A feminist mom looking for appropriate doll for daughter.

January 9, 2008 4:01 PM

What other options for dolls do I have outside of Princesses and Barbies and Bratz for a little girl?

My husband and I are looking for toys for our little girl that will assist her development as a young girl while staying away from the oversexed, materialistic, shop-aholic dolls of today. Without offending anyone, or getting into a lengthy rant about the serious decline in value of today's toys for young girls, we are not into Barbie dolls and approve of very few Princess characters, such as Ariel, Anastasia, and Belle. We absolutely Madeline and have bought her babies, but she is getting to the age where she likes changing clothes and shoes and unfortunately, there are not a lot of options, at least from what I've seen at the stores, of dolls that we approve of.

I am a bit of a feminist, therefore I would like these dolls to have nothing to do with makeup, shopping, boys, or anything beyond what a 5 year old should know. It is difficult to find a doll that would fit such a criteria today and I would like to avoid teaching her that makeup and materialism is all there is to being a girl. I am looking for a doll that she can take everywhere with her, but also has a wardrobe of clothes and shoes she can change every day. Simple as that. No storyline with additional friends or occupations, just a doll that has many additions (i.e. clothes or pets) that we can buy over time to add to her collection.

The size of the doll does not necessarily have to be similar to the size of a Barbie either. My daughter loves toys big enough to hug and carry around and her plush Madeline doll is about 1.5', so something to that size would be great. I remember growing up there were more options for dress up dolls outside of the pink and fluff we have today, but online and at the stores, they seem to be an endangered species, if not already extinct.

posted by dnthomps to home & garden (37 comments total)

I'm not a big fan of Wal-Mart, but I found a wide range of dolls there. My son loves the doll we got him. He even nurses the baby.
posted by acoutu at 4:06 PM on January 9, 2008

The American Girl empire is somewhat questionable, to me... it's unfortunate that they send you catalogs that have thousands of dollars worth of clothes and accessories; however, the nice thing about the dolls is that they are based on historical time periods, so they're really not about the makeup and boys, and they do have some educational value, and while the dolls are expensive they're also quite well-made.
posted by Jeanne at 4:06 PM on January 9, 2008

They are a bit more expensive, but I loved the American Girl Dolls when I was growing up. The historical dolls come with stories about their respective time periods. Definitely check it out.
posted by chara at 4:08 PM on January 9, 2008

American Girl is what you want. Be prepared to spend some serious cash between the dolls themselves and their myriad accessories, but their play-value and longevity are great - I had a cousin absorbed with them from the age of about 6-12.
posted by Daily Alice at 4:09 PM on January 9, 2008

How about Only Hearts Club dolls? I've seen them at Target.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:11 PM on January 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

American girl is a cult! An expensive one, too.

I vote for Groovy Girls.
posted by peep at 4:15 PM on January 9, 2008

My mom got me an Amanda Jane doll when I was little, because I wanted a doll I could dress up but my mom refused to let a Barbie in the house.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:16 PM on January 9, 2008

Constructive Playthings offers generic dolls that would seem to match your criteria, without getting into the super-expensive American Girl empire. Really, there are lots of independent options . . . the difficulty for you will be finding a branded doll that avoids the shoals you mention, and which permits you to buy a lot of crap, at low prices, for it.

You're probably aware, of course, that deprivation makes the juvenile heart grow fonder -- and I've heard plenty of anecdotes to the effect that a girl denied the Barbie empire, or a boy denied Pokemon or GI Joe, craves them all the more, and plays with them elsewhere. The ideal experience is one that shows them both and proves the superiority of the toy you in fact prefer, on the child's terms.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 4:18 PM on January 9, 2008

Here are some options for dolls. I don't know how many interchangeable outfits they come with.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:28 PM on January 9, 2008

second groovy girls!! My daughter loves them!!
posted by pearlybob at 4:28 PM on January 9, 2008

That site (oompa.com) has more dolls, just click dolls in the left column. The page I linked is just the dolls described as for ages 4 and up, but I've just looked at the more general doll collection and some of the dolls that are allowed for younger kids would be perfectly suitable.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:31 PM on January 9, 2008

Also, you and she can make clothes for it.
Then you can make less-pink, more varied clothes, and she won't get the message that everything good is storebought, and she can make her own outfits as she likes. (Eg a dress that is basically a poncho with a shoelace tied around the middle was one of my favorite doll outfits because I made it myself.) She's just about the right age for very simple sewing or crochet/knitting.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:35 PM on January 9, 2008

I'm sad that Sasha dolls aren't made anymore -- my sister and I grew up loving them, and they sound perfect for what you want.

We also had a lot of Madame Alexander dolls, which are extraordinarily great fun in terms of dressing (those elaborate costumes! those wee shoes!), but are a bit pricey and not really a day-to-day doll.
posted by scody at 4:36 PM on January 9, 2008

This doesn't directly answer your question, but I'll throw it out there anyway. Same situation as you - and we encouraged our daughter to play with stuffed animals instead of dolls and Barbies. She dressed them up, named them, fed them, talked to them, had tea parties, changed their "diapers" - the whole maternal thing you might see with dolls, but with animals. It seemed more acceptable to me, and now she's a big animal lover (wants to be a vet or a zookeeper) so I think we did ok with that decision.

