A little bit about Barbie history and my doll collection

 

I was invited by one of the women's clubs in Monroe, Mich., to  give a program about my Barbie dolls. Here's the speech I gave today (Sept. 10, 2012):

Hi, my name is Paula Wethington. And I’m a grown-up girl who collects Barbie dolls.

I brought some show and tell items today. But for my presentation, I’ll talk a little bit about the history of Barbie. Then I’ll talk about my collection, tell you about some of the newly issued dolls, and open up the conversation for your stories.

The reference books I brought today have a lot of details about Barbie’s history. But the background is that during the 1950s, pre-teen girls had few amusements and toys to choose from. One of their favorite pastimes involved paper dolls, and teenage or adult characters were particularly popular as children modeled what their futures might hold.

At the time, Ruth Handler was a partner in the Mattel toy company. During one of her travels in Europe, Ruth saw a doll that was sold with different outfits and had been a popular bachelor party gag gift. She took three of them home. She suggested the Mattel designers design a similar doll, and also sell fashions to dress the dolls. In other words, she wanted to adapt the idea of paper dolls to a three-dimensional toy.

It took about 3 years to design and create Barbie. The European doll provided the idea, but it wasn’t meant to be redressed in different fashions. In order to keep the production costs down for a never-before-tried concept, Mattel decided to have the dolls manufactured in Japan.

Barbie was introduced to the toy industry at the 1959 American International Toy Fair. It’s probably not surprising some people thought Barbie was too grown up in appearance! But with the help of advertising on the popular children’s television show “Mickey Mouse Club,” Barbie became an instant hit. Stores had problems keeping the dolls in stock for the first year or so.

That’s the well-known origin story. Here are some other details that tend to be overlooked:

One big difference between the original Barbie and today’s dolls is that Barbara Millicent Roberts was originally cast as a high school fashion model. Specifically, she was seen as age 16 to 18. This helped explain both her huge wardrobe and the “queen of the prom” references. But since the late 1960s, Barbie has been depicted as a college student or young career woman.

Another difference is the expected age range of the doll owner. A good comparison today would be the American Girls demographic. But now, Barbie and friends are available with a variety of features and details, with the intended audiences of individual dolls ranging from preschool through adult. Mattel’s research has found that age 2 is often when girls receive their first Barbie.

Mattel also had a lot of trial and error in the early manufacturing of the dolls. For example, the first design of a doll stand with holes in Barbie’s feet proved to be too costly in the manufacture process. The coloring on the first three years of dolls faded out or could be splotchy. Some of the vinyl used in the 1961 production line, as Mattel changed techniques, quickly took on an oily appearance. Another problem that has been documented is that metal earrings can turn the ears of 1960s-era dolls green. There is no easy fix for green ears, as the recommended repair can actually damage the doll if you are not careful.

But in comparison to what you see on the toy shelf today, the earliest outfits were made of the best available materials and with exquisite detail. Barbie’s first clothing designer was actually a former art school instructor named Charlotte Johnson.

According to a reprint of the first doll catalog, first Barbie doll was sold for $3, a two-piece suit with two blouses cost $3.50, and a wedding dress costs $5. Some of the well-known vintage outfits were made in relatively small numbers, given the difficulty in manufacturing the pieces. Others proved to become very fragile with age, such as that first wedding gown.

When I did some poking around as to the cost of living during that time, I realized that the 1959 doll cost the equivalent of about $30 today. The two-piece suit was the equivalent of $35. The wedding gown set was the equivalent of about $50. 

It was a stroke of genius for Mattel to authorize sewing patterns designed for Barbie and Ken, as I’m sure that helped ease the sticker shock of a doll purchase. The result was that any mom or grandma who had a sewing machine, as many women did in the 1960s, could make adorable outfits for Barbie and her friends for very little cost. More than one girl in those years, I’m sure, was surprised to open a Christmas box containing handmade doll clothes instead of the designer fashions she might have seen in the store.

What would an actual 1959 Barbie cost today? One was listed on eBay last weekend for more than $6,000. No, I don’t plan to get one!

If you like the vintage look, but don’t want to spend that much money, a re-issue from Barbie’s 35^th anniversary could be found on eBay last weekend for a very affordable $25.

How has one toy continued to capture the imagination of little girls for more than 50 years? The reason is Barbie was repeatedly updated to reflect the changing fashions, hairstyles, hobbies and interests of young women. The first shift happened when the classic ponytail and bubblecut era of 1959 to 1966 gave way to the Mod era of 1967 to 1971. If you were a little girl at that time, you might also remember the “trade in” campaign during the late 1960s in which $1.50 and an older style Barbie would get you the redesigned Twist-N-Turn Barbie.

Another relaunch happened in 1971, when Malibu Barbie was introduced as a budget-friendly doll with a carefree California summer lifestyle. Her fashions reflected the times with patriotic details, prairie skirts and flower prints.

Superstar Barbie was a hit when she was introduced in 1977. In addition to being one of the most popular dolls in genre, she brought glamour and glitz back to Barbie land. This was the disco era, and one could easily imagine Barbie in the spotlight. The Superstar face has been used for many Barbie dolls since.

1980 was a historic year for Mattel in regards to cultural diversity. Francie, Julia and Christie were early African-American dolls; and Stacey from 1968 was cast as a friend from Great Britain. But 1980 was the first year both a black doll and also a Latina doll were given the name of Barbie. 1980 also marked the start of the Dolls of the World series. The international dolls are now the second-longest running series after the swimsuit line, featuring countries such as Argentina, Poland and Kenya.

