Tag: 1973
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Barbie’s ’70s Travelogue, Part III: Arrive in Style
In the first two posts in this series, we covered new and exciting destinations that opened their doors to Barbie during the Seventies. Whether it was a ski holiday, a fishing trip, or a beach vacation, while Sixties Barbie could dress for the occasion, only Seventies Barbie ever arrived. But did she arrive… in style?…
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Barbie’s ’70s Travelogue, Part II: Unofficial Adventures
Last time, we looked at play sets representing various far-flung locales frequented by Barbie in the Seventies. While Mattel was shuttling their characters between mountains and beach, other manufacturers concocted their own dream destinations for Barbie and her rivals. Let’s review a few that helped further expand Barbie’s horizons. A-frame Ski Lodge by Omlie Industries…
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Barbie’s ’70s Travelogue, Part I: The Mountains are Calling
At the conclusion of our Many Abodes of Barbie series, we noted that the Seventies would bring a new focus to Barbie’s built environment, this time outside the domicile. Today we reveal that that focus is travel, and during this decade Barbie exhibited a strong preference for mountain getaways. Consider Exhibit A: Barbie’s 1972 Mountain…
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The built environments of mini vintage Barbies
One of the last key topics we have yet to cover in Barbie’s 1960s built environment is this one: miniature environs suited for Barbie-scaled vintage Barbie dolls. Since Barbie is 1:6 scale and 11.5″ tall, we’re talking about dolls that are 1:36 scale relative to a human, standing just a hair under 2″ high. Note…
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The “built” environments of Whitman Barbie paper dolls
We talk a lot about Barbie illustrations here, and we talk a lot about Barbie’s play sets and furniture, but what about the built environments within Barbie illustrations? In our posts on Whitman paper dolls we featured some paper doll folder interiors that show Barbie’s home or place of work; in fact, there are many…
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The Many Abodes of Barbie, Part VI: 1969
When we last checked in on Barbie, she was living in a two-room “World of Barbie Family House,” her most sprawling home since her chipboard days. In 1969 life got better again for Barbie with the New Family House. At a glance the folded-up house, above, looks pretty similar to the old family house; but…
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Skipper’s Schoolroom (1965) and the play sets that never were
A Sears exclusive in 1965 and 1966, Skipper’s Schoolroom was notable as the first Mattel play set where Barbie went only to work (she may have worked or shopped at the Fashion Shop, and the Little Theatre similarly had multiple uses), as well as the last public space introduced to the Barbiesphere for a handful…
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Beauty Parlors (1964-1977)
Tressy’s was first, in 1964. Introduced by American Character the year prior, she had the most sophisticated hair play for the time among Barbie and her rivals, with a lock of hair that lengthened and shortened by two separate mechanisms (a button to press and key to turn). Tressy’s Beauty Salon wasn’t functional–it didn’t add…
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Whitman paper dolls (1967-1973)
During Barbie’s mod years, the Whitman illustrators experimented with a diversity of art styles, demonstrated in the collage of Barbie paper dolls above. (If a couple of them look like Stacey to you, let me reassure you that Whitman identified all as Barbie herself–we’ll see Stacey in a moment.) Starting with the “Barbie has a…
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Silken Flame 