Doll Exhibition #4 : Dolls from the 80's @ Musée de la Poupée - PART ONE

Hi all,

A few weeks ago i went to the very last exhibition of the "Musée de la poupée" in Paris. Unfortunately the museum doesn't have enough funds to keep their little space in the center of Paris anymore. It makes me quite sad because i saw many great exhibitions there in the past.

But I have to say, what a better subject than "Poupées des années 80" (Dolls from the 80's) for my final visit.

I enjoyed every moment of that afternoon down 80's memory lane and I'm very happy to show you the dolls that were either manufactured or distributed in France during that era. Some of them are very well known but i was happy to discover dolls I never heard about before.

The first part was about baby dolls and other "bigger dolls" and second part was about fashion dolls.

PART ONE

We start with a french company called Corolle which was very popular during the 80's. I don't think i ever owned a Corolle doll but I remember seeing them everywhere in the toy stores. 

The company created in 1979 was an immediate success at a time where dolls from the US were the top selling dolls.

They produced various types of dolls but their most famous ones were the "baby corolle" and the little girls always dressed in high quality clothes. They had a bit of a "preppy" look which is probably why I wasn't that much into them.

When Mattel bought the company in 1990, it was still very popular.

Bébé Chéri Boule de Neige - 1987

Marie Corolle Bicentenaire - 1989

Les Triplés - 1986

Poupée Madame Figaro - 1985

At the beginning of the 80's the romantic type dolls from the late 70's were still popular. The most famous one in France was "Marie d'O", a doll created by Marie Madeleine Tancre. She produced about 4000 dolls a month. 

I never heard of these dolls before but i quite like them.

Poupée Marie d'O - beginning of the 80's

Claude Brabant is another french artist who created unique dolls painted and sewn by herself called "Création Clo".

She was also a Barbie collector and she wrote a book about the history of costumes worn by barbie and Ken. I adore that book!

"Le Musée de la Poupée" also did a couple of exhibitions presenting her creations.

Clodrey is another french company selling rag dolls in the 80's.

Poupée Amy de Clodrey - 1983

I think that the next dolls that were presented at the exhibition truly represents the 80's.

Their story began early 70's when an American named Martha Nelson Thomas created a new concept called "Little Doll Babies". They were unique pieces sewn in coton which were sold with an adoption certificate as if they were real babies. Her idea was kind of stolen by Xavier Roberts who decided to produce similar dolls called : "The Little People". 

Very soon he sold the concept to Coleco and then Hasbro and the dolls were re-named "The Cabbage Patch Kids". These new models had still the body made of fabric but their heads were in plastic.

They were a massive hit!

They were distributed in France  by Jesma under the name "Les Patoufs". I think i had one but i can't remember for sure. What i'm certain of is that I had the vinyl! 

I remember a song in particular which went like : "je déteste les Patoufs, je déteste les Patoufs - je suis la sorcière, la sorcière(...)  - je suis si amère je sers pour la citronnade"! ahah ("I hate the Patoufs, I hate the Patoufs - I am the witch, the witch (...) - I'm so bitter, I'm used for lemonade"!)

The dolls didn't sold as well in France as the Corolle dolls but they served as models for sticker albums called « Les Crados » (« The disgusting ones ») which were extremely popular!

I had two of these albums. Basically it was a pun with your first name and a disgusting or scary image to illustrate it. But It was for kids so it wasn’t too bad!! I loved it :)

In 1990 Mattel created a mini doll inspired by the Cabbage Patch kids.

Between 1985 and 1988 Mattel released  a new doll called « My Child ». They were really soft dolls in coton simply called « Mon Enfant » in France.

Other famous 80’s dolls in France are Tinnie and Kattie by Raynal and Kenner, but I’ve talked talked about them before here : Samia, Kattie and other dolls

In the 50’s, the magazine « Mode and Travaux » started selling dolls, outfits pattern and fabrics. It was so popular that they continue to do so in 2017! 

In the 80’s the company Petitcollin produced them. They were named Marie-Françoise, Michel and Jean-Michel. These names were not very modern for the 80’s, which is why in 1986 they released a new doll called Emily with a more modern look.

 Mode et travaux dolls - early 80's

Emily doll by Petitcollin for Mode & Travaux - 1986

I don't personally collect theses big dolls, but i love all toys coming from the 80's. Especially if i had one as a kid!

So that’s it for the part one of the exhibition, Hope you enjoyed it! 

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