In the past people would speak about having a guilty pleasure when it cames to hobbies that other people would frown upon. Collecting dolls was something that belonged in the realm of old ladies and little girls but grown women? Not likely perceived as a hobby for them. I would feel unease to talk about my collection but over the years I stopped caring about someone’s opinion. I like dolls, I collect dolls and I will dress them up for fun. Like my good friend would say, it could have been drugs when we buy something that might seem quirky.
It is also a form of escapism, self preservation. If I didn’t have this I would be yelling at the TV or computer screen: “How can you treat other people like that?!” And boy with the state of the world today you need your little sparks of joy to keep you from going nuts haha.
One of these sparks for me is Licca-chan. I came across these adorable little fashion dolls during my firs trip to Japan in 2006. In a corner of the toy section in a huge department store, the name of which escapes me for the moment. And I think for all the fashion dolls outthere, Licca-chan is the most wholesome. She is cute, has a great fashion sense and doesn’t warp little girls minds into impossible beauty standards.
Fashion dolls aren’t something of the last century, they may have been in use as early as the 14th century. European royal courts in the 16th century to show the tactile qualities of fashion which could not be incorporated into paintings or described to tailors in words. A letter dated 1515 and sent by Federico Gonzaga on behalf of King Francis I of France to his mother Isabella d’Este asks her to send a fashion doll to the French court so that copies of her style might be made for the women of France. Imagine owning a fashion doll dating that far back, I would be rich haha.
Bild Lilli doll would be the first fashion doll before the launch of the wellknown Barbie but influence wise Licca-chan had more of an impact on me as a grown woman than Barbie ever did. She gives of the sweet girl in the classroom vibes. Always there to listen and inspire. Mind you, Licca-chan is an 11-year old girl whom competed with the more mature looking Barbie and she still managed to inspire kids to become a DJ, fashion designer or an ambassador.
Licca-chan was launched by Takara (Japanese toy company) in 1967 and created by former shōjo manga (japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent girls and young adult women) artist Miyako Maki. She enjoy the same popularity in Japan as Barbie does in the US.
In 1966, Takara planned to enter the dress-up doll market taking advantage of the know-how of the plastic process. The initial plan was for the company to plan a dollhouse which could be carried by children, for dressing dolls of other companies like Mattel. The size was larger than expected and the plan was reviewed not suitable for Japanese housing circumstances and children’s carrying. While planning, a fashion doll, in a setting of elementary school, the height 21 cm to fit in the palm was in favor, adopting characteristics of a cartoon girl. Miyako Maki was put in charge of the illustration of the advertisement at the time of release and the advertisement was named as “supervised by Maki-sensei”.
The name “Licca-chan” was decided by the general public offering on the July 1967 issue of the monthly girl manga magazine “Ribon”. Subsequently, the name “Rica” became known as a name that works for both Japanese and foreigners. Two years after the launch in 1969, the dolls were accepted by the Japanese children causing Mattel (makers of the Barbie doll) to move its production base to another country, focusing less on sales in Japan. Licca-chan started exceeding Barbie sales and began to reign as the queen of Japanese dress-up dolls.[9] Despite the popularity, Licca-chan dolls suffered a decline in sales in the 1990s due to rival dolls based on anime like Sailor Moon. In 1996, Licca-chan returned to the top sales of dress-up dolls again.
The best thing about Licca-chan is that they have a special telephone line that little girls can call and hear pre-recorded messages of how Licca-chan is doing and telling the callers little jokes. This telephone line came into fruition after a young girl called the Takara customer service line and wanted to talk to Licca-chan. The representative within a heartbeat she told her: “Yes, this is Licca-chan speaking”. And until this day, girls can speak with her and hear about her day. Very cool Takara.
Through Licca-chan I found myself on a complete different side of Instagram, the Japanese small creators on Minne. Minne is one of the biggest online markets for handmade items and boy they have a ton of Licca-chan sized outfits that makes your heart skip a beat. A real doki doki moment (doki means heart pounding sensation).
Because of her size, she is easy to carry with you for impromptu photoshoots. I have a small toiletries bag where I can safely transport her. Because she has tiny feet, I don’t want to lose her shoes in the abyss called my backpack.
Of the top of my head I have around 10 different Licca-chans. Some a bit more limited than the other. I am normally a remove from box collector but there is two girls that I have not unboxed yet as seen below. For the non-collectors under us, a never removed from box doll with a pristine condition box can have a high market value in the collectors world. But I am not in the hobby for money, I am here for the enjoyment of dressing up these dolls. Ps: I’ve seen insane bidding wars on these types of dolls and it takes the fun out of collecting for me.
Official Takara clothes for Licca-chan are inexpensive and the reasoning behind it is that it still a fashion doll for little girls. A ¥ 10.000 (€54) dress is way out of reach for children and teens. And I hope that it stays this way. Many of childrens hobbies have been taken over by adults and sucked the fun out of it for mere hard cash, looking at you Pokemon trading card game.
While I paid €23 for that red furisode (the most formal style of kimono historically worn by young unmarried women in Japan) by an creator on Minne and I hope this person doesn’t sell herself short seeing the quality of fabric and detail put in this dress. There is a long history of creators under valueing their own hard work, in the hope people would still buy their outfits. Come on lads and ladies, you are wizards on the sewing machine, ask your honest price!
And now that the weather is getting better, I will be out and about more. So I should take Licca-chan with me more often. Because she deserves the spotlight in my camera roll. Because every day is Licca-chan appreciation day. 🙂