Silken Flame

Vintage Barbie illustrations, built environment, clones and more

  • Welcome!

    Thanks for swinging by my vintage Barbie fan site, where you’ll find articles on Barbie’s built environment, Barbie illustrations, vintage rival and clone dolls and playsets, and miscellaneous musings/deep dives. What are you looking for?

    Color illustrations of Barbie and Midge from little Mattel fashion booklets that came with the dolls. Shown are: Sheath Sensation, Red Flare, Dinner at Eight, Sweater Girl, Career Girl, Movie Date, and Senior Prom.

    Vintage Barbie Illustrations

    Plus the illustration “sidebars,” short entries on niche topics:

    Barbie Family Deluxe House exterior bearing illustration showing a yellow brick house with two pairs of doors: arched, louvered red doors with rectangular shutters to either side, and arched glass doors. Skipper, Tutti and cat cavort on a brick path leading to the red doors. Through the glass doors walks Barbie, holding a tray of drinks, onto a fieldstone pation on which Francie sits at a white circular table with umbrella and two wrought iron chairs. Greenery surrounds them. A dog sits close to Francie in the extreme foreground.

    Barbie’s Built Environment

    3 shots of doll penthouses. L: color catalog image with caption reading "Here's Tressy's modern penthouse apartment." C: Jamie stands inside her "Party Penthouse" case. R: Photograph from the front of Tuesday Taylor's pentouse packaging shows Tuesday seated inside her structure.

    Articles relating to clones, rivals, and off-brand Barbie-style products

    Four images of Sixties Sparkles nostalgic Black Barbie wearing: her original swimsuit; reproduction of the red swimsuit worn by vintage bubble cut and swirl ponytail Barbies; white pak playsuit; and the 12 Days of Christmas (2022) Belle dress).

    Miscellaneous Musings and Deep Dives

    There’s still more to come, but before you scroll away, here’s the first image ever posted to this blog back in 2022: some of my dolls, dressed in vintage or vintage reproduction, in front of backgrounds belonging to Bill Cotter:

    Four vintage or reproduction dolls in front of 1950s-1960s photographs of Disneyland. Counterclockwise from top left, vintage Walking Jamie in Studio Tour crosses in front of Tomorrowland, with the Clock of the World, Monsanto Hall of Chemistry, and Douglas rocket visible. Next, reproduction My Favorite 1981 Black Barbie in vintage Red Flare in front of Fantasyland, with the Matterhorn, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and the Sky Buckets visible. Third, vintage bubble cut Barbie in Crisp 'n' Cool stands in front of the Monorail and Autopia sign in Tomorrowland. Finally, reproduction blonde Stacey from the Nite Lightning set, wearing the Matinee Fashion dress from the reproduction 1965 My Favorite American Girl set, along with short white gloves and gold dimpled clutch.
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  • Whitman Coloring Books (1962-1965)
    4 coloring book covers from the 60s. Left: Barbie and Ken floating heads on a yellow background; next, Barbie, Ken and Midge sitting at a soda shop counter, eating ice cream or shakes. Barbie has a couple books in front of her, and Ken has a large "U" on his sweater. Next, Barbie, Ken, and Midge floating heads on a blue background. Midge here has yellow blond hair. Right: Barbie and her little sister Skipper book; Barbie and Skipper are illustrated in matching cheerleading outfits on an orange-ish background.
    Whitman coloring book covers from 1962 to 1965. Sources (all eBay): peppermint-bargains; PicknThrift; jjwlet211; space_eighteen.

    Whitman’s coloring books are the Midge to their own paper dolls’ Barbie: a little less popular, a little less pretty, but still they hold a special place in our hearts. You can recognize the cover art, above, from paper dolls, fashion booklets and other media; the interior pages, however, are almost totally unique.

    One thing we love about the vintage books is how they’ve been customized by their owners; for example, the three bubble cut beauties below, from 1962-1964 (L-R), say they were colored by Cynthia, Heidi B., and Lilliauna, respectively:

    Left: Barbie sits at a vanity styling her bubble cut hairdo in a large mirror. She is wearing Silken Flame or Party Date. A framed portrait of Ken sits in front of her, along with a vase and possible perfume bottle. A second picture of Ken is taped to the mirror. Text at the bottom read, "Last-Minute Touches." The frame and background of Ken's portrait have been colored blue, the flowers in the vase are orange or red with green stems, the seat beneath Barbie and Barbie's comb are brown, Barbie's hair is black and her hair is colored peach. Middle: Bubble cut barbie bends over to give something to a Capuchin monkey dressed in a little uniform and holding out a cup. Her blouse and full skirt have been colored red, while her hair is colored black. Text at the bottom reads, "Isn't He Darling?" Right: Barbie reads a book. She wears a sweater and stylish scarf, colored purple and blue, respectively. The book is brown and red, Barbie's skin is peach or tan, and her hair is brown or reddish. Text at the bottom reads, "An Interesting Passage."
    Coloring book pages with some color. Sources (all eBay): alhamiltonsfamousfactorythrowouts, pudgeman, McIntoshMishMash.

    We’ll note that while the illustrations are all vintage, the colorizations may or may not be: Lilliauna’s work, at right, appears to be dated 2018.

    As can be seen in the depiction of Barbie befriending a monkey above, some of the coloring book pages contain interesting context about Barbie’s life and times; I’m too polite to show you how badly Midge struggled with feelings of inadequacy in the same story.

    Like Barbie illustrators in general, many (most?) of the amateur colorists transforming these mass-produced pages into one-of-a-kind treasures have remained nameless; our favorite piece from a casual eBay browse is unattributed:

    Bubblecut Barbie stands with her hand on a telephone. Text reads, "I'll bet it's Ken." She wears a tight sweater and equally bodycon pencil skirt. Her hair has been colored bright orange red and she wears blue eyeshadow up to her eyebrows. It looks like her eyelashes have been enhanced with black crayon. Her lips are red, as is her sweater, with some bolder lines suggesting checks. The skirt is similarly checked yellow. Her telephone is brown, and curtains framing a window behind her are green.
    Coloring page with color by an anonymous artist. Source: flatwatertrader on eBay.

    Of course, the young folks of yore did spare a few choice pages for us to color in ourselves:

    Uncolored two-page coloring book spread. On the left sheet, Ponytail Barbie in Commuter set walks toward a bus parked at a sign reading, "BUS STOP." Text at the bottom says, "Catching the Bus." At right, ponytail Barbie still wears Commuter Set, and stands facing a plate glass window behind which bubblecut Barbie in Solo in the Spotlight poses. Text reads, "Window Shopping."
    1962 Whitman Barbie coloring book pages waiting to be completed. Source: peppermint-bargains on eBay.

    Are we having a “That Girl” moment on the righthand side of this spread?

    Some of the books, including the 1965 Barbie and Skipper one shown at the top of the post, even provide fashions you can color yourself to dress included paper dolls; these are VERY familiar from the proper paper doll sets.

    We spent most of our time today on books from 1965 and earlier, but coloring books returned in the mod era and have continued up to the present. Here’s just a couple shots from a 1967 Francie book, with colors attributed to Julie T. and Sara Marie L., to awaken your thirst:

    Two colored pages from a Francie coloring book. Left panel has no characters but shows a chair, window with curtains, and tall chest of drawers with two bottles displayed on top before a framed rectangle. The curtains are reddish, the chair and one bottle yellow, the chest brown, and the rectangle and remaining bottle are pink. Right, Francie sits crosslegged in a fringed outfit and pours something from a thermos into a thermos lid. Text reads, "Want Some Lemonade?" Francie has a knowing look in her eye. Colors are reds and browns.
    Pages from a Whitman Francie coloring book with colors by Julie and Sara. Source: Momma’s Hobby Vintage on eBay.

    Love to see that little splash of home decor, too.

    Gentle reader, the choice is yours: are you keen to color, or do you prefer your Barbie illustrations pre-inked? Want Some Lemonade?

    Before we say “bye,” here’s one more tasteful shading attributed to Heidi B. Note Barbie’s ensemble, familiar except for that little box purse and, given the year, her closed-toe shoes.

    A two page spread. At left a photographer stands with a floodlight and a camera on a tripod. At right, Barbie and Ken post before a backdrop of balloons and confetti. Only the righthand side is colored. Barbie has been given a yellow ponytail, and her ensemble, which looks like Golden Elegance with closed-toed shoes, is all in green, except the hat, fur cuffs, short gloves, and coat lining are black. She has a little box handbag. Ken's hair is also yellow and he wears a blue suit with brown shoes. Left side text says, "The Photographer," while right side text says, "A Party Outfit.:
    1963 Whitman Barbie coloring book personalized by Heidi B. Source: pudgeman on eBay.

    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.

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  • The Many Abodes of Barbie, Part III: 1965
    In a color catalog image, red plastic case lies open; one side stands up and forms a wall of the space, including a closet (filled with garments from Holiday Dance, One the Avenue, and Student Teacher), an illustrated window over illustrated bookshelves, and a kitchen of a refrigerator alongside two burners, with ovens above and below illustrated with food cooking inside. The other half of the case lies down and forms the rest of the "house" as roughly three rooms. In the first is just room for a twin bed and vanity; the second, a built-in couch and chair with two table lamps on square tables; and finally, a narrow space with a sink and a corner table with a single unit of two side-by-side seats facing it. Skipper sits at the vanity and barbie stands in the kitchen; they are wearing their matching looks Ship Ahoy and Aboard Ship. Text reads, "All set for instant fun. Barbie and Skipper's Deluxe Dream House. Nothing to assemble. $9.99. Made only for Sears. Durable plastic interior with built-in furniture opens in seconds to make a luxurious home for Barbie and her friends. Bedroom, living room, kitchen. All scaled for teenage dolls. TV set, bedroom vanity and closet, bed, table, lamps, chair, kitchen sink, screened stove, bookcase, built-in breakfast nook, outdoor patio scene. Folds into sturdy vinyl carry case about 27x7x18 in. high. Perfect storage place for doll, accessories. No dolls, clothing. 79 N 9342L - Wt. 11 lbs $9.99."
    Barbie & Skipper Deluxe House in the 1965 Sears Christmas Catalog. source: christmas.musetechnical.com

    Barbie & Skipper Deluxe House

    Another year, another dream house… and this one’s deluxe! But was it? Unlike earlier houses, Sears’ exclusive 1965 Deluxe House for Barbie and Skipper was mostly plastic, which probably was deluxe in 1965, its furniture molded in place. However, compared to last year’s New Dream House, Barbie’s square footage had gone way down–plus, now she’s sharing with Skipper! Looking at the kitchenette with its two burners, the sink in the next room, and the dining area with very tight seating for two, we could almost convince ourselves Barbie had finally made the move to the big city–but there’s really no arguing with that plate glass window looking out on the backyard and swimming pool.

    Left: from inside the house, an illustrated window looks "out" at a kidney-shaped pool, patio furniture, and a possible poolhouse partially obscured by foliage; below the "window" are illustrated bookshelves and a low television as described in the text. Right, on the exterior looking "in" we see an illustration of Barbie leaning over to comb skipper's hair; next to this is a porch light, illustrated blue front door, and sign reading "Barbie & Skipper Deluxe House."
    Interior and exterior views through Barbie and Skipper’s windows. Sources: A Vintage Closet on eBay, VANESSA’S BARBIES, TOYS & MORE on eBay

    Note the change in television show between the product image at top and the vintage piece directly above, which appears to show a red-ponytailed Barbie in Sweater Girl, walking with Ken (this illustration also appears in, and likely originated for, a Skipper fashion booklet). Peering in from outside at this set’s second Barbie illustration, she’s changed her hair but is wearing Sweater Girl again!

    Anyway, Barbie and Skipper weren’t suffering too badly in these cramped quarters, thanks to a pair of chipboard rooms also released this year–some of the last chipboard accommodations Barbie and family would ever know.

    Skipper Dream Room

    It may not have been deluxe, but Skipper’s 1965 room was a dilly!

    Illustration of Skipper sitting in her room. Heart wallpaper covers the walls, along with illustrated shelves, a dimensional vanity, yellow closet doors, and various little portraits of Barbie and Skipper's friends. Furniture includes a stool of the vanity, a day bed (on which Skipper sits), a table with illustrated boardgame atop and single armchair, a small table topped by a "birdcage" and flanked by two chairs with heart-shaped backs; and a small desk with lamp. Sew free bedskirt, vanity skirt, vanity stool skirt, blue area rug, and white curtains are shown.
    Packaging from Skipper’s Dream Room, illustrating the same. Source: Atomic Age Vintage Doll World on eBay.

    As depicted above, Skipper’s room had an open floor plan along the lines of the earlier New Dream House, with tastefully applied “Sew-Free” ruffles and curtain, a day bed, a precious window nook with table and heart-shaped chairs, chipboard birdcage, both chipboard and sew-free throw pillows, among other luxuries.

    A photograph of a chipboard "birdcage," flat and two-dimensional with a stylish illustration of two blue birds overlaid with white cage bars.

    Not shown here, the room’s exterior had illustrated patio furniture, bird bath, and table tennis table, plus a physical two-seater bench in a cozy nook. Back inside, on a shelf printed onto the wall we see some of the same possessions from Skipper’s Go-Together room which premiered a year ago, including the Red Sensation hat, a Barbie guitar, and Bugs Bunny, and on other walls we see some Barbie and family illustrations, representing merely a handful of the rich ephemera included with this set:

    Left image shows an illustration on skippers wall of a bulletin board with shelves. On the board hang a picture of Barbie, a child-like drawing of Barbie and Skipper in red dresses with a smiling sun behind them; a flyer for the circus; a graduated pearl necklace; a snapshot of Ken (?); and more. On the adjacent wall is a second portrait of Barbie. Right: chipboard accessories laid out and photographed include real album covers by the likes of the Beatles; fake "Barbie Magazine" covers with the illustrations from Barbie in Holland, Barbie in Japan, and Barbie in China; portraits of Skipper and her pals in a sort of "Family Circus" style; a chipboard record player; chipboard portable TV showing a smiling blonde woman's head and shoulders surrounded by music notes; an actual photograph of a bubble cut titian Barbie; and more little bits of decor.
    Some of Skipper’s stuff. This image and the one previous, source: Shermer Vintage on eBay.

    At left, above, we find a couple Barbie illustrations in a familiar style among the decor that’s permanently inscribed Skipper’s wall; at right we see “Barbie Magazines” with travel poster illustrations for covers; a little black-and-white version of the real Barbie Easy-as-Pie cookbook; an unidentified blonde dancing and/or singing on TV; Skipper, Skooter, and Ricky’s portraits in a novel style; and more. But the very best treasure in Skipper’s trove was none of these; instead, it was…

    At a glance the two side-by-side photographs from an eBay listing are indistinguishable from the real New Dream House, matching its illustrations and overall shape; however, there is no furniture and the tiny doors and cabinets do not appear functional. The scale can be determined by a bit of Skipper's bedroom wall showing beyond the "New Dream House."
    A tiny New Dream House was included with the Skipper Dream room. Source: bigrackdaddy on eBay.

