What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Options abound. Dolldom imagines that the handsome men of JAMIEshow will choose to spend the evening alone or in the company of a very special significant other reflecting on their accomplishments, their joys, and their sorrows. For another year ends and with it go many an memory of a life well lived. Whatever the mood, the men of JAMIEshow will be dressed to welcome in the new year in style. "2016, we are ready for you!" - they say in unison as they model the masculine designs of talented Ayal Armon for JAMIEshow Homme.

"On Michigan Avenue" Basic Alejandro selects a deep salmon linen jacket with high collar to ward off the ocean breeze chill as night falls. Black linen slacks anchor the look.

"Sharp Casual"



"On Michigan Avenue" Basic Tatum opts for a classic peacoat-inspired linen coat with metallic thread in a soothing cream color and a pewter mesh muscle top. The nautical feel is repeated by the classic black linen pants.


"Afternoon Stroll"



"Havana Nights" Basic Lee elects a more daring look - a cropped jacket in a luxurious mandarin color and salt and pepper tweed slacks. Hair styling by Chewin.


"Evening In"



Dolldom wishes you peace and health for 2016!

Dear Santa...

And so begin many letters this time of year. Children kindly asking Santa Claus for that desired toy that will make Christmas day truly special. Doll and toy collectors, regardless of their age, know this feeling very well for they derive the same pleasure and sense of amazement. Is it due to the fact that they maintain the inner child alive and well? Possibly.

As time passes and kids become more mesmerized by the digital world, one wonders if the children of the future will still long to take to bed a much yearned for plush dog or fall asleep anticipating a day devoted to dressing up their elegant new doll? Dolldom believes that they will, for it is impossible for humankind not to be seduced by the pleasures of that which is sensory, and most of all, tangible. At least, that is our hope.

To celebrate the season, Dolldom explores the tradition of writing to Santa Claus. Here's to all who wish!


"Dear Santa, I would very much like a Linus doll, as Linus carries a blanket around, just like I do."
(Linus doll, circa 1962, by Boucher, San Francisco.)


"Dearest Santa Claus, would you bring me a pretty Misty doll? She's tall and fashionable and wears mini dresses so well."
(Glamour Misty doll by Ideal, circa 1965, wears a Poppy Parker dress and a glittery cap by Maryann Roy.)


"Santa! Love you! I am hoping for a glamour queen this year - Ivy Jordan is her name- and she will be styled by Pink Bubbles Doll Spa!"
(Mel Odom's Ivy Jordan doll, manufactured by Integrity Toys and restyled by Bobby Taylor of Pink Bubbles Doll Spa. Dress by JAMIEshow.)


"Hello, Santa Claus, I have an empty dollhouse! Would you be so kind as to bring me a Twinkie doll by Marx? She comes in a set with many plastic dresses, wigs, purses!  Thank you for being kind!"
(Marx Toys' Twinkie doll, circa 1965, originated the concept carried on by Polly Pocket.)


"To Santa: I would like a Tressy doll with a perfect do - styled by Pink Bubbles Doll Spa! One day, when I'm big, I'll also be a star hairdresser!"
(American Character's Tressy dolls, circa 1964-1965, restyled to perfection by Bobby Taylor, wear a Marirose dress and a leopard coat by Rowena.)


"Dear Santa, a pretty Bleuette in a Retros knit set is the doll of my dreams!"
(OOAK reproduction Bleuette doll by Raven in a knit set by Liz Cole for Retros.)


"My dads say it's okay to get a dog, as long as he is made of plush! I'd prefer a living one but we won't be able to adopt one until I'm older. In the meantime, dear Santa, this vintage Kamar, will be my best buddy!"
(Vintage Kamar Bulldog, circa 1967, was made of velvet plush in Japan.)


"I'm in love with old Hollywood actresses! Bette, Joan, and Mel Odom's Madra Lord! I'd love, dear Santa, to play movie drama with my own JAMIEshow Madra Lord in a James Bogue dress!"
(JAMIEshow-produced version of Mel Odom's Madra Lord, circa 2014, in a set by James Bogue.)


"I'd like a mini me doll. This Effanbee 8-inch Mickey looks a lot like me! Thank you Santa!"
(Effanbee's "Most Happy Family" Mickey, circa 1959, was produced in 8-inch size." 


"Skipper is Barbie's sister. She is a fun loving girl from Willows! Dear Santa, please, could I get one with pale lemon blonde hair?"
(Mattel's Skipper, circa 1964, in her original swimsuit is ready to take photos with her Tammy camera.)




"Dear Santa, I'd like a Silkstone Francie doll to look like Twiggy cause she's been styled by Pink Bubbles Doll Spa! Twiggy is the best fashion model in London and Francie wants to look like her!"
(BFMC "Kitty Corner" Francie doll, circa 2012, wears a vintage Francie clone fashion, made in Hong Kong. Her hair, styled by Bobby Taylor, reproduces the iconic style of the iconic Twiggy.)


