Saturday, June 18, 2011

The First Imani

The First Imani!
This is the first Imani done by Olmec Toys.


I have post the second version of the doll in an
earlier post. This first head sculpt was supposed to look
like the company’s owner- Yla Eason.



Close-up --A little scary. Second version had a better
makeup job.



Owner Yla Eason
To me it vaguely looks like her but it doesn’t really
capture her beauty. (I guess I would say the same about
Mattel’s and Hasbro scary version Beyonce too along
with several celebrity dolls.)


Often when you send an item out of the country for
reproduction, it doesn’t come back the way you expected.
With the cost of manufacturing, sometimes you most
except it and move on.

Naomi was the original name given to this 11-1/2-inch
fashion doll made by Olmec in 1988. There were some
legal problems regarding the name and it was then
changed to Ellisse in 1989. The name then change to
Imani but used the same head sculpt in the early 1990’.
This company is no longer in business. Some of the
websites containing information about the company
are no longer posted but if you look you can find some
info. If you are interested in the male dolls please visit
my post on Olmec Men.

4 comments:

Georgia Girl said...

She reminds me of the Flo Jo doll (somewhat).

Ms. Leo said...

Hey Georgia Girl--I will have to look up the Flo Jo doll. I can't remember what she looks like. I not sure if you would like better with different face paint. I am thinking about that but you never know what will become collectable. She might be worth more as she is.

Vanessa said...

Thanks for the history lesson. You are right, it doesn't capture the owmer's beauty. I think she has a greyish cast which is making the makeup job look a little off.

D7ana said...

Congrats on your Imani. She does resemble the Flo Jo doll. She really doesn't look like Yla Eason though. I agree with you there.