    Astonishing! To accompany the mini-Barbies included with Skipper outfits such as “Me and My Doll” and “Day at the Fair,” the Skipper Dream Room boasted an itsy bitsy New Dream House–sans furniture, but featuring the midcentury cat wall art we admired in our post on this Dream House.

    If you think about it, this year’s plastic Deluxe House falls somewhere between the real New Dream House and this miniature version in size. But Skipper wasn’t the only member of the house with a capacious getaway: Barbie had a sanctum of her own, of sorts.

    Barbie’s Dream Kitchen/Dinette

    Two full-color product panels from 1960s packaging. Left panel has the works "easy to assemble and shows a human child leaning over the assembled set, consisting of half walls including "windows" with sew-free curtains; table with sew-free table cloth and two chairs; two stools along the pass-through window between seating and food prep areas; and a step stool in the kitchen for reaching high shelves. Blonde American Girl Barbie in the dress and neckerchief from Poodle Parade sits at the table, and some turquoise dishes are laid out. Right panel says "Easy to carry" and shows a child carrying the folded-up set. An illustrated tree, window with flower box, and outdoor fireplace are barely discernible on the exterior.
    Barbie’s Dream Kitchen/Dinette product packaging. Source: Theriault’s.

    Lucky lady! While Skipper retires to her chambers, Barbie can go enjoy her… kitchen? To its credit, it’s at least bigger than the “deluxe” house, and with sufficient seating. Like Skipper’s room, the Dream Kitchen/Dinette has Sew-Free embellishments, as well as, in the style of last year’s house, lots of opening cabinets and other storage, plus a stylish mid-century pass-through window of tile mosaic and exposed brick. There’s also some abstracted food art, a little dimension to the wood-burning fireplace, and a set of plastic dishes and cookware.

    At left: Though built into and partially illustrated on the wall,the medium blue fireplace resembles a freestanding fireplace that adorned many affluent midcentury homes; the "abstracted food art" consists of fruits and veggies done in a simple, childish style. Top right: brick columns form a pass-through in an L-shaped counter decorated with blue and green mosaic "tiles," Lower right: a coffee percolator and three lidded casserole dishes in white decorated with blue star or flower patterns a la Corningware.
    Left and top right: mid-century fireplace, food art, and pass-through; source: Vintage Up North Pickers on eBay; coffee pot and casserole dishes; source: Barbie’s In The Wild on eBay.

    From Dream House to Deluxe House, where will Barbie land next? How many roommates will she have? You’ve heard her chipboard era is winding down; is plastic the way of the future? Style-wise, whose boots do I hear crunching up the gravel drive? Stay tuned to find out!

    Note: some of the sets featured in this entry bear a copyright of 1964. As always in this series, we go by the year things first appeared in the Christmas catalog. If it wasn’t available in time for Christmas in 1964, was it really released in 1964?

    Chipboard playsets in the 1965 Sears Christmas Catalog. source: christmas.musetechnical.com
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  • Three Nostalgic Black Barbies We Need (and a few existing alternatives)
    Illustrations from booklets of ponytail Barbie in red swimsuit, Midge in 2-piece swimsuit, and Midge and bubble cut Barbie standing together in rose and pale pink pak satin separates. Compared to the authentic booklet version of these sketches, the skin tone is darkened along with the hair on some of the figures.

    We’ve got a lot to cover today, but first let’s clarify what’s meant here by a nostalgic doll. Since you’re on this page, chances are you’re already aware of Mattel’s reproductions, re-releases of Barbie and family doll+outfit designs that were originally produced decades ago. These are examples of nostalgic dolls, but they are not the only nostalgic dolls. Nostalgic dolls, for this discussion, are those which are styled to evoke a past era, but also styled to evoke the way that Barbie was designed and produced during that same era. For example, the dolls in the Mod Friends gift set are circa-1968 reproductions; they are nostalgic dolls for the mod era. On the other hand, this year’s 55th anniversary Christie references the mod era in a very 2023 way and thus is not a (Barbie-)nostalgic doll. Looking strictly at the vintage Barbie era preceding the mod era, one example of a nostalgic doll that is not a reproduction is the 2008 convention-exclusive Joie de Vivre: though the gown, chignon hairstyle and makeup are all new-to-Barbie designs (also referencing the “Take the picture!” scene from the 1957 film Funny Face, starring Audrey Hepburn), it has the vintage head+body and a face paint style that riffs on the vintage era .

    Three Black dolls. Joie De Vivre is in vintage style, with side-parted hair gathered at the nape of the neck. She wears a red sateen strapless dress, elaborate jewelry, and very long white gloves, and holds a sheer wrap over her head; the Katherine Johnson doll has curly hair in a version of a flip, cat-eye glasses lacking with no bottom frame, and a pink dress with pleated skirt and thin black belt. Toujours Couture has lighter brown hair in a side-part with thick ponytail and a white jacket with elbow-length gloves, tons of black lace trim and numerous black ribbon bows. The jacket's construction, with less trim, could suggest Chanel.
    Nostalgic or no? L-R: Joie de Vivre, Katherine Johnson, Toujours Couture. Sources: morgaswindel0, windycitydolls, crazy4barbie, all on eBay.

    The 2023 12 Days of Christmas doll is another example along these lines.

    We’ll stay in the pre-mod, vintage era for the remainder of this post. The Inspiring Women series entry for Katherine Johnson is another 1960s-inspired doll, but its head mold, body, and facial screening are all modern. The body is too slender and long-limbed to model most vintage ensembles flatteringly, and the face detailing stands out amidst a gaggle of vintage dolls, so for today’s discussion this doll is historical, but in terms of Barbie, is not nostalgic. Finally, the Barbie Fashion Model Collection (BFMC) or Silkstone dolls walk the perimeter of nostalgia: their faces are similar to vintage dolls’, but their shapes, too, tend to be unsuited to vintage attire. Toujours Couture (2008), shown above right, somewhat resembles a Swirl Ponytail doll from the 1960s, while her garments come from no era at all but straight out of the BFMC alternate universe where no quantity of bows and trim is too much. Ultimately, because of the bad fit of vintage clothes and because some vintage collectors dislike the Silkstone material (we don’t notice it that much), we’ve ruled BFMC/ Silkstone dolls as not Barbie-nostalgic. Now, let’s dive in to our “needs”:

    Dolls we need: 1. Ponytail Barbie

    The original conception of Barbie is THE icon. Barbie in her black-and-white striped swimsuit, cat eye sunglasses, ponytail swinging, is the image we associate most with vintage Barbie. Based on what I’ve seen on fan forums, this is also the doll others most want to see revisited with darker complexion.

    As you see below, this doll already exists in “swirl ponytail” form and is called 60th Sparkles (2019), a platinum label, convention-exclusive doll released in an edition of no more than 1,500. That’s right: Mattel has produced this doll once and sold her through exclusive channels, treating their own imposed scarcity as a selling point. That’s not serving the majority of fans and collectors, and honestly, as their lone* offering of a non-White, early-1960s nostalgic fashion doll sized to the vintage fashions, treating this release not as an acknowledgment of Barbie’s broad fan base or as a long overdue correction, but rather as an insiders-only variant that a precious few collectors deserve to own… it’s a little embarrassing for Mattel. So we’ll specify that the doll we need is a widely available ponytail/zebra swimsuit nostalgic Black Barbie doll.

    Doll stands before a teal background on a clear saddle stand. The glittered-up swimsuit has stripes of black and silver glitter in the pattern of the original Fashion Queen swimsuit; the red-swimsuited doll has red open-toed heels and white cat-eye sunglasses with blue lenses (which are reflecting sun and hard to distinguish); the pak playsuit is white with thick orange belt and white OT shoes; and the 12 Days dress, based on the Belle pattern, is a gold fabric with glitter swirls printed on. It is worn with gold closed-toe shoes that are nor original to this look, which came with gold OT shoes that I've mislaid.
    60th Sparkles as a “swirl ponytail” nostalgic doll, wearing (L-R): her own glittered-up interpretation of the zebra swimsuit (though the pattern is more similar to Fashion Queen’s); reproduction red swimsuit and accessories authentic to the swirl ponytail; vintage pak playsuit and accessories; and another nostalgic, glittery reinterpretation: the reimagined Belle dress from 2022’s 12 Days of Christmas set.

    *In fact, 60th Sparkles has not been the lone offering of a doll meeting the criteria listed above: another convention-exclusive Black ponytail doll was released for the 75th anniversary, this one with a Silkstone body in vintage proportions, and with curly bangs like the first Barbie dolls. It is unspeakably rare today.

    Dolls we need: 2. Bubble Cut Barbie

    As noted above, everyone’s clamoring for ponytail dolls. But Barbie had other early-’60s iconic looks that, in my opinion, were better suited to her glamorous fashions, and also open up new possibilities in diverse hair representation.

    Except for their curly bangs, the ponytail dolls’ hair was smooth, flat, and fine. Certainly, the same can be said of individuals’ hair from any race or ethnicity, and in the ’60s it was the fashion in the Black community to chemically straighten one’s hair: Ta-Nehisi Coates tells how his mother, at age 12 in 1962, started going to the salon to achieve “the locks of Lena Horne.” Earlier, Malcolm X and others in his social circle were doing the same chemical-straightening thing at home, and in the early 1960s he observed that the practice was still in vogue within the Black community, including among celebrities and members of the fashionable classes. (He further noted contemporary women “wearing these green and pink and purple and red and platinum-blonde wigs.”) So yes, it is accurate for an early-’60s Black fashion doll to have smooth hair, as 60th Sparkles does and as other nostalgic Black ponytail dolls likely would.

    On the other hand, Coates’ mother realized in college, and Malcom X realized in jail, that frying your hair and scalp to meet a standard of beauty that was not designed for you–that just maybe was designed to exclude you–is a form of self-loathing. Though historically accurate, should these trends be celebrated uncritically today? Yes, some Black women’s hair is naturally smooth, and others may choose to straighten their hair with no dearth of self-esteem, and collectors love and desire the ponytail dolls. But let’s not overlook the bubble cut style and the opportunity it provides to depict fashionable, early-’60s Black women with texture and volume in their hair. I am aware of no Mattel offerings along these lines to date.

    On a bright blue background, two Black Barbies in red sheaths with white gloves and white open-toed heels stand in the "photo finish" pose, with one bent arm to the hip and one to the hair. Between them, a blonde bubble cut with pink lips wears a dark, sheath with multicolored "apple" designs all over and dark open-toed heels. Dramatic uplighting prevents their bubbles from shading their eyes but adds a sense of foreboding to the scene.
    Best we could do: vintage bubble cut Barbie in Apple Print Sheath is surrounded by (R): 1980’s first Black Barbie and (L) the 2009 repro, both wearing Sheath Sensation sans chapeaux.

    Dolls we need: 3. Midge

    How have we still never been introduced to Barbie’s best friend from the early 1960s, Midge, who is Black? To me this seems like a slam dunk. The original Midge mold can be used, or maybe the variant that was created for Julia and Christie–but Midge’s wide-eyed gaze, girlish pink lip shade, carefully coiffured curls and smattering of freckles are musts.

    As described, Julia in a dark brown flip wig with curled bangs wears a rainbow striped swimsuit with turquoise open toed heels; mustard-colored satin roll-top shirt and full skirt with thick gold belt, purse, and charm bracelet (AKA Golden Evening); a rainbow-striped roll-top shirt, rainbow striped scarf as belt, and blue knee-length skirt; and a full-skirted white dress with all-over fruit print, white gloves, and open toed white shoes. In the first three images Julia stands before a red curtain on a gold-and-white zigzag floor; in the fourth image she stands in front of the reproduction wall of Barbie's Campus that came with the Campus Sweetheart reproduction.
    Julia goes Midge-mode in a wig from the Hair Fair reproduction and: Midge’s original bend-leg swimsuit; various knit pak items; and Lunch Date.

    A few existing alternatives

    • Restyle a Julia or Christie: As you saw above, Julia or Christie may stand in for Midge. A face-up and rerooting would help a lot, especially for the vintage dolls whose hair has oxidized to bright red over time. However, both the dolls and their reproductions are rare; it absolutely requires resources to acquire one of these dolls and then pay a pro to restyle it. Price: $50-$100 for vintage Julia in fair condition before any OOAK; more for Christie.
    • The first Black Barbie, or the reproduction, as a bubble cut: The hair is not quite right, the face is not ’60s vintage (though along the lines of the discussion on hair texture above, there are some upsides to using the Steffie face in place of Barbie’s original mold), and the body is just a bit curvier, making some of the clothes a squeeze–the Sheath Sensations pictured above are literally bursting at the seams! For purists, the bent arms are bound to be another sticking point. Otherwise, these dolls are available to serve as bubbles in a pinch. Price: $70 (deboxed repro)-$140
    • Along the same lines as the first Black Barbie, Deluxe Quick Curl Cara (1976) has a great no-bangs Midge hair style and the Steffie face. She’s rare, especially with her hair in good condition. I don’t know how high on Mattel’s to-do list we’d find reproduction Quick Curl dolls, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for 2026–they’re probably higher on the list than a true nostalgic Black Midge, anyway. Price: $275-$500 in display-ready condition.
    Three boxed, vintage dolls are shown from the bust up: Christie with oxidized red hair, Midge with black hair, and Delux Quick Curl Cara, whose flip hair looks close to Midge's, without Midge's bangs.
    L-R: Christie’s sultry looks; Midge’s wide-eyed sweetness; Quick Curl Cara captures some of Midge’s wholesomeness. Source: Joe’s List.
    • Barbie Fashion Model Collection “Silkstone” dolls: Besides those already discussed, various other Black Silkstone dolls exist. Debut is a no-bangs riff on the original chevron-suited Barbie and another rare, expensive con exclusive. The nostalgic face mold has also been used for several Black dolls in the BFMC line that don’t reference specific vintage Barbie styles, including Toujours Couture, the more moderately priced #5 Lingerie doll with chin-length hair, and more. Besides the price, drawbacks include that their rail-thin figures often don’t fill out the vintage clothes, their face details are more stylized, their limbs are sometimes posed peculiarly, and, as noted above, the Silkstone material.
    Four images of the Black version of BFMC Debut doll. At left she wears the strapless, zebra-striped suit she came with. The black stripes are glitter-covered and the material suggests paper. It doesn't look like it should get wet. She holds aloft a pair of white cat-eye sunglasses with black lenses that are actually from the 60th sparkles set but contrast better with her hair than her own all-black shades. On her other wrist is her gold charm bracelet with a ponytail Barbie head charm hanging down, and she wears black open-toed heels. Next, she wears the white-and-gold brocade dress from Golden Girl, carries the turquoise purse in a white-gloved hand, wears graduated pearls and brown open-toed heels, with a white satin evening coat overtop. Next, rose satin separates from fashion paks: bolero, top, and knee-length skirt. Pearls are still worn. Rose pink open-toed heels complete the look. Finally, the white satin Party Date dress with its gold-glittered skirt, thick gold belt, and gold clutch (this ensemble is very similar to the more-famous Silken Flame). Pearls are still worn and clear glitter closed-toed shoes round out the fashion. Each doll (or, same doll 4 times) is posed on a backdrop of gold-and-cream zigzag pattern intended to suggest Fashion Queen. The doll has a thick ponytail with no bangs, quantities of bluish-silver eyeshadow, and dark red lips. Both arms are bent; one just slightly, and one at about 90 degrees; I believe with the intent to appear to be lifting her shades over her eyes as in the first shot in this sequence. Her legs are also molded into a pose such that the right foot is slightly forward.

