Polly Pocket

Polly Pocket is a line of small plastic dolls and accessories aimed at girls. The name comes from the fact that many of the original Polly Pocket toys came in pocket-size cases. The current Fashion Polly dolls sold by Mattel differ significantly from those originally sold by Bluebird Toys. The original Bluebird dolls were less than one inch tall and made of hard plastic. Mattel's are two to three inches tall and are composed of a pliable plastic with soft rubberized clothing and fashion accessories.

Polly Pocket 2 Shop Stop package

Polly was first designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 for his daughter Kate. Using a powder compact, he fashioned a small house for the tiny doll. Bluebird Toys of Swindon, England licensed the concept and the first Polly Pocket appeared in stores in 1989. 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.

In 1999, Mattel redesigned Polly and created a new series of collectible items. The new Polly doll is larger and has a more life-like appearance than the original dolls. That same 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 Ð'Ñ* inch (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, rubbery plastic clothes that could be put on the dolls and removed. There are also some boy dolls (Rick, Steven, etc.).