Basic and dressed doll boxes

Basic Barbie boxes

The first boxes in which Barbies were sold came decorated with illustrations that were simultaneously more detailed and softer in style than the fashion booklets of the time; where the booklet sketches employed heavy lines, the illustrations on the first dolls’ packaging were mostly without lines, except where needed, as in their stylized facial features.

This first box is festooned with images of some of Barbie’s earliest fashions, like Easter Parade, Evening Splendour and Gay Parisienne (Ballerina, 1961, is one of the later arrivals shown). Three of the depicted fashions, however, were not released at all around that time: a peach-colored, drop-waisted chemise; a bright blue sheath with white trim, once shown with a loose-fitting jacket; and a strapless swimsuit with vertical red and white stripes. These outfits were finally produced, for Barbie’s 50th anniversary, as convention exclusives: Voyage in Vintage and Red, White and Beautiful.

The box itself has been reproduced a few times, including as part of the 35th anniversary reproduction doll offerings, in miniature in a 50th anniversary 2009 Hallmark ornament, and even more in miniature to contain a Barbie-scaled Barbie included with the 40th anniversary doll.

The next iteration, above, included sketches of the bubble cut and updated the selection of fashions from Barbie’s wardrobe. The artistic style had grown closer to that used in the fashion booklets starting in about 1963.

The third basic box, starting in 1964, was for the bendable-leg American Girl doll. Its front was a full-size photograph of the doll, but the box sides still featured small illustrations. These came straight from the fashion booklets. The next iteration, for Twist ‘n’ Turn Barbie, featured only photographs: a full-sized photograph on front, and small ones illustrating the doll’s poseability on the sides.

Dressed Barbie boxes

The early dressed doll boxes were lined with silhouettes, in which the sketches from the basic boxes can be recognized. The second version used the sketches from the bubble cut-era basic doll box, but rearranged.

Midge and Ken boxes

Midge’s first box featured a large illustration of herself and Barbie in the “Travel Pals” pose on the front. The sides reuse many of the same drawings as Barbie’s second box, just with new (Midge) heads. Her second box had bend-leg Midge illustrations from the fashion booklets running down the sides and a full-size photograph on the front, just like Barbie’s box from that time.

Ken’s boxes–either basic or dressed–had their own Barbie renderings, wearing what may be Enchanted Evening, a de-embellished Friday Nite Date, and some manner of playsuit. The sides of the boxes showed just the gents.

Hand-drawn boxes yielded to photography in the latter part of the Sixties, but they never went away entirely, as Barbie would be illustrated on her packaging countless times through the decades and until today. Many Barbie fans favor the lush Superstar-era illustrations, while some Barbie Fashion Model Collection offerings clearly reference the vintage illustration style we cover here.

Where to next? This post is about vintage Barbieillustrations. Our most popular post in the category is on Mattel fashion booklets. The most recent post in the category is on the World of Fashion board game. Other popular posts on this site include the Many Abodes of Barbie series (currently covering 1962-1970) and our Chronicle of Barbie shoes, 1959-67. Or just head up to the Table of Contents to see more options.