Go see the Target exclusive Barbie Basics!

Barbie collectors: you want to go to your nearest Target store and see the Target exclusive pieces in the Barbie Basics collection!

I counted four different dolls, and two accessory packs, on the shelf today at Target in Monroe, Mich.

My Barbie budget is kind of small right now so I picked out one doll. Yes, this is a blonde and not my usual choice in dolls. However, I really did like this one's hairstyle.

Salute to 9/11: Tea Time at the Plaza Gene doll

The Nashville Doll Collecting Examiner has this post with a photo of Gene doll posed in front of the New York skyline with the World Trade Center in the background: Tea Time at the Plaza Gene Doll - a Remembrance of 9/11.

The photos were taken by Kathryn Darden in the style that's been so popular in recent years of a doll or stuffed animal being posed on its "travels" around the city, country or world.

My traditional "doll on my desk" display for 9/11 was to dress Teresa in a firefighter outfit. But I was so busy last week that I forgot all about digging through the doll boxes to get that doll out of storage.

Styled by Me Barbie is back

Mattel has announced the Styled by Me Barbie order service is "back and more fabulous than ever."

Here's the link where you can play "paper doll" on your computer and see what doll, fashion and accessory combination you would like for the "up to $39.99" price tag.

I didn't poke around on the Styled by Me when it was previously offered, but I do remember the My Design Friend of Barbie in the late 1990s. I ordered two of those dolls - one for me and one for my daughter. I also saved a lot of the doll image jpgs I created as I tried to replicate my mother, sisters and sister-in-law.

My Design was definitely more of interest to the older collector, as compared to Styled by Me which seems very pink box-ish.

Specifically, the range of non-blonde Barbies is extremely limited in Styled by Me. There are nine dolls you can pick from and six of them are blondes. Two are Hispanic or brunette, one is African-American.

The fashion choices are skewed toward the younger doll fans. Yes, today's teens and college-age women do want a cocktail dress or two in their wardrobe. But for every day attire, they are not "princesses." They wear stylish jeans and Ts, business suits, work uniforms. The "tops and bottoms" selections in the Styled by Me collection have a good range, but the dress selections are so-so. Older collectors also would probably appreciate a wedding gown, but the white dress shown is more of a party dress and there are no wedding accessories to pick from.

In comparison, My Design had many more choices on the doll's face, skin color and hair color. The My Design fashions also were more higher-end and detailed.

If you're looking for a birthday gift idea for a little girl, I think this would fit the bill.

But as an adult collector, this is really not my style.

Barbie Loves Fashion Night Out

Something to watch for: Barbie's Fashion Night Out on Sept. 8

River Raisin Jazz Festival Barbie

Here's the doll changeup today: A So in Style doll (Kara) with her own boots but the top and pants from one of the 1990s Fashion Avenue sets; sunglasses of unknown origin; art easels, microphone, a trumpet and a flute from assorted collections. Translation: River Raisin Jazz Festival Barbie!

 

Ft. Lauderdale WPLG interviews Liz Grampp and Sandi Holder

Best quote from the interview: "Collect what you love ..."

But don't be misguided by the fact that selected dolls are worth thousands. A lot of dolls you'll find on the retail or second-hand market today are just, well, dolls.

The Barbie dilemma continues 50 years later

One of the criticisms all along about Barbie has been that her figure and style was a bit too "adult" and commercialized for some parents' tastes.

One of my co-workers pointed me to a column by Terry Mattingly, On Religion, about the challenges of pushing too grownup of a style and culture on little girls. Terry's column ran locally in the Ann Arbor.com newspaper; but you'll also find it many places across the web including The Republic of Columbus, Ind. A snippet:

Barbie dolls are not the only products that define this dilemma, but they are highly symbolic. In an essay for the journal Books & Culture, Riley noted the power of a story recounted in "Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture," a book by feminist Peggy Orenstein. The anecdote begins with her filmmaker husband approving a Barbie purchase for their young daughter.

"I demanded that he take it away from her. She started to cry. So I gave it back," wrote Orenstein.

The parents argued some more and the Barbie went back on the Target shelf.

I did buy my daughter Barbie dolls. I bought myself Barbie dolls.

I realize that some moms are not entirely pleased with the concept. But here's a thought:

It will be hard to get through childhood without dolls of any sort crossing your daughter's path.

So, what dolls would you find acceptable? Brats and that over the top attitude? American Girls and their pricey wardrobes? Disney dolls and the princess extreme that genre has turned into?

Or a Barbie with her sisters, Skipper and Kelly; her friends Teresa and Kira and Ken; for whom you can easily find retail and handmade doll clothes and furniture to suit a variety of tastes, fashion and sensibilities?

By the way, there has been a doll on my desk since May 1997. And I had a customer remark today about my tradition and my current doll - a So in Style African-American friend Kara in 1960s 'mod' handcrafted outfit.