Francie Facts & Fashions

Francie was made by Mattel from 1966 until 1976. She was advertised as Barbies Mod Cousin. At 11-1/4 inches tall, she is 1/4" shorter than Barbie. Her body is somewhat more realistic than Barbie, although still very slender. As a result, Barbie clothes are too big for Francie. Francie shares her body style and clothing with her two friends, Twiggy and Casey. Francie was the first Mattel doll to have rooted eyelashes. The first Francies had both straight legs and a straight body. Soon, bendable legs and then a TNT (twist and turn) waist were used. There were many versions of Francie with different hair styles. The Malibu Francie, Busy Francie, Quick Curl Francie and Baggie Francie appear to have a different face mold. The photo shows my vintage francies, from left to right Blonde TNT Francie, Hair Happening Francie, Growing Pretty Hair Francie, Brunette Bend Leg Francie and Blonde Shortflip TNT Francie. The shortflip Francie was mine as a little girl.

Francie's last name is Fairchild.

Francie's wardrobe was extremely varied from frilly feminine outfits to mod futuristic fashions. Mattel and Best Buy made Francie clothes. JC Penney and Sears made gift sets containing dolls and clothing.

Mattel has made some reproduction Francies, the dark brunette doll pictured in the introduction is a reproduction Francie from 1996's Gad About Set. They have also made a Wild Bunch set with a black Francie repro doll and a no bangs Francie repro wearing the Smashing Satin Outfit.

I recommend Joe Blitman's book "Francie & her MOD, MOD, MOD, MOD WORLD OF FASHION" as a great reference of Francie dolls and clothing.

Newsflash - Mattel has made a new Francie giftset of the Becky doll. Becky was a prototype Francie friend doll in 1971 but she was never produced. Becky uses the Casey headmold but has brown eyes and a long flip hairstyle with no bangs and curled ends. This is the first reproduction giftset of a prototype doll. The giftset contains several "Becky" outfits, record player, etc. It is titled Most Mod Party and is available at BarbieCollector.com. I have also seen it at some other doll store sites. Becky has the same body as Francie, Twiggy and Casey and can share clothing.