Tuesday 26 July 2016

She's a dedicated follower of fashion

Last Thursday, the 21st of July, was Belgium's national holiday and so we had a welcome day off.  The majority of people in Belgium (me included) couldn't care less about what the holiday is actually for. Patriotism isn't exactly strong in Belgium: only the odd Belgian flag is being spotted in the streets, and some of those are leftovers from Belgium's passage in EURO 2016!

As it's a holiday in the middle of summer, when the weather is fine people tend to flock to our country's meagre 67 km of coastline, resulting in endless queues on the motorways. 

No visit to the seaside for us, though. No, we had much more important things to do.  We drove to Blender Vintage Shop, which sadly is currently holding its final sales before closing down altogether, to collect an eagerly awaited new addition to our household.









Meet Twiggy!
Although there seem to be quite a few of these so-called Twiggy mannequin heads for sale (and a lot of them at crazy prices!), I wasn't able to find much actual information about them online.

It seems that in spite of their 1960s look, they date from the 1970s. They were supposedly produced by a French company called Huard, and were used by upmarket French boutiques to display headpieces and scarves. In spite of clearly being based on the iconic and quintessentially British Twiggy, I do indeed detect a certain French "je-ne-sais-quoi" about her.



I'd spent the morning rearranging the mantlepiece in our second bedroom-cum-office-cum-boudoir to make space for her and here she is, happily sharing the space with my other bits and bobs!

She isn't, however, the only Twiggy I own. 

In 1968, Mattel (of Barbie fame) produced a Twiggy doll,  the first Mattel doll fashioned after a celebrity.




She had the same body size as Francie and Casey, dolls introduced by Mattel in 1966 and 1967. 
These dolls were smaller and less buxom than Barbie in order to wear the Mod fashions which were all the rage back then.



Twiggy's namesake was sold in a yellow, blue and green striped mini dress and yellow go-go boots.



Although Twiggy could already choose from the extensive wardrobe produced for Francie and Casey, four tagged outfits were created exclusively for her.

During the time I was collecting Mattel dolls, I was lucky to be able to acquire all four of the outfits, although only two of them are complete with all their little accessories. All of them are quite hard to find.

I got my Twiggy doll to earn her keep and made her model all the outfits for you. 



First up is Twiggy-Do's, which is one of my complete sets: a ribbed knit sleeveless dress accented with green and white bands. 










Accessories included green and white beads, a yellow vinyl shoulder bag and yellow knee socks and shoes.























The next outfit is called Twiggy Turnouts, a mad mini dress in a metallic fabric, with a multicolour striped bodice and silvertone skirt, accented with a wide silver belt at the hip. 











She is supposed to wear silver go-go boots, which alas are missing, but I think the short grey boots she is wearing aren't too bad either. The outfit also came with a swimsuit, of which unfortunately I only have the bottoms.


Twigster consists of a wild yellow and orange print knitted dress combined with a scarf. As it was a hot day, Twiggy begged me to take it off quickly, though. 


Again, the short orange boots she is wearing are a substitute, and the plastic case, which is supposed to contain her make-up kit, is empty.



Finally there is the outfit named Twiggy Gear, which is the second one I was able to buy complete. Twiggy loves wearing this jumpsuit, which has a striped knitted bodice and white vinyl trousers. It closes at the back with a real zip, and is accented at the dropped waist by a blue vinyl belt.



But that's not all! Look at her pink hat with blue vinyl trim, and her cute blue shoes!








The outfit also came with a plastic camera, which I attached to Twiggy's hand with a small clear rubber band. 

Now why didn't Mattel think of providing it with a strap? Nobody just has their camera in their hands, have they? Especially not a camera of that size ...












Finally, I'll show you what I wore to collect Twiggy on Thursday: a sleeveless brown on white box-pleated Tricel dress, accompanied by a white vinyl belt. The dress does have a self fabric belt, but I didn't think it looked right.


The brooch I'm wearing is a vintage ceramic one.

I also wore vintage light blue plastic beads, a white plastic ring and my Miz Mooz sandals which I bought in the sales a couple of years ago.  I paid a silly price for them as there was a difference in colour between the two, which was easily rectified by putting the darkest one out in the sun for a couple of days.


For some reason I think that my dress wouldn't have gone amiss in Mattel's Twiggy collection, although I'm sure Twiggy would have worn it a lot shorter!

26 comments:

  1. I would have snagged that head bust of the Twigster. I didn't know there was a doll - complete with mod outfits. I would love to have her in my collection.

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    1. I was very lucky to get the Twigster head, especially as I had wanted one for years. The Twiggy doll can be found fairly easily at an affordable price, unless you want her mint in box, of course. The outfits, that's quite another story ... xxx

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  2. Oooh! What a pretty dress! I'm particularly liking that modish, white plastic ring.