    BFMC Debut models a Silkstone swimsuit and some 1960s fashions. L-R: Debut’s own papery, glittered-up version of the zebra-stripe swimsuit; Golden Girl’s stiff brocade maintains its shape on her slender physique, while loose-fitting garments like the pak satin coat are always safe choices (note, her inflexible, splayed right hand wouldn’t fit into the second glove); other pak satin items sit loosely on her frame; the strapless Party Date dress stays up long enough to take the photo with the help of a stiff belt and a slight lean. Substitute shoes used in all vintage ensembles because stiff Silkstone feet will cause splits in vintage shoes.

    • Sixties clones, including the Uneeda/Hong Kong Lilli varieties and the Twistee/Totsy dolls, introduced glamorous Black Barbie counterparts before Mattel did. These are again rare, not cheap, and quite uncommon to find “minty.” Furthermore, there will be fit issues, especially with shoes, when using them to model vintage Mattel fashions. In addition to the sampling of dolls below, take a gander at the examples included in The Bold Doll’s article on clones, particularly the gorgeous Peggy Ann about halfway down (note: the “Evening Splendour copy” she wears is by Premier Doll Togs!). Price: $250-$500 in fair condition.
    Four Black, non-Barbie 1960's dolls with demure side-eye. One resembles a bubble, one has a Midge-like flip, and the other two have ponytails: one with sideswept bangs and the other with either no bangs, or bangs that have been brushed back into its hair. All dolls look mussed and played with, but not beyond rescue.
    1960s Twistee doll (top center) surrounded by Uneeda/Hong Kong Lilli dolls. Sources (clockwise from top center): dblobby on eBay; bookofsmiles on eBay; random_depot on eBay; area.59 on eBay.
    • If you’re crafty, you can dye common dolls. The blogger at this link got nice results from the more-affordable 35th ponytail repro… just make sure the dye doesn’t bleed onto your vintage fashions! This is also a buyer-beware moment for those shopping for ’60s clones and other rarities: dyed dolls are out there, some masquerading as originals. If you get a doll whose look you love, there should be no issue; just don’t wildly overpay, and beware of bleeding dye, if you’re not sure of a doll’s provenance.

    Why so few recent dolls? Starting when Barbie went disco in the Superstar era, face detailing became a little more cartoonish. Although it has evolved many times since, it has not returned to the classic style except for deliberate purposes like the repros. (2026 update: we can no longer trust Mattel’s “repros” to sport “classic” face styling.) Dolls like Pop Life Christie and Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, while referencing the (mod) Sixties, are omitted from these considerations because they don’t sit comfortably alongside vintage and faithfully-rendered, Barbie-nostalgic dolls.

    What about some WHITE nostalgic dolls? They are plentiful… multitudinous.

    Beyond Black and White

    In the early Sixties, about 1 in 10 Americans was Black, while no more than about 1 in 100 was from any other given non-White ethnicity. For this reason, and because of the apparent popularity of the idea in the Barbie fan community, we’ve prioritized Black representation for Barbie as a vintage-era American young lady. Expansion of the nostalgic line to other ethnicities should happen, too.

    Besides overlooking the demand for non-White nostalgic Barbie dolls, another and related glaring error that Mattel continues to make is dressing every Asian collector fashion doll in embroidered silk, as if she’s stepping not from the 1960s or later, but from an earlier century; as if she is not American. A customer worded the issue rather well, way back in 2003 when the Chinoiserie Silkstone was released. Mattel’s response on that page was dismissive, and we can see from their output over the next two decades that they did not learn from this very valid criticism: outside the playline, Asian Barbie dolls rarely reflect modern fashions as their White and Black counterparts are free to do. The customer’s mention of Anna May Wong is particularly rich, since this year an Anna May Wong Inspiring Women doll was released. Wong was California-born and -raised, and in her personal life was entirely modern and fashionable; but she was typecast by Hollywood, only allowed to play “dragon lady” characters, foreigners. Was Mattel sensitive to Wong’s struggles in designing the new doll? Yes but no. They put her in a red satin dress with a great big metallic dragon plastered across the front as an acknowledgment of the stereotypes that stifled her a century ago.

    As described; the dolls are positioned in a line against a wall with the camera closest to Midge and looking down the line; the image cuts off at the bottom between the dolls' waists and knees. Midge, at far left, looks directly at the camera, while the rest of the dolls look this way and that, mostly toward one another.
    Nostalgic Midge reproduction and vintage Julia in vintage Fun n Games; vintage bubble cut and vintage first Black Barbie in vintage silk sheaths; nostalgic 60th Sparkles and nostalgic Busy Gal repro in vintage Sheath Sensation sheaths; 2023 Guo Pei Lunar New Year in 12 Days of Christmas Belle and nostalgic Cool Collecting in vintage Belle.

    As we wrap up I’ll note that not every Asian American woman looks Chinese or is of Chinese extraction, and today the most populous ethnic minority group in America is neither Black nor Asian; in other words, there’s plenty of identity to explore in collector and nostalgic dolls representing fashionable, American women.

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  • 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.
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  • Penthouse Apartments, 1964-1976
    L: Chipboard structure featuring a stone fireplace, bookshelves, table and two chairs, orange screen, pink settee and blue chair with ottoman (especially similar to those in Barbie' first Dreamhouse) arranged around an interior block that is topped by a patio with sunshaded table and plants. The block and furniture sit on a board with tile look covered by large colored ovals representing rugs. The catalog's caption begins, "Here's Tressy's modern Penthouse Apartment." Further details are cropped off. Center: Blonde Jamie in her original pink, orange and yellow minidress, boots and headscarf stands before a plate glass window showing an illustration of skyscrapers. To one side is a fireplace covered in "fieldstone" in rainbow colors and an illustrated crackling fire. Before is an armchair made from blue plastic with vertical stripes painted on, and a drop-lead table and chair in gold plastic go to the edge of the frame on the other side. R: A blonde 1970's doll sits on a white stool next to a fireplace made from a firepit with detached overhanging hood. Behind them is a window showing a skyline with dark buildings and lighted windows before a brighter, clouded sky (the view seems to be a photograph). In the foreground can be seen red molded plastic chairs, and a photograph of deep pile carpet forms the base of the scene.
    L-R: Tressy’s Penthouse Apartment from the 1964 Sears Christmas Catalog (source: wishbookweb.com); Jamie’s Party Penthouse (source: Apple Tree Auctions); Tuesday Taylor’s Penthouse Apartment (source: Savacool and Sons)

    Skyline views, rooftop patios, luxe furnishings, maybe an elevator that doubles as your front door… A penthouse apartment is practically shorthand for glamorous living. As we’ve noted, Barbie was more bucolic. But throughout the vintage and mod years, her friends and rivals opted for lavish city living on a trio of occasions.

    Tressy’s Penthouse (1964)

    Colorful catalog photos show the four sides of Tressy's penthouse. Prominent colors in the shots are mint green, tangerine, teal, and rose pink. One side of the penthouse represents a living room with an orange and green stone fireplace (with illustrated fire), wall art, coffee table, shelves, settee and chair, lamp; another side shows a kitchenette with table and two chairs; another side is the bedroom with vanity and little pink stool (also similar to Barbie's), and the fourth side includes a closet and long "mirror." In an inset we see a boxed "working" vacuum cleaner in Tressy's scale. The vacuum cleaner is drop shaped unit with long hose attachments.
    Four views of Tressy’s Penthouse Apartment, plus a powered toy vacuum cleaner that was sold as an accessory. Source: Theriault’s.

    Tressy, by American Character (and later sold by Ideal Toy Corp.), was a Barbie competitor whose defining feature was her hair, which “grew” at the press of a button and receded with the turn of a key. Her sherbet-hued apartment had “everything a girl needs for gracious living,” including a kitchenette, Murphy-style bed, rooftop terrace and more. Like Barbie’s environs of this year, Tressy’s place was made of chipboard. We’re ever so fortunate that in 2008, Flickr user LaneyCummings assembled and photographed a mint-condition example; it’s so rare to find 1960s chipboard in this condition.

    Close-ups on parts of Tressy's penthouse: abstract art hangs next to the fireplace; the shelves to the other side include a TV with what looks like Tressy on the screen, and a little unit that may be a radio; a low wall running around the edge of the rooftop patio has a wrought iron pattern; colorful spice jars and bottles illustrated behind the range and sink in the kitchenette.
    Tiny details of Tressy’s Penthouse. Source: LaneyCummings on Flickr.

    In the same vein as Barbie’s Deluxe Dream House of the same year, Tressy’s apartment had a floor plan “in the round”: a central block featured shelves, fireplace, foldaway bed and kitchenette; the rooftop terrace sat atop the central block, but the apartment had no entrances, exits or windows visible; all that was left to the user’s imagination.

    Jamie’s Party Penthouse (1970)

    Christmas catalog excerpts. Left side is the Jamie doll ("Cut $1, now $3.97"); to the right is the Penthouse itself, which folds into a 6-sided carrying case. The furniture shown includes the drop-leaf table with two chairs, an armchair and sofa in white plastic with vertical pink and orange striped, and a little table with a chess or checkerboard pattern atop. The catalog text reads, 'Jamie's Penthouse. With furniture, molded "fireplace"... even a "view." Opens to over 2 ft. long. $9.99. Jamie's luxury apartment opens up for fun. There's a comfortable den with couch, table and chair, and a bright dinette with table and chairs. Vinyl case opens to 6x13x26 in. long. Plastic furniture; handle for toting. Holds 4 dolls and accessories (not included).
    Jamie and her penthouse as they appeared in the 1971 Sears Christmas Catalog. Source: wishbookweb.

    Barbie’s friend Jamie was next to migrate to the metropolis. Around this time Barbie herself got a taste of city living through her case rooms, though we think she never fully committed. Jamie’s place had plastic furniture–although it was not ultra-chic, resembling the unapologetically suburban Go-Together furniture sets from years earlier–and, though it lacked a rooftop terrace, boasted fantastic views through tall windows alongside a fetching, multi-hued fieldstone fireplace.

    Closeup on the interior walls of Jamie's penthouse, showing city views on 3 of the 6 sides with shelving beneath, the fieldstone fireplace with stones in all the colors of the rainbow on one wall, and a dining room backdrop on one wall with green and yellow vertically striped wallpaper, an ornate hanging light fixture (illustrated, not lighted), and buffet. This covers 5 of the 6 facets of the hexagon-shaped case viewed from within.
    Skyline views and a colorful fieldstone fireplace. Source: Barbie List Holland.

    Outside Jamie’s windows it was always dusk or dawn: the party was in an eternal state of winding up or winding down. Further rooms glimpsed through doorways and windows added splendor to what may otherwise have seemed a cramped space.

    At right is a closeup of the sixth and final interior "wall" which looks into a grandiose room as described in the text; top left, through a window, illustrated, we see an elevator door, a chair with side table before the window, and a mirror, lamp and hall table next to the elevator. Illustrated next to the window are porous spherical planters with greenery hanging out; lower left, another window--though this one looks more like a sliding door--into a room with an unlit fireplace, colorful abstract art hanging overhead, a yellow couch, green chair, coffee table, side table with lamp, and partial room divider of vertical wooden bars. None of the furniture in these views looks modern; generally the scenes look formal and not lived-in, compared to the inhabitable area inside the case.
    Clockwise from top left: Seen on the case exterior, an elevator lets out either into a common area in the building, or into Jamie’s own rather impersonal antechamber; outside, hanging planters reminiscent of Architectural Pottery. Next, an interior panel depicts a doorway into a massive, formal drawing room and dining room, complete with curved staircase, mezzanine, and blazing chandelier. Finally, another exterior view peers in at a less-formal sitting room with a second fireplace. Sources: skeeterx8th on eBay, beanieblazer on eBay.

    Tuesday Taylor’s Penthouse Apartment (1976)

    The same height as Barbie, Tuesday was another Ideal fashion doll, this time with a 70s, disco aesthetic. Like Tressy before her, she had hair that changed–in her case, from blonde to brunette (and her Black doppelganger Taylor Jones changed her hair from black to deep red). At Tuesday’s apartment we find elevator access directly to the sitting room, as well as BOTH a rooftop patio and a wall of windows looking out at the skyline. This set came with two window options, so you could swap daytime views for night. The rooftop relaxation area, accessed via spiral staircase apparently on the building’s exterior, had a shaded seating area and a glass skylight that doubled as a table (the sun shade partially shaded the skylight).

    View looking down at a tiled rooftop patio with paper hedges running around the perimeter, two chairs with stools or ottomans under a red, black and white striped sunshade, and an easel displaying a bright white rectangle (other images of this set show a photograph of the city skyline sitting on the easel, probably intended to represent a drawing or painting, but it's either washed out in this image or replaced). Next to the chairs a long table appears to have printed-on food laid out, and in the opposite corner is a plastic molder grill. Before the chairs is a clear cylindrical table/skylight, as described in the main text, inverted to extend down into the floor. At right on the exterior of the piece a plastic spiral staircase leads down to the penthouse interior. The floor below can be seen to be a photograph of shag carpeting. The interior is not clearly shown here, but in frame are molded red plastic seating elements divided into two seating areas, one beneath the patio and one extending out. Some electronics can be vaguely discerned between them: possibly a turntable, 8-track, radio, etc. These are photographs applied to the surface between seating areas.
    View facing in to the penthouse interior. The inverted skylight can be seen hanging down into the room; beyond, the fireplace hood sits midway across three panels of floor-to-ceiling windows showing a photographed view of the city by day; to the right is a piece of abstract art in typical seventies colorbars/curves. To the left an elevator is represented by a photograph on one exterior wall of a dressing room which is barely visible beyond and includes a "real" oval mirror and nested vanity and tool in white plastic with curved corners. A continuous piece of molded red plastic forms the interior, with two armchairs in the foreground molded facing away from the tall windows. Wood paneling of the electronics console can be seen beyond them, blocking the view of the couch which faces the fireplace and windows (again, all molded in place). In the very foreground is a little stool or table in the same wood paneling, and a potted plant with white plastic base sits to one side (not molded in place, and could also enhance the scene on the rooftop).
    Upstairs (top) and interior of Tuesday Taylor’s place. The elevator entry is at left downstairs, with a Hollywood Regency style vanity behind; the spiral stair can be seen to the right in both shots. The photographed skylight was installed upside down. Source: Worthpoint.

