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Since being designed
and introduced in 1959 by Mattel founder and Barbie doll creator
Ruth Handler, this first anatomically correct molded plastic
doll has become a true American icon, an outlet for girls' dreams
and an ever changing reflection of American society. Barbie
dolls themselves as well as the history and evolution of Barbie's
clothes, her various "face lifts" to reflect changes in modern
times, her links to professional, political and charitable endeavors,
and in multi-culturalizing of her product line have all kept
Barbie in the forefront for doll collectors worldwide. Collectors
value not simply the dolls but the many accessories and theme
dolls that have been issued over the years, and collecting complete
sets usually takes many years of effort.
Barbie namesake Barbara
Handler was the daughter of Ruth and Elliot Handler, and in
the early 1950s Ruth Handler saw that her young daughter Barbara
and her girlfriends liked playing with adult female dolls even
more than with baby dolls. She felt that it was just as important
for girls to imagine how they would be and act when they grow
up as it was to pretending what caring for children might be
like. Because most 195's adult dolls were made of paper or cardboard,
Ruth Handler decided to create a 3 dimensional adult female
doll lifelike enough to inspire her own daughter's dreams of
her future. Handler took the idea to the ad executives at Mattel,
the company that she and her husband Elliot founded in their
garage some years before. At first, Mattel's design committee
rejected the idea as too expensive, and with little potential
for wide market appeal. Soon thereafter, Handler returned from
a trip to Europe with a "Lilli" doll which was modeled after
an older female character in a German comic strip. Handler spent
some time designing a doll similar to Lilli, and she hired a
designer to make realistic doll clothes. The result was the
Barbie doll named after her own daughter Barbara. Upon seeing
the model, Mattel finally agreed to back the Barbie doll, and
she was introduced in 1959 at the American Toy Fair in New York
City. Almost immediately, American girls clamored for the doll,
and Barbie set a new sales record for Mattel its first year
on the market by selling over 351,000 dolls at $3 each. Since
then, the popularity of Barbie has rarely dropped, and today
the Barbie product line is the most successful doll in the history
of the toy industry with over 1 billion sold. The very first
Barbie doll had a ponytail, black and white zebra-striped bathing
suit, open toed shoes, sunglasses, and earrings. A complete
line of clothing fashions and accessories was also available,
and Mattel was so swamped with orders that it took several years
for supply to catch up with demand. The Barbie doll was introduced
as a teenage fashion model, but in the years that followed she
has taken on many aspirational roles. She has tackled almost
every conceivable profession including dentist, doctor, astronaut,
businesswoman, police officer, firefighter, astronaut, paleontologist,
and even a Presidential candidate. Barbie has been joined over
the years by friends and family including Ken (named for the
Handlers’ son) in 1961, Midge in 1963, Skipper in 1965, and
Christie (an African-American doll and the first of many subsequent
ethnic friends) in 1968. In 1995, the Barbie doll's little sister
Baby Sister Kelly was introduced and in 1997 a disabled friend
in a wheelchair Share a Smile Becky followed. Still being made
today by Mattel, girls can now use their computers to program
and personalize their Barbie doll, and Mattel's product line
now includes books, clothing, home furnishings, home electronics,
and even food. From the beginning, Barbie has also had her critics
claiming that Barbie reinforces sexism, representing a young
woman with questionable intelligence but remarkable physique.
Despite the protests, Barbie popularity with young girls continues
unabated, and early vintage Barbies are ravenously collected
by doll enthusiasts around the world, the most popular fashion
doll ever created.
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