.

  The last piece of this outfit is a headband that matches the dress.

  This headband looks cute on, but getting it on was aggravating. It was so tight it was hard to get on the doll's head and in place around the hair without it popping off. It would have been easy enough if I had been able to just slip it over her neck and just push it back. But this doll has a wig with bangs, which I didn't want to shove back. I'm not sure how a kid would do with this tight elastic headband. For kids it might be better to have a snap closure on it. Of course, the thing about elastic is, it can make the head band stay on better...or be so tight it snaps off. This one does stay on well, once it's in place.

  One thing you might have really noticed from the snowy day pictures of this outfit: There's no coat. Boots, yes. But no coat. So she looks a little chilly in the snowy pictures. We'll talk about that in Part 2 as well.

  That's it for part one. Part two coming soon.

Doll-A-Day 2019 #56 : Oscar Week: Skippy

  Today's doll is Skippy.

The original Skippy was produced by Effanbee in 1928.

 

This Skippy is a reproduction. He was made in 1979.

He's an Effanbee Limited Edition.  'The Skippy Company' refers to the copyright of the 'Skippy' character.

Effanbee produced Skippy from 1928 to 1943.

 Skippy originated as a cartoon in Life magazine in 1923. Two years later the comic strip began it's run. 

Skippy's full name was Skippy Skinner.

Created by Percy L. Crosby,and published from 1923 to 1945, the Skippy comic strip was an influence on Charles Schultz,who later created Peanuts(Charlie Brown and company).

 

The comic strip, considered a classic,was so popular,it was made into a novel...

... a radio show,and a movie,starring Our Gang (Little Rascals) member and later,adult actor,Jackie Cooper. That's where our Oscar connection comes in.

Jackie Cooper as Skippy, with Robert Coogan,(younger brother of Jackie Coogan, child star of Chaplin's "The Kid",and  'Uncle Fester' in the original Addams TV family series.)

 Cooper became, (and still is),the youngest person ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a leading role,when he was nominated for his role as "Skippy" at the age of nine. He lost to adult actor Lionel Barrymore,and the next year the 'Juvenile' Oscar  was created. It was felt it was unfair to have a child compete with an adult for the award. This lasted until the final Juvenile Oscar was awarded in 1961. To read about Juvenile Oscars,see my Oscar Week post HERE.
  There's a famous story about the "Skippy" film. In one scene Cooper was supposed to cry. To get him to produce tears, the director, Norman Taurog, Cooper's own uncle,told Cooper he was going to kill Cooper's dog. (He didn't really.)  He got the tears he wanted, but Cooper hated Taurog forever afterward,and rarely even spoke to him. 
  Crosby trademarked the Skippy name in 1925,and licensed Skippy to a lot of companies for products. There were Skippy toys,Skippy trading cards,candy bars, clothes, and even bread.
 

One product that was named after Skippy wasn't licensed though.
**Bear with me here. There is more Skippy doll below, but this is a fascinating story.**
   In the 1920's Joseph Rosefield invented a hydrogenation process for peanut butter,which meant the oil would no longer separate from the peanut butter,allowing peanut butter to be sold in vast quantities. Peanut butter became a big commodity. Rosefield originally called his peanut butter Luncheon Brand,but in 1933 he changed the name to Skippy  peanut butter. When he tried to trademark the name, Crosby sued him and won.
  Even the label for the peanut butter copied Crosby's 'painted with a brush' lettering style and the fence painting idea which figured prominently in the comic strip.

The 1944 packaging for Skippy Peanut Butter.

The Skippy comic strip.

  But Rosefield ignored the court's ruling and continued to use the Skippy name and logo. For some reason Crosby didn't follow up with his opposition.
  Crosby began to be preoccupied with politics. He was very opposed to Roosevelt and even self published pro-communist books. His politics crept into his comic strip. His stance was unpopular with the readers of the comic, and by 1945 his contract with the newspapers had expired and was not renewed. That year his trademark registration also expired.
  By 1934 Crosby was already showing signs of paranoia,insisting he was being followed. In 1936 Crosby and Skippy Inc, were investigated by the IRS,(supposedly tipped off by Rosefield's lawyers), and put under a $47,000 lien. Crosby had to sell his self publishing company to pay it.
   Crosby's wife left him in 1939,taking with her their four children,who Crosby would never see again. By 1940 Crosby remarried, but was drinking heavily.
  Crosby attempted legal action against Rosefield again in 1944,serving him with a Cease and Desist order. In retaliation Rosefield's lawyer alerted the IRS again. Crosby received another lien,this time for $43,000 in back taxes. All of Crosby's assets were frozen by the IRS in 1946.
  In 1947,believing his phone was tapped and his mail was being tampered with, Crosby attempted suicide. He was admitted to Bellvue mental hospital the following year. Declared mentally incompetent in 1949,Crosby was admitted to King's Park Psychiatric Center. He would never leave. Crosby died in 1964.
  Rosefield filed for a trademark on 'Skippy' five days after Crosby was admitted to Bellvue,and got it.
  Crosby's ex'wife had hired a lawyer,Rose Stein, to represent his interests in the case,a lawyer which,it was later discovered, was working secretly for Rosefield. Stein hid paperwork,claiming it 'blew out of a window',and the records of the original 1934 court case against Rosefield were 'accidentally destroyed'. The day Stein was to sign over all rights to 'Skippy' to Corn Products Corporation,(who now owned Skippy Peanut Butter.), Crosby died. That stopped her actions at least.
  Crosby's daughter,Joan Crosby Tibbetts.was appointed guardian of Crosby's estate in 1965,and has been fighting to stop Skippy peanut butter from using the name ever since. (Joan wasn't even aware her father had been institutionalized until his death, because her mother didn't allow mention of Crosby.) You can read the full story of Joan Crosby Tibbett's legal battles on the offical Skippy, (the character), website HERE. You can also read the full story of Skippy vs. Skippy HERE. There's an even more detailed account HERE. It's a very tragic story.As Ken put it when I finished reading him the story,"It almost makes you want to stop buying Skippy peanut butter." Luckily I prefer Jif anyway!
  The doll 'Skippy' was promoted as the boyfriend of Effanbee's popular Patsy doll.

  He measures 14" tall.

The original Skippy would have been composition. This Skippy reproduction is vinyl.

  This Skippy is all original,with his shirt,coat,tie, short pants,shoes, socks,and pin that says,'I am Skippy the real American Boy'.

His outfit is made from the same fabric as Autumn from the Effanbee Four Seasons Collection.

Looks like the same hat too!

 And of course, there's his big bow tie.

 

Skippy is also wearing a white shirt,and a pair of short overalls.

His coat is removable,but his pin hasn't been taken off before, and I didn't want to mess him up.
  He also has short white socks and a pair of shiny black shoes.

That's all for today. Check back tomorrow for another Oscar Week doll.