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Below you will find the answers to some FAQs
about Flatsys, as well as clarifications on
some frequent misconceptions. I've tried to cover questions that
I get asked most often. If you have a question not covered here,
or think of a question that should be, please contact me.
Answers to questions
Flatsys are flat dolls that were made by Ideal from 1969 through about 1973. (Some were repackaged and sold later too.) They have long hair, which goes to the floor, generally in vivid colors (like bright blue, bright yellow, pink, etc). They are made of a soft vinyl with wires inside the limbs, neck, and body so that they can be posed. They wear real "mod" clothes, most of them very 60s-ish. Their faces have super sweet expressions with eyes looking either to the left or to the right. Each Flatsy has a "theme" and comes with an accessory and a cardboard liner with a picture in keeping with that theme. They also have a plastic clip to hold the doll in place on the liner card and to enable you to take the doll on and off the liner to play with her. Many, but by no means all, of the Flatsys also have a plastic frame around the liner. Every Flatsy came with shoes and in nearly every case, a hat.
What markings do Flatsys have?
If you look at the back of a Flatsy, you will see the word "Ideal" inside an oval. Below that it will say "©1969 Pat. Pend. Hong Kong." If your Flatsy simply says "Hong Kong," you have a knock-off Flatsy. Only those that have the Ideal name in an oval are true Ideal Flatsys.
Flatsys were made in three sizes: Mini, which are about 2 1/2 inches tall; Medium, which are about 5 inches tall; and Fashion, which are about 8 1/2 inches tall. The Minis and Mediums are very similiar in appearance, except of course for size, while the Fashions are very different. They are very tall, thin, and have rooted eyelashes.
Is the hair supposed to be loose on the back on the doll's head?
If you mean when you lift her hair up, it is not connected at all to the back of her head, yes, it's supposed to be that way. Ideal rooted her hair way up at the top. Both the rooting and the "bald" back of her head is covered up nicely by her long hair unless you try to put it in pigtails--then it will show. This is why when Ideal put her hair in pigtails, they took the right side, crossed it over the left and secured it, then took the left side, crossed it over to the right and secured it. That way, the bald back of her head (and the rooting) doesn't show.
My doll's feet are color-stained. What is that from?
Those stains are from her shoes. Some of the dye from the shoes bled onto her feet. Keep in mind that those stains are a great way to know what color shoes she wore originally if you'd like to replace them.
What is that "stain" on her hair?
When Ideal packaged Flatsys, they put a piece of tape on the inside of her hat -- sometimes right over her bangs, sometimes a bit further back -- to keep the hat in place during shipping. After this many years, the tape has completely dried out, leaving the glue behind. This can also be seen on the back of the cardboard liner. The tape is close to useless - but there is a glue stain. The glue often left stains elsewhere too. For example, on Bonnie, you will see the glue stains around the stars on her shirt, and if you have a Casey with what looks like dirty knees, it's just the glue stains from where his knee patches used to be.
She has painted-on shoes. Was she made by Ideal?
No. In 1994, a company called JusToys released their version of Flatsys. They made only the minis. They looked a bit different. Their facial expression was a tiny bit different, they had painted on shoes, and their hair wasn't as thick. They were packaged with an accessory and a comb. If you have one of these, you will find the "JusToys" imprint on the back of her head.
Does EVERY Flatsy have a name?
No. None of the minis have names, none of the members of the sister sets have names, and Spinderellas also have no names. But, all other Flatsys do indeed have names.
Does every Flatsy come with a plastic frame?
No. Some, like the sisters sets, come in their own Plexiglass box for display. Others, like the Flatsyville series, come with their own "house" (really what is essentially a very fancy frame that looks like the outside of a house). Still others, like the locket Flatsys, have an oval plastic frame, but they lack a picture liner; their liner card is a solid color. There are also the Candy Mountain Flatsys, who have their own elaborate playset; and Spinderella, who poses on a stage inside her clear plastic dome.
