Babysitter Courtney 1990

13.11.2018

Much as I love the 1987 Skipper headmold in each of its three forms, it’s taken me a long time to finally add Courtney to my collection. But she’s very rare in my country and if for some strange and inexplicable reason she happens to be for sale, the price is always outrageous and discouraging. Ebay offers a much wider variety and the prices are more reasonable as well … if you happen to live in the US, which I don’t, so I need to add the very high shipping costs and customs fees which combined, double the price of the doll itself. Very nasty indeed, but I can be patient if I have to and I waited and searched and in the end I found her. There she was, cute and sweet and for sale in my own country (hoooorayyyy), for bidding – no buy now option (oh noooo) and two other participants eager to get her too ( oh well ). I identified the doll momentarily as the Babysitter Courtney 1990 – one of my top 3 Courtneys ever so I joined them and I battled fiercely and relentlessly, and in the end no-one was more astonished by my victory than myself.

Now some historical facts – Courtney was first produced in 1988 as a part of the Teen Time series as a brunette counterpart to Skipper. Courtney entered Barbie’s universe as Skipper’s best friend and shared her headmold and body type, her eyes would vary between brown, green and blue depending on a series. She was released once a year with an exception of 1992 till 2000 when she was discontinued but within those several years she changed her image twice. The first modification took place in 1995 when her headmold changed to the “Pizza Party” which is slightly more mature and more realistic looking. Her body at that time remained unchanged, however it was slightly modified in the 1996 Phone Fun series as her right arm was bent so that she could hold her phone by the ear. In 1996 she changed completely as the Teen Courtney. She grew up pretty much to the height of Barbie and was given a new headmold. She was still a brunette, but there were some copper streaks to her hair and a year later she was a redhead all the way.

My Courtney arrived in a very decent condition, her face was dirty but her saran hair still very soft and silky. Her fringe was nowhere to be seen and needed a lot of work and effort in order to resurface. The bangs are rooted in the second row, the first row is the regular length, and for the doll to regain her fringe I had to criss-cross each hair plug! One hour, two bleeding fingers and much swearing later the doll had her fringe again, though it was fierce and unruly like Wet’n Wild Skipper’s! It’ll still need some work, but for now I’m at least satisfied with the pigtails. The doll couldn’t be more adorable and the dark hair give the big-eye mold an entirely different look. It also goes very well with her two-toned green eyes and the two lower eyelashes make her eyes smile. She’s very perky. Her make-up is minimal but she is wearing some smoky baby blue eyeshadow- an absolute must for the dolls of that period and a vibrant pink lipstick.

 

The doll is lovely and my only regret is that she didn’t come complete in her own outfit and with her accessories. Instead, her previous owner put together a top belonging to the Trendy Teen fashion #774 and an unidentified skirt or apron, no shoes of course. I’d promised myself that if I won the auction, I’d buy her a fashion pack I’ve been salivating over ever since I bought my very first Skipper doll. It’s already arrived but I’ll dedicate a separate entry to present it as it’s worth it, but for now my Courtney is wearing a lovely Pet Pals dress and a pair of random shoes because I cannot bear a doll with no shoes in my collection. I think that this dress does become her.

Courtney’s stock outfit was very simple and that’s what I love about it. It consisted of a puffy sleeve top and a skirt both white with neon green and pink splotches all over them. Her shoes were of course viciously green. I’d love to have her accessories as well and my favorite piece is the green Walkman that could actually open for you to place a miniscule cassette inside which would probably be lost within the first hour of playing with the doll but I appreciate the idea, the effort and the attention to detail. Courtney is a babysitter in this series so of course she comes with an infant dressed in a pink ruffle one-piece. Good luck hearing the baby’s cry with that Walkman on. Skipper went all the way, Mattel gave her a boombox so no chance of sleep for the baby unless the soothing voices of Backstreet Boys lull it to sleep. Anyway, Courtney was also given a bottle of milk, a container of baby powder, some soap on a tray, a tiny blanket, a rattle, a doll for the baby and a sheet of punch-outs. The below commercial shows all these treasures and there’s Skipper of course. The series also included AA Skipper.

My Courtney doll has already joined her friends and made me want to include even more Courtneys to my collection. I’d love to have them all, but my favorites are Teen Time Courtney 1988 and Cool Crimp Courtney 1993. Of course the Cool Tops Courtney 1989 is lovely too, and then there’s Kevin and Skipper AA, and … oh dear!