Girls and Their Dolls

From their earliest days, girls naturally cleave to dolls. Tiny tots get hold of that first, soft doll who often becomes a natural bestie, there at night as a soothing bedtime companion and around during the day to snuggle with or just be at a little one’s side. Grown up girls cherish special dolls given to them long ago by a parent, adored granny, aunt or friend and often keep them forever.

Dolls can take on any personality or traits their owners bestow on them. Taking care of them, feeding them and going out with them is part of the wonder of the growing years. Dolls teach empathy and sharing as well as concrete dressing skills like buttoning, sequencing skills (applying shampoo before rinsing hair) and using both hands together. We’ve gathered a tea-party worthy group of special dolls that will delight young ladies of different ages and stages from Bonikka, Pennymeade, Arianna and My Friend Huggles.

Bonikka Kids: From Rags to Riches of the Heart

There is something inherently charming about rag dolls, a perennial favorite both for children and those around them, combining old-fashioned values with on-the-money looks for today. For rag dolls with a large helping of charm, pop a few from Bonikka on counters in your shop and let the fondling begin.

Dolls for the littlest girls include soft ones with different personalities and looks, each with her own story and a unique outfit like the red jumper or blue print dress with matching blue hair ribbons. Hope, a doll from the baby collection, is crushable with a tuft of blond hair under a pink cap, wearing pants and a pink and white top.

Bonikka Kids sports a range of styles to appeal to the unique personality of little girls and teenagers alike. With quirkier styles, this collection aims to meet the varied needs of girls as they move from the delights of imaginary play on up even to older years where there is nostalgia of a gift from their parent, sibling or loved one. Among the knitted dolls, see Cait, with crimply gray hair tied in pert pigtails clad in a gray dress.

The Bonikka brand, created and manufactured by DSL Lanka (DSL), was launched February 2013 at the Nuremberg Fair and has been delighting girls and parents worldwide since.

Love in all sizes: www.bonikka.com

Pennymeade Creates Timeless Elegance

Yearning for a look back to simpler, less frenetic times? Bet your customers agree. That’s the promise behind Pennymeade, a brand that relates to days when children were dressed as children and their clothes were made to hold up to daily wear-and-tear. Clothes are supremely comfortable, made of soft cottons and supple silks in timeless designs that will look as stylish tomorrow as today.

Among the standouts from the Fall/Winter 2015 collection are the girls’ Embellished Sparkle Collar Blouses in four color options with long sleeves. Made of soft cotton jersey in winter white, these charmers feature an appliqué of jewels and sequins creating a peter pan collar with the perfect touch of sparkle.The Ruffle Collar Floral Print Blouses go smashingly with cherry pink corduroy little girl jumper dresses or winter dress shorts for a perfectly turned-out look.

For the holidays, think silk, specifically ruby red and plaid party skirts and hand-smocked dresses with matching doll dresses, both oozing luxury. Each hand-smocked gown is cotton-lined with a whisper of tulle for fullness and flounce.

Several collections, including Pink in Provence, Summer Holiday, Garden and Amethyst have matching doll dresses as does the pink floral dress in the English Meadow Collection

Silk and cotton perfection: www.pennymeade.com

Arianna: High Fashion for the Doll World

Welcome to the world of high fashion for 18-inch dolls from Arianna, a Tillywig award winner for 2015. A doll playmate will look fab in a hip four-piece ensemble with pink metallic faux leather jacket with a diagonal zipper, fold over collar and contrasting pockets. “Pink Ladies” is emblazoned on the back in handwritten script. To go with it is a black cotton spandex off-the-shoulder top, cinch belt and black poly-cotton leggings, all adding up to a stellar outfit.

For a doll making that special trip down the aisle, there is a divine dress with a luxuriously soft, white, satin sleeveless ruche bodice over a tulle layer skirt accompanied by a diaphanous veil with decorated lace headband and detachable sash bearing a lovely floral ornament.

For more doll dress-up, a pink satin dress has spaghetti straps, sequin sweetheart bodice and pink organza overlay for sparkle and shimmer. The white-pink sash has an embellished decorative buckle, while a flower hair clip, like a rose in bloom, adds an extra note of gorgeousness.

Big and beautiful: www.dreambigwholesaledoll.com

Everyone Needs a Huggle

Soft, scrunchy and totally lovable are the hallmarks of dolls from My Friend Huggles, a company that aims to help build character through creative play. Each and every doll embodies a different value to meet girls’ individual needs. These dolls are super bedtime companions, teaching beauty from the inside out.

Adorable Lilly is thirty-four inches tall, with irresistible yellow yarn hair, clad in a pink tutu with pink bodice decorated with a print of a kitty. Her clothes are soft and fuzzy and she’s a huggable delight, a perfect companion for a little girl having a blue or slightly-under-the-weather day.

From the Comfort Collection comes Myles, the size of a three-year-old with the motto “I have courage”, wearing a superhero costume emblazoned with a lighting bolt insignia and featuring a red satin cape.

Bizou Collection dolls are fourteen inches tall, but small packs a powerful punch of warmth with a removable dress made entirely of polyester. Pick from Little Red, Brownie Points or Goldie, or show them all.

In addition to dolls, My Friend Huggles offers wonderful doll clothes like Snow Day, a two-piece outfit consisting of a winter white faux fur skirt and warm knit sweater with snowflake pattern, and Out and About, an ensemble with a shiny silvery top, stylish collar jacket in bold orange, and denim peek-a-boo pleated skirt with orange bows, the perfect look for making a Huggle the talk of the town.

Meet some new friends at www.myfriendhuggles.com