Blythe (doll)

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For the city, see Blythe, California.

Blythe (ブライス bu-ra-i-su?) (pronounced "blahyth" or like the 'bli' sound in "blind") is a doll created in 1972 by designer Allison Katzman with the now-defunct American toy company Kenner. Reportedly, she was modeled after drawings by Margaret Keane, similarly to many other dolls of the '60s and '70s. Her most unique and notable feature were blinkable eyes that changed color with the pull of a string attached to the back of her head. Blythe dolls were only sold for one year in the U.S. (produced in Hong Kong), during 1972. She was not very popular and faded from store shelves quickly.

Petite Blythe dolls are four inches tall and an economical and aesthetic alternative to Neo Blythes
Petite Blythe dolls are four inches tall and an economical and aesthetic alternative to Neo Blythes

Thirty years after her first release date, Blythe regained popularity. In 1997, New York TV and video producer Gina Garan was given a 1972 Kenner Blythe by a friend and began using it to practice her photographic skills. She began taking her Blythe everywhere with her and took hundreds of photos. Then, in 1999, a chance encounter with CWC's Junko Wong brought Blythe to the attention of Parco and toy executives. In 2002, Gina published her first book of Blythe photography with Chronicle Books, This is Blythe. Later that year, Hasbro (Kenner's successor) gave the rights to make Blythe dolls to Takara of Japan. Blythe was used in a television advertising campaign by the Parco department store in Japan and was an instant hit. Success in Japan led Blythe back to the U.S., where she become a niche product in a marginal market, selling largely to adults. In 2003 she was the subject in a segment on the popular VH1 special, I Love the 70s, where she was said to look like either "Barbie with elephantiasis" or "Christina Ricci" among other things. One panelist asked if she could take a doll home! In 2004, the Ashton-Drake Galleries began to produce their own Blythe replica dolls in the United States.

A vibrant Blythe subculture flourishes on the Internet, predominantly in forums and usergroups. There is a market network of hobbyist Blythe clothiers, designers, and customizers.

There are two types of Blythe dolls: the 28 cm version and the 11.2 cm "Petit Blythe." Only large dolls have color-changing eyes, which include the colors blue, green, orange, and pink (except for cases with limited-edition dolls). Newer releases of the Petit Blythe dolls have moveable eyelids and bendable bodies.

There are also, smaller Kubrick versions of Blythe.

The measurements of Blythe: 4.17-2.76-3.89 (in inch) or 106-70-99 (in mm). The measurements of Petit Blythe: 1.77-1.18-16.5 (in inch) or 45-30-42 (in mm).

Unlike Barbie, Blythe does not have a boyfriend. She also does not advertise her professional life. Kenner is now owned by Hasbro.

Contents

[edit] Blythe bodies

The bodies of blythes varies depending on the time of the release. Earlier releases uses the BL body, which has some disadvantages. For example, the legs do not bend as well as the later releases.

BL: June 2001-March 2002. Licca body is used, matte face for some models.

EBL (Excellent): June 2002-October 2003. New body is introduced. Unlike the earlier Licca body, EBL bodies do not have bendable arms, though their legs have three "clicks" at the knee.

SBL (Superior): February 2004-2006. New face mold and new sparkly eye chips. The new head mold necessitates that, in order for inner-head customizations to be done, they must be sawn open. There is also a method to take off the face plate only, by soaking in hot water.

RBL (Radiance): December 2006-Present. New face mold to look more Kenner-like, including a slightly wider left eye. This mold allows for easy customization as her head is connected by three screws and an internal clip near the ears.

In August 2005, Takara announced that they will introduce a new head mold which reportedly will have the highpoints of both Excellent and Superior Blythes. These newer molds are more similar to the original Kenner mold and are labelled as Radiance or RBL for short.

[edit] Blythe designs

Takara frequently releases new versions of Blythe. They are usually first shown by a vector-styled design with variations before it is confirmed.

