Rednesday: Childhood Friend

One of my favorite dolls when I was growing up was Penny Brite. She always puts a smile on my face. Do you have a favorite childhood toy that still brings a smile to your face?

This post is for Rednesday hosted by Sue over at It's A Very Cherry World. Stop on over to check out the other wonderful posts!

Wordless Wednesdays

I took this photograph of one of my vintage Raggedy Ann dolls by pointing my 35mm camera through the view finder of an old brownie camera. That is what gives it a rustic vintage look.

Penny & Me circa 1964

I don't have time for a long post today but thought I would continue on my vintage Penny Brite theme by sharing this photograph of me with my Penny Brite doll. I believe this photo was taken on a Easter Sunday in 1964 since I am wearing my "Easter bonnet". The dress I am wearing was made by my Grandmother, as was most of my childhood clothing. The dress Penny is wearing is something my Grandmother or Great-Grandmother probably made too. I loved taking this trip back to the 1960s and hope you enjoy it too.

The Best Dressed Doll

Yesterday I introduced you to the 1960s era doll Penny Brite. Today I would like to share with you some of her wonderful outfits.

Here are two of Penny Brite's boxed outfits made by De Luxe Reading/Topper Toys. The first one is called "Anchor's Aweigh". The second one is not pictured in the Penny Brite booklet or on the back of the boxed outfits. It is called "Sweet Violet".
These carded outfits were also made by De Luxe Reading/Topper Toys. They were a less expensive alternative to the boxed outfits. Notice that they do not include complete outfits or all the accessories that were included in the boxed outfits. You can also see that even though two of them have the same dress, they do not have all the same pieces included. I believe that they were also a way to get rid of excess stock.






These two carded outfits were made by Premiere. On the front of each is a tag that says they are for Penny.




The first boxed outfit shown below is marked "Small Fry Creations" and was made by Ardee. On the lid it says that it will fit Penny Brite and similar 8" dolls. An interesting thing to note about this boxed outfit is that the outside of the box is decorated in the same star pattern found on the De Luxe Reading/Topper Toys boxed Penny Brite outfits. Totsy also made clothes that would fit Penny Brite. The girl on the box is holding a sign that says that the clothes will fit Penny Brite, Pepper and other 8-9" dolls.



The first NRFB outfit below was made by Princess Grace Doll, Inc. It says wardrobe for "Terri-Jo" and that it fits any 8" slim doll including Penny Brite. Again you will notice that they used the a star design on the packaging. The other NRFB outfit was made by "M. & S. Shillman". The tag on it says that it was made to fit all 8" dolls, including Penny Brite, etc. If you know of any other companies that made clothing for Penny Brite please let me know.




Penny Brite was available in other countries too! Both of these outfits are named "Smart Shopper". The one on the left is identical to the "Smart Shopper" outfit available in the USA. However, the box for this outfit is marked "Deluxe Reading Canada Limited, 1964 Toronto, Canada". I bought this from someone living in Canada.



The "Smart Shopper" outfit on the right is made out of a totally different material than the USA or Canadian versions. The box is marked "Made in Portugal for De Luxe Toys, Division of De Luxe - Topper Ltd., Hayes, Middlesex - England". The packaging on this outfit is different too. The outfit is taped onto a cardboard backing and the backing is sealed inside a cellophane bag. The outside of the box also has a coating over the cardboard. On the back of the box the picture of Penny's "Flower Girl" outfit has the word "Withdrawn" across it. The front of the booklet says "Distributed exclusively for De Luxe Toys" then below that it says, "Division of De Luxe - Topper Ltd. Hayes, Middlesex". Inside the booklet it pictures the 6 outfits that are in the USA booklet except that the word "Withdrawn" is printed across the "Flower Girl" outfit. It only shows 2 of the Penny Brite playsets, the "School Room" and "Beauty Parlor". This NRFB outfit was also purchased from someone in Canada.

Here is another example of a NRFB Penny Brite outfit made in Portugal for De Luxe Toys, Division of De Luxe - Topper LTD., Hayes, Middlesex - England. The sticker on the box reads #1724 Picnic Treat. As you can see the fabric for the scarf and the hanky is different than the US version of "Picnic Treat". The jeans on this version are also made out of a thinner material and trimmed in white stitching.



I hope you enjoyed my little nostalgiac trip into the wonderful world of Penny Brite. I will be sharing more about her wonderful playsets in another post.

Penny's World

Penny Brite was one of the dolls that I played with during my childhood. I remember carrying her around in her little see-thru plastic case, especially when on long car trips. I don't ever remember having any other clothes for her besides her original dress. Nostalgia kicked in a few years ago and I went shopping for those items that every Penny Brite doll deserves. Doesn't Penny have such a sweet little face? Be careful you just might fall in love with her just by looking at these pictures from my personal collection.

Penny Brite in her original plastic case (circa 1964). The carry case doubles as a closet for Penny's clothes when the handle is bent down inside her case.

Here is the cover of the Penny Brite booklet that came attached to the back of her case and inside her boxed outfits.

This is the back of a Penny Brite boxed outfit. It only shows 6 of the 12 boxed outfits that were made for Penny Brite by DeLuxe Reading/Topper Toys. The names of all 12 of the boxed Penny Brite outfits are: "Chit Chat" "Singing in the Rain" "Sun and Fun" "Winter Princess" "Anchors Aweigh" "Flower Girl" "Sweet Violet" "Velvet Princess" "Picnic Treat" "Sunday Best" "Smart Shopper" and "Sheer Delight".

In another post I'll share more of Penny's outfits, playsets and other goodies. What were some of your favorite childhood dolls or toys?

If you love retro like I do be sure to visit my Reprise shop.