A rare beauty from Italy shows off mid-century fashions to perfection. The Bold Doll travels to Milan to find out more.
Sonia is an unusual doll from the late 1950s and early 60s, made at the Ottolini factory in Milan, Italy. She was created using mache-plastic, which consists of a light coating of plastic over a papier-mache or cardboard base. This material can resemble celluloid, but it is not so brittle or thin.
Blonde Sonia, (right) in a sleek side-parted bob, is ready for her night out in a well-fitted sheath dress of bottle green lace with a sheer bodice, and subtle sequin embellishments. It fastens at back with a zipper for figure-hugging elegance. Painted shoes match her dress. The doll at left is a cheap Hong Kong clone made of lightweight blown vinyl. The eyes are fixed and the shoes are not molded, but the face sculpt and the arms show a close resemblance to the Ottolini dolls. This knock-off doll wears a black cocktail dress, overlaid with black and silver lace-effect tulle, featuring a sheer bodice and sleeves. She carries a bouquet of yellow lilies – nothing says luxury like a bunch of plastic flowers.
Mache-plastic was never used in the USA, but it was a popular material in Europe from the late 1940s to early 60s. The medium was used for a wide range of dolls from high quality to inexpensive. The Ottolini dolls were at the top end of the scale.
A couple of bridal belles, all set to get to the church on time. The bride is resplendent is a tailored jacket-style dress with an abundance of self-covered satin buttons, Peter Pan pointed collar, and a pleated peplum. The satin skirt is overlaid with lavishly pleated tulle. Her outfit is complete with a matching veil and a coronet of fabric flowers. No plastic foliage for this beauty. The brunette hair is set in the simple side-part style favored for these dolls. Painted pearlescent shoes complete the look. La mama wears a chic two-piece suit in fine cream barathea worsted. Ottolini couture at it’s most pared-down finest. The outfit is offset with a bold fabric flower and a head-turning picture hat, both in contrasting brown to match the shoes. Dark blonde hair in a classic 1960s set.
If you are looking to buy these vintage dolls today, they are easier to find in their home market of Italy. But as some were sold internationally, featuring in Toy Trader of 1962, they may occasionally be sourced in Europe and the USA.
Or in this case, an Italian one. Sonia in full bloom sports this extravagantly printed 1950s cotton sleeveless dress with full skirt and sweetheart neckline. There are two patch pockets and a wrap in case of an unexpected summer breeze. Matching red painted shoes, and the de rigueur row of pearls are featured.
These are big dolls! Sonia is 25” tall, and has a passing (though probably not accidental) resemblance to Jackie Kennedy – except for the striking blue, flirty eyes. The eye mechanism can be fragile, as the eyes open and close as well as moving from side-to-side. The eye armature is attached to the inside of the head, at the bridge of the nose, with a blob of glue which can easily detached if the doll is roughly handled. If you see a doll with missing eyes, and a rattling noise when gently shaken, this is probably what’s happened. All is not lost, as if the wig is removed, and the top of the head sawn off (the doll has a glued-on head pate), the eyes can be carefully re-attached – with patience.
The dolls shown here wear the signature white and gold enamel Sonia pin (top). Other labels are the red and gold triangular Ottolini wrist tag, and the tricolor ‘Made in Italy’ paper label which was attached to the clothing (sometimes inside). These items are generally missing, due to age and fragility. Brand marks at back of neck and the fragile eye mechanics (middle). Sonia was packaged in a generic doll box (below) used for a variety of the company’s offerings (bottom).
Sonia’s figure is shapely and elongated, with elegant limbs and hands. She has high heels that are molded in the manner of Bild Lilli, with holes in the soles of her feet to allow for a stand. The original stand is off-white, circular plastic with a central prong to insert into one of the feet.
Two dolls in examples of floral fabrics often chosen by Ottolini designers. At left, a harder to find long-haired brunette Sonia in a puffball chiffon dress with sturdy horse hair lining to maintain the shape. The uncompromising print is pleated at the bodice, with caplet sleeves and a full skirt. The pin is the rarely seen green variant. Pearlescent off-white shoes once matched the background color of the dress which has yellowed with age. The blonde Sonia models a sweet afternoon tea dance dress in floral print nylon with a ruched nylon overlay. This was the wonder fabric of the era. V-neck bodice with three-quarter sleeves and a flared, gathered skirt. Painted shoes of metallic blue coordinate with the dress.
