The VERY rare Sun Sun Malibu Francie © Mattel

The beauty of collecting something, anything, is that as the world of collecting that particular object or thing opens up for you, all of a sudden you are coveting items you never even imagined…..

Enter Francie Fairchild, Barbie’s Mod-ern cousin!

I had always loved Barbie, I mean, who doesn’t right?

As I took the first tentative steps into starting my Barbie collection I started with things I knew. Dolls I had as a child. Dolls I wanted as a child. Dolls I thought I should be collecting – old & new. Dolls that were a bargain – thrift stores, eBay, second hand stores…. And on and on it goes.

Then something happens as a collector.

“Oh I love Mod Barbie. I’m going to specialise in that….” Famous last words.

I was drawn to Mod Dolls because I have always loved 60’s fashion and culture. The hair was fab, the clothes were fab, the make-up was fab! Francie was F.A.B!

Francie Fairchild hit the scene in 1966. Barbie’s cousin was young, hip and English. She had a smaller, less curvy body than Barbie, reflecting the mood of models at the time and she embodied the cool Britannia craze that was sweeping the world. She was also incredibly cute and difficult not to like. Ofcourse Barbie changed also. She became younger looking, fresher of face and embraced the Mod-ern look!

Francie paved the way for many innovations in the Mattel doll line, most notably a version that was the first true African American (AA) doll, a brave move for a time when the civil rights movement was in full swing.

Francie will always be a favourite.