Jazzie Dolls - Sears Wish Book - 1989

 

       First of all, let me say that Sears knows how to give Barbie proper respect. I can't even tell you how many pages of the 1989 Wish Book were devoted to Barbie and her friends. There were showcase pages like the one you see above for every line of Barbie they sold that year (back in the days when they still did that sort of thing.) Safari Barbie (and her like-themed friends) had a page, Funtime Barbie had a page, Barbie and the Rockers had at least one page (I think there were too many accessories to be contained.) They weren't kidding around. In the midst of all that, I found Jazzie.
     Since Barbie's mega-successful debut into the toy world, there have been many other doll lines introduced to capitalize on that success. Some have been successful (Ken and friends, Skipper and friends), while many more have fallen by the wayside (remember Hasbro's Maxie or Kenner's superior Darci?) In the late 80's, feeling that there wasn't a doll meeting the role-playing needs between pre-teen Skipper and young adult (more like "ambiguously-aged") Barbie, Mattel introduced Jazzie. The little girls of the world responded with, "We're fine, thanks." I can't tell you exactly why that was. I can tell you that I always felt it was an unattractive line of dolls. Not completely unlike real teens, Jazzie dolls looked kind of awkward. I always thought their heads were a bit oversized. I never felt like Jazzie had very pretty clothing either. You can't blame her too much for that, though. The late 80's/early 90's didn't have much going for it in that department. You can't say that Mattel skimped on the accessories, though. Where as Barbie was the kind of all-American girl who tooled around in Corvettes, Jazzie got the totally-European Volkswagen Cabriolet. She even got her own adorably-detailed Burger King to rival her cousin Barbie's 1983 McDonald's playset (one of the very few things I asked for on Santa's knee that I still mourn not getting.)
     My theory: Jazzie is now the mother of the Bratz, forcing them into the spotlight like a former beauty queen trying to relive her own salad days through her overly made-up daughters. It's just a theory.