A vinyl solution to Barbie doll-drums?

Women dress to impress other women rather than men, goes conventional wisdom. That same truism also decrees that men barely notice the minutiae of women’s clothes, accessories and make-up anyway, and concentrate on the overall package, so to speak. The same principle applies to Barbie dolls, that most controversial of playthings.

They are purportedly meant for little girls but usually end up exercising parental consciences far more. So, agonised guardians are probably relieved at the imminent launch of a more realistically proportioned plastic humanoid bauble for their impressionable wards, even if it bears the somewhat unattractive name Lammily.

Crowdfunding for its commercial production shows that parents want to put their money where their conscience is, but will their little princesses really notice the difference in shape and grow up to be more wellrounded persons with figures to match, as a consequence? Dolls — indeed, toys in general — are not meant or obliged to be realistic; that is why teddy bears and Thomas the Tank Engine have not been deemed harmful to children’s perceptions of authenticity.

So far. Parents should consider whether a living, wasp-waisted Keira Knightley posing on the Oscar red carpet last Sunday isn’t more alarm-worthy than mere vinyl demoiselles of any proportions.