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Sasha Dolls Exhibit

This is Natalie, a Sasha Morgenthaler studio original of 1962. Natalie is a 20 inch C-II doll of hard plastic. She has a wavy brown human hair wig, chocolate brown eyes, and is dressed in a classic Sasha outfit of dungarees, white blouse, and sandals. Her outfit also includes an item of plastic clothing, a red vinyl hooded raincape, which can be found in many other colors besides red. It has a collar and button closure at the neck, and slits at the front seams for her arms. A similar raincape in yellow was made for the 1960s Götz serie dolls, and also dark blue raincoats with rainhats for dolls from the English and 1990s Götz productions (see below). Let it rain!

Photographs and text © Susanna Lewis 2003, 2007.
This exhibit was first presented in October, 2003.
Click on the small pictures to see larger pictures.

 1.    2.    3.    4.     STUDIO DOLLS

These are photos of additional Sasha Morgenthaler studio dolls, dressed in original clothing of leather and plastic, that provided inspiration for some of the plastic clothes designed for the serie dolls. Because vinyl can be processed and textured to look like leather, this less expensive alternative was used to make inexpensive clothes for the serie dolls, and the styling of both the leather and plastic clothes shown, was followed quite closely for the serie dolls (see below).
1. David, from a Lindt and Sprüngli chocolate wrapper of the 1960s, he is dressed in a dark blue plastic raincape that is like Natalie's.
2. From the book Sasha-Puppen by Stefan Biffiger, page 68, this picture shows two black boys in modish outfits of the 1960s, they wear dark colored glossy vinyl jackets and matching gored caps. At least one of them is known as "Chicago Black."
3. This beautiful girl with golden hair is pictured on page 66 of the book Sasha-Puppen by Stefan Biffiger. She wears a long brown leather coat, tall boots and miniskirt topped by a fisherman rib sweater in white, and the outfit is very close in style to both Sasha London outfit from the English production, and the brown mod outfit from the 1960s Götz production (see below).
4. This doll is Sibylle, a portrait doll of 1967, pictured in Doll Reader magazine, Feb 1993, p. 113. She wears an outfit similar to the doll in 3.,  with white fisherman rib sweater, and brown leather trousers, ankle boots and belt. Sasha was very aware of the mod styles worn by young people in the late 1960s, and did not hesitate to dress her dolls and the serie dolls in these styles.

1. The yellow raincape was introduced in the autumn of 1967 in time for the Christmas shopping season. This earliest version of it is a simple cape with a collar and a single dark blue snap at the neck. It is paired with a separate gored rainhat in the same material, a shiny smooth bright yellow vinyl.  The outfit was sold on a doll and probably also as a boxed dress set. This version was made only a short time and is very rare and hard to find.
2. The clothing worn under the raincape is a pleated skirt in houndstooth check, the same fabric as in the Schoolboy short trousers. The skirt is sewn to a sleeveless bodice in the same way as the plaid skirt of the Schoolgirl outfit. It is worn with a white overblouse with three snaps on the front, the same as in the Schoolgirl outfit. Shoes were usually navy, either ankle strap style as shown, or navy laced oxfords as in 1.
3. The later version of the raincape has an attached hood and is without a collar and separate hat. Other than these changes, the styling and fabric is the same as the earlier version, and the clothing worn under it is also the same. This version was made through at least 1969 and is fairly commonly found.

1.  2.  3. 4.   BLUE RAINCOAT, English & 1990s Götz

1. The English made raincoat is shiny and smooth dark blue vinyl. It was introduced in 1974 as a boxed dress set only, never sold on a doll, and it continued this way to the end of the production in 1986. The raincoat is styled as a coat with collar, two pockets on the front and a velcro closure at the neck. It also has a matching gored rainhat, and a pair of sewn white vinyl knee-high boots. This picture is from the postcard set issued by Trendon in 1977, one of a set of 20 cards.
2. Boxed set of 1974, it is 4-804 Raincoat, packed in the earlier long and slender box with a large silver wrist tag. This is an early example of the set, the coat and boots are essentially the same as later versions.
3. Boxed set of the 1980s, it is 804 Raincoat and packed in the later shorter and wider box. Note the cardboard hands in the pockets, present on all Raincoat and Duffle sets of later years.
4. This picture is the 1990s Götz version of the raincoat set, introduced in 1998 as Rainwear 58-08916 and manufactured to the end of the production in 2001. Like the English version, it was sold only as a packaged dress set and never on a doll. The styling is very similar to the English version, made from dark blue glossy vinyl with a collar, separate gored rainhat, and white vinyl boots. The main differences to the English is that it has no pockets on the front, fastens with two white snaps, and the soles of the boots are black molded material.

