We continue with pictures of outfits sold by various catalog outlets.

Note: Please refrain from nicking things off of this site for your eBay auctions. We know you'd like to give evidence as to the authenticity of your item, however, it is much preferred that you embed a hyperlink in your auction to this page as many sellers have done (self included). Don't know what that is or how it works? Just email me. Happy to help.

Spiegel

The Spiegel store catalogs sold Crissy from 1969 to 1973. In 1974, they only offered Kerry and Baby Crissy. Catalog exclusive clothes were sold from 1970 to 1975 and then in 1976, they sold clothes for Baby Crissy but no other Ideal dolls.

One thing to note about the Spiegel exclusives is that many items were rather poorly made. They don't hold up to the test of time very well.

Paper "Hong Kong" tags frequently appear in the seams of Spiegel outfits that have not been used. Being that they are paper, they freqently fell out.

Only the Beautiful Crissy in her orange lace dress was sold in the 1969 Spiegel book. However, one could also buy Crissy competition! Her name was Polly. Not only did she grow hair but she came with a great case and LOTS of clothes!
Here's Polly again! Yes, you could buy Crissy and Velvet in the 1970 Spiegel catalog, but you might also like this catalog exclusive too! Polly grew hair and came with a case and clothes, just as she did the year before.
On the left, we see Velvet-sized clothes and on the right, Crissy-sized clothes. These are found in the 1970 Spiegel book. In addition to the outfits, one received a phone, hangers, a handbag, wool hair-ties, brush, comb, and jewelry for their doll.

To view a complete layout of these beautiful and hard to find 1970 Spiegel outfits for Velvet, please go here. This page really is a "must see!"

There are many variations of the plaid fabric used to create the outfit on Kerry (all outfits, 1970, Spiegel).
This complete (well, almost... the half slip is missing) 1970 Spiegel set arrived in its case with a nice doll too! This shot well illustrates the very cute little red poncho and hat.
Here is a close-up shot of that adorable poncho set.
A very nice shot of a very unusual red Spiegel telephone. This collector has three blue phones, but this red one is a first.
Here in this 1971 Spiegel catalog, are outfits for Velvet on the left and Crissy on the right. Again, accessories are included.
This photo illustrates two of the 1971 Spiegel outfits for the Velvet-sized dolls. (Left) Velvet is modeling a very sweet dress adorned with a frill at the hem. (Right) The pattern for Mia's dress and coat set was reused in 1973 and 1974 but the set was made with different fabrics. One will notice that the dress under the fuschia coat on Mia has faded. It should be a "hotter" pink. The actual color can be seen on the "Jackie-O" tie-collar of the coat.

Above: The 1971 Spiegel Catalog collection.
The photo on the right is a fully restored Black American Crissy modeling the vinyl cape and beret.
She's so pretty!

Pantsuits above, also 1971, Spiegel. The striped pantsuit (left) is presented courtesy, Sue Lloyd. The same pantsuit (right) is provided courtesy Jenny Brewer. Notice it has the scarf! Many Spiegel outfits for both sized dolls were sold with a matching scarf. Oftentimes, it is difficult to see in the photo found in the catalog.

In 1972, the Spiegel catalog offered Velvet-sized outfits on the left of this picture (below) and Crissy-sized outfits on the right.
You will see shoes being offered for Velvet. These turn up on on-line auctions pretty frequently, even though the outfits do not. They have a low heel like Velvet's usual T-strap shoe from Ideal, but they have two narrow bands over the top of the foot instead of a T-strap. They were sold with this set of clothes in white, shiny orange and black.

This is the complete set of outfits from the 1972 Spiegel book. There are some variations in the fabric, from what is shown in the catalog.

Accessories included in these sets are what really set Spiegel apart from the rest. Here are some close-up shots of the tiny rollers and the red purse that were included. These items arrived to my collection in mint condition. This little purse has a slit under the flap. This item is so "new" that the little slit hasn't even been pulled apart so that one can slip the flap in to keep it closed! Nice!

Velvet's little raincoat from 1972 is so adorable on this Look Around Velvet!
This adorable red version of Velvet's Spiegel catalog tutu, tights and shoes is certainly hard to come by. It was sold in the 1971 and the 1972 catalogs. The pink set seems to be a bit more common though sold only one year, 1970. Interestingly, it is paired with the same ill-fitting pink toe shoes that were sold with the pink 1970 version. By heating the shoe in hot water, it can be molded onto Velvet's foot.

It seems that the plastic used to create the shoe has hardened and shrunk over the years.

Please see the "go here" link above to view the 1970 collection, as well as the adorable pink tutu, tights and shoes. The entire collection is showcased on one page. I hope that you enjoy it!

