The man of the year at Mattel Toys gets to style three fantastic looks just in time for summer.
Thanks to expertise of the ultra talented and knowledgeable Ray Cairo of Flock Concepts, two 60th Anniversary Ken dolls, made of Silkstone, and a Fashionistas #163 get to rock beautifully rendered flocked buzz cuts via the magic of Cairo's electro-static flocking machine.
Rich brownette to evoke the look of the rare Ken doll from 1961.
Titian Ken dons his tuxedo. He's definitely a doll!
Fashionsitas #163 sports G.I. Joe length blonde flocking mix for a look that is fresh and sexy.
The quintessential man doll and loyal escort to the ultimate fashion goddess, Ken Carson, takes time to celebrate two events: his iteration in Silkstone to commemorate his 60th anniversary and the debut of a Fashionistas' face that very well could be his grandkid - or maybe himself in 2021- as fashion dolls never age.
The production of vintage Ken in solid and weighty Silkstone is pretty flawless with soft flocked hair and beautifully rendered screening. But it is perhaps, Ken Fashionistas #163 who steals the show with a powerful set of dimples and a smile that invites hanging out.
Styled in bathing suits and panama hats, the hipster dudes are ready to chill around the pool and maybe later go for a drive before getting ready to meet Barbie. For such is the life of Ken Carson.
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.
Time passes. And it's passage is not without effects. For example, hair falls off. And in the world of dolls, hair determines much of the visual impact that a model may have. All too often, an out-of-scale do kills the well-meaning doll. But that is the subject for another entry. In the realm of male dolls, vintage Ken to be exact, it is the absence - full or partial - of the doll's original flocking that turns the handsome lad into an undesirable. The truth is that vanity reigns and ideals of beauty and youth determine who gets to model inside the cabinet. Vintage Ken had several outfits that featured hats and caps, but the number was not extensive enough to cover the heads of all the vintage first issue Ken dolls that survived playtime in the early 1960s.
What to do? Reflock them with materials used for creating the effect of vegetation around model trains? Wash and paint the heads with acrylic? Possibilities, these are. Yet, if the desire is to restore the doll to it's original concept, then the professionals are needed. If vintage Barbie's hair can be beautifully refreshed by Pink Bubble Spa, why can't Ken take off his hat and show off a full head of flocked hair? Enter Ray Cairo of Flock Concepts. Mr. Cairo is the expert in electromagnetic flocking services for the G.I. Joe community as well as for Ken and even Mel Odom's Trent.
For this Dolldom entry, three vintage Ken dolls demonstrate what professional hair restoration can achieve. Flock Concepts expert selection of perfectly scaled fibers along with its electromagnetic application yield magnificent results. For the DIY set, Flock Concepts also provides re-flocking and flocking repair kits. Flock concepts even offers free video tutorials at the bottom of the site's main page.
You wish to see proof? Here we go!
Candid Commuter Ken Carson
His brunet flocking is lush and complete. He stops traffic.
In his grey suit, he's ready for the work week.
Just as if he had come out of the Japanese factory in 1961!
Do blonds have more fun?
No one knows for sure. What is known though, is that Ken was issued as both a blond and a brunet. And seeing him with this perfect crew cut in soft mustard blond is a real treat. A High Color American Girl Barbie doll is entranced by the vigor that blond Ken exudes.
Off to a lack tie affair with a full head of hair.
Back to being the blond boy that Ruth Handler intended Ken to be.
The fashion "Dreamboat" allows many Ken dolls to hide their imperfections. And most Barbie dolls know this. Under that hat - "Oh, no!" - there is a mangy looking head full of bald spots.
But surprise! Not on this Ken!
A Titian Ken! Why not? There were Titian Barbie dolls! This dreamboat is not only perfectly groomed but he also expands the possibilities of what Mr. Carson can be.
All this said and shown, Dolldom wishes to emphasize the utter need for honesty and integrity when re-flocking or restoring a vintage doll. Full disclosure of professional services should accompany the doll as he or she passes hands. It's part of their provenance and history.
Dolldom thanks Ray Cairo and Flock Concepts once again for offering the very best re-flocking services in the USA.
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