"I dream of  a little girl and her Yeti friend! The little girl is a Myling doll and the Yeti friend is by Retros. They are an unlikely pair but they have fun together!"
(Mini Myling porcelain doll by Katarina Carlsson, circa 2014, is protected by Liz Cole's Yeti plush doll.)

"Dear Santa, I've been a very good boy, I've done all my homework, fed the cats, and taken care of the vegetable garden. Would you bring me a glamorous Séverine doll? One that looks like Carmen Dell'Orefice in a Sylvia Campbell beaded gown? I'll be on cloud nine!"
(Platinum white Séverine doll by Julian Kalinowski wears Sylvia Campbell's reproduction of a Japanese market exclusive beaded dress.)

Happy Holidays!

The Barbie Look 1965

Fifty years ago, the American Girl Barbie doll (stock # 1070) debuted a new bobbed hairstyle and bendable legs in one of Mattel's swingiest television commercials: "The Barbie Look"

"Here are five of your favorite friends,

Barbie,



Midge,



Skipper,



Allan,



and Ken



But if you think they're the same
As they've always been
You better take another look,
Better check them again!



Now you can see that they've all acquired
A brand-new look that's Barbie inspired!
Designers call this The Barbie Look,
This great new fashion look.



And these bendable legs really look so natural
And the way that they move is so lifelike,
That you'll really be amazed at all the things they can do,
And they way that you pose them it's up to you!

You can seat them on a sofa or the edge of a bed
Or you make them sit right on the floor instead
They can cross their legs and relax and while
Or sit down to dinner in formal style.



You can pose them together in dozens of ways,
You can even have them dancing the latest craze.
You can put them in a really swinging pose,
And they look so graceful in all their clothes,
And that is just part of the fashion look,
The great new Barbie Look.



You'll get Barbie, Midge, Skipper, Allan, and Ken
And the Go-Together furniture to sit them in,
And you'll find them all where the best toys sell!
You can tell they're Mattel, they're swell!"



Bendable legs had been introduced the previous year with the sleep-eyed Miss Barbie doll. Designed to look like human legs, the clicking joints were hidden under a perfectly smooth vinyl skin. But for 1965, Mattel decided to marry this innovation to the soft vinyl head mold with a rooted bob hairstyle (another first), creating a decidedly different look for Barbie. The Bendable Leg Era is also known for the now-iconic and much-coveted "sixteen hundred" line of fashion ensembles (their stock numbers started with the 1600 prefix) that were designed by Charlotte Johnson to take Barbie to new heights of elegant luxury. In a stroke of pure marketing genius, Mattel also released Go-Together furniture sets so that its famous teenage fashion model could have plenty of chairs, sofas, swings, and recliner chaises to show off what she could do with her newly acquired articulation

To Dolldom, the American Girl Barbie is the most beautiful iteration of the doll that uses the original Barbie face. Be it as a low color, pale-lipped girl-next-door or as a high color Technicolor sophisticate, the American Girl Barbie has unequivocal magic and veritable chic. Produced for only two years, the bendable leg American Girl Barbie would soon disappear (many were traded in for the new Twist and Turn model) but her allure lives on as this Dolldom celebration illustrates.

May the Holidays Begin!

It's time! Mel Odom's Gene Marshall, star supreme in her JAMIEshow-produced "Holiday Gala" iteration rings in the holiday season. Once again, Mr. Odom and JAMIEshow collaborate on a stunning celebration of the Gene Marshall myth.

The dressed doll boasts a completely new make-up scheme and like all three previous iterations, a different shape of lip, making "Holiday Gala" another unique doll. And what about the fashion?

Mr. Odom explains: " For "Holiday Gala" JAMIEshow Gene, I found a fashion illustration of this early 1950s design done by a mid-level, 7th Ave. fashion house. I loved the bodice and two-toned sleeves, and changed the narrow skirt to pants for a sort of holiday, slightly bad-girl look. The shoes I found doing research and they all just fit together for Holiday Gala...or "Holiday Gal-a"! I shopped for the fabrics on 40th Street and sent them to China. George González was in approval the whole way."

And such a special doll ought to be displayed in a special setting. And "Holiday Gala" certainly does as she arrives protectively cocooned in what becomes her dressing room in classy dark grey with an ornate mirror, console and vanity bench.

For this Dolldom exclusive, "Holiday Gala Gene" wears three variations of the JAMIEshow rooted wigcap: her original style,  a blonde "Claudette", and another blonde one restyled by hairdresser extraordinaire Kathy Johnson.

It's time to celebrate with Gene Marshall once again! Congratulations to Mr. Odom and JAMIEshow on yet another stupendous gem.