Me and Sindy...Sindy and me

I'm a Barbie girl...in a Barbie world, definitely. However, it wasn't always that way. Before I fell under Barbie's spell, I was a whole-hearted Sindy girl. As far as I can remember, I received my first Sindy doll in the early eighties, as a gift from my mum at Christmastime.

photo recreation: "me" receiving a Sindy treasure!!

This collection is not mine...but I wish it was!!

Sindy started out as a British girl, but "came to America" in the early eighties, via Marx toys, who took over for Pedigree. My Sindy was blond like me, and had rosebud lips, a realistic physique (Sindy was innocent, not sexy, like Barbie) and she looked to be shy like I was, so I immediately identified with her. From that first Sindy doll, my Sindy collection grew to include a kitchen sink where the water really came from the tap (via a pumping action); a stove (with burners that lit up and a rotisserie that revolved); a bedside table with attached, working lamp; a dining table and hutch that came filled with a silver service, cutlery, dishes, and glassware...even candelabra! My sister and I often received the same pieces for our collection, but sometimes Mum bought us different pieces, and we'd ooh and aah over one another's new furniture or accessory, secretly wishing it were our own.

My sister, Wendy, took better care of her pieces than I did (although I wasn't bad), so at the end of our childhood, I was dismayed that my dining table had become damaged over the years, but I was at a loss to get a new one. Lo and behold, I recently stumbled upon a "new" one at a vintage store and gleefully picked it up for the sweet price of $25.oo...not bad, considering the price on the box (from Kmart) shows the original cost as being $13.99 (some thirty years ago...oyy, that makes me feel old!!). The young girl in me feels restored now...my Sindy collection is again intact, and I even lucked upon a new Sindy doll (albeit a brunette) for only $5!! I am a happy Sindy collector again, and the guilt I felt for damaging Sindy's table and chairs has been assuaged.

Have a look at my childhood friend, Sindy, and all her decorative finery. The silver service even comes with the tiniest pat of butter in the silver butter dish. Does a toy come any better than that??

**If you are a Sindy fan, or simply want to find out more about Sindy, check out this great website: http://www.sindy-dolls.com/index.htm