Petra von Plasty

The wonderfully-named German doll from the mid-1960s is a Barbie clone collector favorite. We took a look at some of her outfits.

While Barbie and Skipper were growing up in Willows, Wisconsin, on the other side of the world, their somewhat unfortunate-looking cousins were being created in Germany.

Illustrations from the original Petra von Plasty packaging

Petra von Plasty was introduced at the Nuremberg Toy Fair of 1965, together with 16 outfits. She was a much cheaper alternative to her American counterpart, and during the first year of production 460,000 dolls and a million outfits were sold.

Of course Mattel tried to sue and at the end of that first year there was a patent infringement case over the similarity of the dolls – which, somewhat remarkably, the Plasty Company won.

An early Petra von Plasty (left), oh-so-cheaply made yet strangely compelling. Hair by Terence Oldham. For reference she is shown here with Mily GéGé (right), the French entry to the 60s teen fashion doll pageant. Print mini shift dress from the Alameda Fashion Doll Club. See lots more clone dolls here…

Little sister Peggy was added in 1966, and in 1967 a new head mold, twist waist and bendable legs were added in reaction to the Barbie twist ‘n’ turn dolls.

In common with Barbie and Skipper, Peggy and Petra did the matchy-matchy sisters’ shtick. The two dolls borrowed liberally from their US cousins’ wardrobes, a memorable example is the knockoff, and shoddily-made Orange Blossom set, which nevertheless does have a certain charm. Barbie aficionados will find other ‘tributes’ to Miss Roberts in Petra’s closet, most notably Solo in the Spotlight.

Above and below, a sampling of Petra von Plasty’s mod era outfits. Above are 5722, 5723, 5732. The names of the outfits are perhaps less imaginative than Barbie’s, but they do have the benefit of numerical efficiency.
5701, 5702, 5703, and the wittily named 5704. The print quality of these publicity shots is poor, as were the production values for both dolls and outfits!
5705 was, appropriately enough, followed by 5706, and 5707
A close-up of 5705 in the box. An office-ready outfit of hounds-tooth check pleated skirt teamed with a turtle-neck sweater, and coordinating pumps and bag.
5708, 5709, skiing in 5710 (really the only number suitable for this activity), and 5711
Petra’s bridal gown 5712 (is this Cockney rhyming slang?), 5713, and 5714
5715, 5716, 5717, and 5718. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to write anything more about these numbers.
Showing off the bend legs and twist-n-turn waits, outfits 5719, 5720, and 5721
5724, 5725, 5726, and 5727. Yes, I do realize that it’s perfectly possible to read these for yourself from the picture.
That’s it for the outfits! 5728, 5729, 5733, and 5734. No idea what happened to 5730 and 5731, rare little-known collector’s items, perhaps?
At last, some accessories. Luxuriously labeled 5789, and 5779.

Unlike the flighty Barbie doll, the demure Miss Petra did not have a boyfriend. The male companion created by Plasty was styled as her brother, Fred von Plasty, perhaps as a nod towards one of the founders of the company, Friedrich Podey.

For much more information about these dolls, see Petra and Plasty: Their History by Karin Schrey. Please note that this link opens as a pdf, depending on your browser, you might need to download and open in Acrobat to view it.

You can find more Petra outfits, shown in full glorious black and white, by following this link.

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