    You have some beautiful Twiggy things...I'm wondering though, doesn't the real-life Twiggy have brown eyes? But the doll has blue eyes?? Meh, your doll is still lovely.

    Happy thrifting ;)

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    1. I have a whole collection of those rings in many different colours, as I love wearing them. I looked up Twiggy's eye colour and it transpires they were blue after all. It's probably the heavy eye make-up which makes them look darker ... Happy thrifting to you too ;-) xxx

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  3. Twiggy twins! Looking at yours my head is slightly different, the beauty spot is brown and the cheeks aren't rouged. I know they command silly prices, it took Jon years to track down mine.
    I love that Twiggy doll, those outfits are wonderful.
    Twiggy would kill for your fabulous dress! xxx

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    1. I'm very happy with my Twiggy head, even though it's at the expense of the shop, whose owner used them in the shop. I actually had the choice between red and pink lips (I chose red, as I'm usually wearing red lipstick), so I'm sure there are other variations as well ... xxx

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  4. Your ceramic lady's face brooch is such a marvelously lovely piece. I'm completely captivated by it's presence and beauty. Such a great accessory to top of this equally charming dress with.

    Congrats on your new mannequin head, she really is a beaut!

    xoxo ♥ Jessica

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    1. Thank you Jessica. I love that brooch very much, but although I've had it for over a year, I hadn't worn it before, as it's quite delicate, and I'm afraid of damaging or losing it. xxx

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  5. I didn't know Mattel made a Twiggy doll! She is soooooo lovely and has many delightful accessories!
    I have a Barbie doll with some nice dresses but they are nothing compared to Twiggy's ... you, lucky woman!! :-)

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    1. It's great to hear that you have a Barbie doll and some outfits. Are they vintage? xxx

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  6. Oh my word, that Twiggy doll! I would've loved one of those when I was a child as my Mum always talked about her own teenage idols such as Twiggy and Cilla Black. I love all of her outfits and it's fantastic that you still have some of the complete oh-so-retro outfits. xx

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    1. Thanks Cate. I have quite a few (ok, I admit: 100+) Mattel dolls, plus many more outfits, ranging from 1960 until the early 1970s. I will show some of the older outfits, which I'm sure you would love, in a later post. xxx

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  7. That Twiggy doll is amazing I love her outfits and accessories and your dress is so cute and perfect for the occasion

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    1. Thank you! Of course I wanted to wear a dress that would do Twiggy justice. Glad you like the doll! xxx

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  8. I'm not a doll collector, but I really enjoyed seeing your Twiggy doll and all her fun outfits. The huge head is great, and I'm sure she'll make a wonderful display piece.

    Brown and blue are so pretty together-particularly with such a nice dress and shoes.

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    1. Thanks Goody. I'm so happy with the Twiggy head, I keep nipping upstairs just to have a look at her.

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  9. how cool is your twiggy collection!!!
    fabulous doll outfits!! would love to have them in my size and knee-length skirts :-)
    accessorizing the brown printed dress with white and pale blue is genius! it looks so fresh like a day at the sea! without to queue on the motorway :-))
    hugs! xxxxxx

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    1. I would definitely love to have those outfits in my size, and a little bit longer. I would never have gone to the seaside in Belgium on such a busy day anyway. I'd rather have an almost deserted Welsh beach ... Hugs xxx

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  10. I never knew Mattel made a Twiggy doll - she's excellent. Is it wrong that I could picture either you or Vix in all those outfits? I often find the outfits more interesting than the dolls.

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    1. That is not wrong at all Mim. I have many Mattel outfits that I would love to have in my size, and there are quite a few which would be perfect for Vix. The outfits are definitely more interesting than the dolls, which I started collecting because of the outfits. It's a history of 1960s-1970s fashion in a nutshell. xxx

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  11. The head is brilliant!!!! I am so glad you found one!
    I love all your Twiggy dolls- so cool!!!
    Your dress and blue beads combination is really striking!

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    1. Thanks Kezzie. I never in my wildest imagination thought I would find a Twiggy head. xxx

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  12. I can't see a Twiggy head without thinking of Vix. But I didn't know there was such a thing as a Twiggy doll! Mind you, the lady herself is a bit of a doll, still looking stunning in her 60s. Ah, and did you know she has her own brand of spectacles? I've just been to the opticians and selected a couple of pairs to pick up next week. Exciting! Xxx

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    1. I'd been looking for a Twiggy head for ages, so I really jumped at the chance! Twiggy herself is still looking stunning indeed. I didn't know she had her own brand of spectacles. I'll be checking it out! xxx

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  13. I never knew there was a Twiggy doll. I loved my Sindy and Barbie dolls and often wished I could have a machine to upsize their clothes! xxx

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    1. Oh, how I have wished for a machine like that! I have quite a collection of vintage Barbie dolls, and some of their outfits would be right up your street, Melanie. xxx

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