[edit] Neo Takara Blythe releases

  • Parco (Limited) - Parco (short/abbrv)
  • Mondrian - YSL (matte face)
  • Mondrian (FAO exclusive)- YSL (matte face)
  • Mondrain (FAO exclusive) - YSL (shiny face, relaxed eye)
  • Hollywood - Hollywood (matte face)
  • Hollywood (FAO exclusive)- Hollywood (shiny face)
  • Aztec Arrival - Aztec
  • Rosey Red - Rosy (matte face)
  • All Gold In One - Goldie (matte face)
  • Kozy Kape Inspired - Kozy(matte face)
  • Aztec Arrival Inspired - Aztec
  • Sunday Best - SB
  • Dotty Dot - DD
  • Miss Anniversary (Limited) - Miss A
  • Bohemian Beat - BB
  • Asian Butterfly - AB
  • Piccadilly Dolly - Picca
  • Skate Date - SD
  • Rouge Noir - RN
  • Excellent Hollywood -
  • Cherry Berry - CB
  • Cinnamon Girl - CG
  • Tea For Two - T42
  • Fancy Pansy - FP
  • Disco Boogie - DB
  • Love Mission - LM
  • Bohemian Beats Again - BBA
  • Nike Blythe (limited) - Nike
  • Fruit Punch - FP
  • Very Cherry Berry - VCB
  • Superior Skate Date - SSD
  • Very Inspired by Pow Wow Poncho - PWP
  • Velvet Minuet - VM (Korean Toys R Us 1st Anniversay Limited)
  • Silver Snow - SS
  • I Love You Its True - ILYIT
  • Sunday Very Best - SVB
  • Happy Every Day Over The Stripes (Limited) - OTS
  • Lounging Lovely - LL
  • French Trench - FT
  • Art Attack (Limited) - AA
  • Paradis by Mono Comme Ca (Limited) -MCC
  • Birdie Blue - BB
  • Mademoiselle Rosebud -MRB
  • Samedi Marche - SM
  • Groovy Groove - GG
  • Mittens Blythe (Limited) - Mitten
  • Lil' Heart aka Milk Blythe (Limited) - Milk
  • Tweedly Do - TD
  • Inspired by Pinafore Purple - PP
  • Margaret Meets Ladybug (Limited) - MML
  • V-Smash - VSmash, VS
  • Candy Carnival - CC
  • Cinema Princess - CP
  • Roxy Blythe (Limited) - Roxy
  • Good Neighbor Cafe - GNC
  • Tommy February 6 Blythe (Limited) - FEB
  • Asian Butterfly Encore - ABE
  • Samedi Marche Encore - SME
  • Rendez-vous Chouchou(Limited) - RCC
  • White Magic Morning(Limited) - WMM
  • White Magic Afternoon - WMA
  • White Magic Night - WMN
  • Merry Skier - MS
  • Cute and Curious (Limited) - C&C or Cucu
  • BlackBerry Bush (Limited) - BBB
  • Tea For Two Encore - T42e
  • Rosie Red Encore - RRe
  • Night Flower - NF
  • Strawberry Millefeuille (Limited) - SMF
  • Honey Bunny Once More - HB
  • Prima Dolly Ashlette - PDA
  • Prima Dolly Ginger - PDG
  • Prima Dolly Violet - PDV
  • Darling Diva (Limited) - DD
  • Piccadilly Dolly Encore - PDe
  • Last Kiss (Limited) - LK
  • Star Dancer - SD
  • Yukinonamidahime (Limited) - Yuki
  • Ichigo Heaven (Limited) - IH
  • Feel The Sky - FTS
  • Prima Dolly Aubrey - PD2A
  • Prima Dolly Saffy - PD2S
  • Prima Dolly Ebony - PD2E
  • Prima Dolly Melon (Limited) - PDM
  • Tailor Gibson (Limited) - TG
  • Ultimate Tour (Limited) - UT
  • Rainy Day Parade (Shop Limited) - RDP

[edit] Petite Takara Blythe releases

  • PBL01 Kozy Cape
  • PBL02 Hollywood
  • PBL03 Rosie
  • PBL04 Mondrian
  • PBL05 Cosmo Afternoon
  • PBL06 Sunday Besy
  • PBL07&8 Bohemian Beat
  • PBL09 Paisley Star
  • PBL10 Asian Butterfly
  • PBL11 Rouge Noir
  • PBL12 Snow Wonder
  • PBL13 Pajama Party
  • PBL14 Weekend Artist
  • PBL15 All Gold
  • PBL16 Hollywood
  • PBL17 Aloha Spirit
  • PBL18 Cinnamon Girl
  • PBL19 Sewing My Way - pink
  • PBL20 Sewing My Way - blue
  • PBL21 Aztec Arrival Inspired
  • PBL22 Totally Tartan
  • PBL23 Pinky Doodle Poodle
  • PBL24 Midnight Hour
  • PBL25 Skate Date
  • PBL26 Pow Wow Poncho
  • PBL27 Kitchen Queen
  • PBL28 Tea for Two
  • PBL29 Plum Blossom
  • PBL30 Romantic Western
  • PBL31 Rainy Day
  • PBL32 Sailing Sailing
  • PBL33 Something Blue
  • PBL34 Caribbean Jewel
  • PBL35 Sunset Surfer
  • PBL36 Mademoiselle Rosebud
  • PBL37 Classy Classmate
  • PBL38 Orange Munchin
  • PBL39 Cutie March
  • PBL40 Spirit and Spice
  • PBL-41 I Love You It's True
  • PBL-42 First Plum
  • PBL-43 Groovy Groove
  • PBL-44 Cassandra Black
  • PBL-46 Please Plie
  • PBL-45 Forest Clover
  • PBL-47 Kingyo Bijin
  • PBL-48 Butter Cake Afternoon
  • PBL-49 Mamalade Heart
  • PBL-50 Tokyo Toddler
  • PBL-51 Spanky Punky (Devil Robots collaboration)
  • PBL TRU EX 01 Dottie Dot
  • PBL TRU EX 02 Cherry Berry
  • PBL TRU EX 03 Fancy Pancy
  • PBL TRU EX Birdie Blue
  • PBL TRU EX A Go Go
  • 2nd anniversary Nike
  • 3rd anniversary Art Attack
  • 4th anniversary Princess Cinema
  • CWC Limited Honey Bunny
  • CWC Limited Piccadilly Dolly
  • CWC Limited Fairy Girl
  • CWC Limited Velvet Minuet
  • CWC Limited Happy Everyday
  • CWC Limited Bubbly Blue Bunny
  • CWC Limited Hohoho
  • CWC Limited Princess Tutuphant
  • CWC Limited Milk
  • CWC Limited Mitten
  • CWC Limited Mono Comme Ca
  • KPBL01 Feline Fancy
  • KPBL02 Bear Hug
  • KPBL03 Poseidon's Treasure
  • KPBL05 Piyo Piyo Messenger
  • KPBL-6 Fluffy Cuddly Bed Time
  • P-PBL 01 Hollywood (new eye and body)
  • P-PBL 02 Rosie Red (new eye and body)
  • P-PBL 03 Mondrian (new eye and body)

[edit] Blythe books

  • This is Blythe
  • Blythe Style
  • Dear Blythe : Love, Gina
  • Dear Blythe 2: Love, Gina
  • Hello Blythe! Journal
  • Hello Blythe! Addresses
  • Blythe on Beauty
  • Darling Blythe
  • Blythe Moment

[edit] Other similar type of big head dolls

[edit] External links

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