Barbie Dolls

There are few women who were girls in the 1960's who didn't own at least one Barbie.  Barbies were the hot toy item, and the accessories and clothing you could buy (or make) for her were endless. 

Early Barbie

Barbie first came on the market in 1959.  She was a stiff, unbendable doll.  I think maybe her arms at the shoulders could swing forward and back, and the same where her legs met her torso.  But that was all.  You could buy many clothing outfits for her, and since we had no other doll that was as portable, we got along fine using our imaginations to give her "life".  I remember that her clothes were pretty difficult to put on her because of her unbending posture.

In the mid-60's Mattel came up with a new version of Barbie.  This one had bendable arms and legs!  She was so much more life-like!  The ads on the Saturday morning cartoons were full of how great this new Barbie was.  My sister and I, like all normal girls, coveted the new and improved version.  In those days, at least in our house, we didn't just get something new because we were tired of the old one.  And Barbie dolls were one-per-person for us.  Multiples were something our family just didn't do.  So when we heard that our local mall toy store was having a deal, we jumped on it.  They offered new Barbies at a big discount if you turned in your old one at the store.  Now our Barbies could do so much more, with their bending elbows and knees.  Later. the model with the twisting waist came out, which was nice, but we didn't care to get one right away.  Eventually we got around to it.

Outside of my case was something like this.

When I was in elementary school I had a Barbie carrying case.  It wasn't fancy at all--just a black shiny case with Barbie on the outside of it.  Inside it was white and had a place for your doll to stand, a space for accessories, and a "closet" space that in my memory had a small rod across it where you could hang Barbie's wardrobe on teeny hangers.  The case had the most delicious vinyl smell, inside and out.  Most girls that I played with had Barbies and cases of one kind or another.  We brought them to school so we could play with them at recess.

Inside of my case was something like this.

My mom was a knitter, and she was constantly knitting clothes for our Barbies, as well as our cousins' Barbies.  She had tiny little snaps that she sewed into the tiny little dresses.  She inspired me to sew my own Barbie clothes with leftover fabric pieces and the same tiny snaps.  Boy, were our dolls stylin'! 

We all know now what became of the original Barbie dolls.  Yes, the ones we turned in so we could get the new and improved version.  They are now as rare as hens' teeth and some have sold for over $20,000.  Who knew?! 

Did you have a Barbie?  Even more than one at a time, as some of my friends did?  How about accessories?  Did you have a carrying case, or even a Barbie house, or a Barbie car?  Did you own an original Barbie, like we did, and turn it in for the newer model?  Hopefully you have some fond memories of playing Barbies with your friends when you were a girl, when entertainment and relationships with friends and siblings were not as complex as they are today!