Midge Hadley

Midge Hadley
The controversial "pregnant" Midge doll
First appearance	1963
Created by	Mattel
Information
Nickname(s)	Midge

Midge Hadley is a fictional doll character in the Barbie line of toys by Mattel that was first released in 1963. Midge was created, along with Skipper, to counteract criticism that claimed Barbie was a sex symbol. She was marketed as Barbie's best friend. No Midge dolls were sold for the rest of the vintage years after the 1960s.

Midge was re-introduced in 1988 as part of the play line, though two vintage reproduction dolls were made specifically for collectors in 1993 and 1998. The dolls sold in this time period usually had red hair, often with freckles, and her eye color was usually blue. Also in the period, Wedding Day Midge was sold, with the groom being Alan Sherwood, who had been marketed as Midge's boyfriend in the vintage years. Midge and Alan had three children introduced named Ryan, Nikki, and Cassandra. They also had twins who were never introduced. This was known as the Happy Family line, and in the set, Midge was sold "pregnant" with Nikki as a newborn baby. The Happy Family product became the subject of controversy when some parents disliked the "pregnant" Midge toy because they believed that Midge was too young to have children.

In 2013 Mattel decided to revamp Midge's history, reintroducing her as a best friend of Barbie's, but unmarried, without children, and with no connection to Alan.

When Barbie first came out, she was the subject of a lot of criticism, some of which that claimed Barbie was too mature-looking for children. Midge was the first same-size friend of Barbie ever sold, and was created to oppose these controversies aimed at Barbie. She had a fuller, gentler face mold, although her body proportions were the same as Barbie and they both stood at 11 ¹⁄₂ inches (290 mm) tall. This allowed the two dolls to be able to share clothes and accessories. Her head mold was stamped "1958", the same as Barbie. When Midge arrived, the markings on the straight leg body mold they shared changed to include both her and Barbie. Midge had shoulder-length hair that flipped at the ends. Buyers had an option of buying a doll with one of three different hair colors: red, blond, or brunette. Her face was usually brushed with freckles. The dolls that were sold without freckles had a longer hair style and are now hard to find. Depending on the doll's hair color, the color of her two-piece swimming suit varied. If Midge had red hair her swimsuit was yellow and orange, for blond hair it was in two shades of blue, and if she was brunette it was pink and red. The first vintage Midge dolls had a value of $175 MIB (Mint In Box) in 2007.