The Katie Krew did not start out to be a krew.
When I first started thinking about getting back into dolls, I happened on a discussion of Creata's "clones" from the 1980s. Like a lot of fashion doll lines of the late 20th century, it's unclear how much the dolls were actual clones and how much they were simply fashion dolls doing their own thing. The rock 'n' roll Creata line, for instance, was probably a clone for Hasbro's Jem & the Holograms. But the Creata Flower Fairies? Much less clear.
Really unclear on its clone origins is the 6-1/4" doll at front left, with dark curled hair, wearing her karate practice outfit over a red striped top. That's Creata's "Today's Girls" Hillary. "Today's Girls" debuted several years before Stacie was a twinkle in Mattel's eye, but long after Todd and Tutti. There's really no Mattel niche that these dolls match! They were definitely also used as little sisters for the Flower Fairies, but mine was sold as a little equestrian (foreshadowing Kid Kore's horse riders).
My first Kid Kore Katie happened because I was researching Native American clone dolls (there were a lot in the 1990s). I bookmarked on eBay a cute and cheap brown-skinned doll with dark braids -- the doll now sitting in the front row wearing checked shorts and a blue and pink jersey, waiting for her hair to be rebraided. That's a Dancing Brook, the "little sister" of the Heartland families. She is now officially called Brooke.
Then it was a no-brainer to get a Rosa Lee, the Romani Katie. She's the curly haired brown girl behind Hillary, wearing a flowered dress.
The golden-blonde Katie, now named Isabelle, came as a lot with my Black(ish) 2002 Jodi, along with the brunette Katie that was shorn and flocked in titian to become Ben. Isabelle is at middle right, wearing an aqua gingham cowgirl outfit with gold trim. Ben is perched above her in khakis and a red and aqua sweater. (Katie originally had a brown-haired dude pal (Todd clone) named Kyle, who was also dressed in western wear as Pistol Pete. Kyle is hard to find, and it was more fun to make my own younger brother for my redheaded Kelsey.
Bette Mae, the brown gal with lots of straight black hair, wearing the pink striped shirt at middle left, is my second Dancing Brook. She's named for one of the leaders of the Seminoles in Florida, as I decided to have the two Dancing Brooks come from different tribes. She arrived with a large lot of vintage Katie clothes, which is why everyone here except Hillary has shoes!
Katies are absolutely, positively a direct competitor with Mattel's Stacie. They appear in a sister pack in 1992. However, Katie has a slightly younger sister, Carla, who was being sold as "Girls Club" before Stacie launched. Carla had a Katie head mold on what sure looks in photos like a Creata 6.25" body like Hillary.
The Katie Krew proved so compelling that I got rid of my 1990s Stacie and Whitney dolls, who'd once been major thrift finds (but Stacie had worn the same outfit for 10 years, so my enthusiasm wasn't as high as I thought). I'm still a little on the fence about Bette Mae, but every time I put her next to Brooke, I notice subtle differences in their face-up and decide she's uniquely adorable.
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