Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, which makes a lot more sense when you see the era from which she came. We all know Barbie is more than 50 years’ old. But have you seen the first ever TV ad for the then $3 doll and her range of (sometimes even more expensive) clothes?
This puts it all into perspective.
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12 Comments so far
i thought she would have been curvier when they first made barbie in the 1959! but she looks as skinny as ever. i guess a waif with mega jugs was just as fashionable then as it is now.
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Love love love my Barbies.
I still have most of my old ones with their fabulous 70s outfits.
I am a bit sad that my daughter doesn’t love them as much as I do. I think I have spent more time dressing hers than she has.
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One of my readings at Uni was based on the origins of Barbie before the doll was turned into the Barbie ‘created’ by Ruth Handler.
Sorry I can’t recall the original reading but Here’s some info about the original men’s doll Barbie was based on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild_Lilli_doll
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I love that ad – it’s a wonderful time-capsule………but that old dolly has always bothered me……….her body-shape is distorted and her middle-aged “L.A. Hooker” look has probably harmed the self-image of scores of little girls who’ve (as bigger girls) dieted themselves into a mimicry of her questionable image………..if you want to see some of the damage done, check out “Toddlers & Tiaras” – if I hear one more irresponsible woman yell “work it Baby ! “at a 3year old, I’ll throw a Barbie at the screen (not mine of course…lol.)
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Is it a bit sad that I have that Barbie?
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Wow! How did you get it?
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My parents bought it for me from a Barbie museum. I used to collect them.
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You have a 1959 Number One Ponytail Barbie??!!!! For serious???
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Don’t get too excited! I’ve just looked it up, I have a reproduction of the 1959 Number Two Ponytail Barbie (the Brunette). So not the $5,000 one (don’t rob me!)
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Sad? No! It’s awesome. I’m seriously jealous actually!
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I love Barbie. When she was released in 1959, she was the first “fashion doll”. Other dolls were generally baby dolls which girls would dress and feed and look after. Or there were paper dolls which you could dress up, but it wasn’t the same as a proper doll. Then Barbie came along, glamorous and well dressed, and she was a sensation.
When you look at the quality of the clothes from that ad, and how stylish they are, then compare them to the Bratz dolls….it makes me sad that the fashion doll industry has gone from stylish to slutty.
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Not just fashion doll industry, it is the fashion industry in general.
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