Tressy

When I saw my first Tressy, the doll fever really caught hold. It came about by a chance viewing of some test TV advertising one summer. Palitoy, the UK manufacturer of Tressy, was trying out some ads for its new toy ranges well ahead of the Christmas season. Among them was a trail for Tressy. It must have been some kind of test marketing that I chanced upon. I couldn’t believe my eyes – what kind of magic was this doll with the catchy jingle ‘her hair grows’ (I wonder how long it took them to think up that tag line?). In fact it was months before the actual ad aired on TV, and I began to think I must have dreamed it. But no – it came to pass, and once Tressy was screened in all her shiny lock’d glory I knew I must have one. I’m still surprised that Ma (and Pa) went along with this – and all credit to them. I know I was lucky not to have had the kind of strict parents who refused point blank to buy their son a toy that was so clearly aimed at little girls.

On the last Friday of school term we were allowed to take our toys into class for a show-and-tell. I was desperate to take Tressy, but so aware that I was expected to be taking a toy truck that I persuaded the little girl from next door to take the doll in as if it were hers. I’m sure no one was fooled – as I became Barnum and Bailey, standing on a chair in the middle of the classroom proudly demonstrating all of Tressy’s known features and embellishing with some new ones made up on the spot. Her supposed ‘owner’ was unceremoniously shoved aside and not allowed to share the limelight at all.

Here’s a nostalgic look at an advertisement for Tressy shown on US TV in the 1960s. 

Tressy made quite a hit at the  USA Toy Fair in 1963. She was the concept of Jesse and Diana Dean, whose first doll was called ‘Suzy Snippet’, a 36-inch doll that none of the manufacturers were interested in. But in her second incarnation as a 12 inch doll, the American Character toy company could see the possibilities, and she was in fact their best seller ever. Tressy, although hugely popular, only lasted three years in the original form, as the company went bust and the rights were bought by Ideal, the makers of Tammy and Family. From then on Tressy appeared in a different likeness.

The Secret Strand

What set Tressy apart from other fashion dolls was her ‘Secret Strand’, a long, thick tress of hair that came out of the hole in the doll’s head. The strand could be adjusted in length by means of push belly button and a key. The selling point was that Tressy’s hair could be restyled into an endless array of fashionable hairdos. Tressy was sold under license in the UK by Palitoy and was marketed with the slogan “Tressy’s got a secret, be the one who knows. You can style Tressy’s hair to match her new high fashion wear, her hair grows”. In America, Tressy was marketed by the Ideal with the tagline “Short or Long or In-between, Tressy’s hair makes her a Queen!” The doll sold for just under $5 (in US prices).

The doll was originally made by the American Character doll company of New York. The patent for the growing hair feature was bought by Ideal and used on the 16-inch tall Chrissy doll as well as the company’s own 16-inch version of Tressy. In the UK and Canada, both Palitoy and Reliable respectively were licensed to produce Tressy.