One of her relatives got her an American Girl doll that shared her name, and the doll is still in its original box in a closet somewhere, because she just wasn't interested when she had an entire zoo community already created.

Also, there are cheaper knock-offs of American Girl dolls that will fit all the clothes and accessories if you go that route.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 4:56 PM on January 9, 2008

I grew up with American Girl dolls, and although they have a high price, they are well worth it for the quality and durability. Also, if you are at all handy, you can make many things for them, from dresses to dressers (my dad made furniture). You can also buy tons of stuff at craft fairs and art shows for them. I was perfectly happy with my one doll and a few different dresses, although I did receive most of the set for her because it gave my loving grandmother options for Christmas and birthdays. I still have all of their stuff, and someday hope to pass it on to a relative.
posted by nursegracer at 5:01 PM on January 9, 2008

Does she have just the 18" Madeline doll? There are also dressable 8" and 15" Madeline ragdolls, although Googling seems to indicate that they are discontinued. Maybe you can find them + outfits on eBay?
posted by nicwolff at 5:03 PM on January 9, 2008

Groovy Girls are what you are looking for. There were a couple of years there where they only seemed to be available in independent toy shops, but I think I have seen them in the Targets and Toys R Uses of the world lately.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:10 PM on January 9, 2008

Good suggestions (my daughter loves Groovy Girls too), but I'll add Corolle dolls to the list. Not cheap, but really well made and there are lots of fun dress-up accessories for them. My daughter and son both love theirs.
posted by nixxon at 5:11 PM on January 9, 2008

MyTwinn dolls are good too.
posted by IndigoRain at 5:17 PM on January 9, 2008

i'm all for your plan, but just so you can relax, i grew up with barbies galore and still turned out well-educated, strong-minded, independent, woman-positive, and happily single at 31. :)

honestly, i think barbies are a lot less toxic than bratz--at least barbies purport to represent adult women (albeit anatomically impossible ones), whereas bratz represent hypersexualized children. eww.

i love the girl's comic atomic betty. there very well may be a tie-in doll by now.
posted by thinkingwoman at 5:22 PM on January 9, 2008

Check out www.magiccabin.com
Kind of aligned with Waldorf education, they have dolls and clothes and accessories, pricey but very high quality, to me totally appropriate for a 5 year old. Lots of other cool toys and stuff to.
posted by starfish at 5:30 PM on January 9, 2008

My daughter, 4.5, has some groovy girls too. But she loves, loves, loves her Polly Pockets which have lots of clothes to change, tiny little shoes and stuff. If you choose carefully they are not so bad. Might be too materialistic than for you.
posted by shothotbot at 5:31 PM on January 9, 2008

Oh my God, those groovy girls are so unbelievably amazing. I want the punk rock one for myself!

I loved American Girl dolls growing up, and got years of mileage out of mine; those things are *tough*. And they have girl-like bodies -- am I explaining that well? Like, they really look like girls, and not the weird, hyper-sexualized look that Bratz have.

(And when she comes home with a Barbie from a friend's house, or something like that...don't worry too much. I grew up playing Barbies* and turned out fairly left-wing, antiestablishment, and not too much of a consumer whore. Promise.)

*Well, mostly making clothes for them and then lots of fiery car crashes. I was a strange child.


Do you know anyone who's really crafty? Maybe they could sew a ragdoll or you could buy a blank at a craft store, and then they (or you, or a lot of people) could just supply clothes over the years.
posted by kalimac at 5:55 PM on January 9, 2008

I grew up playing Barbies and turned out fairly left-wing, antiestablishment, and not too much of a consumer whore.

Yeah, I should point out that I did too -- only our Barbies were the original late '50s/early '60s ones that my mom found for us (along with the amazing Dream House, complete with super-cool '50s furnishings and miniature Nat "King" Cole records) at a yard sale. If anything, growing up playing with those Barbies in particular gave me an early appreciation of mid-century modern design and a love for retro fashion, so extra points to the fine folks at Mattel on that score, at least.
posted by scody at 6:03 PM on January 9, 2008

http://www.blythedoll.com/
blythe is a retro doll from the 70's,
that in aus and japan is now quite expensive and desirable.
i dont know availability in us
there are buckets of interchangable items for them
posted by edtut at 6:50 PM on January 9, 2008

I never had dolls as a kid - I had My Little Ponies. I loved my little My Little Ponies. They had tons of accessories back then. I don't know what's available now... but my ponies had clothes, and hair brushes, and rollerskates, and there were boy ponies and girl ponies and they all looked... like ponies.
posted by eleyna at 7:08 PM on January 9, 2008

I never had dolls as a kid - I had My Little Ponies. I loved my little My Little Ponies. They had tons of accessories back then. I don't know what's available now... but my ponies had clothes, and hair brushes, and rollerskates, and there were boy ponies and girl ponies and they all looked... like ponies.
posted by eleyna at 10:08 PM

Oops, forgot about the ponies. The ponies are big at my house too. We have not seen any boy ponies or rollerskates. Their main accessory is a little brush to brush their punk-rocker colored hair.

please don't ask my much younger sister about "pony bowling". Never happened.
posted by shothotbot at 7:34 PM on January 9, 2008

Thirty-odd years ago this would've had an easy answer, and it would have been My Friend Mandy (and friends, though I recall no you-need-the-set marketing). She had a nice wardrobe, nothing too frilly, and you could get patterns so Mom could sew up yet more. Flat shoes and everything. Huggable, poseable.

