Barbie can be found in the Guinness Book of Records, as well as Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Some girls have collectible dolls. This is a special toy with an amazing story. On March 9, 2017, Barbie turned 58 years old.
The appearance of Barbie
American resident Ruth Hendler raised her daughter Barbara. In the post-war fifties, a girl could only play with cardboard or paper dolls. Ruth noticed that while playing, her daughter imagined her dolls as adults. The woman thought: what if I created a girl doll? She proposed the idea to her husband, Elliot. The married couple owned Mattel, which at that time was already collaborating with the Disney animation studio. However, the company's male designers rejected the project because "she has woman breasts."
However, Ruth Hendler did not give up. While traveling in Switzerland, she noticed an “adult doll” in a toy store. It was Lilly who became the prototype of modern Barbie. Ruth improved the appearance of the toy: she added wide black eyebrows, plump lips, and slanted eyes. On March 9, 1959, Barbara Millcent Roberts (Barbie) appeared in a striped swimsuit, high-heeled shoes, bright makeup and red nails. This doll was sold for ten thousand dollars. The first edition was three hundred and fifty-one units; these toys already cost three dollars apiece.
Classification of collectible Barbie dolls
Mattel's products were originally intended for gaming. Twenty years after the sale of the first copy, it turned out that many lovers of this beauty began to collect them. Girls who grew up with Barbie have now become serious women. But the fascination with this toy has not gone away; some of its admirers collect entire sets. In 1979, the company began creating exclusive Barbies. Collectible dolls were not used in children's games, but were intended for adult connoisseurs.
Until 1989, collectible items were divided into:
- Limited Edition - dolls were produced in special boxes with a certificate of authenticity, circulation up to thirty-five thousand was not put on direct sale;
- Special Edition with a circulation of up to 35 thousand pieces represents separate issues of the series, a certificate of authenticity is available;
- Collector Edition - quantity no more than 35,000, used as collectible Barbie dolls.
Fifteen years later, the classification has undergone changes and today it depends on the number of copies produced:
- Platinum Label - release up to a thousand;
- Gold Label - issue no more than twenty-five thousand;
- Silver Label - release up to fifty thousand;
- Pink Label - release without quantity limitation, available for free sale;
- Black Label - toys released on one theme, without any restrictions on circulation, available for sale through the retail chain.
It is also necessary to highlight:
- OOAK - Barbie, created in one copy;
- Exclusive - dolls produced for a specific retail chain or convention.
Barbie: love for ballet
It must be difficult to find a profession, occupation, event or hobby that is not associated with a famous doll. Starting with a fashion designer, a nurse, a business woman and ending with a presidential candidate, an astronaut. Barbie first became a ballet lover in the early sixties. The next ballerina, released in 1976, was made in such a way that it could perform splits or dance moves.
In 1986, the first porcelain doll appeared among Barbie. Influenced by the works of Edgar Degas, a collectible Barbie ballerina doll appeared. It is made of the finest porcelain. Prima Ballerina Barbie wore a traditional ballet dress. The top of this dress is presented in the form of a corset with a bodice. The gracefulness of the handles is emphasized by chiffon sleeves. The bottom of the dress is decorated with a pleated multi-colored skirt made of the finest tulle. A black silk ribbon is tied around the neck. The dancer is a brunette, her hair is beautifully combed. There are flowers on the shoulders, head and waist. The dancer's feet are shod in ivory-colored pointe shoes.
The Barbie Ballet Star collectible doll went on sale in 2015. The doll is wearing a light purple ballet dress with a traditional tutu. The modern toy ballerina is wearing thin pink tights and purple pointe shoes with ribbons. The dancer's head with blond hair styled in an updo is decorated with a pearl pendant. Thanks to the hinged legs, the ballerina can perform any dance figure.
Barbie and socialites
An incredibly beautiful and elegant release includes the Red Carpet Collectible Barbie Dolls. Beautiful girls are a real celebration of charm, femininity, and style. Initially, the series consisted of four representatives, then it was increased to six. The set includes Barbie all dressed in gold: a tight dress with a provocative slit, drop earrings, high-heeled shoes with a strap, and a gold-plated bracelet. Traditionally colored Barbie accentuates her tiny waist with a corset dress. A striking model with straight blond hair wears a bright blue jumpsuit. The entire collection is complemented by exclusive accessories and hairstyles. Representatives of this series look like real movie stars or models before entering the red carpet of a high-society event.
