Dawn Dolls

Dawn was essentially a poor man’s Barbie . . . but sexier, funkier and a bit hipper!

Released by Topper Toys in 1970, she was six and a half inches tall, her blonde hair and dark eyelashes were rooted, and her hand-painted makeup was, by all accounts, pretty fantastic.

A hundred different poses were possible, Topper promised, and they surrounded their ingénue with more than just flexibility. They surrounded her with plenty of fun friends.

In the first year, there was Dale (an African-American beauty), Angie (a brunette) and Glori (a redhead). The next year saw the arrival of the twisty-armed ‘Dancing’ line: Jessica, Longlocks, Gary, Ron and Van. Just by their names you could tell this was a groovy crew!

Each Dawn doll came with a two-pronged plastic pedestal that she or he could stand on, instructions that explained how to make the dolls ‘walk,’ a pair of shoes, and for the girls, a stock mini-dress outfit, and a pair of white underwear (which Barbie, by the way, was apparently no stickler for).

The ‘Model Agency’ line was released in 1972, which featured five more friends for Dawn who were a bit more glamorous than the free-wheelin’ Dawns of old.

There was a Majorette line, a Flower Fantasy Dawn edition (our party girl in a plastic flower pot stand, surrounded by brightly-colored flora and fauna), Dawn’s Disco, Dawn’s Action Car, and carrying cases to pack her and her friends away in.

Unfortunately, Topper went bankrupt in 1973.