This doll is eminently displayable. The costuming was an important feature – there were tailored sheath dresses, cotton prints, and elegant flowered chiffons, all with an emphasis on chic daywear; shoes were painted in a color to coordinate with the doll’s ensemble. A trademark single row of pearls is a often featured. The dolls were sold wearing a small rectangular gold pin bearing the name ‘Sonia’.
Knitted ribbed sheath dresses were featured towards the end of Sonia’s production. Skimming the figure, they fastened at back with a zipper for that quintessentially 1960s silhouette. The dark-haired doll has a more shaggy hairstyle than is usual for Ottolini. Her off-white dress features a high neck and coordinates with the painted shoes. Blonde Sonia, with a darker, more tan skin tone, is in a turtle neck dress in red with a matchy-matchy shoe combo. A word of warning: the vintage synthetic yarn used for the ribbed dresses can interact with the bodies of the dolls, melting into the plastic. Where this has happened the clothing is impossible to remove without destroying it and the surface of the doll’s body is significantly damaged. A similar phenomenon can occur with Hong Kong Lilli dolls.
Luckily, for identification purposes, the dolls are marked Ottolini C&D / Mod.Dep / Made in Italy. Human hair wigs were used, usually in shades of blonde or brunette. They were mainly cut in the side-parted, short, sleek style of the 1960s. An exception is the longer-haired black doll, which is a more rare item. This doll is a black-painted version of the white doll, with blue eyes, and a long black wig. She is dressed in a multi-colored skirt of felt strips, a white necklace, matching earrings, and a red vest.
Ottolini made one black Sonia doll, created by re-painting the standard doll with a darker skin tone. In common with many manufacturers of the time, no effort was made to change the ethnicity of the sculpt, or the eye color. The doll was dressed in a felt outfit of multi-colored ‘grass’ skirt, red vest, white beads, and hoop earrings. The shoes pick up the color of the vest.
Sonia was sold boxed, as a dressed doll only. Each one was styled with care as a standalone item, with great thought put into the overall look and color scheme. There was no separate wardrobe of clothes available. For the collector this means a representative selection involves amassing a number of these gargantuan beauties. Good luck with finding enough space to display them all.
This blonde doll with bangs and a flip is a clone made by a rival Italian maker, Victor Products – Giocattoli in Confezioni Speciali. She has a similar sculpt to, and shares the strung construction of Sonia, but has smaller, non-flirty eyes. Her simple beach wrap with yellow bathing suit underneath, has a less sophisticated design than the Ottolini dolls. Really not sure about the wisdom of those heels on the beach.
A close-up of the elegant Ottolini molded high-heel foot. The styling bears more than a nod to German Bild Lilli dolls, with a cartoon chic reminiscent of Katie Keene and Jessica Rabbit.
An even more elusive, and slightly odd, doll is the 20” Simpatica. Generally blonde, although dark-haired versions are more rarely found, the doll has the Sonia head and arms, but a shorter teenage torso, and legs with flat feet. Styled as the early teen version of Sonia, the head does not look especially disproportionate, but the arms are way too long and slender. Overall she looks oddly proportioned and appears less attractive than her big sister, although she is clearly a similarly high-quality offering from Ottolini.
Three dolls (one above, two below) from the Ottolini stable. Above: The oddly-proportioned Simpatica doll. The little sister to Sonia recklessly (and ill-advisedly) uses some of her body parts. She wears her signature pink pin. The next doll below has recognizably Ottolini face paint, and features an adult body with toddler arms and legs. The final doll below is a toddler wearing an alternative Ottolini wrist tag with the company’s lion motif. Again the distinctive face-up is evident.
A selection of fabrics carefully chosen by the manufacturer for making Sonia’s wonderfully constructed fashion doll wardrobe.
This feature originally appeared in Fashion Doll Quarterly magazine in 2018.
Here are some some extras!
Sonia takes to the air in a finely-tailored flight attendant uniform, complete with badges and cap. The shoes are matchy-matchy – natchy. Who doesn’t love an air hostess?
Time to pick up a few essentials from the local high street. I wonder if the lingerie boutique has any nylons in stock? If not, I’m sure there’s a GI around here somewhere. Sonia is proof against the weather in her belted gabardine mac-and-scarf combo, looks like it’s reversible from green to greige. Just the thing to keep the rain off her elegant beige woolen day dress.
Ever-chic in a daring short-sleeve navy wool worsted coat, with gathered waist detail and oversized buttons. Topped off with a daringly high hat with grosgrain ribbon trim. Sonia’s fitted day dress in toning pale blue adds a little sparkle in the weave. Navy shoes and a little silk neckerchief complete the look.