Clothes for collectible dolls
For the first twenty years, images for Barbie were invented and brought to life exclusively by Charlotte Johnson. Collectible dolls received outfits from fashion designers in the early nineties.
World couturiers began to offer images for the famous blonde. They developed clothes for collectible Barbie dolls. Not just one outfit or dress was created for them, but entire collections. Jean Paul Gaultier, Bob Mackie, Thierry Mugler, Paco Rabanne, Lanvin, Hermes, Kenzo, Guy Laroche, Lolita Lempicka, Sonia Rykiel, Paul Smith, Karl Lagerfeld, Cacharel worked on unique models for the beauty.
The largest collection of beauties consisted of more than 4,000 dolls and was sold for an amount exceeding one hundred thousand pounds sterling. Every year about 100 sets of clothes are produced for the famous doll, and up to fifteen toys are sold every minute in the world. Today there are about 100,000 collectors, ninety percent of whom are women over forty. Judging by the reviews, most girls from 3 to 12 years old have at least a dozen Barbies, not taking into account her relatives, friends, boyfriends, and animals.
Barbie is over fifty years old, but the next generation of girls will just as happily play with these dolls, and grown women will collect them. One can only envy such devotion. These Barbie connoisseurs spend a total of about seventy million dollars a year on toys. No matter what the comments may be from opponents of this doll, the era of Barbie is not over yet.
Barbie is no longer just a name, not just a doll. This is a whole Universe, this is a miracle that both children and adults want to join. Barbie is constantly changing, learning, adapting, working. She takes part in charity auctions, for which she is dressed up by famous designers and jewelers. Of course, a doll that a jeweler has worked on can no longer cost little - this is how very expensive Barbie dolls appear, the price of which often exceeds the cost of a good mansion.
The most expensive Barbie in the world - Barbie by Canturi
The famous toy manufacturer Mattel, which owns the copyright to the most popular doll in the world, together with the famous Australian jeweler Stefano Canturi, created the most expensive Barbie doll in the world. Barbie from Canturi is a real lady in an elegant cocktail dress and evening shoes, her hairstyle and makeup are carefully thought out, her graceful doll neck is decorated with a collectible necklace from Canturi with a pink diamond, and her finger is decorated with a diamond ring.
The designer traveled half the world with the doll, visiting Shanghai, London, Geneva, and Singapore. The precious Barbie was then auctioned off, with all proceeds donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
The price of Barbie by Canturi - $302,500 - was determined not only by what the doll “wore”, but also by the fact that it was (and, by the way, remains) the only one in the world.
Barbie and the Crystal Castle
Especially for the promotion of the new cartoon Barbie And The Diamond Castle in 2008, a Barbie literally strewn with diamonds was created. Her dress, shoes, hair, tiara, earrings, necklace and bracelets were decorated with more than forty diamonds weighing about 20 carats, and the frames and small details were made of white gold. Let's leave aside the aesthetic value of such a design, but this doll was valued at - no more, no less - $95,361. However, it is not intended for sale and, most likely, will live in a toy museum.
De Beers 40th Anniversary Barbie
In honor of Barbie's 40th anniversary, the De Beers jewelry house created a very unusual interpretation of the famous doll - a brunette in oriental attire, decorated with gold and diamonds. $85,000 for a doll dressed as a harem dancer with 160 diamonds is not that much.
The world's first Barbie doll, wearing a zebra print swimsuit and round earrings, sold for £2,880 ($4,370) at Christies to an anonymous collector in 2006. This Barbie can currently be purchased on eBay for $8,000.
Lorraine Schwartz's Bling Barbie
One of the most popular US jewelry brands, Lorraine Schwartz, together with Mattel and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, developed and released a series of elegant Barbies, dressed in little black dresses and with exquisite accessories.
