First Person
My Barbies
Pretty sure I’m not the only grown woman who has kept her Barbies.
In honor of the cinematic Barbie moment now upon us, I fished out my Double Doll Case.
It has traveled from attic to attic since the 1970s, that Double Doll Case with a clothes hanger built in and little cabinets below for Barbie bits.
Like all memories of powerful things from one’s childhood, I’m knocked out by the way it feels to see it all again.
This nest of ratty polyester clothing and acetate wondergirls was hands down the most memorable part of my childhood.
My sister Buffy and I spent so so so so much time with our Barbies. The golden age was probably first grade through third grade, though I totally had a Barbie Lively Livin’ House in my fourth-grade bedroom.
This was back when we had huge swaths of time to fill, sitting around in our bedrooms doing absolutely nothing but lining up Barbie shoes in rows, dressing Barbie up in see-through negligees and thigh-high lamé boots, inventing Barbie intrigues.
Making Ken and Barbie make out was of course a prime activity, as was taking Barbie to the bathtub with me and wrenching her head off to drain her brain.
To be clear, I had no illusions that Barbie was anything except really weird.
She had these gigantic breasts, and this tiny waist. I had neither, and figured THAT would never happen to me and had certainly never happened to anybody I knew.
Her famous feet, of course, were so deformed that I never owned a pair of high heels until I was 40.
And the hair. I never for a moment thought that my lank pale hair should look like Barbie’s. For one thing, hers was stuck into her head via plugs. And it always seemed like so much hair.
I’m surprised that my Double Doll Case doesn’t include my Malibu Barbie with moveable hands. Where did she go? It wasn’t really an opposable thumb; it was more of a hook. Again, I saw this as weird. Bad engineering.
So what was it about Barbie that sunk in so deep? It was the clothes, for sure. I was interested in all the snaps and tiny buttons and the mere fact that I could dress up Barbie. 
I’m struck by how worn out it all is. We didn’t buy new Barbie clothes all that often—it was sustainability, Barbie style.
You could barely cram that hat onto Barbie’s gigantic hairdo.
So many coats! I still love a coat.
My mother was every bit as fascinated with Barbie as I was. Amid the thigh-high silver lamé boots and floor-length fake fur coat, there’s Mom’s answer to all this nonsense:
A sensible handknit cardigan.
All the weirdness of Barbie looks to be front and center in Greta Gerwig’s epic movie coming out this week. The trailer is hilarious. Margot Robbie is perfect. And Ryan Gosling as Ken deserves an Oscar. From what I can tell, there’s a lot of identity crisis in the storyline—even Barbie herself is thinking hard about her Barbieness.
How did my Barbie Dream World end? We moved to Nashville, and fifth grade loomed. All the Barbies landed in the attic, where, like in Toy Story, surely they cracked open the Double Doll Case and threw beach parties at night.
Yep, I have mine too! Slightly older models who survived 11 feet of flood water in my parent’s home: original pony tail and the New! Improved! bubble cut. I also never got the hair or the wasp waist, but I’m still here with non-green ears, which is more than I can say for all but two mismatched shoes and some clothes, mostly made by my talented seamstress mother who crocheted the cardigan the poor dolls desperately needed and had to share. Those were the days – thanks for bringing them back!
Such a sweet, powerful memory! I remember my three-story Barbie penthouse; my Barbie would travel down the elevator, walk around town for a bit, return to the third floor for an outfit change, then repeat the promenade again. Thanks for sharing!
Still have my Barbie and Ken, from the 60s! Barbie had red hair ( like my sister of same name) in the bubble cut and Ken started going bald very early in his life because his was a very thin layer of felt. Loved Barbies clothes. Ken’s not so much.
My Barbie also had a red bubble cut because the blondes were sold out. I couldn’t wait for new ones to come in. My mom gave mine away along with all the cute outfits and the fuzzy-haired Ke.
Janet, you are so right! You are the only person I’ve heard about who had a Barbie like mine! That red bubble cut made her stand out from the crowd. My sister (Janet, no less) had a Midge and we spent endless hours preparing them for dates with Ken and Alan. My mother’s friend made extra clothes for us that were incredibly tailored and well made. I saved my own daughter’s Barbie collection for my grandchildren to play with. Somehow, Barbie never loses her appeal.