    Unlike its forebears, Tuesday’s apartment layout was mostly molded in place, with fewer loose bits of furniture to rearrange. Some unfortunate choices were made in this process: the fireplace, though standing free from the wall as two disjoint pieces (a fire pit on the floor and a hood descending from the ceiling–though there’s no evidence of it venting to the rooftop patio directly above), was molded to stand squarely in front of those tall windows, partially blocking the skyline view from almost every other point in the room, rather than ensconced amidst a large conversation pit as may have been preferred.

    Line illustrations of Tuesday's penthouse with daytime views and nighttime. The familiar molded armchairs are in the foreground with white stools/tables to either side (these were up on the patio in the photographed set above); the fireplace and vanity are illustrated beyond, and a potted plant sits next to the window. The only difference between the two frames of this illustration is the scene outside, going from blue skies and light-colored buildings to a brown sky with black buildings and lighted windows. Text reads, "Change the view from day to night... From her super penthouse apartment, Tuesday has a fantastic view of the city. Turn the background photo one way... it's a beautiful sunny day. Turn it the other way... it's a night view of sparkling city lights."
    Swappable skies and unalterable, view-wrecking fireplace as advertised on the Tuesday Taylor doll packaging. Source: kabai_881970 on eBay.

    Still, Tuesday’s stylish pad, with its plentiful seating and other amenities, was perfect for entertaining or just sitting back and watching, as (paraphrasing Leslie Charteris) “the day fades, and the city dons her electric jewels and comes to life.”

    Same as the shot of Tuesday Taylor in her apartment used at the top of the post, but Tuesday's blonde hair has been flipped around to brunette. This shot has a wider frame including more of the seating in the foreground with potted plant, several small tables, and at the very edge the spiral staircase going up the exterior of the structure.
    Brunette Tuesday in her nighttime penthouse, from the product packaging. Source: Savacool and Sons.

    Where to next? This post is about Barbie’s early built environment. The most recent post in this category is Barbie’s Seventies Travelogue, Part 2, and the most popular are one on Mattel Modern and Susy Goose furniture and this one. The overall most popular post on this site is about shoes. Or just head up to the Table of Contents to see more options.

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  • Gift sets Galore (1960-1970)
    Two wide-ish rectangular gift set box tops. Left, the Barbie & Ken Tennis set shows Barbie and Ken holding tennis rackets, standing beneath a tree. Ken is dressed for sports in what looks like a cardigan and shorts, while Barbie, with a brunette ponytail, has a full-skirted look with a large side pocket and a silhouette similar to Movie Date. The drawing is in black and white on a bright pink background. At right, a scene of enthusiastic dancing, with Barbie in a midi-length, tiered yellow skirt and Ken in a ruffled shirt and suit. Abstracted floral patterns fill the background.
    Barbie and Ken star in a 1962 Tennis Gift Set (left) and a 1969 Fabulous Formal Gift Set. See these images and others at full resolution over at Pink Fashion Doll.

    Could there be any controversy? Gift set packaging is the vintage Barbie art category most likely to make a good calendar.
    Consider:

    • Many lush, color images
    • Already an appropriate scale (12″ or so tall; many are roughly square)
    • It would be fun to map gift set illustrations to seasons and holidays
    The "Party Set" box is again a wide rectangle, this one covered in vertical pale blue and white stripes. Most of the rest of the adornment is text: Barbie and Mattel logos and the words "Teen-age Fashion Model with Costumes and Accessories," and "Party Set." At the upper right is a silhouette of Barbie wearing what may be Plantation Belle.
    1960 Party Gift Set packaging. Source: Theriault’s.

    The earliest sets had “discreet” packaging, for sure; apart from a single silhouette they weren’t really even illustrated. Still, the early “Party Set” box above is our pick to kick things off in January.

    Left, Midge doll mix and match set: a square box top consisting of a large pink and purple heart, surrounded with confetti-like flower shapes, upon which Midge is sketched wearing what look like Garden Party and Sorority Meeting. However, the text on the box explains that the included outfit elements are: "blouse, sweater, skirt and accessories." Box also reads, "Midge is Barbie's best friend... they can wear each other's clothes." Right, Midge's Ensemble Gift Set: On a while background, a colorful illustration shows Midges with 3 hair colors, seated in 3 positions, wearing knit pak elements. Each outfit includes at least one of the rainbow-striped knit pieces. One of the Midges may be wearing her yellow swimsuit top along with the rainbow shorts; the Midge in the foreground sits in some sort of wrought or wicker chair wearing a roll-top blue shirt with long rainbow skirt and rainbow sash/scarf worn as a belt. At the back, facing away from the group but turning to look back over her shoulder, appears to be Barbie going a little incognito in a wide-brimmed hat with rainbow fabric trim. She wears a tight, all blue ensemble and holds up a rainbow-striped purse as if to conceal her face. If she had her sunglasses on I'd swear she was spying on the Midges, but no sunglasses appear in the illustration.
    Two Midge gift sets from 1963. Sources: brendassouthpacificplace on eBay, Theriault’s.

    Next up is a Midge double-header. For February, the Midge Mix and Match Set demonstrates what we call the “sketch-collage” style; another example is the Tennis Set at the top of the post. The illustrations have a technique and sophistication similar to the early carrying cases, supplemented by some simple decorative flourishes.

    Following on the heels of the “sketch-collage” style in the package design timeline is the “superior fashion booklet” style, as we see on Midge’s Ensemble Gift Set, above right. These illustrations are close relatives of the contemporaneous fashion booklet ones, but with a little more scenery and more complex layouts; the Little Theatre Gift Set provides another example.

    April brings our personal favorite instance of “superior fashion booklet” style on a vintage Barbie gift set, this brightly-hued ‘Round the Clock set:

    Barbie's 'Round the Clock Gift Set. Small text reads, "Barbie doll included ...with ensembles to wear from morning to midnight! ...Fashions fit Midge Barbie's Best Friend too!" Most of the space is filled with three rectangles in yellow, red, and blue, before which blonde bubble cut Barbies stand wearing Fancy Free, Career Gal, and Senior Prom. Over their heads are three stylized suns with faces in white and gold (for the two day looks) and indigo and hot pink, for night. The night sun is probably a moon, but it has rays, so it's something of an enigma.
    1964 Barbie’s ‘Round the Clock Gift Set. Source: Theriault’s.

    We’ve heard time and time again that canonically, Barbie and Ken never married. However, Mattel’s products didn’t match that messaging in the early ’60s, when they repeatedly released trousseau sets and eventually this 1964 Wedding Party set for the lovebirds:

    Barbie's Wedding Party Gift Set features a hand-drawn illustration on a mostly white background, with orange marker shading the area behind the characters. As the box text describes: 4 Dressed Dolls Included. Barbie in "Bride's Dream." Ken in Tuxedo. Midge in "Orange Blossom." Skipper in Flower Girl." The bride sports a brunette bubble cut hairstyle.
    Definitely not married. Source: Pink Fashion Doll.

    Trousseaux and wedding gowns were common among the creepy, baby-proportioned fashion dolls that preceded Barbie, which may explain this trend–Barbie’s very first trousseau may even predate Ken. Anyway, this packaging, our pick for a May non-wedding, is still in the “superior fashion booklet” style, but also alludes to a loose, marker-y style similar to the Sew-Free Fashion Fun Kits; that look, which we’re calling “courtroom portrait” today, is fully embodied in one of the trousseau sets.

    Through 1965, the gift sets consisted of garments and accessories also available in other sets, either paks or ensembles, perhaps with a few add-ons (some dishware in the Hostess Set; a tiny ring on a pillow in Wedding Party). In the second half of the decade that all changed, along with the advent of a package illustration style we simply call “sumptuous.”

    Left: Francie and her Swingin' Separates, a square box showing Francie frolicking in blue bell bottoms and a yellow corp top with blue trim; a red skirt with colorful floral top; and her bathing suit with a white, pink, and green checked top with green bottom. A markery mess of what I believe may be grass fills the background. Right: Casey Goes Casual box lid consists of a space filled by differently-colored boxes, some containing text and two containing illustrations. In the larger illustration, Casey ventures forth in a colorblock dress of hot pink, chartreuse, and orange, with a coordinating jacket overtop; a tree-lined background is roughed out in oil pastel or similar. In a smaller inset, two Caeys who appear to have no bones through their midriffs and waists wriggle about in a beach scene; one wears a jumpsuit or matchcng top and pants in a bright pink pattern, while the other wears a gold and white bathing suit. They appear ot be standing on sand with a frothing ocean behind them.
    1966 Francie and her Swingin’ Separates; 1967 Casey Goes Casual. Sources: Pinterest, Worthpoint.

    The grassy imagery in Francie’s 1966 Swingin’ Separates set is perfect for June, and 1967’s Casey Goes Casual, with its scene of Francie’s jelly-torsoed friend dancing at the beach, is a worthy follow-up for July. These are early-sumptuous illustrations, filling the space with scenery and detail but not quite as ambitious as the high-sumptuous illustrations still to come:

    Two squarish gift set lids. Left: Barbie's Travel in Style Set shows a mod Barbie in a dark-colored top and matching blue and green patterned miniskirt and jacket, carrying a round piece of luggage in coordinating white, green and blue bands with stickers reading "London," "Paris" and "Rome." A blue hairbow complements the look. In the background palm trees blow in the wind and a jet airplane stands;; the ground and sky around her are all flaming orange, gold and brown in rough brush or marker strokes. At right, the New Talking Barbie Silver 'm Satin Set. In the background, a theater or other ostentatious building in a modern style, with a dramatic sloping roof supported by aerodynamic-looking flying buttresses in the style of Saarinen or similar, and soaring windows, several stories high, partially covered by long, dark, reddish drapes. A streetlight consisting of a cluster of bright white globes is represented to one side, with a group of three indistinct human figures standing beneath. In the foreground, Barbie is running toward the observer, wearing a silver and pink minidress covered by a silver-belted pink jacket, pink tights, and a pink hairbow, and carrying a silver clutch. Although she looks happy, she is unquestionably fleeing the scene.
    1968 Travel in Style and Silver ‘n Satin gift sets. Sources: Barbie Doll Fashion, Vol. II by Sarah Sink Eames; brendassouthpacificplace on eBay.

    We had to opt for the 1968 Travel in Style set, with its sweltering airport runway, for August, while September goes to the Talking Barbie Silver ‘n Satin Set of the same year. We’ve entered the Hellenistic era of the “sumptuous” style, and Silver ‘n Satin is its Winged Victory of Samothrace: The movement! The drama! (What is she running from?) So many stunning gift sets were released over a period of about two years, we can’t showcase them all; other notable works include Beautiful Blues, Pink Premiere and Dinner Dazzle.

    On the Stacey Nite Lightning Set, the red-haired Stacey is shown wearing a minidress with pink top, glittering striped skirt, and blue belt with flower accent, along with a blue swing coat with voluminous sleeves and a second flower accent, this one of the silver brooch type. She stands before a body of water in which a yellow moon and distant trees and buildings are reflected. The art nouveau style can be noted in the use of flat areas of color for most of the piece (the skirt and swing coat having some shading to impart texture), as well as the intricate locks and curls of her fair, and sparsely-drawn facial features, all reminiscent of a Japanese wood block print. The gift set name along the top is written in a bold art deco font with curly, organic-looking flourishes to either side.
    Mattel’s 2006 reproduction of the 1969 Stacey Nite Lightning gift set. The illustration is faithful to the original. From the author’s collection.

    For October’s featured image we have the 1969 Stacey Nite Lightning Set. This illustration is still vivid, and yet more stylized, a nod to the late 1960s Art Nouveau revival. The Fabulous Formal set shown at the top of the post, from the same year, also fits this scheme.

    November is another ’69 pick–Talking Julia’s Simply Wow Set–at which point we see the “sumptuous” period is subsiding. The Julia fashions are nicely illustrated, but they are not placed within a scene; instead, a kaleidoscope of photo images of the head of actress Diahann Carroll, who played Julia, fill the remaining space.

    Talking Julia Simply Wow gift set. One illustration shows Julia in her gold and silver jumpsuit, while a second, towering over the first, shows her in the "Simply Wow" ensemble of a matched blue skirt and gold-trimmed jacket and white top; most of the rest of the space is filled, as the main article text notes, with many identical photographs of Diahann Carroll's head, arranged in a kaleidoscope pattern. The photographs are monochromatic, black on an aubergine shade.
    1969 Talking Julia Simply Wow Set. Source: Barbie Doll Fashion, Vol. II by Sarah Sink Eames.

    The high period of gift set art declined and fell: starting in the 70s, packaging consisted of photographs of the sets’ contents, useful to the shopper but not particularly expressive.

    Before the inevitable end, in 1970 a series of charming graphics combining product photos and illustrations graced the exteriors of sets for Barbie, Jamie, Skipper, P.J. and Ken. Each illustration featured the character in question, in some detailed setting, gazing into a shop window within which the photographic element accurately depicted the sets’ contents. The compositions are all clever and appealing, and although Living Barbie’s Action Accents, with its ski chalet scenery, is more than worthy of a winter holiday, our ultimate choice for December had to be the festive P.J. Swingin’ in Silver set:

    The P.J. Swingin' in Silver gift set exterior. About half the space is a lush illustration of a European street at night, with stone walls and rain-drenched cobblestones reflecting red lights from the cinema visible at the back; this may have been intended to evoke Carnaby Street or some other fashionable London locale. In the foreground, the illustrated P.J. stands gazing into a shop window, inside which photographs of of a silver jacket with white fur sleeves, a minidress with a pink top and silver skirt, and white-fur-trimmed, knee-length silver boots are arrayed on a solid blue background next to a photograph of the P.J. doll herself, wearing a bright pink micro-minidress, two ponytails, and her signature big round glasses. Labels hover above the photographed elements with descriptions like 'SMASHING SILVER "FUR" TRIMMED COAT!' "NEW 'N GROOVY P.J. DOLL/TINY PINK DRESS!" The illustrated P.J. is shown wearing the silver outfit, but she also appears tempted as she gazes at the garments in the window.