The dolls went to auction on January 28, 2011, and the highlight of the collection was one Barbie with diamond accessories, for which they wanted to get $25 thousand. However, the doll was sold for only $7,500.
Bob Mackie Gold Barbie
Mattel, together with beloved designer Cher Bob Mackie, launched the very popular “gold” Barbie model with collectors back in 1990. Very rare, personally signed copies can be purchased at online auctions for about one and a half thousand dollars.
Devi Kroell's Barbie
Barbie from young New York designer Devi Cruell was specially created for a charity auction in a single copy. Dressed in the style of a rich, big-city woman (but without the diamonds or other trinkets), the doll sold for $1,075.
Judith Leiber Barbie Doll
Judith Leiber is a name and brand name that evokes a shiver of admiration in all women, because it is under this brand that the most wonderful handbags in the world are produced. And it was Judith Leiber who created a luxurious yet elegant version of the Barbie doll, dressed in a strapless cocktail dress made of dark gray lace, the skirt and corset are decorated with tiny gold sequins.
And, of course, the doll is holding a stunning minaudiere handbag, decorated with topaz-colored crystals and the Barbie “B” logo. The bracelet and earrings are also made of crystals to match the handbag, and the makeup and hairstyle are beyond praise.
The Judith Leiber Barbie Doll retails for $975 on eBay.
The world's very first Barbie doll, born in 1958 and released in 1959, is now the rarest toy in Mattel history. Finding an original 1959 Barbie new in packaging is almost impossible. On the eBay platform you can find only a few used versions without accessories, often in a “sad” form and still at fabulous prices of a couple of thousand US dollars. What is this Original Barbie 1959?
Original 1959 Barbie Doll
Indeed, it is unrealistic to come across a brand new retro doll on the market. If buyers had known how popular and in demand it would become after its birth in 1959, they would have kept copies of this toy in its original form (after all, almost 60 years ago, a doll in a black and white swimsuit cost only $3). Perhaps someone has such an original Mattel doll hiding on their shelf...
Those who were not lucky enough to hold the very first Barbie doll in the world can enjoy its re-release.
Mattel has unveiled a reproduction of the first Original Barbie Doll from 1959 for the doll's 35th anniversary in a special edition.
Should you buy a reproduction instead of an original for your collection?
1959 Barbie Reproduction Review
It is known that after her birth in 1959, the Barbie doll used the same face mold until 1966. It was a mold #850 Barbie Teen Age Fashion Model, which was slightly changed (makeup, hairstyle), but overall is still very recognizable to this day.
Even from the reproduction it is clear that Barbie then preferred to wear her hair in a ponytail. Her upper eyelids were molded, creating the illusion of eyelashes, and her gaze looked down to the right. The eyebrows were then drawn with a “house”, and the lips were tightly compressed.
The price of an original Barbie was once $3, but today a reproduction costs between $20 and $40 (that's for a 1993 toy). There is also a reproduction of the original Barbie in a zebra swimsuit from a later release, 2015. It resembles the original a little less than the toy released for Barbie's 35th anniversary.
On the back of the box it says that the reproduction was made in Malaysia in 1993. The doll went on sale in 1994-1995.
In 1993, two versions of the original 1959 Barbie doll were released: a blonde and a brunette wearing a striped black and white swimsuit with glasses, black shoes and a stand hidden in a Teen Age Fashion Model Barbie box (as the original box was almost 60 years ago).
It is said that fewer brunettes were produced than blondes. In both versions there were both dolls with “houses” of eyebrows, as well as rarer (and more valuable) toys with arched eyebrows. In 1959, eyebrow “houses” were drawn on the dolls, so this eyebrow shape is still closer to the original.
Mattel claims that it used a recreation of the original toy mold to create the reproduction, so this version is as close as possible to the first Barbie toy. The year of the mold is indicated on the back of the head - 1958.
The year of the body mold is indicated on the back (1958, 1993) and the country of issue (Malaysia):
This doll is plastic. She has straight arms and legs. They move at the shoulder and hip joints. The head also turns (left and right).
The legs (feet) have holes made to imitate the original toy, which used copper tubes in the legs in 1959.