"White Box Flatsys" are Flatsys that were left over in (about) the mid-70s and repackaged in white boxes. They included the doll and accessory plus liner card. They did not come with a frame. You can see a picture of a White Box Flatsy (Casey) by clicking here. The minis, by the way, were sold two to a box when they were white-boxed. So, for example, you'd get a white box mini-set which had Sleepy Time and Play Time in it. To see a White Box mini, click here.
Locket Flatsys are Flatsys who were packaged in an oval frame with a solid colored liner card and no accessory. These are not lockets as in jewelry-type lockets. They are simply oval frames with a clear piece of plastic on the front to protect the doll. They also had the standard clip to hold the doll in place. The dolls seem to have been chosen at random to appear in lockets. There are no locket Flatsys who are only locket Flatsys. They are all available in full sets as well. Minis, baby Flatsys, and medium Flatsys appeared in lockets. You can see a picture of a medium locket Flatsy here. You can see a picture of a mini locket Flatsy here.
Did Ideal make Flatsy items besides just the dolls?
Yes. There are Flatsy paper dolls (fashion and medium), a Flatsy townhouse, a Flatsy play house, a Flatsy carrying case, Flatsy coloring books, Flatsy sticker books, and even a Flatsy game. In my experience, the paper dolls are the easiest of this list to find, followed by the coloring book and the townhouse. There may well be other items too; if you know of any others, please e-mail and let me know so that I can add it.
Does this site have a Price/Value Guide?
No. I am really reluctant to include a price guide here for a couple of reasons. The first is that the prices of Flatsys fluctuate a lot and by the time a price guide is printed/posted, it's already out of date. The second is that many of the people visiting this site buy their Flatsys through online auctions such as eBay. From what I've seen, the prices in the auctions are not comparable to the prices offline. Sometimes they are substantially higher due to the bidding wars between collectors, which raise the prices deceptively high. Sometimes they are lower than, for example, the price of a Flatsy found in an antique store. So any price guide must include auction prices as well as non-auction. But the biggest reason is that I will not post something here that's not accurate and useful. Flatsy prices change a lot, fast. The only way for me to offer you a decent price guide that's always up-to-date would be for me to stay on top of Flatsy prices continually and update the online price guide at least weekly. What it comes down to, really, is that I'm just not willing to do that. This site takes a lot of time to maintain (there are over 120 pages here) and brings in no revenue at all. I just don't want to add something that not only requires weekly maintenence but at least daily monitoring of prices. I apologize; I know it's something that a lot of you want. But, I will not add something that quite potentially has misinformation in it. So, no, there is no price guide here.
I have a question that isn't answered here; can you help?
I can try, sure. Feel free to contact me. Please know that I really don't know a thing about dolls other than Ideal Flatsys, though, so I ask that any questions be only about them.
Misconceptions clarified
Mini Flatsys are not baby Flatsys, they are just miniature Flatsys. Ideal did make Flatsys that were meant to be babies - called, yes, Baby Flatsys. They are always part of the sister sets and always come with an older sister - a regular-sized Flatsy. The baby Flatsys are just a tiny bit smaller than a regular-size Flatsy and have a slightly open mouth. These are the "baby" Flatsys - not the minis.
Clothing in great condition must be original
A doll wearing clothing in good condition that fits her doesn't mean that those clothes are original to her. Their clothes were often switched by the children who played with them. Also, sometimes Flatsys are seen dressed in clothing belonging to another doll of roughly the same size (but not a Flatsy), and sometimes they are wearing homemade clothing. Check the Photo Gallery here if you've any question about what is original to the doll.
None of the Ideal Flatsys were ever named Patsy. Often, on auctions, I see an Ideal Flatsy with the title of "Flatsy Patsy." I am unsure where this came from; I don't know if there was an actual flat doll (non-Ideal) named Patsy or if it's a cutesy thing that just keeps cropping up simply because it rhymes. But I can tell you for sure that there were no Ideal Flatsys named Patsy.
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