Tag: vintage barbie
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Random House Books (1962-1965)
Starting in 1962, Random House released a series of books set in the Barbieverse, and naturally, those books were illustrated. By themselves, the books’ covers, like those above, form a nice collection of illustrations; however, the interiors have even more to offer, and we’ll detail a few favorites here. Almost unique within the annals of…
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The Many Abodes of Barbie, Part IV: 1966
During the Sixties, Americans imported Mini cars and miniskirts from Swinging London, while Barbie innovated a “mini” all her own: the cramped accommodations she and her social circle favored in the second half of the decade. We got our first taste in the 1965 episode with the Sears exclusive “Deluxe” house; in the following year…
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Sidebar: Color Magic Illustrations
The Color Magic line was a juggernaut for Barbie circa 1966, and with it came a raft of illustrations used for advertising and instructions. The image above is a run-of-the-mill fashion booklet spread like all ensembles merited in those days, but do a little more digging–from the dolls themselves, to the fashions, to the Sew-Free…
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The Many Abodes of Barbie, Part III: 1965
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…
sheathsensation
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Three Nostalgic Black Barbies We Need (and a few existing alternatives) `
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…
sheathsensation
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Early furniture: Mattel Modern and Susy Goose
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…
sheathsensation
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Doll Carrying Cases (1961-1972)
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…
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Deluxe Reading Dream Kitchen (1963)
Barbie’s earliest abodes may suggest that she was not much of a cook: neither the ’62 Dream House nor her ’64 Campus dorm room provided kitchen facilities (predictably, in the latter case); the Go-Together rooms offered a dining room, but no kitchen; and the ’64 New Dream House had a very minimal kitchen in the…
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Barbie’s Fashion Shop (1963)
What is it that makes a doll boutique so desirable? I always wanted one as a child. Did my young mind subconsciously believe that the shop would refill with new designs as Barbie “purchased” them? Is it an aspiration to consumption, and a desire to incorporate the act into make-believe? Or would it simply render…
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The Many Abodes of Barbie, Part II: 1964
The New Dream House In 1964 Barbie’s style of living got a major upgrade in the form of a new house, rich with detail, packed with almost too much furniture, and separated into four living spaces: living room, bedroom, kitchen and patio. The new home was furnished with a sofa, two armchairs, an end table,…
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Silken Flame 