Interestingly, these same legs (remnants from the doll's 35th anniversary reproduction) were also used in the creation of the blonde Solo in the Spotlight Barbie reproduction in 1995.
The 1959 Barbie reproduction has a tag on the right arm, confirming that it is an original Mattel toy.
Hello, dear friends! Today I want to talk about a doll that stirred the hearts of all Russian girls in the 90s. This is of course Barbie. And also her siblings.
No matter how ardent opponents love this doll, no one can deny that there is no other toy that all the girls in the country would dream of. Modern children have different interests and a lot of different toys. And in the 90s, everyone dreamed of only one doll.
I won’t tell the story of the doll itself. It can be found on the Internet in many sources.
Everyone knows that the doll appeared in 1959. And of course it changed every year. How it changed over the years, recently the girls posted them in tops, but at that time my topic was already being prepared for publication, so the Barbie molds are duplicated by year: 
Here is my classic blonde Barbie of a modern mold, already known and loved by everyone - Yoga Barbie: 
I’ll make a reservation that on the back of Barbie’s head and back the mark does not indicate the year the doll was released, but the year the given mold and body were created. 
Barbie is the richest doll in the world. Many accessories, furniture, houses, cars are created for her. Barbie also has her own designers and fashion designers who create her a varied look and wardrobe. She has friends and a friend, Ken. And of course she has a family - sisters. I would really like to dwell on them in more detail. Because there is a lot of information about Barbie herself on the Internet. But her sisters are much rarer characters. On our website there are only one or two publications about them. And how Stacey and Skipper’s molds have changed over the years is not at all. But these are very worthy dolls.
Let's start with the youngest Roberts sister. She appeared in 2001. Her name is Chrissy. Sold only in game sets with Barbie. 
Chrissy is still just a baby. She has molded hair on her head, but sometimes she has a tail made from her hair. There's probably nothing more to say about her.
The next oldest is a sister named Chelsea. But her name used to be Kelly. According to legend, she is 4-6 years old. Please note that these are not different sisters, but the same character. Firstly, because all Barbie sisters were born in chronological order from eldest to youngest. And then suddenly in 2010, Chelsea appears out of nowhere, older than Kelly and Chrissy. And, secondly, in all the sets with the sisters, Chesley firmly took the place where Kelly used to be. And Kelly just disappeared. This proves that Kelly and Chelsea are the same girl. When asked why the girl has different names, Mattel replied that Kelly is just a pet nickname for the girl, and her name is Chelsea.
So, Kelly dolls first appeared in 1994 and more Kelly molds were released in that year. The doll's height is 11 cm. Kelly has a bit of mold - a mouth under a pacifier, a smile where teeth are visible, and a smile without teeth. 
These are almost all the main doll molds. The doll was sold in play sets with sisters. Mold, where the doll is missing one tooth, was released in 2004. But before him, in 2003, for some reason poor Kelly’s heads were stretched out in the shape of a lemon. It looks terrible compared to normal girls: 
And in 2008, Kelly-Amazon appeared. They were large-headed and 15 cm tall. And compared to the classic Kelly they looked like this: 
Such a giant child did not fit into the 1/6 format at all.
And then Kelly disappeared from production altogether.
Here are my girls. All 1994. 
They all seem to be blondes, but all four have different shades of hair, from bleached white to red. 
Kelly was replaced by a modified Chelsea doll. Her height is 14 cm. This is a grown-up Kelly. And it has been produced since 2010.
This is her most common mold: 
Chelsea has friends with different skin and hair colors. But Chelsea is always the blonde.
Now this is a very common doll. She is sold both in game sets with her older sisters and separately. She can be bought in different variations, just like her friends with different skin, hair, and eye colors. This doll has different body type. The arms can be straight, there can be one bent at the elbow at a right angle, or they can be bent while holding an object. Very wide variety 
But most often they began to produce dolls with molded T-shirts, tank tops or painted legs, imitating tights, which, in my opinion, really spoils the girls.
My doll has a classic body and straight arms. The one in the middle of the avatar 
For comparison with Kelly: 
The third sister is my beloved Stacey. According to legend, she is 10 years old, maybe a little more. She is about 20 cm tall. She first appeared in 1991 and has also changed over the years. 
