Silken Flame

Vintage Barbie illustrations, built environment, clones and more

Sidebar: Busy Gal Fashion Sketches (1960)

Black-and-white ink pen sketches of six garments, three apiece on two sheets. On the first sheet are shown a sheath dress with a short-sleeved evening jacket that may open in the back; a sleeveless dress with full skirt; and a belted strapless dress with back fullness and some sort of all-over speckling, resembling Party Date. In the second image is a full-skirted look with a darker bodice, like Silken Flame with straps and possible front bows; a dress that looks like Let's Dance without its bow rendered; and a wide-necked, belted, speckled sheet with short sleeves. The sketches look like they were probably created at the size in which they're produced, having few details and a minimalist style.

One of Barbie’s earliest careers–besides being a Teen-Age Fashion Model–was as a fashion designer, as reflected in the 1960-61 Busy Gal ensemble and its portfolio. (A few years later she was a JUNIOR fashion designer.) Shown above are the miniature fashion sketches (measuring about 3.5″ on the diagonal) found inside the portfolio. The designs don’t reference specific Barbie fashions, though one can find similarities between these looks and Let’s Dance, Silk Sheath, Party Date… Regardless, they clearly evoke the postwar French fashions that inspired Barbie’s early styles. The sketches above are from the 1995 reproduction, but Joe’s List shows the genuine articles along with most of the rest of the vintage set; the repros appear faithful:

Two sheets of sketches as described above sit to either side of a black portfolio on which is written "Barbie (R) fashion designer". Above these items are a red jacket with pinstriped lining, a pin-striped blouse with bow, a blue visor, cat-eye classes, a navy belt lined with red, and a pair of open-toed heels.

sheathsensation

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3 responses to “Sidebar: Busy Gal Fashion Sketches (1960)”

  1. Hello world! – Silken Flame

    […] Busy Gal fashion sketches, 1960 […]

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  2. Skipper’s Schoolroom (1965) and the play sets that never were – Silken Flame

    […] like Teacher, Nurse, and Mother, to more audacious ones like Fashion Designer, as indicated by the Busy Gal ensemble: while there were female precedents in that profession, it was very male-dominated. […]

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  3. Queen of the Prom, AKA the Barbie game – Silken Flame

    […] These last remind us of the Busy Gal fashion sketches. […]

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