As Pedigree prepared the production of the very first Sindy they were acutely aware, in the wake of the successes of Mattel's Barbie and Ideal's Tammy, that for every teenage doll sold there was an almost limitless market for clothes. Recreating the dreams of the new Sindy owners required something more than just jeans and a matelot top. So, with every Sindy came Sindy's bazaar (which Pedigree, taking another leaf out of Ideal's sales manual, called a style book) from which Sindy could be dressed for just about every occasion (providing her dresser had enough pester-power!).
The first Sindy's bazaar was sent to toy retailers preceding Sindy's launch in September 1963. A flat, almost-A4 size, double-sided sheet with a fold-out left hand flap, it detailed Sindy in Weekenders, outfits 12S01-12S08 and separates 12S551-12S558. It also trailed the forthcoming releases in early 1964 of Bridesmaid's Dress, Summer Holiday, Blouse and Swimsuit (when actually released, Summer Holiday had become Seaside Sweetheart, Blouse was Springtime and Swim Suit was Sweet Swimmer).
The first Sindy's bazaar to be issued with the dolls and outfits was a concertina-style booklet, 9 panels each side, folding down to 127x52 mm. Dated August 1963, it detailed 12GS Sindy in Weekenders and outfits 1201-12S08 on one side and separates 12S51-12S58 on the other. Strangely, the outfits were not shown in number order, but as 12S05 followed by 04, 01, 03, 02, 07, 08; similarly with the separates. One can only guess at this logic: In order of the expected most popular? To not frighten parents with the prices - which ranged from 2/11 for the cheapest separate to 19/11 for Country Walk? Issued only in the London area, this edition was updated early in 1964 by the inclusion of a slip with the text: Just Released, Two New Sindy Outfits 12S09 Bridesmaid's Dress 17/6 12S59 'Springtime' Blouse 4/6.
A revised edition of this style book, dated March 1964, listed all the previous items but had 4 extra panels detailing 12S09, 12S10, 12S59 and 12S60, overprinted as New for London 1964. Production of style books and packaging - as well as dolls and outfits - now moved to Hong Kong. As Sindy launched in other countries, various language versions followed. The Netherlands issue was similar to the UK retail version format, but folded. Interesting to see that the Dutch for Duffle Coat is Monty-Coat (I assume for the obvious reason, though you may be blissfully too young to understand!).
Pedigree offered toy retailers an Introductory Pack - a sales stand (itself carrying the legend Sindy's bazaar), style books, Sindys in Weekenders and a selection of outfits and separates. for the London TV area this was initially 3 of each outfits 12S01-12S08 and 3 of each separate, 12S51-12S58. By mid 1964, Sindy was available throughout Britain and the outfits now included Bridesmaid and Seaside Sweetheart, and the separates Springtime and Sweet Swimmer. Winter Holiday, Emergency Ward, Coffee Party and Frosty Nights were all released in the latter half of 1964.
The effort that went into matching each of the early outfits with accessories was remarkable. A veritable Lilliputian cornucopia - toothpaste to oranges, newspaper to dog bowl - but as Pedigree took their lead from Ideal, this is not that surprising. Tammy's outfits were characterised by her accessories - everything from an archery set in the punning Beau and Arrow outfit, to the equally semantic School Daze, with its typewriter, telephone, telephone directory and portfolio!
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