Janet, I have the redhead, bubble hairstyle Barbie, too! Also the original brunette, ponytail version with the early beautiful clothes. Somehow Ken never came to live with us. Maybe my parents were modeling the independent woman for me? My daughters played with them and it’s probably time to pass them along to the granddaughters.
Great sweater!
I was so amazed at the Barbie watdrobes of the girls who had handknits at the correct gauge. I’m sure it influenced my knitting, somehow.
Fabulous synopsis of a similar childhood. Barbie was weird but she benefitted enormously from having no peers or illusion busting internet (or many childhood entertainment options). Bizarrely I will go and see the movie in the hopes of making sense of it all. I loved Ladybird so have high hopes for the Producer extraordinaire.
Wow your Barbies are almost new! Mine are 10 years older and have moved with me so many times , my 3 daughters played with them, my granddaughters played with them. All three generations will be at the movies this weekend!
Ann- Thanks for this hysterical revisit to the incredible world of all things Barbie. Spot on.
I learned to sew because my mother refused to buy Barbie clothes. I began with simple tube dresses and eventually figured out how to add shoulder straps and sleeves. I went on to make my own clothes through my 20s until it became less expensive to buy them.
Yes, yes and yes! I learned to sew after grandma (a very good seamstress) pillaged her scrap box to make us Barbie clothes, and then we found patterns! And mom showed us hand sewing, figuring, correctly, that even an eight year old had the concentration to sew 2-inch seams. And so I graduated into making my own clothes, especially after a Girl Scout class in using the sewing machine convinced her I wouldn’t destroy hers.
I learned to knit at 9 with a Barbie knitting kit – basically a decorated oatmeal box with cheap plastic #10 needles and a big ball of red acrylic yarn. Didn’t knit my own stuff until high school, though, and then it was random. Thanks for the reminders!
Barbie was full of possibilities for imagination and creativity. Endless stories to invent. My 60’s versions are in the attic as well. I let my girls play with the vintage clothes, handmade clothes and all the accessories but held back the oldest dolls. They had plenty of the 80’s versions. I have several cases too. I plan to pass in most of it but not my original dolls and the vintage clothes which were beautiful. They are not pristine but they represent a little girl who lives inside somewhere. Glad to see current Barbie with so many career options!
I wish I still had my Barbies! My mom, in a frenzy of cleaning house before a move, felt I was too old for my childhood toys. The reason I wish I had them was that about half my Barbie’s wardrobe was handknit by my aunt. Not only sweaters, but Barbie had several chic knit dresses (very cool in the 60’s) and a sweater coat!
I don’t remember being a big Barbie fan but I do remember having the three-story Barbie Building, so there you go. I also remember using it as handy shelving when I got older until my mom made me clean my room.
My Barbie had the red tank suit and open toed slide shoes she came with and a blonde pony tail hairdo. Anything she wore was sewn directly onto her frame from scraps Mom would let me use. My best friend Kitty and I would play dolls for hours on end. I’m sure she’s in the attic somewhere. She was never as cute as my Betsy McCall doll though, she had knees with joints and could sit upright like a real person. Thanks for the spin down memory lane!
Love this piece!!!
I never thought Barbie was weird. I still don’t
OMG…I had the same doll case, I traded to my cousin for the “Barbie Airplane” which I still have.
I love your Barbie story. What a way to start my morning with knitting & coffee.
Thank you.
I wish I still had my Barbie dolls! Playdates with friends and their Barbies is a favorite old memory. I visited my 5 year old grand niece in 2019, who was in her kiddie pool with at least 10 Barbies, having a great time. When I asked her how many Barbies she had, she said “27”!!! Some things never get old.
Loved your Barbie stories!
I also had a Barbie collection and loved them dearly during childhood. About 10 years ago, I finally sold my collection on eBay but the dolls remain a sweet memory.
Still have mine! I still have the hand-knitted dress a friend made for me
Love this! I had the Barbie airplane which came with a drinks cart for Barbie to be the flight attendant (I always pretended the pilot keeled over and Barbie saved the day by flying the plane). The harvest gold/burnt orange RV was also a favorite. Pop out that tent! Thanks for the memories.
My mother was frugal. My sister got Barbie and I got Midge. No sense having two Barbies! It was a hurdle for me to come to terms with, but my daughter had several Barbies, each with different attributes- hair or something. I still had the idea that who needs more than one?