They are easily found even "new in box!" on eBay for what strike me as very reasonable prices, especially if comparing to American Girl...

These cloth dolls are in the right direction, but perhaps too far in that direction?

I was a Strawberry Shortcake fan back when, but I'm not sure if the modern version is the same deal.
posted by kmennie at 8:20 PM on January 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

As someone else recommended, definitely look at Magic Cabin. It's a bit frustrating that the dolls are illustrated rather than photographed in the catalogue (sweet illustrations, but for my money I like to see the actual item), but the dolls are gorgeous and high quality, and made from all natural materials. Your ideas are not necessarily "feminist." You are just being sensible about what's appropriate for a child.
posted by Catrissa at 8:21 PM on January 9, 2008

American Girl! You don't have to buy the expensive clothes. I dressed mine up in fabric store remnants, ribbons and cut up old clothes for...longer than I care to admit. I also made houses for them and furniture and so forth. Most fun ever. Honestly if I wasn't 'too old' I'd get em out right now.
posted by MadamM at 8:41 PM on January 9, 2008

I would heartily recommend American Girl dolls*.


*If you can, check out some of the new ones first. I've heard that quality has gone downhill in recent years. Plus, they have books! And when I had mine, my parents bought me one that looked like me after I made the honor roll for several terms. I still cherish mine. (For the record, I had Felicity.)
posted by sperose at 9:35 PM on January 9, 2008

I've read about girls who made their own stuff for their American girl dolls ...as I did for my Breyer horses. AG has also come out with a "Just Like Me" line, which coordinates hair, eye and skin tone to the child (though not features)

How about Raggedy Ann?... though she doesn't have an extensive wardrobe.
posted by brujita at 10:26 PM on January 9, 2008

If you don't mind spending more than you would for a Barbie, there are a few options.

Blythe (already mentioned above) doesn't really have a storyline, comes in many different styles, and has a standard doll body size that you could dress easily. She's very popular right now with crafty sorts of people in the US, and you can find all sorts of websites and ebay listings selling home-made clothes, as well as tons of beautiful lomo photography featuring her.

Momoko is a cute Japanese doll that's more realistic than Barbie, not sexy unless you want her to be, and again has a typical (Japanese) doll body easy to dress. She's a bit harder to find though.

I totally coveted Calico Critters as a kid, though I never had them. They're adorable little animals that come in family sets, dressed in country/old-timey clothes.

....

I also grew up playing with Barbies and Kens, and turned out alright on the independent female front ... I really liked her fancy party outfits and gowns. But, I also think that Bratz and the Bratz-wannabe-MyScene-Barbie today are abominations of plastic (think porn-star face and teen-hooker clothes).
posted by bumpybear at 12:46 AM on January 10, 2008

Unfortunately production is currently suspended on Feryl Cheryl, but you can go on a waiting list.
posted by goo at 4:09 AM on January 10, 2008

Oops feral. I'm half asleep.
posted by goo at 4:10 AM on January 10, 2008

Another vote for American Girls dolls. Yes I know they are made by an Evil Empire (Mattel), but the emphasis of the brand is really girl power, plus despite the decline in quality from the old Pleasant Co. days, they are still pretty well made (should be, for the price!).

You might also try finding an independent toy store in your area, like this one near me (just as an example). These places will have some of the national brands, but they'll also have unbranded craftsperson-made (and even, gasp American-made!) dolls with changeable outfits.
posted by nax at 8:21 AM on January 10, 2008

Thank you everyone for your kind suggestions...not to mention support. It is not that Barbie is a stigma, she is more than welcome to play with them if she is at a friend's house, but they are just not acceptable at home. We have explained to her why and even up to now, explained to her that there are better thing to do with toys rather than brushing her and playing with a credit card. She seems to have an understanding, at least on her level, of the negative connotations. She has accidentally seen the Sweet Sixteen shows on MTV with the whiny, spoiled girls and has made a distinction that being that type of girl is bad.

I love the idea of the Only Hearts Club girls. I showed my husband and he approved on the spot. I grew up playing with horses and riding some and I love how there is an equestrian line! I am also glad that they can be found at Target. It is very convenient to be able to just get her an additional toy for a treat instead of waiting it to arrive in the mail.


Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions.
posted by dnthomps at 6:52 AM on January 11, 2008