Doll News Winter 2021 - 75

Vogue's 1950s Ginny
Innovative Marketing Strategies

By Barbara Stone

he 1950s saw the rise of 8-inch play dolls. Made of plastic they
were sturdy and sweet; small enough for a child's hand yet large
enough to have a wardrobe. Chief among these little ladies of fashion
were Ginny by Vogue and her chief competitor Wendy by Madame
Alexander. Both were toddlers, albeit well-dressed toddlers. Other
companies produced similar but lower cost and quality competitors.
Ginger, Pam, Virga were but a few of the competitors.
Ginny evolved from the creative and entrepreneurial mind of
Mrs. Jennie Graves. She began by dressing purchased dolls, first as
a hobby then later as a business. Her first manufactured dolls were
composition. As plastic began to replace composition in the doll world,
Jennie introduced an 8-inch plastic doll which became known as Ginny.
Initially a strung hard plastic doll with painted eyes by 1950 she had
sleep eyes, then a walking mechanism was added. Straight legs made it
hard for Ginny to sit so in 1957 she was given knees that bent.
With no business experience, but the financial necessity to support
herself and her family, Mrs. Graves grew her business to where in the
mid-1950s it provided employment for a staff of 50 plus over 300 home
sewers. By 1957 Vogue reached over $5 million in sales per year. To
accomplish this considering the competition required some innovative Ginny Roller Skater from 1952 showed
marketing strategies.
that girls can be active while still being
fashionable.
Ginny packaging proclaimed Vogue " Fashion Leaders in Doll
Society. " Indeed, even the most basic outfits had the look of quality.
Wonderfully detailed costumes, with many available for purchase separately. " Dress Me " Ginny was sold
in taffeta underpants with picot trim which made getting a basic Ginny very affordable. You didn't have to
buy a new Ginny - your Ginny could be a fashionista, with clothes for every season of the year! And outfits
always consisted of something for the head, if not a hat then bows or flowers.
Ginny had many wonderful " girly " dresses decked out with frilly lace, bows and flowers. But, unusual
for the times, Ginny also had " action outfits. " Little girls didn't always have to be dressed in party clothes they were free to be tom boys, while still being fashionable. As early as Vogue's 1951 Sport Series, Ginny had
beach, skiing, ice skating, roller skating and golfing outfits. Later rodeo girl, cowgirl, overalls, and horseback
riding outfits were added. Ginny became what would be called today an " influencer. "
The prime time for doll purchases - then as well as now - is the December holiday season. Vogue realized
that to keep the sales consistent over the year (and provide their home sewers with as steady employment
as possible) they needed more than just holiday sales. They created holiday specials for other holidays like
Valentine's Day and Easter. And a variety of beach and summer outfits.
As the 1950s drew to a close so did the Golden Age of Ginny the fashionista. Mrs. Graves had retired
from actively running Vogue in 1960 when her health began to fail. Her daughter, Ginny Graves Carlson,
who had spearheaded much of Ginny's success and was responsible for designing much of her extensive
wardrobe in the mid-to-late 1950's, retired to take care of her. While Ginny was produced for many years to
come the decade of Ginny the fashionista was over.
DOLL NEWS * UFDC.ORG

http://www.UFDC.ORG

Doll News Winter 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Doll News Winter 2021