Studio Practice : EP - Girls Pocketless Clothes, Polly Pocket Research

Polly Pocket Research

'Mattel held a distribution arrangement with Bluebird Toys for Polly Pocket items in the early-1990s. In 1998, while production lulled, Bluebird Toys endured several hostile take-over attempts until Mattel finally purchased them later that year. The sets made by Bluebird Toys are now valuable collectibles. '

'The original Polly Pocket toys were plastic cases which opened to form a dollhouse or other playset with Polly Pocket figurines less than an inch tall. The dolls folded in the middle, like the case, and had circular bases which slotted into holes in the case interior, allowing them to stand securely at particular points in the house. This was particularly useful for moving points in the case. Because the dolls were so small, sometimes they came enclosed in pendants or large rings instead of the more typical playset cases.

In 1998, Mattel redesigned Polly Pocket. The new doll was larger, with a more lifelike appearance than the original dolls. She had a straight ponytail, rather than the curly bob hairstyle used previously.

The following year, Mattel also introduced 'Fashion Polly!', which used the same characters from the new Polly Pocket (Polly, Lea, Shani, Lila, etc.), but they came in the form of 3 3⁄4 inches (9.5 cm) plastic jointed dolls. They gave a new spin on fashion dolls; instead of traditional cloth clothing, Polly Pockets used unique "Polly Stretch" garments, created by Genie Toys, rubbery plastic clothes that could be put on the dolls and removed. There are also some boy dolls (Rick, Steven, etc.) Like Barbie and Bratz dolls, they also star in Polly Pocket movies, books, and sites.

In 2002, Mattel stopped producing the smaller Polly Pocket playset range but continued to produce the larger fashion doll.

In 2004, Mattel introduced the Polly Pocket "Quik Clik" line. Instead of having rubbery clothes, the dolls had plastic clothes that would click together by magnets. On November 22th 2006, 4.4 million Polly Pocket play sets were recalled by Mattel after children in the United States swallowed loose magnetic parts. Affected toys had been sold around the world for three years prior.

For the 2010 relaunch, Mattel made further changes to the Polly dolls, including increasing feet size, head size and leg size, although the height remains approximately the same. However, fan reactions were mixed. In 2012, Polly Pocket toys were discontinued in the USA, but remained available in Europe and South America. The brand dwindled, eventually only being sold in Brazil. In 2015, Polly Pocket was completely discontinued by Mattel'

-the original was sold 1990's till 2002
-mattel make a new collection of dolls, bigger and redesign the logo
-the newer version was less popular and taller
-stop being sold in 2015

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2049243_2048660_2049211,00.html