Aimée

The self-proclaimed elegant doll with beautiful hair, by Hasbro

Aimée was available in both Caucasian and Black versions. Shown here with the original retail box.

Following the success of hair-themed dolls, such as Tressy by American Character (or Palitoy in the UK), Hasbro entered this market in 1972 with Aimée. The unique selling point of this 18-inch tall doll was not a ‘growing’ stand of hair, as for Tressy and her larger cousin Crissy. Hasbro’s offering had a whole series of wigs and wiglets, attached to her head by means of painful-looking snaps that pressed directly into locator holes in her scalp. She was not a wigged doll as such, although a full wig was available, rather she had a selection of hair pieces to create a range of styles.

Aimée wears her Gold Clinger gown, and the Banana Curls hair accessories, with golden-framed cameo earrings

The doll as sold came complete with an additional long hair wiglet (or fall) as well as a wired braid. These could be combined with Aimée’s out-of-the-box hairdo to change her look. If the budding hairstylist wanted the full range, additional hairpieces were available for purchase – all packaged in pink hatbox-style containers with the doll’s signature branding debossed in gold, in the manner of contemporary cosmetics packaging. A ‘Hair Care’ styling booklet was included for guidance.

The Gala Affair outfit is teamed with Debutante hairstyle

Aimée is a vinyl doll jointed at the neck, shoulders, hips and waist – for more fashionable posing opportunities. She has amber tone sleep eyes. This doll was clearly not designed for slouching around the house, her range of outfits suggested that she spent her time attending only the best parties. Ever-dressed for cocktails and not for domestic chores, the boxed doll wore a long formal gown in a random paisley effect with gold braid trim, very on-trend for the 1970s. She had just the one pair of black high heel sandals, but since all of her gowns were floor-length this was not really an issue. Both gowns and hair-pieces had fanciful names reflecting the era, for example Gold Clinger and Flower Braids – referencing both James Bond and the Hippy movement.

Granny takes a trip in Victorian Gown and the elaborate Evening Curls hairdo

Earrings were included with the wig accessory packs, as well as with the doll herself. The ear piercings, usually hidden by copious hair, are fearsomely large. But this doesn’t make them easy to use as the earrings have large pegs which are difficult to locate in place. It’s likely that many earrings were broken by over-enthusiastic young doll owners. Similarly, the hair pieces can be frustratingly hard to snap in place. The holes in the doll’s scalp can be tricky to find amongst the rooting – even when armed with the instruction manual – compounded by the fact that hair is often rooted into the holes. One of those ideas that may have looked great on the drawing board!

Ever-fragrant, Aimée anticipates Princess Leia well before Star Wars was even thought of. The headphones-style Flower Braids are combined with the aptly-named Red Velvet Dress.

Six boxed outfits were sold separately. These were much easier to put on the doll than were the accessories. Each outfit was teamed with a complementary hairstyle, although presumably some mix-and-match was permitted.

The Vest and Gown combo is teamed up with a full wig, called … er … Full Wig

Modelling one of the key fashions of the decade, the maxi dress, Aimée wears Plaid Maxi with the Swedish Curls hairstyle

There is a curious conflict between the doll and the illustrations on the box itself. Either the illustrator had never seen Aimée, or the style of the drawings was not achieved in the finished sculpt. Nevertheless, this is one uncompromising-looking doll. You have to assume that her mother loved her. She promises an elegance and glamour that the actual product possibly fails to deliver.

The striking contrast between an artist’s impressions of Aimée and a mugshot of the doll herself, all as shown on the box. Clearly someone wasn’t paying attention.

But this quirky-looking doll does have a particular charm that appeals to some collectors. The doll was available as both Caucasian and Black models. The Black doll is much harder to find – it’s of note that Hasbro used a different (and arguably much more successful) face sculpt for this doll, deciding not to take the route of simply changing the color of the vinyl. It would be interesting to discover whether different sculptors were used for each of these dolls. It looks likely. We can speculate about whether the white doll would have been more successful had the sculptor of the Black doll been used for both.

Both styles of Aimée doll. At bottom left is an example of a hair accessory pack (Debutante) that includes a little drawer for earrings, and the Hair Style booklet.

Today, as a lesser-known character in the world of dolls, the Caucasian version of Aimée remains remarkably affordable on the secondary market. This may be due to her looks, or perhaps because she has simply been forgotten over the years.

A commercial for the doll from 1972

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Details from the booklet supplied with Aimée, showing how to achieve all of her hairstyles, and in particular how the holes in her head work.

For further reading, and more information on Aimée, there’s a great website by Beth-Ellen Colvin, crissyandbeth.com