Happy Barbie Day!

During a trip to Europe Ruth Handler purchased a doll called “Bild Lilli”. This doll was based on a German comic strip and was a gag gift for adults. She brought the doll back to the U.S. and started working on redesigning the doll and worked with a designer who could design doll clothes. The invention of the Barbie Doll was made by Ruth Handler and she named Barbie after her daughter Barbara. On March 9th, 1959 the invention of the Barbie Doll was presented at the Toy Fair in New York City.


“New for 1959, the BARBIE doll: A shapely teenage fashion Model! Retail price $3.00…”
Elliot and Ruth Handler (the inventors of the Barbie doll)

====================

So.... tells us your experiences with Barbie Dolls!

I was more of a tomboy but I did own about 3 Barbies. I cannot believe I found a picture online, but this was the first barbie that I had... I think I got her in 1986 and believe it or not... I still have her in my room tucked away in the closet... although she's had a rough life... lol


How about you guys?!

I was more into stuffed teddys and animals myself when I was little but I do remember having at least 1 Barbie. I was about 6 and she is in a picture of my Grandpa and me when I was visiting him at his nursing home.

ChristinaAL wrote:

I LOVED Barbie (and all her friends!) growing up. I probably still have about 50 of them in a box in the attic. For awhile, Barbie dolls were all I played with.

Same here Christina.....I was definitely a girly girl and Barbies were my life for a long time. My sisters and I had tons of the accessories too, like the airplane, RV, swimming pool, the works. My mom made a lot of the clothes for us, and she has kept a ton of the stuff. My grandpa made us a huge Barbie house too...yep, we were spoiled when it came to the world of Barbie! If I had lots of room, I would probably collect Barbies today.

Here's what a typical Barbie looked like that we played with:

Wow, Rhonda!

I think I told this before, but I used to do a lot of chores for my elderly neighbor, and whenever I was in her garage I'd notice an old Barbie case on a high shelf. Her daughter is in her late 50s, so I figured it must've been hers. Maybe even a first-edition Barbie, which would be a pretty neat collector's item!

One day I was in the garage alone, rolling up garden hoses, when my curiosity got the best of me. I got a step-ladder, brought the Barbie case down, opened it... and it was full of knitting needles and balls of yarn.

I think it is interesting that you can still get Barbies for $3. I just saw an ad the other day with $3 Barbies in it trying to get parents to buy them for Easter baskets. Of course, the quality has gone down. I don't know how many heads pop off of my girls Barbies, but at least Mattel was good about replacing them.

I was mostly a tomboy, but I did play with Barbies. I had Malibu Barbie and Ken, Quick Curl Francie, and Skipper. I also had the camper and a salon.

My Barbies used to play alongside my brother's superhero figurines. I had quite a few of them, along with the Barbie camper.

Lori wrote:

I don't know how many heads pop off of my girls Barbies, but at least Mattel was good about replacing them.

That's what happened to mine... but it may be due to the fact that I would use her to play mini handball with

pamh36 wrote:

My Barbies used to play alongside my brother's superhero figurines.

So did mine

I loved Barbies when I was younger! I had a barbie house, atleast 30 barbies, and tons of accessories. I don't have any of my barbie things anymore, unless you count my I Love Lucy barbies, which are all still in the box