    1970 P.J. Swingin’ in Silver gift set. Source: Barbie Doll Fashion, Vol. II by Sarah Sink Eames.

    Because a period of high artistic output was in its dying throes, we call the series of graphics from 1969-70 combining drawings and photos the “decadent” style.

    Now you’ve seen all the significant epochs in Barbie gift set illustration styles from 1960-1970: discreet, sketch-collage, superior fashion booklet, courtroom portrait, early-sumptuous, high-sumptuous or Hellenistic-sumptuous, and decadent. Which one is your favorite? What swaps and substitutions would you make, to craft the ultimate 12-month calendar? There were so many lovely gift set illustrations we didn’t have space for, including a couple Skipper sets–maybe next time we’ll aim for 18 months!

    Collage of nine more gift box illustrations. At top left, the Barbie Hostess set has Midge and Barbie in "courtroom portrait" style, surrounded by cakes and tea things; next is Walking Jamie, illustrated in a bright red jacket and boots, walking a poodle on a treelined street and looking into a shop window at a photo version of herself in her yellow, pink and orange minidress, also with poodle; at right, Skipper on Wheels shows Barbie's sister in the "superior fashion booklet" style, riding a skateboard, scooter and roller skates. Along the middle row are two mix 'n match sets: one in the "discreet" style and one in the "sketch-collage" style, with simple drawings of barbie in black, white and gold; at center is a Pep Rally Gift set showing Barbie, Ken and Midge dressed as drum majors and a cheerleader (that's Midge). Along the bottom row, the Beautiful Blues Set shows Barbie in a sparkling blue dress, jacket, shows, and purse, before a roughly-sketched city skyline; the Pink Premiere set shows her in a ruffled white and pink dress and pink jacket with floodlights fanning out behind her; and Dinner Dazzle shows her in a pink outfit, including jacket with wide, fur-trimmed collar, standing in a fine-dining restaurant.

    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.

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  • Vintage Sewing Patterns
    Sevem loose, simple sketches of ponytail Barbies in 1960s fashions similar to those Mattel sold. Barbie wears sheaths, full-skirted sundresses, a cape, a dress with double-breasted jacket, a sleeveless shirt with culottes, and a long, full-skirted gown.
    Collage of illustrations from Advance Barbie sewing patterns

    In 1961 Barbie’s fashion horizons expanded in the form of Advance sewing patterns, whose illustrations fit the style of the era’s fashion booklets. Unlike the carrying case illustrations, they don’t seem to be traced; but the art styles are, to say the least, in harmony. Here are examples of early fashion booklet sketches that resonate with the pattern illustrations at the top:

    Sketches from Mattel fashion booklets of ponytail and bubble cut Barbies wearing Sheath Sensation, Red Flare, Dinner at Eight, Sweater Girl (which is all black or dark grey for some reason), Career Girl, and Movie Date; plus Midge wearing Senior Prom. All the dolls portrayed have a white pallor, in contrast to the natural skin tone of the pattern illustrations.
    Vintage Barbie fashion sketches that appeared in 1962 Mattel booklets. Composed of scans by TheVintageToyAdvertiser.

    But fashion booklets are a story for another day. Here’s how those pattern illustrations looked on the products:

    The seven illustrations at the top of the post are peppered through twelve illustrations across two pattern envelopes. Each sketch appears on a different-colored rectangle background. The envelopes read "a printed pattern by ADVANCE; Barbie (R) Mattel Teen Age Fashion Doll Patterns." The envelopes are numbered 9938 and 9939, and each says it cost 75 cents.
    Two envelopes from Barbie Advance sewing patterns. Source: star7272 on eBay.

    For the curious, you can find samples of some of these patterns online, for example, at sewingandpattern.com. Scroll down on that page and you’ll also see examples of the 1962 Advance Barbie patterns, which had photographed images of dressed dolls instead of fashion sketches. We won’t engage with those here, but in 1963 McCall’s picked up the pattern-sketching slack with a tighter illustration style:

    Pattern sleeve with hand-drawn illustrations of ten dressed dolls, wearing several country looks, sportswear, sheaths for day, a reception line-type lace dress, a floor-length evening gown and one voluminous coat. The background for all ten looks is plain white. The pattern number is 7137.
    Front and back of a 1963 McCall’s official Barbie Doll’s Instant Wardrobe pattern envelope. Source: thriftydollhunter on eBay.

    I’m not sure if it’s the illustrations, the colorless backdrop or the fashions themselves, but somehow the McCall’s pattern sleeves just had a little less pizzazz.

    Alongside the sewing patterns, the fashion booklets were evolving a more realistic style in this year, as well.

    Similar to the earlier lineup of fashion sketches, but from 1963. Sheath Sensation and Dinner at Eight have been redrawn. Red Flare, Career Girl and Senior Prom are recolored and edited. Crisp n Cool and Country Fair replace the discontinued looks Sweater Girl and Movie Date. This year's illustrations have realistic skin tone and more detail in the hair and fabric texture.
    Fashion sketches in 1963 Mattel fashion booklets. Composited from scans by TheVintageToyAdvertiser and from the author’s collection.

    But we’re not here to talk about that! Ken, Skipper and Francie all had their own illustrated patterns in the 1960s.

    McCall pattern sleeves #8351, "Francie Doll's Instant Wardrobe," and #7841, "Barbie's Little Sister Skipper Doll's Instant Fabric Wardrobe and Instructions for Knitting." Each sleeve showcases 8 looks that can be made from the pattern sets.
    McCall’s pattern envelopes for Francie (left) and Skipper. These examples have both been digitally cleaned up by their owners, who sell reproductions. Sources: old-school-house on eBay, once-upon-a-time-patterns on eBay.

    Like Barbie’s, the McCall’s Skipper and Francie pattern illustrations were also similar in style to the characters as they appeared in contemporaneous fashion booklets, on carrying cases, and as paper dolls.

    There were more generic fashion doll patterns than licensed ones in the ’60s; many of these had their own charming illustrations.

    Sleeves for Simplicity 4422 and McCall's 9605 and 9099. The Simplicity set says it is for "Doll; one size" and shows characters that look similar to Barbie (or Lilli!) and Ken. A dress similar to Orange Blossom dominates the space, while smaller insets show a Barbie type in a ruffled dress, a swing coat, and a shirt with capris, accompanied by a fellow. The McCall's fashions are from a later time period; the most eye-catching look is a pink mini, while others include a trench, a smock with pants, a wrap dress, a jacket and flared pants, a long skirt with vest, and a blouse with wrap mini skirt. The packaging read "Teen Fashion Dolls' Instant Wardrobe - one size - 11 1/2" doll; FITS--Barbie / Francie / Casey / Midge / Barbara Joe / Babs / Gina / Annette / Batgirl / Mera / Wonder Woman / Supergirl / Tammy and others." Whew!
    Generic doll patterns of the 1960s. Source: patternperfect on eBay, gremmy1234 on eBay.

    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.

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  • Early furniture: Mattel Modern and Susy Goose
    Left: two dolls stand to either side of an ornate, black grand piano. A candelabra and "photo" of Ken adorn the top, and a black bench with red upholstered seat sits to the fore. Right: One ponytail blonde sits in a wooden armchair with her feet resting on a coffee table with slightly upturned edges; a brunette sits sideways on a sofa with legs extended. The chair and sofa have matching cushions in a light brown or brown-and-cream weave. Between them, an end table with the same upturned edges holds a metal lamp with a short, wide drum-shaped shade. A second blonde stands to one side. All dolls wear the zebra-striped swimsuit with sunglasses hanging from the chest. The dark-haired doll has her shoes on the couch, while the other two are barefoot.
    Bubble cut Barbies with 1964 Susy Goose music box piano (left); ponytail Barbies with 1958 Mattel Modern living room set. Source: Theriault’s.

    Mattel Modern (1958)

    In 1958, Mattel debuted its Mattel Modern line of stylish, wooden doll furniture, and a year later Barbie was introduced to make use of it.

    Wait, what? Okay, that’s not quite how it happened. Mattel Modern, a line of sleek, midcentury-styled, real wood furniture, was released before Barbie, but it was meant for (approximately) 9″, non-Mattel dolls–like those produced by the Alexander company. The images below, from Theriault’s auctions, show Barbie exploring the bedroom set–doesn’t she look just a little tall for that bed?–and the 10″ Cisette doll, made by Alexander, standing between a Mattel Modern queen bed and fold-out sofa bed. Per the official Mattel Modern literature, even Cisette is too tall for some of these furnishings.

    Left: Brunette ponytail and bubble cut Barbies stand to either side of a bed with cream-colored coverlet. A dresser with functional attached mirror and 6 drawers stand to one side at the back. A buffet with sliding door and four drawers sits to the other side, with an open wardrobe behind it. Two luggage stands, apparently of a similar shade of wood finish, round out the scene. Right: Cisette, an Alexander company doll with babyish face and proportions, stands in front of a brown sofa with striped bottom cushion and bolsters. To her side is a bed like the one Barbies surround, except it lacks a coverlet; linens cover the top but don't overhand the sides, where we can see that he headboard provides support at one end while two short legs support the bottom. At the back, a console stereo with metal embellishments sits with a top lid ajar, and beside the open lid, a little television sits. All pieces seem to be made with similar wood material.

    Note that the cushions on these pieces weren’t always flat as in the above images, but deflated over the years. Otherwise, this line of solid-wood furniture seems to have held up very well.

    The 1958 Mattel Modern furniture line included:

    • a sofa, an easy chair, a coffee table and an end table with working (battery-powered) lamp, all as in the image at top right of this post, and also sold together as a living room set;
    • a queen bed, open wardrobe (holds dresses for 8″ and 10 1/2″ dolls, per the brochure), and dresser with real glass mirror, all shown above left and sold, along with the lamp and end table, together as a bedroom set;
    • a dining table with two chairs (below, with its original packaging) and a buffet (shown beside the bedroom set above left), also sold together as a dining room set, and
    • a “studio set” consisting of two convertible sofa beds–one can be seen behind Cisette, above right–plus the end table and lamp.

    The last set is intended for 8″ dolls only, the brochure cautions. Scroll to the bottom of the post for a shot of Ken and Ricky standing amidst Mattel Modern furniture, including the studio set; the sofa beds might fit Ricky lying down, but not Ken.

    Rectangular wood table with tapered lefts and two chairs. Chairs have no arms, angled back legs, and striped brown/orange/cream upholstery on back and seat. To one side, an orange box with white and brown printing and gold lid has an illustration of the furniture on the side facing the camera, and horizontal stripes on another side that is just in view. The words "Mattel Modern" can be discerned on the facing side.
    Mattel Modern dining table and chairs. Source: calelles on eBay.

    Most of these pieces are stamped Mattel Japan, 1958. However, there is at least one example of the dining set marked instead with a sticker reading “Tahei Mokko Ltd. Co.” It’s likely that Mattel outsourced production to the Japanese company, and they may have also sold these and similar items under their own branding, possibly to foreign markets. This could explain the similarity between the real-deal Mattel Modern pieces and the TV and stereo also displayed with Cisette, above, as well as the two luggage stands mixed into the bedroom set pictured with Barbie to Cisette’s left. Of course, other stylish furniture sets for 8″-10″ dolls were also available in the years leading up to Barbie’s debut.

    Black and white catalog entries. Left: drawn illustrations of Mattel Modern furniture sets. Text below reads: "Ultra-modern Dining and Living Room Sets; Contemporary furniture specially styled for the 8 to 10-inch doll. Each piece beautifully designed in selected hardwood. Gleaming natural wood, hand-rubbed finishes and chic decorator fabrics complete a set dolly will love. Dining room set. 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 7 3/4-in table; 2 upholstered chairs; modern buffet has real sliding doors, sturdy shelves. 49 N 1480--Shpg wt. 1 lb. 8 oz... $5.49; White Porcelain Tea Set, gold-color rims. 4 cups, saucers, pot, sugar, creamer. 49N885--Japanese import. Wt. 5 oz. 13 pc. 67 c; Living Room Set. Upholstered sofa; easy chair; coffee table; end table; metal lamp really lights. shade. No pictures. Uses 1 batter (not incl.--see below). 49N479-Shpg. wt. 1 lb. 4 oz... $5.49; 34N4656-Battery for above. Wt. 1 oz. 2 for 21 c." At right, a settee, two easy chairs, a bed with headboard shelf, footstool, and two tiered end tables are Settee and chairs have interestingly-angled quadrilateral armrests with horizontal bars running across. Text reads, "12-piece Modern Living-Bedroot Set; Scaled in ebony-color plastic. Two 4 3/4-in. Club Chairs, one Footstool, 8 1/8-in. long Couch. All upholstered in colorful soft foam. 9-in. Bookcase Headboard Bed has foam mattress, pillow. Coffee Table, two Step Tables, Night Table, and oval Rug. 49 N 1422--For 8-in. doll. Wt. 1 lb 12 oz... $4.84; De luxe Bedding for 8-inch doll. Pink and white 9x8 1/2-in. spread, plastic pillow and 8 1/2x5-in. mattress, 2 pillowcases, Beacon blanket, 2 sheets. 49 N 1442--Shipping wight 3 oz... 91c."
    Left: Mattel Modern furniture in the 1958 Sears Christmas catalog. Note, we do not know the maker of the porcelain tea set advertised. Right: modern-styled plastic furniture for 8″ dolls from the 1957 Sears Christmas catalog. Source: wishbookweb.com

    So the year before Barbie is introduced, we find Mattel with the means to produce gorgeous, solid-wood furniture for similarly-sized dolls. Why didn’t they scale up a little for Barbie’s height, and carry on? Maybe the price point was wrong for Barbie’s customers, or maybe the manufacturing couldn’t have kept pace with Barbie’s audience. Whatever the case, when Barbie did get her own furniture it bore little resemblance to Mattel Modern.

    Susy Goose (1962-1966)

    When Barbie debuted and for her first couple of years, she had no furniture of her own. Once the time came to fill out Barbie’s little world, Mattel could have revived the Mattel Modern concept. Instead, they went a different route: licensing the Barbie trademark to Susy Goose, a division of Kiddie Brush & Toy Co of Jonesville, Michigan, along with starting production of their own play sets of the chipboard variety, both in 1962.

    The Susy Goose line first appeared in the 1962 Sears Christmas catalog as a wardrobe and four-poster canopy bed with an under-bed storage drawer. By 1964, below, a set of bed linens, music box piano (in white or black–see top of post), queen-sized bed, queen-sized chifferobe, and vanity with stool (same as the piano’s stool) had been added. Ken had a wardrobe of his own in a taupe plastic, not pictured.

