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PETITE FASHIONS by Day-Fran, L.J.N. Toys and others

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The name "Petite", "Petite Doll Clothes" and "Petite Fashions" were used by more than one manufacturer. The fashions were not limited to outfits made for the 6-1/2" fashion doll, either, but these are the only ones addressed here. Along with "Lisa Fashions", "Premier", and M&S Shillman, "Petite" doll fashions were some of the more popular and well-made outfits for miniature fashion dolls. They come up often, either MIB or loose, complete or in pieces, at auctions. It is uncertain which company first began producing doll clothes under this name, but at least two can be identified by the packaging. Day-Fran, which also made "Lisa Doll Clothes" , sold their designs under the name "Petite Doll Clothes". Their packaging was generally white with pink trim, and a solid pink back to the box with no additional available fashions shown. None of the fashions were named. L.J.N. Toys Ltd., of New York, used a mostly pink box with the additional fashions shown on the back. Each fashion had a name. A second series of fashions was sold in a lime green box trimmed in purple, and again there were additional outfits featured on the back, and again, each fashion had a name.  A third series of unnamed fashions was made, packaged in a blue and lime-green striped box. There were at least two other companies which manufactured doll clothes under the "Petite" name, but I am unable to determine their names. The boxes are designed differently, however.  The first packaging is a solid green, and the boxes appear to be smaller than those used by Day-Fran or L.J.N. The second set of fashions are sealed in simple blister cards printed in yellow and blue, and seem to be made much later than the early 1970's.

YELLOW AND BLUE BLISTER CARDS

I have only seen this come up once on an auction site, and have little to no information about them. The fact that there is French written on the card indicates these were probably made in Canada. The photos show dolls that seem to have been made specifically for these fashions, and I remember the auction listing as having mentioned they would fit Dawn-sized dolls. Beyond that, I have no clue about these, but present them here for identification purposes. If anyone has any of these dolls and/or fashions, please let me know at ldcraig@whos-that-doll.com. Thanks!

I apologize for the poor quality of the photo above, but it's all I have.

Back of card

DARK GREEN BOXED FASHION unknown manufacturer

I don't have many photos of the Petite fashions MIB in the dark green box, but I realized I actually had a handful of the fashions themselves. It took some serious scrutiny under a jeweler's loop to identify them, and I've included those photos here as well. None of these fashions have names.

Black lace pantsuit

Back of dark green box

This outfit is shown in the bottom left corner of the back of the dark green box. It's really sheer, so Dawn insisted on wearing a bra under it.

You can see this fashion on the front of the dark green Petite box, in the lower right-hand corner.

Blue-gray sheer pantsuit (I have this, but mine is missing the ribbon belt. I'll post a photo soon.)

I may have one other Petite fashion from the dark green box series. It is similar to the mini-dress shown in the middle of the top row on the back of the box, with the exception that mine is blue, not red. I will try to get a picture posted soon.

L.J.N. TOYS

BLUE AND GREEN STRIPED BOXED FASHIONS

I'm going to put this series first, only because the fashions have no names. However, you may notice that a few of these are nearly identical to some of the fashions in the lime green boxes, below, that do have names.

Black and red poncho, striped tights

Red blouse, black pleather skirt, scarf

Back of green and blue striped box

Striped pantsuit with fringed pleather vest (I have this pantsuit loose and will post a picture as soon as I can.)

Red pleather or velveteen skirt and vest set

Brown felt tunic with braided belt

LIME GREEN BOXED FASHIONS

Below is a rather large image of the back of the lime green fashion box. I kept this as large as I could, because you can just make out the names of the other fashions offered: Main Event, Simply Suede, Easy Rider, Spot 'O Lime, Lemon-Lime, Star Shine, Eternally Yours, Viva El Poncho, Roman Holiday, Smoke Signals, Matinee Midi and Pleasant Peasant.

Easy Rider

Lemon Lime

Main Event

Eternally Yours

Star Shine

Viva El Poncho

Smoke Signals

Matinee Midi

I have a few more Petite fashion from the lime-green box series which are loose, including "Eternally Yours", "Easy Rider" (without the blouse), and "Roman Holiday" (which I've had for a few years and didn't know what it was). When time permits, I will get some photos taken and post them here.

