Around 1988 Multi-Toys released a Dorothy "Dress-Up Costume" for 11-inch fashion dolls (Barbie dolls and look-alikes are often referred to as "fashion dolls"; I call the look-alikes "Barbie clones"). The Dorothy costume was packaged with a Tinman costume for Ken dolls (and Ken clones, too). There were also Wicked Witch, Cowardly Lion, Glinda and Scarecrow costumes. I believe the costumes are no longer in production.

The dress-up costume consisted of a dress similar to Judy's dress in the film, though it's a darker blue than the movie costume. Dark blue stockings, red plastic shoes, and a vinyl mask were also included. I bought one at Toys-R-Us and kept it in the box for a long time. I think it cost about $8.00. I've only seen one other dress-up kit since 1989. It was for sale by a private collector at $10.00. I don't think they have appreciated much in value, but they are very hard to find.

I finally decided to put the costume on a doll, but it took some time to find just the right doll. Most Barbies (and 11" fashion dolls) seem to be blondes, and I just couldn't imagine a blonde Dorothy! Eventually, I found a "Cut and Style Barbie" with auburn hair. The hair color is at least similar to Judy's.

I cut and styled the hair waist-length and put a large blue ribbon in her hair. Her hair had bangs, which bothered me at first, but they proved essential in hiding the top edge of the mask. Her hair is straight with just a bit of a wave. I wanted to style it like Judy's hair in the second half of the movie, but I couldn't get it to curl. I'm not really all that experienced at styling doll hair (how do they do that?!?).

The mask was held on with an elastic cord that showed from the sides. And the cord had a tendency to come loose. I would often find Dorothy sitting there with her face slid down and resting on her chest (looked rather bizarre!). So, I finally dispensed with the cord and just glued the mask on.

I thought the stockings and shoes were really rather unattractive, so I posed the doll seated, with her legs crossed and bare-foot. She sat on top of my computer monitor for a long time, but now she sits on a small table next to my computer (she prefers being over there with the other dolls). She is really quite pretty, though she doesn't look much like Judy.

This doll is fun to photograph. I think she's very pretty, and somehow she sort of looks like a glamour type. I've even used her for the Judy Garland Dollhouse homepage icon (in the past). So, I've included a few extra photos of her below.

Judy Garland Database ©1995-2007 Jim Johnson - see copyright statement