Starla

Little did we realize when we set out that sunny June day what a treasure awaited us at, of all places, the Other Savers! I work at the Savers in Sparks, Nevada, and the Other Savers is the one in Reno. Of course my coworkers and I consider our store to be vastly superior to theirs (well, it is bigger). But with thrift stores, it's all a matter of being in the right place at the right time. We had some donations to make, since Auntie Berman was getting ready to move away (and sadly, she has done so) and since many of the items were things I never wanted to see again, we took them to the Other Savers. (Here I might add that sometimes we donate things to my store and then accidentally buy them again, but that just shows that our taste is consistent.)

Anyway, as we checked out the Toy Wall, I noticed that their toy bags were much bigger than ours (and more expensive). I think it was Auntie Berman who spotted the larger-than-Barbie size doll in a bag and closer inspection revealed it to be a Tonner doll!

"What are the odds of finding me in a thrift store!"

There was a Barbie and some other small toys in the bag with her and the price was $5.99. Because she had just been put out that day, I couldn't buy her with my employee discount so Auntie Berman bought her at full price. And here I must say that when we made the donation, the guy asked us if we wanted a 20% off coupon and I carelessly said "Oh no, I'm an employee so we don't need it." Auntie Berman has not let me forget that. We later stopped at a Salvation Army store and bought a sock for her to wear, although it didn't fit as nicely as Casilda's.

When we got home I began to search for her identity. On the back of her head it says Effanbee Doll Company Inc. ©2004. On the small of her back it says ©2003 Tonner Doll Company Inc. I started with the Effanbee Company website and thought she looked a little bit, but not totally, like Brenda Starr. Then I went to the Tonner website and thought I searched thoroughly through their archived catalogs but still couldn't find her. So I emailed the Tonner Company and a very nice lady named Michelle helped me figure out that she (the doll) was Betty Ann, Brenda Starr's friend. They only had her for a couple of years, around 2006. Michelle said "Still working and now that we solved this wonderful mystery, it’s 2006 Mainline Collection, scroll to Effanbee and you will see her, it’s the Basic Betty Ann!! YAY!  Mystery solved, you’ll see her in full view…so fun! Glad we could help, those dates are basically meaningless as we use them for many years and also we used the Tonner updated bodies on Effanbee too so they had the bendy wrists!"

Here is what she looked like in the catalog.

Brenda Starr, Daphne Dimples, Betty Ann

I wonder why Betty Ann didn't have a last name? I named her Starla. I have a Wayfarers Inn doll named Starla but they don't mind sharing the same name. 

Of course I made her a swimsuit.

Possibly there's a bit too much cleavage.

I found a pair of Barbie shorts that just fit her, along with a Barbie shirt that was too big.

"Well, it's better than a sock."

And then I attempted to make her a dress using a Barbie pattern that I biggified, with not very good results.

"This dress makes me look dowdy!"

I have photographed her with Trouty Boy, one of our two trout shaped pillows that are excellent neck pillows. They are both named Trouty Boy but mine only has one eye. I keep meaning to give him another one, because I have a whole package of googly eyes, but somehow I never remember to do it.

Next I will try this Gene dress  because I really like bias-cut dresses. Gene is the same size as Betty Ann, although made by a different company.

Because they were both designed by Robert Tonner, I thought Starla and Lorraine might get along well.

"Surely we're not really related!"

They were polite to each other, but that's all.

Now if I can just walk into a thrift store and find Havana St. John  http://www.tonnerdoll.com/brenda-starr/havana-st-john with or without his eye patch!