Happy Birthday Sindy

Were you a Sindy girl or a Barbie girl ? I was a fiercely loyal sindy girl, together with my best friend Julie we played with our sindy dolls until long after we probably shouldn’t have. I have to confess to keeping every single doll, outfit and piece of furniture I ever owned, still boxed and almost pristine, and there they sit up in our loft. Despite having two sons and my husband occasionally hinting that we really should get rid of them, especially when he reads that the original dolls have become collectors’ items, with some selling for as much as £1,500.

I now read on the eve of Sindy’s 50th birthday… her makers Pedigree, have  produced eight prototypes that aim to “return Sindy to her roots”. Despite  hair extensions and ridiculously long false eyelashes, apparently the basic model is the same – the big blue eyes remain, gone are the chiselled cheekbones and skeletal limbs that made Sindy look more like a film-star hooker than a child’s toy. Pedigree, the Exeter-based owner of the Sindy brand, hopes that the new Sindy  will appeal to mothers, nostalgic for a more innocent time with toys to match this mood. I was oblivious to the sexual overtones of a Barbie doll when I was a young girl, but I do remember not being allowed a barbie doll and If I had daughters I know I would prefer them to play with Sindy dolls.

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