I created the collage of molds from my phone, but still, everything seemed to work out clearly.
Until 2000, Stacy was released and modified every year. In 2000, as seen above, Stacy came in two versions. The green-eyed one was only in the set with Barbie and Kelly “Singing Sisters”: 
Then it disappeared from production. She appeared only in 2005 in a set with Barbie and disappeared again until 2009. 
In 2009, Stacey came out with a slightly slimmer body and sideways look. In one single version with the same updated Kelly in the set: 
And already in 2010, Stacey’s new molds came out on a completely new body. It has become more refined and taller - 22.5 cm.
Here's someone's comparison photo of Stacey on the old body and the new one: 
Also, this doll was not spared from the production of mega-Stacy with a large head to match Kelly. This is how she looked compared to the standard Stacy on her old body and Barbie: 
It can be seen that Mega-Stacy's head is much larger than Barbie's head. This sister is more suitable for the 1/4 format, rather than 1/6.
Stacy is a very, very rare doll. It is almost impossible to find it on sale, but I was lucky to find it twice. And what does it have to do with different molds!
First up was Stacy in the carousel set: 
Here she is: 
Very beautiful girl! And, in addition to the fact that Stacy is, in principle, a very rare doll, this girl is even rarer because she has straight arms. The body of 2010, like the mold. Basically, Stacy has one arm bent at the elbow.
I like that her hair is reddish and not blonde as it was before. And green-gray eyes, not the standard blue.
The second doll came to me in a set with Barbie. The set was called “Barbie and Stacy in the Fresh Air.” 
And you can also see that she is a little red-haired and her eyes are not blue. And now her arm is already bent at the elbow, like the fasciaists. Body 2013, mold 2010.
Here's my girl: 
It is very convenient to hold objects in such a hand: 
Girls together: 
On the left she named the girl Lucky. And it seems to me that she is more confident. And Stacy, the one on the right, is more modest: 
Stacy, like Barbie, can have her head tilted in different directions.
Stacy is sold not only in sets, but also separately, but I haven’t come across them.
The next sister is my beloved Skipper. She is the oldest. Only Barbie is older than her. Skipper appeared in 1964. Then, according to legend, she was 13 years old, now she is being released on a new body and she is already 16. She has grown up. Her height is 26 cm. These are the molds Skipper had while she was growing up: 
At the very beginning, Skipper was dark. Afterwards she became blonde, like her older sister. In Russia, she began to be sold, like Barbie in the 90s, so the first Skipper molds are very rarely found. Most often, Skipper met with molds of the 88th and 95th year. Now she has become a brunette again. Not at all like her siblings. No smile. Such a serious shadower. Skipper is in a very difficult adolescence, which is why, as a protest to all the other good sisters, Skipper's hair strands are dyed in a bright, defiant color - lilac, green, blue, red, pink or blue. You can feel the spirit of teenage rebellion in her. Also a very rare doll. Extremely rare. It's difficult to find and buy. I have a girl with blue strands. 
Sold as a "Barbie and Skipper at the Movies" set. 
And here are some other strands of Skipper’s hair: 
And of course, Skipper is also sold separately.
Very beautiful doll! Her mold was taken for a new type of Barbie petite-miniature doll. 
And their bodies are similar. And the height is the same.
Of course, Skipper also comes with straight arms, like Stacy, but I like it better with the bent arm on the 2013 body.
Here is a comparative photo I found on the Internet of the old and new bodies of Stacy and Skipper: 
Skipper's new body has become a little taller than her previous version, but Stacy has grown a whole head.
And for comparison, all four sisters in the old version and the new one.
The winter set used to look like this: 
But this is a modern one: 
And more game sets with all four sisters for example: 
It is clear that modern girls have matured, their look is no longer so naive. But the bodies have become more refined. I really like both the old and new girls' molds.
By the way, the lowest set of four sisters is based on the cartoon “Barbie and Her Sisters in a Pony Tale.”
I would like to say that there are a lot of cartoons with Barbie dolls. My children really like the cartoon “Barbie and the Crystal Castle”, there is Barbie herself, her friend Teresa and sister Stacey. A cartoon about friendship, a dragon and a magic mirror. 
