Fashion dolls are dolls designed to be dressed and redressed to reflect fashion trends or occasionally fantasy play. The dolls are typically plastic or vinyl, and are manufactured both as toys and as collectibles. They are enjoyed by many age groups. The dolls are usually modeled after teen girls or adult women, though child, male, and even some non-human variants exist. Sizes range from 10.5 inches (270 mm) to 24 inches (610 mm). There are of course some special cases that fall outside this range. 11.5 inches (290 mm) is the size of the Barbie doll, by Mattel, who set quite a standard for many years in this arena. Gene Marshall from Ashton-Drake and Tyler Wentworth from Tonner are 15 and 16 inches (380 and 410 mm) respectively. These two dolls created a surge of interest among adult collectors. Costumers, seamstresses and other creative individuals find the fashion doll to be a great personal canvas for their work. Along with creating fashions, some individuals repaint faces, reroot hair, or occasionally do other alterations. Many of these works are one-of-a-kind OOAK. These artists are not officially connected to the original manufacturers of the dolls, but their work has in turn become sought after by some collectors. Fashion Dolls may have some historic relationship to small scaled figures and mannequins dressed by tailors and dressmakers to display fashions of their times.