    Color catalog image shows the wardrobe, white plastic piano, bed linens, four-poster canopy bed, queen bed, chifferobe, and vanity with stool as discussed in the article. Left column text reads: "7. Barbie's Wardrobe. 13 in. high. High-impact plastic. Fill-door mirror, shoe rack, hat rack, 3 drawers, hangers. Clothing not incl. 49 M 9321--Shipping wight 2 pounds 2 ounces... $2.94; Barbie's Music-box Piano. 9 in. high. Lift-up lid. Jewel box area. Wind-up movement. Plastic. Piano bench, fabric seat. (No dolls.) 49 N 9383--Shipping weight 2 pounds 4 ounces... $6.67. 9 Bedding for 4-poster below. Top sheet, fitted bottom sheet, pillow case, soft blanket. All of cotton; all to add to Barbie's comfort. 49 N 9358--Shipping weight 3 ounces... Set $1.99; 10 Barbie's 4-poster Bed. White plastic; molded vinyl mattress, pillow. Under-bed chest. Pink plastic spread, canopy. Unassembled. 49 N--Shipping weight 1 pound 6 ounces...$2.84." Right column text reads: Barbie has her very own plastic furniture; *Bed with secret drawer... Chifferobe stores her clothes... Vanity comes with padded stool, mirror, even a rug*; 11 Queen-size Bed. Spread, bolster match tufted head, footboard. 18x12x10in. high. 49 N 9357--Shipping weight 2 pounds... $4.93; 12 Chifferobe. Swing-out door one side; 4 drawers other side. Top drawer has "secret lock." 2 sliding pull-out clothes rods; hangers. 13 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 14 in. No clothing. 49 N 9384--Shipping weight 4 pounds 10 oz... $5.47; French Provincial Vanity. 7x3x13 inches. Accessories. 49 N 9326--Shipping wt. 1 lb. 2 oz... Set $2.57."
    Susy Goose furnishings in the 1964 Sears Christmas catalog. Source: christmas.musetechnical.com

    Plastic furniture development moved in-house at Mattel around this time with the Go-Together rooms and subsequent plastic-y play sets. In 1965, the Susy Goose Skipper’s “jewel”-trimmed bed, vanity and wardrobe competed with the Go-Together Skipper’s Bunk Bed set–see the collage of catalog listings below. The Go-Together Bunk Beds (left) appeared alongside the jeweled bedroom set (middle and top right) in the 1965 Sears Christmas catalog, while a different bedroom set “for Skipper, Skooter, other 9-in dolls,” lower right, shared the Bunk Beds’ page in the Montgomery Ward ’65 catalog.

    Color images from vintage catalogs. Left: Skipper's Go-Together Bunk Beds, of gold plastic. Text reads, "Skipper's Bunk Beds; Plastic pieces snap together for bunks; convert to twin beds. Sew-Free(R) decorator accessories include foam mattresses, linen pillows, backgrounds, pillow covers, plush rug. Full-color self-standing background. Unassembled. 49 N 9372--Shpg. wt. 1 lb. 4 oz. $2.54. *"Charge it" if you wish*. Middle: images of Skipper with the jeweled bed (dark pink linens with lace overlay; headboard and baseboard are covered with a flat pink background overlaid with photographs of girls smiling or exercising), a vanity with red upholstered bench, mirror, and pink skirt; and an open-faced standing wardrobe with two pink drawers at the bottom. Top right, text describing center image reads: "For Skipper's own room... Bed, Vanity, Wardrobe trimmed with "jewels"; 4. "Jewel-studded Bed. Taffeta, white lace spread and pillow. Amethyst rhinestone "jewels" at head, foot. Colorful photo insets. 11x7x9 in. 49 N 9349--Shpg. wt. 1.3 oz. $2.54; 5 Dotted Swiss-skirted Vanity. Bright pile bench seat, real glass mirror, removable drawer. Photo and telephone included. 10x7x3 inches. 49 N 9350--Shpg. wt. 14 oz. $2.54; 6 Matching Wardrobe. 2 removable drawers with pink photo insets. "Gold" and "jewel" trim on white. 6 hangers included. 10x6x3 inches. 49 N 9351--Shpg. wt. 15 oz. $1.57. Lower right, a different bedroom set that resembles the earlier Barbie bedroom furniture. Text reads: "A bedroom suite for Skipper; SIZED FOR SKIPPER, SKOOTER, other 9-in. dolls. Each piece of sturdy plastic, set with a sparkling pretend "jewel" Easy to assemble. (22) BED WITH TAFFETA and lace spread, matching covered pillow. 48 T 4421--Sip. wt. 10 oz... $2.49; (23) VANITY WITH MIRROR, lace skirt, drawer. Plush-covered bench. 48 T 4422-Ship. wt. 8 0z... $2.49; (24) WARDROBE--2 removable drawers, hangers. 48 T 4423--Ship. wt. 1 lb.... $1.69."
    1965 Sears and Montgomery Ward (lower right) listings of furniture for Skipper. Source: christmas.musetechnical.com.

    Skipper’s “jewel-studded” bed was an uncharacteristically gauche design from Susy Goose, with the “photo insets” of smiling children, haphazardly arranged on a plain background, badly undercutting the elegance. Barbie also had a jeweled bedroom set (below left), sans photographs, around this time, and the final Susy Goose design under Mattel’s trademarks may have been Francie’s 1966 Mod-a-Go-Go bedroom (below right), where the decoupage-style embellishments are a much better fit.

    Left: ornate, gilded bedroom furniture for Barbie: an open wardrobe with hangers and two drawers at the bottom, a bed with pink and gold base and headboards, and a vanity with sheer skirt and framed photo of Ken. Two white benches have red velvet-like seats. Right: Wearing First Formal, Francie sits on a bed with pink linens. Collages on the headboard and baseboard look like magazine cutouts. Extending up from a thin stalk on the baseboard is a small television. A tree-like garment hanger sits toward the back of the scene. A red-upholstered bench like Barbie's is to one side and a one-drawer unit sits on the floor at the foot of the bed. Furniture is all in white plastic.
    Left: Barbie in her Susy Goose jeweled bedroom set, with an extra bench. Right: Francie with her Mod-a-Go-Go bed and costumer; the bench and under-bed storage unit pictured are from older Susy Goose sets. Source: Theriault’s.

    Want to know what’s playing on the far-out, amoeboid television attached to the base of Francie’s bed? Images we browsed on eBay suggest it’s a smaller version of those “pin ups” scattered across the headboard.

    There, we suppose, the licensing agreement with Mattel comes to an end. An off-brand, Susy-Goose-lookalike bedroom set was advertised in JC Penney and Montgomery Ward Christmas catalogs from about 1970-75.

    Two vintage catalog entries with pictures and text. Left reads, "Up-to-date bedroom suite for 11-in. fashion doll; BEDROOM SUITE. Opens up into luxurious bedroom. Suit includes plastic bed, vanity with mirror, varnity bench, cloth canopy, bedspread, pillow, and vanity skirt. All removable. Doll and outfit not included. X 921-1160 A--Mail wt. 5.50 lbs.....4.88." A mod Barbie is shown standing amidst white plastic furniture with yellow linens. At right, text reads, "Bedroom suite for Barbie, other 11-11 1/2-in. dolls. Plastic bed with canopy, vanity, "mirror," bench. Cloth spread, vanity skirt. 48 T 11402--Wt. 2 lbs. Doll not included........4.88." Malibu Barbie is shown seated at the vanity. The furniture material is dark plastic with yellow linen.
    Left: 1970 JC Penney catalog listing for an off-brand bedroom set. Right: 1975 Montgomery Ward catalog listing for a similar set. Source: wishbookweb.com

    For the first three years the set was advertised, the JC Penney catalog description claimed that the suite “opens up into [luxurious/glamorous/pretty] bedroom,” with the flattering adjective varying from year to year. This seems like a copy-paste error coming from a case room or other play set description; the reference to “opening out” was removed in 1973 and in subsequent years. As pictured above, the JC Penney version of the set was of white plastic, like many Susy Goose pieces, while the Montgomery Ward version was dark brown or possibly black. The copy in the 1974 Montgomery Ward catalog (not shown) asserts that their set is “pretty and feminine” and that its dark plastic is “wood grain.”

    Maybe these were Susy Goose or Kiddie Brush & Toy Co. products, but maybe not: after all, most of the Susy Goose designs were pretty timeless, and many would be rehashed by other manufacturers, including Mattel, over the years. Just look at how 11.5″ fashion dolls were living in 1982:

    L-R: Barbie sits with an electronic piano in off-white plastic; Crystal Barbie sits on a white plastic canopy bed with lace-trimmed pink linens and one heart-shaped pink pillow; Barbie-sized Lindsey sits at a white vanity with mirror next to a tall white plastic wardrobe with pink doors.
    Left: Mattel electronic piano as shown in the 1982 Sears Christmas catalog; 1982 Mattel Dream Bed as pictured in the 1985 Sears Christmas catalog; part of an off-brand bedroom set shown in the 1982 Sears catalog (clone doll “Lindsey” is modeling). Source: wishbookweb.com

    The pink canopy bed in particular seems to echo across time: following the ’60s version at the top of this section and the ’82 Dream Bed above center, Barbie also slept in a Dream Glow bed (1985), a Starlight bed (1991), and a Glitter ‘n’ Glow bed (1996), ranging from romantically lit to radioactive, during the late 20th century,:

    Dream Glow bed commercial. Source: Retro Toys and Cartoons on YouTube.
    Starlight bed commercial. Source: Retro Toys and Cartoons on YouTube.
    Glitter n Glow bed commercial. Source: iRemember That on YouTube.

    The Mattel Modern furnishings celebrate their 65th anniversary this year. Although we’ve seen a smattering of other modern-styled Barbie furniture over the years, as far as we know Mattel never produced, nor licensed their trademarks for the production of, real wooden Barbie furniture.

    a Ken doll and two Ricky dolls stand around a dining table with four chairs, buffet, two folding sofa beds, a coffee table, an end table with lamp, and a second end table with no lamp, on a white sheet background.
    Ken and some Rickys amidst the Mattel Modern studio set and dining room set, with some additional dining chairs and living room tables. Source: Theriaults.

    Where to next? This post is about Barbie’s early built environment. The most recent post in this category is Barbie’s Seventies Travelogue, Part 2, and the most popular are this one and one on penthouse apartments. The overall most popular post on this site is about Mattel fashion booklets. Or just head up to the Table of Contents to see more options.

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  • Great books for vintage Barbie fans
    Close up on 16 book spines that all have "Barbie" in the title (save one that has "Francie" instead)

    Recently, in a series of hilariously escalating blunders, someone at Mattel slipped on a banana peel, stepped on a rake, ran headlong through a sheet of plate glass being carried across the street by men in coveralls, and then accidentally ordered only two hundred copies printed of a new book on Barbie Dream Houses–all in a single day! Dream Houses are kind of our beat–although the elusive Mattel volume features only a handful spanning vintage to present, while we’re more of the strictly-vintage, thorough persuasion–but we’ll never see the Mattel book, so let’s say no more about it.

    Fortunately, competent publishers have released so many wonderful books in sufficient quantities over the years. I have none to recommend specifically on houses or other play sets (hence, one of the main motivations for this blog), but hopefully anyone can find something to their tastes in this (partial) list of great works of Barbie scholarship.

    Identification Guides

    Book covers for six identification guides described below
    Barbie Fashion Vols. I-II by Sarah Sink Eames

    A comprehensive listing of fashions not just for Barbie, but also for Francie, Ken, Skipper and Ricky, through the vintage and mod years. Long out of print, the first volume, at least, is not too hard to track down. Each year is covered by a chapter, with sections for the differently-sized dolls’ fashions. Ensemble entries are accompanied by color photos of the garments and accessories, either loose, on a doll, or mint in package, along with a description and some light narrative: “Election time! Barbie doll was nominated for president of her sorority! She could hardly uncross her fingers long enough to get dressed for the big decision!” begins the description of 1962’s Sorority Meeting, before launching into a detailing of the outfit elements. When I felt anxious after seeing a couple wedding dresses in Francie’s chapters, Sink Eames reassured me that the teenaged Francie had merely modeled them. There are also segments on prototype outfits and overseas exclusives. In the second volume, gift sets each get a page to themselves, to display the cover illustration as well as the boxed contents.

    Top left: a two page spread including Black Magic on a dressed doll and three loose ensembles including White Magic; top right: two boxed dolls in bright red packaging and four boxed fashions, along with text. Lower left: Julia's Simply Wow gift set cover illustration plus the packaged doll and fashions; lower right: the German Francie, with an unusual face and long blonde hair, wears a brown dress with white collar, two white buttons, and white topstitching at the waist, plus white knee socks and chocolate brown flats; four fashions displayed include Checker Chums and one boxed fashion.
    Top left: A typical spread from Barbie Fashion, Vol. I; Top right: Japanese exclusive dolls and fashions; Bottom left: Simply Wow gift set in Barbie Fashion, Vol. II; Bottom right: a German Francie doll plus a selection of 1972 Francie fashions

    A third volume also exists, covering 1975-1979. It is the rarest of the three, covering the shortest time span, and, to me, the least interesting fashion. In the third volume almost everything is photographed in its original packaging, which is an accomplishment from the collectors’ point of view but perhaps the worst way to display the contents. To me, the third book is not must-have but still nice-to-have.

    Francie & Her Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod World of Fashion; Barbie Doll & Her Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod World of Fashion, 1967-1972 by Joe Blitman

    Beyond the fact that they are limited to mod fashions, Blitman’s books are distinct from Sink Eames’ in a few ways. First, almost every fashion gets its own page, with a cleverly-posed doll (or dolls) modeling the ensemble (Blitman has also reproduced these images on playing cards), in addition to a photograph of the loose outfit pieces. Second, the entries are peppered with entertaining commentary like “Take a sedative before you try getting the jumpsuit on a bend-legged doll,” describing Twiggy Gear (I think the strategy is to turn the garment inside out and roll it onto her legs); “The robe proves that there is an afterlife for old bathroom carpeting,” describing Barbie’s 1969 Dream-Ins; “You really have to work at it to make this jumpsuit look good on a doll,” referring to Firelights; and commenting on 1972’s Pants-Perfect Purple, a single, very punctuated word: “PURPLE!!!!!!!!???????”

    Three individual pages from Blitman's books. At left, Francie lies on a bed, perhaps distraught with infatuation, surrounded by doll-sized Beatles memorabilia; in a second image on the page, the Vested Interest outfit pieces are laid out with three possible shoes; at center, the Swingin' in Silver gift set is illustrated by PJ appearing to hang from a cord before an image of Times Square, while the outfit elements are laid out in a separate image. At right, mod barbie and Stacey both wear Magnificent Midi--Stacey in the dress and boots, Barbie in the hat and coat, and stand surrounded by Russian nesting dolls. Boxed text blurbs on this page read "This is a great example of the influence of Dr. Zhivago on fashion. Is it magnificent? Da!" and "This outfit is very hard to find."
    L-R: Francie in Vested Interest swoons over the Beatles; PJ in Swingin’ in Silver ziplines through Times Square; Barbie and Stacey in Magnificent Midi are influenced by Dr. Zhivago. From Joe Blitman’s books.