But all four sisters, except for the fairy tale about ponies, are also well shown in the cartoon “Barbie and the Puppies in Search of Treasure.” 
The cartoon is very primitive, but it was based on it that a whole series of dolls were released in outfits based on the plot of the film.
Moreover, how many times the girls changed their clothes and changed their hairstyles for the cartoon, so many dolls exist! 
Sold both individually and in sets. 
And the continuation of the cartoon “Barbie and her sisters chasing puppies”: 
Of course, there are still many cartoons about Barbie and her sisters, based on which dolls were produced. These are just a few of them.
All Barbie sisters have flat feet. I don't have a single doll on my old body. And on the new body of Stacy and Skipper, all Barbie shoes without heels fit, so they can easily be changed, except for Chelsea, of course. Her leg is much smaller than Barbey's. As for clothes, Stacy can dress in any clothes from Bratz dolls, absolutely everything suits them. Here are some examples: 
Skipper is simpler. Clothes from both Bratz and Barbie suit her, but of course not all of them.
Here are examples of clothes from Bratz dolls: 
And from Barbie: 
Dresses, blouses and shorts from mini-dolls, such as Evie from Simba, suit Chelsea. The pants will of course be short, like breeches. Examples.
They also took pictures at the Christmas tree: 
Well, a very beautiful photo of modern sisters, found on the Internet: 
And my modern girls are all lined up to compare heights: 
In general, the world of Barbie is very complex and diverse. After all, there are still friends and girlfriends of Barbie - Marina, Christy, Teresa, Ken and others, and also each sister has girlfriends and friends. Skipper has red-haired Courtney and dark-skinned Nikki, as well as friend Kevin. Stacey has red-haired Whitney and dark-skinned Janet. Chelsea, like Barbie, has a lot of friends - Tamika, Kira, Renee, Kitsy, Viveca, etc. Kelly had other friends, I don’t know the names of her girlfriends, but her friend’s name was Tommy. We also can't forget that there are African American versions of all the sisters. And if you consider that Mattel has absolutely no logic in releasing dolls, they can release completely different dolls under the same name, or they can give the same character different names, as happened with Kelly-Chelsea, then It is not possible to track all the relatives and friends of Barbie and her sisters. But you have to try!
I really hope that my publication was at least a little useful and helped to understand the Roberts sisters.
Come visit with all your Barbie dolls, we are all very happy!
Best regards, Svetlana.
Until the appearance of the first Barbie doll, the toy market for girls was represented exclusively by child dolls. Having created an American version of the German souvenir toy Bild Lilli, which served as a prototype, Mattel launched a unique product on the market that has no analogues or direct competition.
The professionals greeted the doll very coldly. There were also those who put their heads together and began to talk about morality. But already at that time, Mattel had formed the correct marketing strategy of “extending the game”: Barbie became only the basis, a high-quality product, followed by the release of various additional accessories, providing the company with additional profit. A special merchandising system was created: dolls in all separately sold outfits were located on the steps of a special staircase in the store window.
Development and formation
Since the first release of the doll, the manufacturer has relied on quality: professional clothing designer Charlotte Johnson develops outfits for her, which later became legendary and recognizable; artist Betty Lou Maybee creates the first advertising promotional photographs and literary image of Barbie for catalogs and the future Barbie Magazine.
In two years, Mattel's profit rose from $26,000,000 to $100,000,000. The growth in sales was largely due to the expansion of the line of Barbie dolls - the appearance of Ken dolls in 1961 and the African-American Christie, which came out right in time for the “color” revolution, which consequently led to the era of tolerance and equality for the black population.
In the 1970s, the company suffered a series of commercial failures, as a result of which the Handler couple was replaced in the leadership position by a new group of people, led by Arthur Spa, who managed to return the company to its previous position in two years. From this moment on, the concept of the Barbie doll has been steadily changing, from visual execution to quality and production, which is also associated with the discovery of new technological capabilities, sales markets and changes in the geography of production.
One of the main conditions for many years of success in the market was the constant development of the product, which was adjusted to the trends of fashion and time. Mattel clearly listened to the consumer audience, instantly responding to emerging trends.
