History of Polly Pocket

In 1983 Chris Wiggs created Polly for his daughter Kate with the idea of creating a toy tiny enough to fit into a pocket. Using a powder compact, he created a tiny house for the teensy doll. Wiggs licensed the product through Bluebird Toys of Swindon, England and Polly Pocket first appeared in stores in 1989.

(Shown above are the original Polly Pocket compact & figurines from 1989)

In the early 90's, Mattel had distribution arrangements with Bluebird to sell Polly Pocket and in 1998, Mattel bought Bluebird toys. Mattel changed the look of Polly Pocket in 1999 and added a series of collectible items. The new Polly Pocket design is more realistic and slightly larger than the original. Soon after the new Polly, Mattel came out with Fashion Polly, which used the same characters from the new designed Polly Pocket. The new Fashion Polly Pocket came with bendable joints and *Polly Stretch* clothing made of a rubber-like material. Also new to Polly Pocket is the newly introduced magnetic Polly World line, where Polly and her friends have magnetic hands and feet and attach to most surfaces in the magnetic Polly world.