Actually, some of the most talked-about dolls these days aren’t meant for little girls. They are meant for older teens and adult collectors who enjoy the fashion, details and artistry of the designer series and celebrity replicas. 

If you’ve heard that the Holiday Barbie series is highly collectible, blame that on the first edition in 1988. It was a trial run, and so not very many dolls were made. You can expect to pay about $300 if you want one of the 1988 holiday dolls now. It is still a popular series at retail, but don’t expect much value on the resale market for the later releases. For example, the 2006 Happy Holidays Barbie, which I do own, was listed for only about $35 on eBay last weekend.

I would actually date the start of the collector doll series to 1990, when fashion designer Bob Mackie provided the inspiration for a Barbie in a gold dress. There have been many other designer dolls since.

Going beyond the Barbie in the box, there also is a genre of collectors who redress or repaint the dolls or set up themed displays. It is true that Mattel has produced special edition dolls for charity auctions and doll conventions. But many “one of a kind” or unique dolls are the results of collectors, fashion designers or artists just having fun.

I’m one of the collectors who likes to have fun with my dolls.

I had four or five Barbies when I was a girl in the 1970s. I also had the Sunshine Family and several Dawn dolls. But I’m the oldest of seven children, and the only toy from my childhood that has survived to this day is my dollhouse. That’s a story all to its own, and I brought a scrapbook with pictures if you’d like to look at it.

The doll that started my adult Barbie collection was Dolls of the World German Barbie in 1995. I thought it would be fun to find the international dolls that represented my family lines. I thought I would stop at those six or seven international dolls. That idea didn’t last long.

To be fair, I was looking for a new hobby at the time and Barbie was an easy choice. Even if Mattel suddenly decided to stop making Barbie dolls, which was not likely, there was a huge inventory on the second-hand market. I could always find a new-to-me doll.

My husband was amused at this interest. He now knew what to buy me for birthday and Christmas gifts!

I currently own about 150 dolls. The international dolls are left in their original outfits, and displayed on shelves in the bedroom. The rest of my dolls, most of which come from the play line “pink box” series, are kept in my craft room which has a Barbie theme. I don’t know if I have more Barbie dolls than anyone else in Monroe. (Turns out ... one of the guests at the meeting has 200 dolls, mostly vintage! I also mentioned a doll collector that most of the women knew but whom was unable to attend. She has about 75 dolls.)

I started Barbie collecting at a good time. The dolls I liked were affordable, but not so popular that they sold out. During the late 1990s, there were also toy and doll dealer shows around Ohio and Michigan where I could look for older releases. I joined a doll club in Akron, Ohio, subscribed to Barbie Bazaar magazine, and met other collectors across the country via the Internet.

The tradition that some of you know about involving a Barbie doll on my newsroom desk started before I came to Monroe. In 1997, I was working at the News Herald in Port Clinton, Ohio. Because Lake Erie was so close, I thought it would be fun to set out a Barbie with a beach outfit on my desk that summer. This soon expanded into some elaborate doll displays.

So on the second day I was at The Monroe Evening News, I put a doll on my desk. I don’t remember which outfit I dressed her in, but I do remember that was a Midge doll. The reaction from one of my new co-workers was pretty hilarious. Over time, people learned to watch for what I’d do next.

I come up with those ideas by looking around toy stores and craft shows for dolls, clothes and accessories that I can turn into displays. For example, I have a firefighter doll arrangement that works well for a Sept. 11 memorial. I have taken a G.I. Joe outfit and put that on a Barbie for Veteran’s Day. I made a replica of my daughter’s Girl Scout uniform for Skipper and set that doll out when her troop had honor guard assignments. 

During the Custer centennial events two years ago, I took a black Victorian dress that I had bought at a local craft show, and dressed up a doll to depict Libbie Custer.

My favorite creation so far is a depiction of Miss Michigan 2011 Elizabeth Wertenberger. This idea started when I saw a Target exclusive Barbie who looked like Elizabeth! I knew I could assemble pageant attire from accessories and outfits I owned or would find on the Internet. Yes, that doll was my desk display when Elizabeth competed at Miss America in January.

What can you look for from Barbie this fall?

If you like the holiday Barbies, there will be 3 this year. Most stores will have both the blonde and African-American dolls, but Kmart is reported to have an exclusive brunette. The 2012 holiday doll wears a red dress and costs about $40.

The campaign fashion for Barbie for President 2012 is a pink suit. The blonde doll can be found on toy shelves all over Monroe, but Mattel also made President dolls that are Asian, Hispanic and African-American. I haven’t found the variations locally, but you may be able to find them online. This is a very affordable doll for only $14.

If you are interested in the University Barbie, also known as the cheerleader series, then go to BarbieCollector.com and see what’s new for this year. Unfortunately, none of the colleges my family cheers for are in the current series! But the dolls are beautiful and cost about $25 each.

So let’s hear some of your stories. Who was your favorite Barbie doll, and what’s the story that goes with her?

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Bibliography:

“Barbie: All Dolled Up” by Jennie D’Amato. 2009. Running Press Book Publishers.

“Identifying Barbie Dolls” by Janine Fennick. 1998. Chartwell Books.

“The Story of Barbie” by Kitturah B. Westenhouser. 1994. Collector Books.

“Barbie: A Visual Guide to the Ultimate Fashion Doll.” 2000. Dorling Kindersley.