    Blitman is thorough in detailing variants (though Sink Eames is no slouch in that department, either), and sections at the backs of the books grouping together all the dolls’ original ensembles can do double duty, in a pinch, to help track down a doll ID. Alphabetized indices of the fashions are also extremely helpful. Overall, when I need a mod Barbie or Francie outfit ID I reach for Blitman’s books first.

    The Collectible Barbie Doll and Identifying Barbie by Janine Fennick

    Janine Fennick’s book, The Collectible Barbie Doll, and its “study guide” follow-up, are both great resources. Identifying Barbie is a small-sized volume with an exclusive focus on doll IDs, including some super-rarities. For the many gorgeous photos, she took the opportunity to showcase some rare fashions, as well.

    Spreads from the Janine Fennick’s little study guide, Identifying Barbie, including rarities as well as common finds.
    Skipper: Barbie Doll’s Little Sister by Arend, Holzerland and Kent

    I have to admit I’m no Skipper expert, but this book is notable for its thoroughness. In addition to covering Skipper and her same size friends’ dolls and fashions with a wealth of excellent color photos and descriptions, the book also has sections on Tutti and Todd, Skipper-sized clones, vinyl cases, play sets and furniture, paper dolls, and even more. If you’re not a Skipper collector yet, this well-wrought volume might make you one.

    Barbie: The First 30 Years by Stefanie Deutsch

    Another volume with a focus on doll identification, this work is a good resource for learning the distinctions between, say, #3 and #5 ponytail dolls, or learning how Ken, Francie and the rest of Barbie’s circle evolved across the decades. The author hails from Germany and the extensive sections on Bild Lilli and on Barbie variations for foreign markets (and foreign play sets and carrying cases!) are particularly worthwhile. One drawback to this book is that its photographs are not at the level of quality of those in the rest of this post; frankly, many look like they were taken with flash on. However, this book is still an excellent reference containing a trove of unique material.

    Barbie Doll Structures & Furniture by Marl Davidson

    A niche topic but one of our favorites, Davidson’s rare book covers Mattel’s Barbie structures through 1972 and furniture sets through 1975, with detailed component lists and color photographs of carefully costumed and posed dolls inhabiting the structures (The photography is amateur but fun). This book is likely to cost more than many on this list, but much of its information can be found nowhere else.

    Two pages showing sets consisting of plastic furniture and cardboard part-walls. On the left, the Teen Dream Bedroom is a wall of illustrated furniture in pink and buttercream colors with two faces, floor panel, pink plastic bed and red sheet, plus a cardboard sheet of bits and pieces to punch out. At right, Cookin' Fun Kitchen is a wall of avocado green cabinets and appliances with two faces, floor panel, yellow kitchen table with two chairs, plus decals and cardboard pieces to punch out. Both from 1970.
    Spread from Barbie Doll Structures & Furniture by Marl Davidson showcasing rare Seventies furniture sets.

    Histories

    Book covers for 3 "history" books described below
    Barbie: Her Life & Times by BillyBoy*

    THE history of Barbie, in my view. Published in 1987 to coincide with The New Theatre of Fashion–a traveling show for which seemingly every couturier in the industry designed a one-of-a-kind Barbie fashion–this book covers Barbie’s life by mining novels, comic books, marketing materials and more for the details of Barbie’s personal affairs, and covers her times through author BillyBoy*’s encyclopedic style knowledge. If you need to know that Barbie’s 1960s charm bracelets are “a la Calder” or that Alexandre invented the bubble cut hairstyle in Paris, this book is for you.

    At top left, Barbie in Career Girl paired with a Balenciaga sketch and photograph; Barbie in After Five paired with a photograph of a Dior dress; the ponytail Barbie swimsuit sketch from the early fashion booklets and a very similarly-posed model in a Dior advertisement for foundation garments. Top right: Christie in the 1976 Olympics uniform and Curtis in a 1972 double-breasted suit; lower left: dolls and fashions for the Japanese market; lower right: Barbie in a range of one-of-a-kind fashions, many tending toward the avant garde.
    Top row: early Barbie and her contemporary influences; Barbie in the Seventies. Bottom row: Japanese Barbies in the Eighties; some designs for the New Theatre of Fashion. From the book by BillyBoy*.

    If you just want to browse sumptuous color images spanning 1959-1987, some of which are as tall as Barbie herself (the pages measure about 12″ on their longer edge), including a lengthy section on the designs for the New Theatre show… still your book.

    Dressing Barbie by Carol Spencer

    A personal history of Spencer’s career designing Barbie fashions, spanning decades from the early ’60s into the ’90s. Among her many adventures, read how Spencer designed Barbie-sized swimwear prototypes for her job interview; developed novelty lines like the Color Magic ensembles and Sew-Free fashions; created Country Club Dance and Holiday Dance to use up surplus Fashion Queen fabric; designed Black Magic based on Ruth Handler’s own wardrobe; pieced together the Rainbow Wraps mosaic pattern by hand; weathered changes in fashion trends and at Mattel; ghost-designed for Oscar de la Renta; and much more.

    Three two-page spreads from Spencer's book shown side by side. At left, three ponytail and bubble cut dolls in coral-colored swimwear; in the center, Fashion Photo Barbie strikes a pose before a child with a camera; the section head to the side reads, "Changes Rock Mattel." At right, one page shows Totally Hair Barbie strutting while the section head on the facing page reads, "The Best-Selling Barbie of All Time."
    Left to right: Swimsuit prototypes from Spencer’s job interview; Fashion Photo Barbie; Totally Hair was “the best-selling Barbie of all time.”

    Centered on Spencer’s own work, Skipper, Francie and Ken don’t factor into the tale, nor do the couture looks Charlotte Johnson created in the early years. But the inside perspective Spencer shares, coupled with her long career, makes for a singular narrative.

    Doll Fashion Anthology by A. Glenn Mandeville

    Not a lush photo book like the first two in this category, but a thorough history of Barbie, including influences, chapters on contemporary clones, extras like store displays, board games, packaging, and much more, lined with images, many in color. I felt there should be a “citation needed” next to some of the author’s claims about the minds of the buying public and the minds of the designers at various intervals, but on the whole this little book is a treasure trove of Barbie information, including many details that slide past the more fashion-focused volumes. My copy of this book ends in the Nineties, with the author expressing some enthusiasm for then-recent collector dolls. He predicts the holiday dolls will be popular with collectors, while stopping short of suggesting that they will be valuable. Well played, Mr. Mandeville.

    Barbie in Japan by Keiko Kimura Shibano

    The topic of 1960s Japanese-exclusive Barbie fashions and dolls is a bit niche, but for the curious, this well-written volume, festooned with gorgeous photographs, is a joy to read. Furthermore, the introductory chapter on initial Barbie development as a collaboration between Mattel and Japanese manufacturers will be of interest to any fan of Barbie’s early history.

    The list of chapters in the table of contents shown are: Setting up Production; US/Japan Variations; Ballgowns; Kimono Fashions; Side Part Bubble Cut; The Side Part Story; Twist 'n' Turn Fashions; Francie; Friends; Booklet Reprints. Alongside the table of contents, color photographs show ash blonde side-part American Girl Barbies in Japanese exclusive fashions; two bubble cut dolls in After Five and an After Five variant in white with patterned fabrics; Skipper ballerinas; and a row of Francies in assorted exclusive ensembles.
    Opening spread and table of contents from Barbie in Japan.

    Coffee Table Books

    Covers of three coffee table books described below
    Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun by Marco Tosa

    Two of the histories in the preceding section are also coffee table books, and this coffee table book is also a history. The book kicks off with a critical analysis of Barbie’s place in our culture, including some modern fine art ruminations on the doll in question, before delving into a history that starts with some of Barbie’s earliest antecedents, from about 150 AD, and continuing through Victorian fashion dolls and Bild Lilli, to Barbie’s inception and up through most of the ’90s. The focus is almost entirely on fashion, with some play sets mentioned as they relate to fashion lines and almost no other Barbie ephemera discussed. Barbie’s ’60s style is placed in the context of Balenciaga, Dior, Grace Kelly, Doris Day, Jackie Kennedy, and more, continuing through Oscar de la Renta and Bob Mackie to the (then-)current period. Separate sections on more recent movie-based dolls (including the Marilyn Monroe doll on the book’s cover) and Dolls of the World round out her evolution up to the date of publication.

    Two two-page spreads. One shows rows of bald doll heads and hair being attached and styled; the second shows ponytail Barbie in Solo in the Spotlight; the Solo in the Spotlight fashion sketch from the Mattel booklet; and black-and-white photograph of a similar Balenciaga design from 1951, opposite a color photo of psychedelic 1960s fashions and accompanying text.
    Top: How Barbies are made; Bottom: a spread on ’60s style influences. From the book by Marco Tosa.

    A more serious work than the others we categorize as coffee table books, it boasts a bibliography (including some of the books already listed here as well as many others) and an index of the dolls and fashions appearing in its many high-quality photographs.

    Barbie: What a Doll! by Laura Jacobs

    A 1994 book of Barbie fashions on posed dolls with neutral backgrounds, stretching from Barbie’s earliest years through the Eighties. Fashions are grouped thematically (“Trouser Styles,” “Outer Wear,” “Party Girl”) and within those chapters by color palette, so that 1960s tailored suits sit comfortably alongside similar designs from the Eighties, while late Sixties switched-on mod minis mingle with late Eighties neon and glitter (the Seventies are mostly flyover territory). If you’ve collected or at least browsed the trading cards released a couple years before this work, you’ll see images you recognize. One thing that might drive the aspiring collector crazy about this book: each picture is captioned with a year and a description of the garments, but not the ensemble names!

    At left, four 1980s Style Magic ensembles face four Sixties looks including Zokko! and Twinkle Togs. At right, five wedding gowns from 1959 to 1977.
    Left: the Sixties and Eighties coexist harmoniously in these party clothes. Right: Five of the happiest days of Barbie’s life, featuring a rare 1970s double feature.

    The introduction was written from Barbie’s perspective, and some just-for-fun appendices include a family tree, a list of Barbie’s careers, and a list of nationalities Barbie has assumed–the last of which draws attention to the fact that almost every ’70s and ’80s doll appearing in the book is blonde. Maybe this choice was intended to emphasize the individual Barbie narrator, but it wasn’t really working for me. Regardless, I enjoyed the pairings of ’60s and ’80s fashions, which you don’t often see.

    Barbie Millicent Roberts: an Original by David Levinthal

    This nearly text-free book explores the concept of Barbie fine art photography, posing, lighting and framing her as she would have appeared in 1960s advertisements for gowns, jewels, furs and perfumes. The fashions are drawn from the glamorous vintage years beginning in 1959, stretching to some of the more fabulous styles of the mod years up to about 1972, with occasional offroading into, for example, a Tuesday Taylor bathing suit (below). A prefacing essay by Valerie Steele, longtime curator of the incredible Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, explores 1950s and ’60s fashions as they’re reflected in Barbie’s wardrobe and in photographs.

    Three two-page spreads of Levinthal's photography. One shows three swimsuited dolls (in a blue Tuesday Taylor suit, a red Helenca suit, and a red strapless suit) before a background suggesting a swimming pool, and on the facing page, a close-up on the dark-haired bubble cut in the strapless suit; one shows two ponytail dolls in 1960s lame sheaths opposite an image of the Golden Girl sheath on a mannequin, draped with a fur, accessories on a table beside; Finally, an American Girl doll in a white button down and blue pencil skirt faces a mod doll in Silver Serenade.
    Three spreads from Barbie Millicent Roberts featuring photography by David Levinthal.

    Catalogues

    Three Mattel fashion booklets, a vintage JC Penney Christmas catalog, and a catalog from Theriault's

    Okay, it’s a bit of a stretch to call most of the entries in this section “works of scholarship,” but read other entries in this blog to see how we depend on them for “research”–and all are enjoyable to browse for eye candy and inspiration.

    Auction catalogs

    You can browse recent Barbie auction catalogs from Theriault’s for free online, or you can invest in physical versions–or do both, as I do. The search feature online is invaluable, but the page layouts and high-resolution photos are so enjoyable in their physical form. These catalogs do contain a number of errata–misnamed ensembles, some Mattel outfits left unidentified, 1950’s Mattel furniture for 9″ dolls labeled as Barbie furniture, a Deluxe Reading Dream Kitchen incorrectly attributed to Mattel–as well as a general lack of specificity about complete sets or matching exactly the right accessories to garments. Identification guides, they aren’t. However, both the online catalogs and those you purchase from Theriault’s after the auction include both estimated and realized prices, so if you do want value estimates they provide an up-to-date source alongside the stunning visuals: gorgeous full-color, professional-quality photographs of dressed dolls, furniture, Bild Lillis and other clones, Japanese and European exclusives, carrying cases, and countless other treasures.

    Four views of Tressy's Penthouse plus a Tressy vacuum cleaner, boxed; a pink and orange version of the "Fabulous Fashion" ensemble"; a spread of aqua-colored mod designs plus the front of a matching car; and four formal gold-colored ensembles, including a clone gown and coat that closely resemble Golden Glory.
    Top row: A two page spread on Tressy’s Penthouse; a rare European fashion variant. Bottom row: page layouts in aqua and gold.
    Mattel booklets

    They’re our primary source for the most fundamental Barbie fashion illustrations and contemporary documentation, straight from the source, of what products were offered in a given year. And plenty were printed–we’re looking at 50-year-old examples that are still in circulation and affordable.

    Spreads from Mattel fashion booklets: Francie and Twiggy fashions, the Barbie family house, four 1965 Barbie fashions, and four carrying cases.

    Are they an awkward fit for your bookshelf? Yes. Is that because they’re in fact not books? Also yes.

    Vintage mail order store catalogues

    Both rarer and brittler than the Mattel booklets, and mostly concerned with non-Barbie topics, these will give you the least bang for your buck of all the options presented here and also are not genuine books. What’s more, sources exist online for decent quality scans of many of them.

    The JC Penney catalog lies open, showing a Color n' Curl set, three carrying cases, a candy-cane-striped clothing carousel, the Dream Kitchen-Dinette, Suzy Goose furniture and the Go-Together Living Room set.
    1965 JC Penney Christmas catalog. Rats nibbled the last pages of this copy but left the fashion doll pages intact, so I got a good deal.

    Still, if you happen upon a bargain, or you find one that’s missing from the online repositories, a vintage catalogue can be very rewarding to thumb through.

    And that’s a wrap

    Thanks for rifling through my bookcase with me! Do you have a favorite Barbie volume that wasn’t mentioned here? We’d love to hear about it.