Pleasant Peasant

PINK BOXED FASHIONS

Arguably some of the most well-known clone fashions out there. I think everyone has a set of "Positively Pants" in their collection, or "Cozy Casual". A couple of interesting notes here: "Blushing Bride" is shown as a full-length gown, but the actual fashion only comes down to mid-calf. "Cozy Casual" came in both a light-blue and dark-blue version for the pants---the top stayed the same colors, but the banding at the neck and hem might run vertically or horizontally. "Jade Jumper" may or may not have a gem in the middle of the halter-top. "Groovy Gear" was used by Topper Corporation for a fashion made for the male dolls of their line. "Positively Pants" (as confirmed by the Dawn-collecting community) came in three variations, as seen below.

Positively Pants

Back of Pink Box

Three versions of "Positively Pants": at the far left is the most commonly-seen pink floral with blue background. The blue may, over time, oxidize to a purple color. In the middle is the pink floral with a green background, and at the far right is a yellow floral version with a pink background.

Naughty Nightie (I de-boxed this one before I made sure I had taken a photo of it still MIB...d'oh!)

(Veil is not original)

Blushing Bride

Sizzling Silver

Cozy Casual

Jade Jumper

Enchanted Evening

This is one fashion that definitely looks better on the doll than it does in the photo above. The fabric used here, pink with silver threads, was used by other manufacturers of doll fashions at the time. M&S Shillman and Premier both used it for long-sleeved tunic tops over silver lame pants.

Star Studded

Designers must have thought magic would hold the belt because it's only that and a lot of faith keeping it in place.

Groovy Gear

Stars 'n Stripes

Short 'n Sweet

Fabulous Fringe

DAY-FRAN

All of the Day-Fran manufactured Petite fashions were unnamed, and sold in pink and white boxes with plain backs; no additional fashions were shown. The "Petite" logo, however is the same style as used on the LJN Toys fashions. Some of the fashions manufactured by Day-Fran are similar to outfits sold under other names, such as "Lisa Fashions", "Debbie Teen" and even "Fashion World" (the lace party dress with the brocade bodice, to be specific). It is unknown if Day-Fran made those fashions for other toy companies---such as Dandee Toys, which made the "Fashion World" outfits---or if they simply made them to sell by another name under their own roof. I will apologize in advance for the poor quality of some of these photos; they're all I've got to work with.

Blue baby-doll nightie (Similar to "Naughty Nightie", above)

Black and gold brocade bodice dress with gray pleated skirt (This same outfit was sold by S.S. Kresge for their "Jeanie" doll.)

Orange and white mini with gold trim and matching panties (Cute, cute, cute! I wish it was mine!)

Black and orange geometric top with yellow pants

Orange diamond brocade mini

Close-up of orange diamond mini Note the tea set which comes with it...cute!

Fringed orange pantsuit

Pink sweater coat

Red baby-doll nightie This fashion is similar to a never-produced Topper Dawn fashion called "Dream Scene"

White lace dress with brocade bodice

Two versions of a beach cover-up; the one on the left uses a polka-dot fabric, while the one on the right uses the same pink, silver-threaded fabric used in "Elegant Evening" above.

Pink taffeta robe

Pink and silver evening gown (White lace over a pink underskirt; an all-white version was also sold, see far right)

Metallic silver tunic and leggings Petite's version of Topper's "Silver Au Go-Go"

The colors of the stripes may vary on this dress, but notice the length of the skirt. It's above Dawn's knee. If you have one that comes down below the knee, it probably belongs to S.S. Kresge's "Jeanie" doll.

Striped mini with yellow rick-rack trim (This style is mainly an A-line dress, with no gathered waist)

Striped mini with gold braid trim (This style is similar to Dawn's "Grecian" dancing minis, with a gathered waist)

Tennis outfit Variation with red, white and blue ribbon; Petite's version of Topper's "What A Racket!"

Tennis outfit Variation with red ribbon at waistband

Purple and white striped mini (The general consensus in the Dawn-collecting community is that this mini came in a variety of color combinations.)

Wedding dress Lace used is same as on Topper's "Wedding Bell Dream"

Wedding dress Variation lace on skirt--the pattern runs horizontally instead of vertically.

Obviously there were a bunch of dirty old men designing these fashions. Who would wear this in public???

White lace pantsuit

Yellow and black pantsuit (Similar to the orange and black one above, in the photo you can't see very clearly.)

Yellow mini with matching panties, similar to the orange one above

Yellow halter-top jumpsuit The one above is shown with red or pink shoes. I have also seen one with yellow shoes in the package.

Yellow raincoat