OVERVIEW: Maxie

Lookin' Smart Maxie

Well, I just woke up from an unsettling dream spawned by the allergy attack I've been experiencing this weekend, so what better way to relax before trying to sleep again than by doing some more quick posts?

Maxie seems an easy one to tackle, because I just did a few photos and writing on Flickr for my nostalgia project. Which helped birth this blog, so yay. But some parts will be repetitive for anyone here who follows me on Flickr.

Anyway! Hasbro replaced Jem with this pretty blonde girl, who had a more realistically-proportioned body than Barbie, a la Jem, but could also share Barbie clothes more easily. Not shoes though. These girls didn't have huge Jem feet, but even at half that size, they were still twice as big as Barbie's permaheel feet and in a similar slightly curved pose to Jem's so they could wear both flats and very low heels.

I did miss the Jem line when it disappeared and I hadn't gotten everyone I wanted, but Maxie filled the void Jem left behind. I ADORED the Lookin' Smart doll. (Signature Maxie for those that have been collecting only more recently and are used to Monster High-style terms.) I loved every bit of her outfit and thought she was so stylish and beautiful. This photographed one I bought boxed several years ago. I no longer have my childhood one, though her boots and jacket survived.

Ashley

 The Maxie line had some of the best clothing pieces and accessories ever. The array of earring designs, the Slinky-like scrunchies, the hightops, the bracelets, the T-shirt ties. Just epic. And the fashion packs were pretty much unparalleled. Even Barbie didn't have such a wide variety of nice pieces at the time. I managed to collect a ton of them when I was heavily into this line, but I don't have anywhere near all! I did get all the fancy dresses, lingerie sets (beautiful) and accessory packs though.

This doll on the right is the original 1988 Ashley. I never had her in childhood, but I did have 1989's Slumber Party Ashley, who looked about the same but with PJs. Neither of my Maxie dolls survived childhood. Heh.

All the Ashley dolls are just stunning. Both she and Carly have gorgeous hair colors. This one is wearing different shoes and a skirt from a fashion pack, but the giant shorts had to go!

Kristen in a Dance 'n' Romance fashion

Maxie's original black friend is named Kristen. She had this modern day (for the 80s) prairie girl thing going on with her one release. But she also has a poof of hair that is not going to be budged out of that original style, because it's a lot shorter than the rest of her hair. If you're an 80s kid like me, you may have had the Lady Lovely Locks Enchanted Island dolls. They have this short poof of hair thing, too.

Carly is the third friend doll released in the first year. She's the strawberry blonde athletic one, so I was never interested in her dolls in childhood. Now I love her and all of her dolls are stunning, but it was far easier to buy her tons of clothes to redress her in as an adult collector.

The original 1988 Maxie line also included Rob (the boyfriend), 3 swimsuit versions of Maxie, and a more formal prom Maxie.

Slumber Party Simone

Oh, my baby Simone. I wanted this doll SO BADLY when she came out. But my dad's racist, so the only black doll I ever had was Rose Petal Place Iris. (I'll tell the story of how I pulled that off when I get to RPP.) We tried to give my best friend at the time some money so she could buy Simone for me and call her a present, but that didn't work. I can't remember if she couldn't find the doll or if her pastor dad found out and wouldn't let her help me.

But in adulthood, I got my damn Simone! And my collection now contains hundreds of dolls of as many races and ethnicities as I can find.

Simone has thie adorable tee to sleep in and I loved the furry slippers for this line. They also came with great pillows. I pulled Simone out of a party dress to put this on her and now she's standing proudly with my two favorite Maxies.

Simone was part of the 1989 Slumber Party line, also featuring Ashley and Maxie. I guess Kristen must have moved and Carly was busy working out or something.

Beachy Keen Maxie in a Dance 'n' Romance fashion

The 1989 Maxie line had the Slumber Party trio, the Cheerleader trio (Maxie, Ashley and Carly), another 3 swimsuit Maxies (she went to the beach A LOT), Dance 'n' Romance Maxie and Rob in 80s teen formal wear, Hula Hoop Maxie, Ballerina Maxie, and a Maxie that comes with a ton of clothes.

The Maxie on the left here is one of the three 1989 Beachy Keen swimsuit dolls. I love her crimped hair, short bangs and freckles. She doesn't even really look like a version of Maxie, so I made her my own separate character.

A lot of my girls are dressed in the Dance 'n' Romance formalwear fashions, because I love them. The dresses are great and they have the prettiest shoes in the entire Maxie line. A lot of the Maxie shoes are kinda clunky to accommodate the fat socks they often had to fit over, but these low heels are snug to the feet and come in some lovely colors.

Sun Splash Maxie in a Dance 'n' Romance fashion

1990 sadly saw Maxie's early demise. Only the five Sun Splash dolls were released. Swimwear dolls. Of course. But at least this time the friends got to come along. Maxie herself has a fresher look going on and both Carly and Ashley got these new looks, too, as well as darker hair colors. Ashley in particular is gorgeous in this line. Simone is the disappointment, because they just gave her Maxie's swimsuit. Sigh. I never got her because of that.

1990 would have given us versions of Maxie where she babysat, cycled and rollerskated, but by far the biggest loss from the early cancellation of the line was the Rockin' Pretty line. These girls took a page from their predecessor, Jem, and had wilder fashions. Maxie sports blue tinsel in her hair, while Carly has a blue streak and Ashley, sporting some poofy curls, has a blonde (maybe?) streak. Maxie has also borrowed Minx's hat and Shana's guitar, while Ashley has Jem's microphone and Carly Kimber's keytar. But the best doll in the line in my opinion is new character Bianca, who has giant dark brown curls, and carries Aja's guitar. I would love to post the picture here, but sadly, both versions I've seen are watermarked, so I encourage you to Google "Rockin Pretty Maxie" and check it out for yourself. Bianca is a mystery character. There was a black-haired rival character named Jeri in the Maxie's World cartoon, but is this supposed to be her with a new name and lighter hair? Bianca always makes me think of Beverly Hills Teens and then I bemoan the fact that we never got dolls of those characters.

My favorite redressed Ashley and Carly

These two have been my favorites from my adult collection.

The Ashley is Sun Splash, the only Ashley with this darker hair color. She's wearing some fashion pack pieces and a Barbie skirt. I renamed her Lenox.

Carly is the original Carly. I never wanted any of her dolls when I was a kid, but I fell hard for this one when I bought her as an adult. Kenzie, as she's been renamed, is wearing a Barbie top and socks, plus my childhood Maxie black jeans and sneakers, two of my favorite Maxie pieces ever. The only problem with the jeans is that they don't fully close at the crotch, so you've always got to wrap some belt around them.

Also pictured is the purple dinosaur tee that was my other favorite Maxie piece. I think this might be my childhood one and another doll is wearing the upgrade. I love that shirt. I want that shirt in my size. There's an orange version with a purple dino, too, which I also have, but this is the best one.

My Maxie collection is entirely from my adult collecting days. Neither Maxie nor Slumber Party Ashley survived childhood. The line is very affordable and really the only frustration is trying to find all the variants of the clothing and accessory packs if you're a completist. I tried getting all the clothing once. I'm convinced I still have not seen every pack made! But the quality is great, the faces and bodies are beautiful, and the whole line is just plain fun.

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine.

RECOMMENDED SITES:

http://www.amazon.com/Maxies-World-Complete-Maxie/dp/B013FDBGV0
Amazon has the complete 32-episode cartoon series on DVD for only $4.75! I just ordered mine. Apparently, it came out back in October. While you're there, grab both volumes of Beverly Hills Teens, too.