Sindy Our Pedigree Girl Of The 60's

Sindy has had some wonderful fashions thoughout her life, but many are overlooked, like the seperates and casuals for example...this section is dedicated to the shift, that simple dress, usually in no more than two parts, back and front, with crisp, clean lines, made up in any fabric your heart desires, what could be easier to wear.

It may well look rather conservative to us now, but back in the 60's the shift was a must have item in any fashion followers wardrobe.  On November 5th 1965, Jean Shrimpton, the famous fashion model, shocked Australia by arriving at the Melbourne racea with no hat, no gloves, no stockings, and a shift dress that stopped 4 inches (10cm) above her knees, a brooch was worn in the centre of the bodice near the neckline and she wore two tone kitten heels. Jean showed the world that less, really is more. and here's Sindy showing how 'less is more' to.....

The very first shift was 'Summery Days' in cool, crisp, light cotton with a bright orange check with a green strip running though it, and little green bow at the neck, perfect for those heady summery days of years gone by !

Summery days was revised a couple of years later, the same dress pattern and crisp, cool cotton, but this time the pattern was an orange and green check sprigged with little yellow daisy like flowers, a really pretty re vamp on the first edition shift.

1976 saw the first short haired Sindy since the mid 60's, Funtime. And she was issued with a shift dress. This time in beige with rust flowers and chocolate leaves and little polka dots sprinkled all over, very much the colours of the time, the sleeves were 'capped' with cream lace, and to finish off, she wore matching cream court shoes . Perfect for Sindy's summer shopping trips, or a pub lunch in a sunny garden.

Moving on a few years, the Funtime of 1980 was also issued with a shift. I love this one, my Mum had one exactly the same and we have a picture of her wearing it, me in the push chair, stolling along the prom at Hastings ! This shift was inspired I think, by deckchairs ! A fabulous bright and colourful creation of white, yellow, green and red vertical stripes with a red ribbon tie belt and matching red court shoes, this was definatley Sindy's seaside dress, you can just see her stolling along the prom with a 99 ice cream, the sea glistening in the background, and the sounds of transistors and seagulls intermingling.

1979's Funtime  was issued with this shift, looking very crisp on a 1984 Beachtime Sindy. This shift was in a red, pink,white, green and blue check with a nice little lapel detail at the V neck in white.

In 1982 Sindy's outfits range included the 'Free and Easy' shift dress....I love this one, the cotton print material is genuine Liberty, I've actually seen it in Liberty in London. A wonderful print of peonies and various flowers in pinks, reds, deep blues with lush green leaves. A very classic dress, with nice lapel detain again. The rope belt should be red, but this will have to do for now !

1975's 'New Summery Days' shift was cut in the fashionable short length and made in crisp summer cotton in strawberry red with tiny white polka dots all over, two daisies were used as decoration on the bodice. Again, a very simple dress, but rich in colour and fresh in design, worn with white bow front shoes from the same period, Pretty Pose  (who had to have all her dry ends cut off and then a boil 'perm' to get her hair to lay flat)  looks so cool and cute in this dress.

 The 1980's was the decade we saw huge baggy 'T'-shirts worn tied in a knot in the bottom of one corner of the hem ! Not to mention the Katherine Hamnett 'Relax'..'Choose Life' etc 'T'-shirts..Sindy went for a 'T'-shirt Shift dress ! Just below the knee in white cotton jersey with a palm tree print on the front. This seems to be a love or hate one amongst collectors, I think, worn with these cute green court shoes from one of Sindy's other outfits, it looks great. Certainly a great item to pack for those summer holidays, so cool and easy to wear, or to just slip over a swimming costume to pop to the shops in.

 In the early 80's Pedigree produced a Sindy for the John Menzies group of news agents shops. She was a standard Sindy with the usual 'ballerina' hairstyle, not this one in the photo. She was released in either brunette hair with a black dress patterned with scotty dogs, or Blonde haired wearing this dress in red (with a yellow bow belt) It's such a cute dress, and again shows the easy to wear,cool, comfortable styling of the classic shift. I love the pattern to, This dress is quite a find, and well worth adding to your collection for it's cute novelty value.