My first Kid Kore Katie

What tribe wore hot pink fringe?

This is Kid Kore "Dancing Brook," the first of my Kid Kore Katie Kolony (which you'll see at a later date).

When I was looking for vintage clones who weren't white (by far the majority) or Black (rarer and therefore usually way out of my price range), I stumbled on the Pocahontas-fueled Native American boom of the mid-1990s. Totsy had Legends of Yesteryear, with "Indian Princesses" who often look like Yennefer from The Witcher TV series. Hinstar offered a "princess," a chief, and some kiddies. Manley did some gals and at least one younger sister. Even Simba, which is usually terrible about diversity, had its princess.

By far the most enthusiastic, though, was Kid Kore, which offered numerous Heartland Sisters sets in various costumes, as well as an entire Native American family. The characters I can easily document are White Eagle (adult male, Ken-equivalent), Princess Running Deer (adult woman, native version of Kelsey, the brand's Barbie clone), Dancing Brook (child, native version of Katie, and brand's Stacie clone), and Morning Dove (young teen, native version of Piper, the brand's rare Skipper clone). I've also seen sets with a baby and with a young boy, as well as a loose native American Jodi.

(Kid Kore was extraordinary for its range of playline costumed dolls: there was a Heartland Western line, a Legends of Ancient Lands line, and a "Gypsy Caravan" line probably inspired by Hunchback of Notre Dame. I've seen Mulan-inspired adults, but only a dubious Katie for family members.)

Anyway, Dancing Brook is fairly common on the secondary market, and while I was dithering over whether I wanted to get involved with 7" dolls, the seller made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

Where's my knee?

The distinguishing feature of Kid Kore dolls in the 1990s was their wired legs, that allow for flexible posing, where you get to decide where the knee might be. In 2002, they switched to click knees. 

Here she is with a 1990s Whitney and a 1980s Creata "Today's Girls" Hilary (more on her another time).

I wish someone had warned me there would be a party.

She was originally going to be named Katie, as the first of the Katies; but everyone refers to this doll as Dancing Brook, so it confuses the issue for her to be anything but Brooke. (The Katie Kollection expanded, and the new rule is that Katie is their species, not a personal name.) She's wearing a party dress here -- one that I feel was a huge find circa 2016, but I have no record of why I think this. Oh well.

Brooke is in modern clothing because she's here as part of a contemporary community, though when I finally crack out the sewing machine, I'm going to research a tribally specific costume for her. Our local Yokuts mostly went around nude before being hassled by Spanish colonists, but I can pick from a number of places where I've lived. The Institute for Native American Studies, back in Connecticut, had an incredible Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-themed dance dress sized for a young girl about Brooke's age, so there are both serious and playful directions to go with this. (All the 7-inchers are going to get folk dance dresses for their various heritages.)

As you can see, she's about half an inch shorter than 1990s old-school Stacie (who's 7.5" tall) and a similar amount taller than 1980s Hilary. She can easily wear Stacie clothes. All the 7" girlies are running around barefoot at the moment, so I don't know whose shoes, if any, she can wear.

It might be time to redo my braids, y'know?

Katie has become one of my favorite face-ups! I did eventually unbraid her hair to give it a good wash, and I still need to rebraid it... and to make dresses for the ever-expanding Katie Kolony, as I now have four (this one, the Romany gal Rosa, a curly-haired brunette, and a curly-haired honey blonde). Some are still in the midst of having their tangles combed out for boil-washing. I am totally out of Stacie-sized clothing!