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When Ruth Handler and Mattel first introduced the Barbie Doll in 1959 at the New York Toy Fair, I do not believe that either of them thought that nearly fifty years later their product would still be such a tremendous hit.
One of the reasons for this particular doll’s success is her adaptability to the changes in society and the woman’s role in those changes. Just as fashion changes from year to year, so do the clothes for Barbie.
When Jackie Kennedy was the woman that everyone emulated, the young girls were able to dress up their Barbie’s and pretend to be Jackie wearing spectacular outfits like Silken Flame® and Fashion Luncheon®.
A young girl could play for hours upon hours with her Barbie. She could pretend to be a fashion model, an Olympic skater, a doctor, a member of the military, or a veterinarian. The possibilities of what she could be were endless. All a girl had to do was change Barbie’s clothing. Barbie has had over a billion articles of clothing and shoes designed for her wardrobe in the nearly fifty years of her existence. Many of those articles were inspired or even designed by famous designers. Two such outfits were the Gay Parisienne™ and the "Easter Parade," both emulating Parisian couture fashion.
With design styles of Barbie changing in the 1970’s making her more pose-able, the activities that Barbie could participate in grew by leaps and bounds. Now Barbie could be dressed up as a horseback rider, a gymnast, among other sports. The fashions included anything from the granny style dress to the fun and funky styles of disco.
In the 80’s the young girls that had started playing with Barbie’s in their youth, were becoming women. Mattel came out with its first porcelain doll, Blue Rhapsody® Barbie®, which marked the beginnings of a collector’s market. Aside from the porcelain and the Happy Holidays® Barbie® dolls, the fashions were still up with the current trends.
Marching on into the 90’s some of the world’s most renowned fashion designers started designing clothing for Barbie. Some of the biggest names included Bob Mackie, Vera Wang, Nolan Miller, as well as Christian Dior and many others. Everyone seems to want to be a part of keeping Barbie in circulation.
If you want to start a collection of fashions for Barbie, one of the best places to start is on eBay. Here you can find vintage Barbie clothing starting at just a penny. Of course some serious collectors are willing to pay lots of money for certain clothing, but do not give up. There are bargains to be found.
As Barbie continues to remain ever popular, this gal will continue to be our children’s best friend, encouraging imaginations so that a young girl can become anything that she desires.
Barbie not only has kept up with the popular trends, she has been known to start some of her very own. So next time you want to take a walk down memory lane, grab Barbie’s hand and go.