Launched at the American Toy Fair in 1959, Barbie was the first teenage doll ever produced for children and quickly became one of the all-time best selling and most widely collected toys. Heavily promoted on TV, over a billion of the dolls have been sold. Collectors prize early numbered Barbie dolls from 1959 and the 1960s, as well as a wide range of rarities and special editions, such as Barbie dolls with bendable legs or red hair.
The toy was the vision of Ruth Handler, whose husband, Elliot, was the "el" in Mattel and whose daughter, Barbara, gave the doll its name. The inspiration for Barbie’s facial features and impossible hourglass figure was Bild Lilli, a doll Handler picked up in 1956 while vacationing in Europe.
Bild Lilli, which is a collectible in its own right, had pouty lips, reminiscent of the lips found on bisque and porcelain dolls in Europe. Mattel metallurgist Kohei Suzuki gave Barbie more natural-looking lips, although her eyes and nose were kept almost identical to those of her forebear...
The other critical difference between Bild Lilli and Barbie was the concept of accessories. Beyond Barbie’s standard black-and-white zebra-striped swimsuit, little girls in the United States could choose 22 other ensembles, ranging from a collarless Chanel-style jacket with matching sheath skirt to a satin-and-tulle bridal gown. Clothing designer Charlotte Johnson was hired away from her teaching post at Chouinard Art School in Los Angeles to complete this critical task.
Most of the outfits offered in 1959 were still available in 1960, making the three that were discontinued (Easter Parade, Gay Parisienne, and Roman Holiday) extremely collectible. Of the six new outfits added in 1960, Friday Night Date was one of the best, thanks to its charming blue corduroy jumper with felt appliqués, pair of soda glasses with cotton standing in for actual fizz, and a black serving tray bearing the Barbie logo.
1961 introduced the world to Ken, Barbie’s boyfriend named after Barbara Handler’s brother. In addition to Barbies with ponytails, dolls with bubble-cut 'dos were also offered. Barbie’s ever-increasing line of outfits suggested that this woman did more than go to fancy parties and beach barbecues — she was an American Airlines stewardess, a nurse, and even a professional ballerina.
Barbie’s best friend Midge was added in 1963. Though Midge’s facial features were different from Barbie’s, her body style was the same so that accessories could be mixed and matched between the two dolls. The following year Midge got her own boyfriend, Alan, and Barbie was given a kid sister, Skipper. Mattel even sold a pet poodle, which itself could be dressed in a variety of fun getups.
During the middle of the 1960s, dolls in the Barbie line gained bendable limbs so they could be posed, but the major facelift came in 1967. Rooted eyelashes replaced the doll’s plastic ones, and Twist 'N Turn Barbies were offered for just $1.50 plus the trade-in of an old doll, which is why many of the original vintage dolls are so hard to find and expensive. 1967 was also the year that Barbie and her increasing number of friends went mod. The Bermuda Holidays outfits predate Goldie Hawn’s costumes on Laugh-In.
1967 is important to Barbie collectors for two other reasons: It was the year an African-American doll, Francie, joined Barbie and her friends, and it was the last year the doll was manufactured in Japan. From 1968 onwards, Barbie dolls were produced in Mexico, Taiwan, and Korea.
Interviews & Articles
The Zen of Ken, or Life as Barbie's Boyfriend

I always wondered if starting a hobby in my free time was a good idea, and then I remembered Ken. He was a gift to my older sister… [more]
Antique Dolls, from Wood and Wax to Kewpie

We have a very small team here at the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood, so we all have to do lots of different things. I do… [more]
Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)
Fashion Doll Guide

This site is all Barbie, all fashion from 1959 to 1972. Suzanne Maxwell lays out hundreds of period wardrobe choice… [read review or visit site]
Vintage Barbie Vinyl Reference Guide

Barbie vinyl collectors, you've come to the right place: Janet Poff's visually stimulating gallery of Barbie vinyl… [read review or visit site]
Keeping Ken

Jef Beck's definitive reference site on Ken dolls, from Malibu Ken to Talking Ken to Spanish Ken. Includes the earl… [read review or visit site]
Dollreference.com

This densely packed index of antique and vintage dolls claims to offer over 10,000 images of dolls from the 1800s … [read review or visit site]
Vintage Dolls of the 50s

Rhonda Wilson's collection of 1950s dolls, organized by name (Ginny and friends, Littlest Angel and friends, etc.) … [read review or visit site]
Kaylees Korner of Collectible Dolls

Kaylee's extensive collection of vintage dolls from the 1930s to 90s. Click the balloons to browse. Though Kaylee s… [read review or visit site]
Museum of Childhood

Embrace your inner child on this website from the Victoria and Albert Museum, filled with high-quality images and i… [read review or visit site]
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Recent News: Barbie Dolls
Source: Google News
Picker Fritz eager to help hometown of Davenport
Danbury News Times, May 18thGendreau said the weekday "sleepiness" of the small town of about 3,000 people in Carroll County transforms into a hopping destination for motorcycles and antique hunters on the weekends, especially in the summer. It is not unusual, he said, to get 5...Read more
StreetStyle: Brenda Johnson
Winnipeg Free Press, May 18thCoat -- "It's from a vintage store in the Exchange. The owner had a hidden section on the top floor Everybody looked like Barbie dolls to me, especially when they wear four-inch heels and they're into '50s styles. So I had a tailor make clothes for...Read more
Hagerstown man has car devoted to Dolly Parton
Knoxville News Sentinel, May 18thIn this May 2, 2013 photo, Paul T. Woodal Jr. poses for photos next to his Barbie-pink 2008 Volkswagen Beetle adorned with photos and sayings from one of country music's most beloved artists, Dolly Parton. (AP Photo/The Herald-Mail, Joe Crocetta). This...Read more
Light From the Middle East exhibition highlights Arab talent
The National, May 18thAn image from the Emirati photographer Lamia Gargash's series Through The Looking Glass, which is a collection of portraits showing people with and without prosthetics. Courtesy Lamia Gargash / Third Line Gallery. The Yemeni photographer Boushra...Read more
I've played with a lot of Barbies: Johnny Depp
Day & Night News, May 18thLondon, May 18 : Actor Johnny Depp is an avid collector of limited edition Barbie dolls. Depp, 49, has also got celebrity dolls based on Beyonce and even a Lindsay Lohan figure with an ankle tag, reported Sun online. “I've played with a lot of Barbies...Read more
Storytelling raconteurs of The Moth to flutter to The State Theatre
Mlive Kalamazoo, May 17thThe Moth "is very much a celebration of the raconteur," said Maggie Cino, director of The Moth collection of storytellers coming to The State Theatre, May 22. Five storytellers She nearly dies and is offered a Barbie Dreamhouse if she pulls through...Read more
Barbie's Dreamhouse Gets a Warm Reception
Tablet Magazine, May 17thgeometric gown—along with, fittingly enough, a Mona Lisa-inspired Barbie, adorned in Renaissance finery, and a van Goghian Barbie, rocking a Starry Night cocktail dress—are the three inaugural offerings of the Barbie Collector Museum Collection...Read more
Vintage Barbie dolls reflect the fashions of the early 1960s
Pocono Record, April 27thIn 1959, Barbie was featured in a TV commercial and she sold for $3. A new Barbie doll doesn't cost that much more today, but if you want to buy a vintage Barbie from the 1960s, get ready to open your wallet. Like some other baby boomers, Barbie came...Read more
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