These two girls look ready for a Sunday car ride in dad's convertible! This little skirt set (1972) came in many color variations. The catalog shows the top and scarf in yellow plaid.
All outfits, 1972, Spiegel for Crissy sized dolls. One will find that the blue bra/half-slip combo appears in the 1971 and 1972 Spiegel catalogs and therefore, is shown in this picture too.
Take special note of Velvet's Little Sister's shoes. These white versions are Spiegel catalog exclusives. Ideal's marking has been scratched off the bottom of the molds so the shoes are not marked Ideal. The shoes can be seen in the scan below.
The 1972 Spiegel Velvet's Little Sister outfits.
The 1973 Spiegel book LOVED Kerry! There was a Crissy doll (Talky and Swirla Curler) sold in this book... but Kerry got her own page. And some wonderful clothes were sold with her! Curiously, the Ideal Crissy Beauty Salon was sold as "for Kerry" in this book.
This same 1973 book sold their favorite Crissy competition too, Polly! Once again, she grew hair and had a case and clothes too. A very nice touch was her Camper Set
Clothes pictured here are outfits for both sized dolls, Velvet's on the left (CLICK to see the entire 1973 and 1974 Spiegel collection for Velvet), and Crissy's on the right in this 1973 Spiegel book.
This adorable little 1973 Spiegel dress, while missing its white vinyl belt, is sweet as pie on Velvet! One notices that it is made from the same plaid as several of the plaid outfits made for the larger dolls (see boxed set below for comparison). As most collectors are aware, these outfits could be made in quite a few variations of those plaid fabrics. Therefore, it's not surprising that other Spiegel outfits were made in the same fabric variations.
What? No Crissy? That is correct! Spiegel really had a thing for Kerry in the 1974 book, as they didn't even offer Crissy. One could buy Kerry alone or with the exclusive clothes for one bargain price! Baby Crissy was also sold in this catalog. And exclusive clothes were sold for her too. Read on!
Even though Velvet wasn't even sold in the 1974 book, you could buy Spiegel exclusive outfits for her. Clothes that were sold "for Crissy" weren't available. But truthfully, the aforementioned 1974 Kerry clothes were made for Crissy in previous years.
Here are the 1973 and 1974 Spiegel catalog clothes for Crissy sized dolls. Since they were the same for both years, this picture illustrates them as one group.

As I've mentioned before, I'm usually not one to mix "catalog exclusives," like the Tressy who is wearing this Spiegel dress. But she was purchased wearing it so in it she stays! There are several variations of this dress. Notice the fabric on the dress on the far right. It is identical to the fabric used to make the palazzo pants set that appears in Sears Weekender set from 1973. Even the jewelry in this photo was sold with the set (second from left and far right). There are two pantsuit variations shown. The one on the right is wearing an original to the set orange yarn hair tie. It's amazing that it survived all of these years.

Here is another variation on the above 1973 and 1974 A-line dress. This one was found "hiding" on eBay for only 99 cents!
The Spiegel outfits were shipped in a plain, nondescript brown box. One can see all of the fab items that were included in the set.
Another view.
Here are all of the 1973-74 items laid out for better viewing. The tennis set has aged to a tan shade. This is not a variation. The thread used to sew the outfit together is still white. In fact, the loose set that is being modeled on a Crissy doll above was aquired in the same condition. I used Twin Pines products (Perk! and BOOOST!) and ice water (to keep the red from running) to return it to it's original white color.
Here is a nice tight shot of Crissy's only telephone that was ever made for her, from Spiegel.
Since Baby Crissy was made available for sale in the 1974 Spiegel catalog, it was nice that they also had clothes for her too. They too, were poorly made and don't survive the test of time.
The only Ideal growing hair doll in the 1975 Spiegel catalog was Baby Crissy. Fittingly, they sold exclusive clothes for her.
Just as in the 1975, the 1976 book sold Baby Crissy and clothes for her.

In my constant quest for new information, I happened upon this set of "sample" items that were crafted by R.S. Kermani & Co. of Hong Kong. This is not the first time I've happened upon samples that were created in the Orient. My readers probably recall that the Spiegel outfits were assembled in Hong Kong and tagged this way. It is probably no coincidence then that all of the items shown in these photos were indeed added to the clothing collections sold by Spiegel.

Personally, I've only found the Spiegel hangers in pink, though they are blue in this collection. I love that the ballet shoes are the ones that came in Velvet's Spiegel collection. This set indeed, is an important find.


Click on the links to view other catalog exclusive outfits.

<<Page 1, Aldens/Gamble> <Page 2, Eatons> <Page 3, JCPenney> <Page 4, Sears (US)> <Page 5, Simpson's-Sears (Canada)> <Page 6, Spiegel> <Page 7, Wards>>

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All text and photography, © February 2006, Beth-Ellen Colvin

Last update: November 4, 2007

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