OVERVIEW: Lollipop Girls

Brigette, Alani, Nicole, Suzi-K, Milli, Pipi, Kimmi, Cissy/Sassi, Neena, Bebe, Cassie and Lulu

Jan McLean is a porcelain doll artist from New Zealand. In 2000, she began creating the Lollipop Girls: skinny girls with big round heads. You know, like a lollipop on a stick. Lulu from London and Pipi from Paris were the first two porcelains created. They stand 26" tall and are limited editions of 5000 each. Bunny from California and Cissy from Sydney came out in 2001 with editions of 3000 each. Bebe from Barbados and Nicole from Norway were back up to editions of 5000 and released in 2002. 2003's offerings were Ally from Auckland and Neena from New York and went back to 3000 pieces of each. Kimmi from Kathmandu and Brigette from Berlin came out in 2004 and were 3000 pieces also. That was it for the porcelain Lollies until 2015, when McLean produced two more that were one of a kind designs. 

The porcelain Lollies were popular enough to be created in vinyl form, which is how I first learned about them in a doll magazine. The initial five came out in 2003 or 2004. The official website makes it unclear, because all five girls came out at once, but their listings show a mix of the two dates. I'm going to go with 2003, because that coincides with Ally and Neena's porcelain dolls, which were definitely out after the first five vinyls. 

Some of the girls went through name changes. Brigette, Lulu and Pipi stayed the same, but Bunny became Cassie and Cissy was now Sassi.  

The first five were offered in a special edition that has McLean's signature on their backs and as regular editions that appeared in stores. I pre-ordered Lulu, Pipi, Sassi and Bebe from I don't even remember where, so I have the special editions of those four, but the regular editions of Brigette and Cassie. My local (at the time) Ames store actually carried them! I don't believe I saw them in any other stores. I still regret not picking up doubles when Ames went out of business. Bebe comes in a couple different hair variations and I always meant to get the one where her bangs are laying flatter, unlike the one in the group pic up there.

Anyway, the initial run was followed by Alani (formerly Ally), Kimmi, Nicole, Neena, and two that never got porcelains: Suzi-K from Seattle and Milli from Milan. Milli is my favorite Lolly, so she got the cobbled together best outfit, seen here on the right. 

I had to order all those girls online. Possibly on ebay? The line also had several fashion packs, which I definitely got via ebay. The hardest to find girl at the time was Nicole, but I ended up winning her as a contest prize. I was part of a Yahoo Group that actually interacted with Jan McLean and she would host contests with prizes for us. I won Nicole and later on, I won a writing contest and my prize was the porcelain Neena! (Because I'm from New York, although not the city.) I think I won an outfit, too. I can't remember. Those contests were awesome. 

The Lollipop Girls stand 12" tall and they're very long-legged and skinny. They don't share clothes well with other dolls, though their boots are nice and roomy and I think a lot of people used them for their Type 2 body Pullips. 

I think the line was a bit ahead of its time. Back then, we were still getting used to Bratz, and the Lollies had unique bodies as well as very unusual hair colors. If the Lollies were rereleased today on more articulated bodies, I think they would do well, as people are more accustomed to different dolls and ones that can't necessarily share a wardrobe with the rest of their collection. 

I did end up getting one more item for my collection. 

Kimmi and Neena are my largest dolls. They're HUGE. I wish I had room for all the porcelain Lollipops, because they're all stunning. 

There were several unproduced Lolly items. I believe there are photos floating around of the girls in more outfits and the porcelains of Kimmi and Brigette were originally shown with vinyl doll counterparts. 

You can find the first five girls and a lot of the outfits for good prices on ebay, although the second set of girls will run you more money. 

I love my Lollipop Girls! Even though my collection has grown a lot since I got them, they still remain very unique and an eye-catcher on my shelves.

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine. 

RECOMMENDED SITES:

http://www.janmcleandolls.info/artist-dolls/lollipop-girls-collection/