In 1989, the first collectible Barbie dolls were released, which led to the creation of the modern Barbiecollector line, designed for a separate segment of the audience.
In the 1990s, in order to enter the market in a number of countries, Mattel sold a production license to several companies that produced regional doll models.
In the 2000s, Mattel continued to develop various innovations, experimenting with its products: dolls with exaggerated head sizes appeared, which later became a separate line called My Scene, originally developed by one of the designers, who later left for a competing company.
The second half of the 2000s was marked by protracted litigation with the company MGA, which brought Mattel almost to the brink of ruin, which could not but affect the Barbie doll. Due to the total reduction in the cost of production and the involvement of a significant number of Asian and Latin American designers, the quality and appearance of dolls is significantly declining. The trend continues to this day. Only at the beginning of 2010 did the concept of the doll change again, and the manufacturer carefully strives to maintain its reputation by popularizing it through various collaborations.
Subsequently, due to the long-term financial crisis associated with the payment of compensation to MGA and litigation, the quality of the dolls has been steadily declining. Mattel terminates the contract with the Japanese synthetic hair manufacturer, reopens production in Malaysia and strives to reduce the cost of the brand's products as much as possible.
Carefully creating a positive image for the toy, Mattel endowed it with a love of animals, of which there are now more than 50, including dogs, cats, ponies, parrots, chimpanzees, pandas, lion cubs, giraffes, zebras and horses.
Despite this, the doll is constantly under pressure from the public, who accuse it of various omissions, as well as one or another negative impact on children. For example, the blame is placed on the distorted family model present in the game line: boyfriend Ken and many younger sisters. However, Mattel deliberately avoided the image of Barbie and Ken as a married couple. Only in the 1990s, under pressure from criticism, was it decided to marry their best friends Alan and Midge. In addition, being unmarried, Barbie, accordingly, could not give birth to children. Mattel compensated for this issue through adoption: in the mid-2000s, several Going Home dolls were released to support American couples who decided to become parents of Chinese babies abandoned by their mothers. At the moment, the Barbie doll continues to exploit the positive image of a free girl/young woman.
Specifications
Throughout the history of its existence, the appearance of the doll has changed several times: new molds, body types and their shades have been developed. Since her release in 1959, Barbie's appearance has undergone dramatic changes that continue to this day.
1999 Generation Girl Barbie
Traditionally adhering to the 1:6 (11.5-12") format, Mattel produced both micro-versions and Supersize Barbie dolls, reaching the size of a small child.
Almost all dolls are made of rubber and plastic, but in the collector's line there are editions made of porcelain and hard vinyl. Barbie dolls' hair is typically crocheted and made from synthetic fiber.
Game and collector's editions
Despite the fact that the doll was initially produced as a children's toy, at the moment, due to its long history, there is also a collectible line: many dolls released in the first decades of Barbie's existence have long become collectibles.
For fifteen years, collectible Barbie dolls have been divided into:
Limited Edition– circulation no more than 35,000 copies, dolls are not available for free sale. They are most often sold in display boxes complete with a certificate of authenticity.
Special Edition– circulation no more than 35,000 copies, dolls are special editions in a particular series. Certificate of authenticity included.
Collector Edition– circulation no more than 35,000 copies, dolls are intended for collecting.
In 2004, the final formation of The Barbie Collection line took place, with subsequent classification:
Platinum Label– circulation of dolls is no more than 1000 copies.
Gold Label– circulation of dolls is no more than 25,000 copies.
Silver Label– circulation of dolls is no more than 50,000 copies.
Pink Label– collectible dolls with unlimited circulation and available for free sale.
Black Label– collectible dolls, united by pop culture themes. They are produced without a limited edition and are available for free sale.
The classification also includes the following concepts:
OOAC- dolls created in a single copy by Mattel designers. Most often dedicated to auctions, charity sales, etc.
Exclusive– play-line or collectable (with appropriate label) dolls released specifically for a retailer (including the official Barbie Fun Club) or a convention. This could be a modified doll, an edition with an expanded number of accessories, or a completely new release.
