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BarbieThis toy was probably one of the most influential of the last half of the 1900's. When Barbie first came out in 1959, I was already too old to play with dolls. But, my sister Carolynn was not. She had Barbie and Ken and many of the accessories. She and her friends played for hours. Barbie was created by Elliot Handler, the founder of Mattel, Inc., and his wife, Ruth. Barbie was the name of their daughter and.Ken was the name of their son. It is now 45 years later and Barbie is still one of the most loved and controversial dolls sold. "Barbie was originally created to project every little girl's dream of the future." She, however, has not come without controversy. Critics have blamed Barbie for everything from Anorexia to psychological and emotional damage. The first year that Barbie was on the market 351,000 dolls were sold for $3 each . Since then, Barbie's popularity has rarely flagged; and today, with over one billion dolls sold in more than one hundred and forty countries. The Barbie product line is the most successful in the history of the toy industry. Each week, Mattel sells over 1.5 million dolls—that's two dolls per second. Ninety percent of all American girls in the last forty years have owned at least one Barbie. If every Barbie doll ever manufactured were laid end to end, they would circle the earth three-and-one-half times.
"The world of the Barbie doll today is a great deal more than a doll and accessories. Barbie doll is keeping in step by allowing girls to use their computers to program and personalize their Barbie doll and design, create, play and dream using Barbie™ software. The Barbie line has also developed into a broad array of exciting licensed products for girls, including books, apparel, food, home furnishings and home electronics." More about Barbie To order "The Ultimate Barbie Doll
Book" Have fun with this colouring book |
Barbie
cost $3.00 when she came out in 1959 now
the original like the one on the left is
worth over $1500. She was created after the
current fashions and "look" of
the times. Barbie doll wore a ponytail (after
Bridget Bardot), black and white zebra-striped
bathing suit, open-toed shoes, sunglasses
and earrings. Clothing, purses, shoes etc.
were also available. Little girls all over
the U.S. wanted a Barbie. It took several
years to catch up with demand for the doll.