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Happy 67th Birthday to Barbie!

I’m writing this week about my favorite doll from my childhood. Barbie is only a few months older than I am, and I got my very first Barbie in 1962, when I was 3 years old. She was a number 4 Barbie, meaning she was the fourth edition. I wish I still had that number 4 doll, but I think I traded her to my little friend for a newer model. Little did I know that my old number 4 Barbie would be worth four or five times the amount of the Barbie I traded her for today. I kept all 6 dolls that I had from the 1960’s, and most were in good condition after all these years. I still have all of them except that very first one. After my daughter Katy was old enough, we began buying her Barbie dolls. Hers were all 1990’s dolls and very few of those are worth much today unless, they are special editions, or a limited few were manufactured, or there was a glitch in packaging etc. Some speciality dolls, like Bob Mackie, are worth a substantial amount, but the once highly collectible Holiday Barbie Dolls aren’t worth much except for certain ones. I still collect Barbie dolls today, and altogether, I have about 150 vintage dolls ranging from years 1960-1972. Most I have purchased from estate or yard sales or on EBay. I’m game for any doll between the years of 1959-1972, if you have some to sell. I learned early on that a doll with no hair or no make-up wasn’t a big deal. Green ear is very hard to deal with (where the original earrings interacted with the vinyl) and bite marks are impossible! Anything else can usually be corrected. I found a lady in the state of Oregon who once wrote for Barbie Bazaar Magazine; she is a doll artist and she restores any doll in her Barbie Spa. She re-roots their hair and repaints their make-up. She has done several dolls for me, and she always makes them look beautiful once again!
Barbie was created by Ruth Handler, co-founder of The Mattel Toy Corporation. The adult fashion model doll first debuted at The American International Toy Fair in New York City on March 9, 1959. She was available for purchase that same day in stores, and she retailed for $3.00
That very first doll, is now worth anywhere from $15,000.00 to $45,000.00 depending on her condition and original accessories, box, etc. The first Barbie has distinctive ways of identification. She had eyebrows that were meticulously arched, her irises were white, and she had a side glance. She also had tubes inside her legs and holes in her feet and in her first shoes, so that she could stand perfectly on her own personal stand per the holes in the bottoms of her feet and shoes. The second edition Barbie is exactly like the number one, except she didn’t have tubes in her legs and holes in her feet and her stand was redesigned to fit under her arms to hold her up. The number three Barbie was exactly like the number two, except her eyebrows which were changed to a softer, more relaxed style that was popular during the early ‘60’s, and her irises are now a pretty deep blue. The first three editions were made from a type of vinyl that faded to a creamy white over the course of her first 50 years. The number 4 Barbie was made from a different vinyl that did not fade with time. The first four editions were manufactured between 1959 and 1961, and all had a solid torso. Later models were hollow inside. I do not personally own a number one or two doll, but I have 6 number 3, dolls and 11 number 4 dolls. All are dressed in original Barbie outfits containing the Barbie label, displayed inside a large glass curio. I have a few that are in display boxes outside the curio. I love my Barbie dolls, and find great joy in collecting and displaying my dolls… and yes, I do allow my two granddaughters to play with them!

Recently, I saw this Silver Edition Senior Citizen Barbie, commemorating her 67th birthday. They say she is finally embracing her silver years. Really? She has a gray ponytail, which automatically makes her look older, crow’s feet, stretchy pants, flat shoes, reading glasses, a heating pad for aches and pains, prescriptions, because at 67, Barbie is officially over it—and thriving, wide hips and all! Who needs high heels at this age?
I don’t know if this is really a manufactured doll or a joke, but I’d like to tell you that Barbie is the same age as me, and even tho I have this “shape” and I sometimes use a heating pad, I have a few gray hairs, not many but a few; Barbie is a vintage icon and she deserves to stay young! I can promise you that Barbie would not have this shape, nor would she ever allow any gray hair to show and she wouldn’t wear these clothes, and she certainly wouldn’t be announcing that she used a heating pad and takes all these meds! Remember, Barbie has done everything, she has been everywhere and she has had every occupation Mattel could possibly think of, and she was still a popular runway model who even modeled Bob Mackie’s beautiful, classy designs! My idea of Barbie at 67 is totally different! You see, Barbie is rich. She’s worked as an astronaut, a school teacher, a nurse, a doctor, and she was even the first Woman President! She owns a mansion, has a housekeeper, a chef, and a personal trainer. She owns a Mercedes, a Porsche, a Jeep, a Fiat, a Corvette and she even drives a Ferrari. In the nutshell, Barbie is timeless!

So, I’d like to say Happy Birthday Barbie! You look every bit as good today as you did when you were 17!