Vintage Pose, Boudoir & Bradley Dolls
I’ve recently become a little obsessed with another type of doll. The vintage pose doll. I’ve been planning an article on them for awhile now but digging up information on them proves more difficult than digging up a beautiful doll at a swell bargain! One blogger writes, “Certainly, Bradley Dolls don’t have the stunning quality of Madame Alexander dolls or those dear Betsy McCalls, but they’ve got nostalgia in spades.” I have to agree with that, just one glance at that kitschy face and many are hooked!
These dolls, manufactured in Korea and Japan by Bradley in 1954 to 1984, were most popular in the 1970s. They were known as boudoir dolls most often although they were also known as stockinette dolls, pose dolls, cloth dolls, southern bell dolls and more. A small selection of these kind of dolls have the big eyes and craved-for kitschy appearance. Many more of the dolls made by Bradley had more delicate and realistic features according to a catalog I saw in another blog.
Lucky for us, in addition to the dolls with victorian fashion, Bradley also put out a line of mod cloth dolls in the 1960s. These dolls had cute, cropped haircuts, big hair bumps and sweet, mini mod dresses and costumes.
I found my first pose doll years ago in a large thrift store. She is a bunny doll which I’ve found, upon searching online auctions, was another semi-common style of pose doll. She won me over with one look and I’ve been hooked ever since. I had been hoping to find a pose doll for ages after falling in love with both Ayumi Uyama’s and Boopsiedaisy’s work. More recently I’ve been ogling these dolls again and I’ve decided to buy a girl for customizing. How exciting! I’ll show you her soon. Hopefully you’ll get to see a before and after!
Do you own or want to own any of these beautiful dolls? 
All of the photos seen here are by Boopsiedaisy, Ayumi Uyama and myself.
AND it gets better. I happened to be surfing around Flickr, another obsession of mine, when I found out that Super*Junk actually makes and sells pose doll kits. Gasp. The day I have one in my grubby hands is the day I am a very, VERY happy girl.
About the Author
Artist & designer that has a madmad obsession with whimsy and color.
Um.. where exactly do i buy them? is there like an online website?
Try eBay, thrift stores, antique stores and of course Etsy!
I had never heard of this type of doll. I guess they were the precursor to Blythe and Pullips? This was an interesting article. Thanks for sharing. -hollychihuahua from Gain Blog Readers on S-B
I had these dolls when I was little and I still have 2, I bought mine at the op shop.,I love them.hugs glenda
Definitely want the bunny doll.
And holy shniz kitty faces!
Adorably Dead (Gain readers and comments)- swapbot
Ohh I think these dolls are so cute. I’m into asain ball jointed dolls myself and I love original and unique types of dolls. Thanks for posting! Ilona from swap bot.
Oh my gosh I used to have a small collection of the Southern Belle dolls when I was a kid. What memories.
Glory (Sauterelle) from Swapbot
Aww the bunny doll is so cute! I love your blog a lot; you’ve got a new subscriber ^^
i like them too, i find them all the time at second hand stores in ensenada baja california.
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hi everybody, am 20, a guy from rwanda that is in Africa, and i just
i wanna do anything to see a cat smile :smile:
i like them too, i find them all the time at second hand stores in
Fixed!
Awww, thanks so much for your message, Jodie! This is the whole reason I started
I always get made fun of, being a 29 year old who can never resist
Aww the bunny doll is so cute! I love your blog a lot; you’ve got
Such beautiful inspiration! Love them all <3
This is so cute! I love surprise balls and always wondered how they were made.
I remember these gumball machines, and still love them after all these years! I, too,
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