This swimsuit was more than just a piece of cloth; it represented a paradigm shift in the toy industry. Before Barbie, dolls were primarily baby dolls, designed for nurturing and caregiving play. However, Barbie, with her teenage fashion model persona and her chic swimsuit, ushered in a new ...
coincides with the 65th anniversary of the Barbie brand. With 250 objects on display, it traces the progression of dolls, cars, outfits and dreamhouses over the decades, starting with the very first Barbie doll released in the ’50s. It also highlights milestones related to inclusivity, demonstr...
The Barbies know that there is an outside world occupied by humans, but the dolls believe that it functions just like Barbieland. In their minds, they have helped change women’s lives for the better since the ‘50s. It’s only when Robbie’s Barbie starts experiencing suspiciously human-...
Instead, she thought it would be the perfect toy for her daughter, Barbara. Handler had observed Barbara and her girlfriends playing with paper dolls that depicted teenage girls or adult women. To Handler, that was their way of practicing for adulthood. Yet, aside from the two-dimensional ...
The fact that Barbie’s comp sci teacher is female almost lets you assume things are about to get less insulting. Don’t fall for it. “Well, first you remove the hard drive from the crashed computer,” explains Ms. Smith. “And then you hook it up to another computer.” ...
See Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae, Nicola Coughlan, and more Barbie cast members next to the real Barbie dolls they play.
CELEBRATING 50 years in 2009, Barbie's famous face and head-turning style have made her undoubtedly the most popular doll in the world!
“My whole philosophy of Barbie was that, through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.” Needless to say, the variety of choices in Barbie dolls make very valuable collectibles. With such a rich history ...
The Barbie logo was designed by Ruth Handler, the co-founder of Mattel, who also created the Barbie doll itself! Ruth wanted to create a toy that represented a woman with choices. A woman with freedom, independence, and fierce femininity. A departure from the traditional baby dolls in the ...
Shindana Toys, a California-based company, manufactured most Black dolls from the 1960s to the 1980s and introduced its first doll, Baby Nancy, in 1968. Baby Nancy, who sports an Afro, was the first doll to show realistic Black features. With 32 dolls and six games in production, Shin...