    Where to next? In our Deep Dives and Musings category, the most popular post is our Chronicle of Barbie Shoes, 1959-1967. The most recent musing is about Barbie-sized luggage, and a severely underappreciated musing is When Barbie Turned 21. We’ve recently been enjoying writing Barbie’s Seventies Travelogue in the “built environment” category; or just head up to the Table of Contents for more options.

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  • Doll Carrying Cases (1961-1972)
    Two photographs including a total of eleven cases. In the left image are two cases that use the jazzy off-kilter rectangles mentioned in the post; most others have trails of white sparkles running behind the figures, and the others have floating heads in addition to full-length dressed figures. The cases themselves are light blue, black, white and red vinyl. Most cases have the limited color palette discussed in the post, while two on the right hand side are full color.
    1961-63 Barbie travel cases and children’s luggage. Source: Theriault’s.

    The Barbie carrying cases of the mod and vintage years certainly packed a lot of style. From the earliest examples, with limited palettes used to depict Barbie posed before jazzy, off-kilter colored quadrilaterals, her poses mirroring those found in the early fashion booklets, into the full-color phase, with floating heads and sparkle trails, during which Midge and Skipper come on scene, and into the kaleidoscopic mod years, when the art styles were as changeable as Barbie’s circle of friends, we’ll sample at least a flavor of the endless possibilities of carrying case illustrations during their first ten or so years. Fashion Doll Guide also has a nice summary of case collecting.

    As described in the caption, noting that on the carrying case, Sweater Girl has a pale blue cardigan set and white skirt, Enchanted Evening has a gold dress, Let's Dance is a solid red dress with gold sash; in the booklet images Sweater girl has an orange cardigan set and brown skirt, Enchanted Evening is pink, and Let's dance is a blue patterned dress with darker blue sash.
    Left: detail from the front of a 1961 Barbie carrying case, showing Barbie dressed in her original swimsuit, Sweater Girl, Enchanted Evening, and Let’s Dance. Source: iwish-iwish on Reddit. Right: composited images from the 1961 fashion booklet, showing the same fashions. Source: Constance Ruppender on Flickr.

    The very first cases, released in 1961, tend to show Barbie modeling her various fashions before colorful quadrilaterals. The silkscreened graphics use only a handful of hues per case, although the palette is switched out from case to case–meaning we get to experience familiar fashions in a variety of surprising shades. As mentioned in the introduction, the poses here are the same as the ones in the fashion booklets–redrawn, but possibly traced–though the color schemes may be unfamiliar (as in the image above, where Sweater Girl, Enchanted Evening, and Let’s Dance all get fresh paint jobs). The one “original” fashion that I have seen shows Barbie in profile, in a full skirt, holding a roundish case of her own. This pose may have been traced from Sweet Dreams in the 1961 fashion booklet–a highly similar stance for a totally unrelated fashion.

    Four fashion booklet illustrations, as descried in the figure caption, plus two white carrying cases each showing four figures posed before colorful quadrilaterals. The cases are close to identical with differences described in the caption. The Suburban Shopper dress is shown with red and white stripes on both cases; the stripes on the skirt are vertical on the case at left. The looks not discussed in the text are Winter Holiday and Peachy Fleecy. The case at left shows the Peachy Fleecy model with her elbow bent and hand at her chest, as in fashion booklets (not shown), while the figure at right has her hand in her coat pocket. One further difference: all the figures on the case at right, with Commuter Set, have closed-toed shoes, while they are accurately open-toed on the left case. The exception is Winter Holiday who appears to wear cork wedges on both cases.
    Two 1961 Barbie carrying cases by Ponytail. On the case at left, the leftmost figure models the “original” carrying case fashion, and the 1961 Sweet Dreams fashion booklet depiction is included at the top left corner for reference. At right, on a highly similar case, the “original” fashion is exchanged for Commuter Set, which was out of production by 1961. Commuter Set from a 1960 fashion booklet (via aA Walk Thru Time on eBay) is included to the righthand side for pose comparison. Lastly, the pose used for the red-and-white striped dress varies between the cases; on the left it matches 1960-61 illustrations of Suburban Shopper, as shown to the left; the pose used on the righthand case version may be a variation on the Suburban Shopper stance, but is certainly not the later Busy Morning pose, top right corner, despite the dresses’ similarity.

    Sometimes, the similarities between the 1961 illustrations in booklets and on carrying cases can help us identify an ensemble whose details were changed or simplified for the case illustration, as in the example below, where we can establish that the top Barbie fashion on the Ken case is Cotton Casual, rather than the somewhat similar Suburban Shopper and Movie Date fashions, based on the model’s pose: arms akimbo, face shown in profile.

    At left is a yellow case featuring Ken. in smaller insets against that jaunty quadrilateral shapes are Barbie in 3 ensembes. At top, a sundress of white and pale blue stripes doesn't look exactly like any known ensemble. Below that, Evening Splendor looks more or less as the real garments do, and at bottom, Silken Flame is recognizable despite the bodice having changed from red to pale blue. At right, three booklet images are shown to illustrate that the top dress at left must be Cotton Casual, due to the model's pose (although the Cotton Casual illustration shows much darker navy stripes and colorful bows on the bodice). The other candidates depicted are Movie date and Suburban Shopper, both with blue and white stripes and similar silhouettes--but the poses are wrong.
    Left: cover of a 1961 carrying case featuring Ken. Source: heidihofromidaho on eBay. Right: Fashion booklet images of Cotton Casual, Suburban Shopper, and Movie Date. Sources: Constance Ruppender on Flickr, thevintagetoyadvertiser blog.

    Now that we’ve seen it once, it’s easy to recognize Cotton Casual when it appears on the ’61 record totes shown below. But what about the polka dotted dress below that? It reminds me of Party Date, which didn’t exist yet. Pose analysis indicates that I was close: the figure is copied from Silken Flame as it appears in the booklets (and you can see another color-altered Silken Flame on the Ken case above).

    A pair of record totes are identical except one has a black background and one a white. Two Barbies dressed for dancing are standing on oversized records amidst a trail of similar records and a twisting staff with music notes. Colors are silkscreened in pink, blue and gold. One of the two Barbies is recognizable, in pose, as the Cotton Casual figure but with blue and gold stripes on her dress. The second has an all-pink dress with what look like gold polka dots on the skirt. Her pose is the same as the Silken Flame model on the Ken case in the previous image. At left, a Silken Flame image from the 1961 is shown along with a Party Date figure from 1962. The Silken Flame booklet illustration matches that on the record totes, although the dress is a better match for Party Date, in the author's opinion.
    Two 1961 record totes, a 1961 fashion booklet illustration of Silken Flame, and a 1962 illustration of Party Date. The Silken Flame and Cotton Casual (above) sketches match the figures on the record cases. Sources: jasperman111 on eBay, Constance Ruppender on Flickr, thevintagetoyadvertiser blog

    In addition to doll carrying cases and record totes, the same imagery appeared on lunchboxes, pencil cases, scrapbooks, children’s luggage, and more.

    In the 1963 iteration of the cases, Midge joined the scenes and both she and Barbie adopted all-new poses. Sometimes the color palette was expanded to allow richer illustration, but not always. Sparkle trails and floating heads replaced the off-kilter rectangles.

    The set of three pieces of children’s luggage below, still utilizing the limited color scheme, feature Sorority Meeting in three different color combos made from mostly the same colors (teal with white trim and reddish hat and shoes, orange dress with teal sweater, shoes and gloves, orange dress with teal sweater but no gloves), while Movie Date, on Midge, is consistently pink.

    Three pieces of vinyl children's luggage are shown. All three are black and feature the sparkle trail and floating heads discussed in the post. At the top of the pile, a circular case bears an illustration of Midge, in a pink copy of Movie Date, alongside bubble cut Barbie in Sorority Meeting with an orange dress and teal sweater and accessories. At bottom right, Midge wears Sorority Meeting in all teal with white trim and red accessories, while Barbie wears Open Road in its proper color scheme. At bottom left, Barbie and Midge are posed and painted exactly as they were on the top case, except Barbie's gloves are not painted. In close up, Barbie and Midge stand very close together, possibly hugging. Either Midge or Barbie is gripping Barbie's chin, to either side of the her mouth, with two fingers. Midge seems to be looking downward at Barbie's mouth while Barbie glances off to the side. Their foreheads nearly touch. Midge may still be wearing Movie Date, but Barbie, here with a blonde ponytail, is wearing an unknown sleeveless dress with pink and orange stripes. This case and the top case say "Barbie and Midge, Travel Pals" while the third case says only "Barbie and Midge."
    1963 Barbie and Midge children’s luggage with limited color palette. Source: Theriault’s.

    The case at lower left raises a question: was “Travel Pals” a sort of euphemism?

    Even with unlimited colors available, sometimes the outfits were recolored to add visual interest, as happened to Sophisticated Lady, below right, and “Red” Flare in the image that opened this post.

    Three doll carrying cases. At left, on a black background, brunette bubble cut Barbie wears Party Date and gestures toward a suited Ken with her clutch. Red bubble cut and blond Ken heads float at the end of a sparkle trail. At center, on a white vinyl case, Fashion Queen Barbie stands next to three floating heads: platinum blonde bubble-on-bubble, dark brunette, and reddish short flip. At right, blonde bubble cut Barbie in Sophisticated Lady stands on a black background with sparkle trail. Her dress is pink as in the real ensemble but her evening coat is green. A red-haired bubble cut head floats nearby.
    1963 Barbie doll cases with full-color palettes. Source: Theriault’s.

    Starting in 1965, the mod years came in with an explosion of color and form, as the sparkle trails and floating heads were supplanted by colorful art-nouveau-by-way-of-Swinging-London flourishes:

    Eight doll cases starting from 1965. In addition to Barbie, Francie, Casey and Stacey are depicted. Colorful abstract decoration resembles Tiffany stained glass. Three illustrations running down the righthand side of the collage all show Barbie and Francie or Casey dressed in Color Magic Fashions. All fashions shown are recognizable and in the known color schemes, including Knit Hit, Floating In, Iced Blue, Fashion Shiner and others in addition to the Color Magic ensembles.
    Eight later-60s carrying cases from eBay users including shisha dolls, babyandbro, and szepie77.

    In the above collage we see, amid a wealth of details, cases that perpetuate the lie that Color Magic ensembles will fit Francie, as well as one or two spots where Francie bears a strong resemblance to Marlo Thomas as Ann Marie on “That Girl.” Where have we seen these themes in the past? Ah yes–a 1967 Francie Casey paper doll set.

    Out of step with the Barbie carrying case aesthetic of these years, one 1967 lunch box was decidedly non-mod:

    Lunchbox with what looks like an American Girl Barbie, in a pink evening gown with a red cloak and white fur trim, escorted by a tuxedoed Ken. In smaller illustrations other figures appear in long gowns and tuxedos. Text reads Campus Queen Magnetic Game Kit. A pink sparkle trail runs behind the text and figures.
    1967 King Seeley Campus Queen Lunch Box. Source: Smithsonian Institute

    That’s because the Campus Queen lunch box, above, is not licensed by Mattel. Though the resemblance to American Girl Barbie, Ken, and Queen of the Prom was undeniable (the back of the box features a little “board game” played with magnetic pieces, and the sides show scenes of characters engaging in dress shopping and other activities), this item has no Barbie affiliation whatsoever.

    Back in Barbie’s milieu, it was during the mod era that Sleep-n-Keep cases were introduced. One half of the case resembled a standard carrying case, with compartments for dolls and hanging clothes and drawers for accessories, while the other half was painted up to look like a bedroom, with vinyl bed(s) and tables that folded down from the wall like elements in a pop-up book.

    Left is a color catalog entry for the Sleep-n-Keep case as described in the text. The text is too small to read, except "Sleep 'n Keep Case for Barbie and Stacey; A flower-bright bedroom with a closet for hanging clothes, a place for shoes and purses (right behind real open-close doors); Only at Sears $5.97." The bedroom has bright yellow, flowered wallpaper and bedspreads with reddish backboards. At right, the exterior of the case is an illustration of the room pictured at left, including Barbie in Jump Into Lace and Stacey in Night Clouds.
    Left: 1968 Sears catalog listing for the Sleep-n-Keep Barbie and Stacey case; Right, the exterior of the case. Sources: Wishbook Web, eBay

    The first Sleep-n-Keep case we’ve observed is the ’68 Barbie and Stacey case shown above. The catalog text at left asserts that the room is “So pretty you can be sure Barbie and Stacey had their interior decorator plan their room.” It wasn’t so pretty that the girls wanted to keep living there, though, because by the following year they had a new “Romantic Victorian bedroom,” per the ’69 Sears catalog (not shown).

    Barbie and Stacey Sleep 'n Keep Case exterior shows the two inhabitants--one in Fancy Dancy--but no room. At right, the open case shows blue flooring (the material of the case), bright pink bedsreads, curtains and cabinets with illustrated wrought iron headboards. Details include flamed art on the wall. The set is displayed on top of someone's animal print rug, but that's not part of the case (though it is referenced in the text).
    Exterior and interior of the 1969 Barbie and Stacey Sleep-n-Keep case room. Source: rhondazimmerman on eBay.

    Barbie and Stacey’s interior decorator was not consulted about the animal print carpet seen in the eBay listing above.

    In 1970 Barbie was rooming with PJ in the neon-bright bedroom below, and Jamie had a case room all her own–a single. Then in ’72 Barbie and Steffie were back living in the Victorian bedroom Barbie had shared with Stacey previously. You can see the Jamie and Steffie cases, with other examples, over at barbieworld.it.

    Left: case exterior shows Barbie and PJ in neon colors. Right: blue flooring, orange and floral bedspreads, a stained glass illustrated hanging lamp, multicolored throw pillows, and wall art that says "LOVE" and "SMILE" in funky text.
    Exterior and interior of Barbie and P.J.’s Sleep-n-Keep case room. Source: pure-9 on eBay.

    Why did Barbie have so many different roommates? Was she difficult to live with? I choose to believe that these rooms represent some of her many pieds-a-terre, as her swinging modeling career and jet-setting lifestyle took her from London to New York to Pairs to LA, where she had dedicated space to crash with pals, all while maintaining her idyllic suburban lifestyle in some less fashionable burg. But who knows?

    I like to go out on notes of sparkles and rainbows, when possible:

    Left: light blue carrying case showing dark-haired Barbie in Enchanted Evening and Friday Night Date, in a limited palette but essentially the correct colors, on a white sparkle trail. Right: A sort of rainbow trail with pink hearts on a pink case. One figure wears a minidress, one wears bell bottoms, and two are dressed in long flowing pilgrim/bucolic fashions; this illustration is exiting the mod era on the other side.

    Where to next? Check out our post on off-brand carrying cases; see more portable homes in the Many Abodes of Barbie; get into Basic and Dressed Doll Boxes; or make your way to the table of contents to view more options.

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