      BROWN COAT OUTFIT / FURRY TRIM, 1960s Götz

Three outfits from the end of the 60s production feature clothing made from vinyl fabrics, all of them date from 1969 - 1970.
1. This very delightful set features a dark brown coat with buckle fastenings and beige furry trim. The dark vinyl is textured in a leather-like pattern, and is used in the coat, the boots, and the miniskirt. The beige furry trim decorates the coat, the boot tops, and the entirety of the hat. The gold buckles that fasten the coat are asymmetrically shaped and were used on other outfits of the period too. Topping the miniskirt is a pullover turtleneck sweater, knitted in fisherman rib from beige heather yarn. This outfit was probably sold only as a boxed set.

2.      AFTER-SKI OUTFIT, 1960s Götz
2. This later version of the popular after-ski outfit is very rare, in fact the example pictured is possibly a prototype since no other examples have been found. It has a white hooded furry jacket which is unlined. Two strips of black vinyl are sewn around the body, ending in the same gold buckles as on the outfit above, to close the jacket in the front. At the neck is a snap fastening. Paired with the jacket is a pair of black vinyl trousers of a smooth texture. Possibly, a white sweater like the one below, was worn under the jacket, or perhaps a white blouse. The outfit is accessorized with white mittens and black leather laced boots, the same as the earlier after-ski outfit.

3.      RED JUMPER, 1960s Götz
3. The delightful jumper pictured here is made from textured red vinyl. It is simple in style, the back is plain with snap closures, and the front features an inverted box pleat stitched at the neck and open at the hem. Paired with the jumper is a white turtleneck sweater, knitted in fisherman rib like the beige one in the outfit above. Red sandals provide the final touch of color. This outfit was probably sold only as a boxed set.

1. 2. 3.     SASHA LONDON, English

In the early 1970s the English production also featured fashionable mod vinyl outfits for their girls and boys, the Londons. The outfits were sold on girl and boy dolls for one year, 1970, and in boxed dress sets from 1970 - 1973.
1. In the catalogs and on the backs of the dress set boxes, the Sasha outfit is pictured as in the left photo during 1970 when the outfit was sold both on a blonde doll 4-110 and as a dress set 4-210. The photo on the right was used 1971 - 1973, when the outfit was sold only as a dress set.
2. The outfit consists of four pieces: brown vinyl jumper with shoulder straps fastening with snapped buckles, matching knee high sewn boots, and underneath a white turtleneck sweater and panties, knitted in fisherman rib. Several different lots of vinyl fabric was used over time. Earlier versions use fabric which is thicker and printed with a leather-look pattern. Later versions use fabric which is thinner and plain color and texture. Hems and facings were glued on most examples (which have since come undone), but some of the later ones have machine sewn hems and facings. The knitted sweaters and panties also underwent a change over time, the earlier version of fisherman rib is shown on the left doll, while the right doll wears a later version of wide rib with elastic borders, found in some of the dress sets. These sweaters/panties are also found in some Kilt dress sets.
3. This dress set is from 1970, all dress sets throughout are found in the earlier boxes which are longer and narrower than the later ones.

1. 2. 3. 4.    GREGOR LONDON, English

1. Gregor was also dressed as London. Here is his picture, as seen in catalogs and on the backs of dress set boxes, from 1970 - 1973. The outfit was sold both as a set 4-404 and on a brunette boy 4-304 in 1970, and as a dress set only thereafter.
2. The outfit has five pieces: brown vinyl trousers, matching waistcoat with hook and eye closure at the front, matching sewn ankle high boots, purple and white striped shirt with stand up collar and front overlap fastening on the right shoulder, and regular issue ribbed underpants. The same variations in vinyl fabric can be found in Gregor's outfit as on Sasha's. The outfit on the doll at left is the earlier version with thicker vinyl and glued hems, and on the right is a later outfit from a dress set with thinner vinyl and sewn hems, a closeup of the two waistcoats is included.
3. This dress set is from 1970, all dress sets throughout are found in the earlier boxes which are longer and narrower than the later ones.
4. Some of the very first dress sets of late 1969 - early 1970 contain a matching vinyl gored cap, seen in this closeup. Brenda Walton, production manager at the English factory, has verified that initially the cap was to be part of the outfit, and later rejected. Caps that had all ready been made were put into the first dress sets.  

       MUSHROOM SUIT, English

In 1973 a new modern outfit was added to Gregor's wardrobe, called Suit in 1973 - 74, Mushroom Suit in 1975 - 76. It was sold only as a boxed dress set and never on a doll. In the first two years it was numbered 4-405, and the last two years it was simply 405. The outfit is made from tan corduroy decorated with brown vinyl. It has bell-bottom trousers, and a matching front opening short sleeve shirt with breast pocket, vinyl stand up collar, and vinyl belt. The cap is styled large and full and is of corduroy with a vinyl bill. On his feet Gregor wears knee-high vinyl boots, with the pantlegs tucked either in or out.

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