Takara Takara doll

Subtitle: When Mascots Go Wrong

I’m actually not sure if this is a Takara Barbie or a Takara Jenny, but here’s an absolutely adorable doll dressed in a very problematic outfit. I wonder if her official name is something like Takara Mascot Barbie.

The idea is a neat one: dress Barbie/Jenny in an outfit celebrating her parent company, Takara. The problem is Takara’s mascot at the time (mid-’80s), Dakko-chan, an offensive golliwog figure. Dakko-chan has been redesigned, but I remain conflicted over this doll in my collection from Japan.

Take away the mascot all over her outfit and you’re left with some pretty wonderful ’80s fashion: cropped striped overalls with oversized pockets, sleeveless layered shirt, ankle boots, and big earrings.

The crest on her overalls reads “Dakko-Chan Club/Since 1960.” This is a common detail added to Japanese fashion. I’ve seen it on shirts and jackets: “The [Whatever] Club/Since 19[XX]”

She’s such a sweet looking doll, but OHMYGoodness whyWHYwhy those earrings? I mean, I know why, but it’s unfortunate.

And here’s a closeup of the offending earring: a pink Dakko-chan dangling on a white flower. The flower can be worn alone as an earring, but with the mascot literally everywhere else on this outfit, changing the earring doesn’t help much.

The print on her shirt features the mascot along with the name “Dakko-chan” in bold red caps.

Here’s Barbie/Jenny’s cute little flower ring. I do love the huge pockets on the overalls with the yellow dart.

I haven’t been able to find any information on this doll. I would love to know if it’s a Jenny or Barbie and especially the name of the doll. Please comment if you know anything about her.

UPDATE

I found two sites with more information about this doll. On a whim, I searched for “Dakko-Chan Club,” and it turns out that’s the name of the doll. She’s a Jenny and apparently a rare one. The blue boots are not native to this particular doll. You can see in the photo below that she’s wearing pink high-top sneakers (which I do still have).

Image from http://homepage1.nifty.com/pyonpy-room/JeDakko.html