Marilú (doll)

Marilú was an Argentine composition doll produced between 1932 and 1960, considered the most prominent and enduring doll in the country, and an icon in the history of national toys. It was created by Alicia Larguía, who was inspired by the French predecessor of Bleuette, a doll available through the famous magazine for girls La Semaine de Suzette. Seeking to replicate this model, Larguía launched Marilú in association with Editorial Atlántida, which was responsible for publishing advertisements and clothing patterns for the doll in its children's magazine Billiken, the most widely distributed in Latin America at the time. In view of the doll's immediate success, Atlántida also published a weekly magazine for girls, Marilú, between 1933 and 1936. The doll was originally imported from Germany, manufactured by the firm Kämmer & Reinhardt. Sometime between 1935 and 1936, Larguía changed suppliers and began to order the dolls from König & Wernicke, which was also German. During its first two years, Marilú was sold in an Atlántida store in Buenos Aires. The doll was sold along with a variety of other products, such as clothing, accessories and furniture. In 1934, Larguía became independent from the publishing house and opened her iconic store—Casa Marilú—on Florida Street, which in addition to selling the doll and its accessories, functioned as a prestigious prêt-à-porter fashion house for girls and young women.

After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Marilú was manufactured entirely in Argentina by Bebilandia, one of the first national doll factories. The new firm produced a wide variety of models in addition to Marilú, among which the baby doll Bubilay— which was presented as Marilú's younger brother and also featured numerous accessories—stood out. After experiencing a period of splendor in the 1940s, in the following decade Bebilandia's products began to be eclipsed by those of other national firms, although Marilú and Bubilay maintained their position as the most popular among little girls. However, the new plastic dolls gained ground in the industry until they definitively imposed themselves, causing the cessation of production of Marilú and the other Bebilandia products around 1960. The Casa Marilú fashion house continued operating under the name Marilú Bragance until the early 1980s.

Marilú was a great commercial success during its years of existence, idolized by the upper middle-class girls of Argentina in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Advertisements and texts published in the Billiken and Marilú magazines constructed a narrative around the doll, promoting a bourgeois lifestyle and a prescribed form of femininity, and also contributed to the shaping of girls as consumers. Although the primary aim of the doll's concept was, on the one hand, to transmit motherhood to girls, who were affectionately referred to as the doll's "mommies" (known as mamitas in Spanish), its connection with fashion and attire also held a significant role: advertisements actively encouraged girls to regularly update and refresh the doll's wardrobe to align with various occasions and seasons. The Billiken and Marilú magazines also included sewing patterns for girls or their family members to craft the doll's clothing, as well as instructional texts and fashion tips to assist in this endeavor. As a result, Marilú can be classified as a fashion doll and can be positioned within the lineage of other notable dolls like the more contemporary Barbies. Marilú served as an inspiration for other dolls, such as the emblematic Mariquita Pérez of Spain. Today, Marilú dolls are regularly exhibited in different museums of Argentina and are a highly valued item among private collectors.