Not even a big Barbie fan in my childhood (though I can’t remember why) but I have really enjoyed reading the article and comments with my coffee first thing this morning. Such a simpler time! Thank you
Barbie baffled me. I was a baby doll fan. I’ve never understood why a stiff stick was appealing. Fashion did speak to me so cut out dolls and clothes fit the bill for me. I learned to draw then design my own fashions for the cut outs.
The movie? Meh.
Sorry. I guess We all have different interests
Thanks for sharing! Makes me want to pull my own Barbies out of the attic .Playing with those dolls was a big part of my childhood even though my mom wasn’t on board with them at first. My first few of these dolls were gifts from friends of my mom who thought I would really like them. They were absolutely correct!
I remember playing Barbie with my older next door neighbor. When her family moved, she gave me a Barbie house, all made of cardboard (it’s still at my Mom’s house, with Barbie). But my favorite Barbie memories are watching my grandmother make Barbie clothes. She knit sweaters, tops, and dresses on the tiniest needles, made evening gowns and wedding dresses from her dressmaker leftovers, and snipped off the points of pearl-headed straight pins for earrings. My Barbies were so stylish, thanks to my “could do and make anything” grandmother.
Same here! My Barbie had evening gowns, a wedding dress, and even a little fur jacket thanks to my grandmother who was a beautiful seamstress!
Barbie survived my brother who liked to amputate my dolls heads & limbs, only to end up in a yard sale before my parents moved long ago. My mother who didn’t like to sew made her the most beautiful gowns, can still picture one in deep teal satin. A perfectionist, those tiny seams, fasteners & details probably put her over the top. Still, she did it for me. She tried knitting but said it made her too nervous, quit mid-way through a size 6X hooded pullover for me that I found in her basement when organizing her things a few years ago (no stash, just that project in a knitting bag). My grandmother, an aunt & HomeEc in school taught me to sew, I loved it. Learned to knit in my early 20s at a LYS & haven’t stopped since.
My friend Janet was given a Barbie when they first arrived in stores. We took one look at her, said ‘Ugh,’ put her aside and went back to playing with our more normal-looking dolls.
My mom (90 years old!) is coming to visit next week, with her pink capris. My daughter is planning a 4 generation girls’ day as we go to see the Barbie movie together!
I still have Midge, Barbie’s best friend. And all the clothes my mother sewed and knit for her.
I never had a complete Barbie, but I did (somehow) end up with a Barbie head. I had Barbie’s little sister, Skipper, and sometimes I’d pop off Skipper’s head and put on the Barbie head, imagining Skipper as all grown up like her big sister. I don’t remember having any specific thoughts about Barbie’s or Skipper’s body conformations — whether they were realistic or not. The main concern was how Skipper (and Barbie) got along with my collection of trolls; those stubby little dolls with big heads, big eyes, and long, brightly colored hair. My best friend and I played with our trolls a lot more than our Barbie/Skipper/Ken collection. I still have Skipper, the Barbie head, and a small collection of their clothing — mostly homemade, because there wasn’t money to buy any of the outfits — all in the Barbie Box, with a few of the surviving trolls.
I never had a Barbie….just a bit too old, and never was a big doll fan although my sister (7 years younger) had several. I was the oldest of 5 and why have a doll when there were already a lot of the real-live “Betsy- Wetsy” variety in the house!
My daughter loved her Barbies along with the Black Stallion movies and used to ride the rocking horse like a maniac, pretending she was Barbie racing the Black Stallion to win a huge treasure chest. One day my Mom, new to this game, asked what Barbie won….and we all dissolved in laughter when Anne told us: “when Barbie wins, she gets a really big chest!” We figured she already had that……
Great memories…I especially loved the bit about wrenching her head off to drain her brain!
I still have my Barbie, Ken and Midge. So much fun was had with them. That’s too funny my knitting Mom made a sweater for Barbie and all my dolls. Great memories.
I have all of mine too !!!!
12 to be exact, and all the stuff including the house !
I am hoping for a granddaughter
My mom used to sew clothes for my Barbie family. I wish I had kept all of it.
Just last month I handed off the storage carton of Barbies (mine and my daughters) to my Granddaughters, age 6 & 3. They were welcomed with Glee! Store bought and handmade clothes alike.
I also still have my Barbie family. My daughters enjoyed them, as did my grandchildren.
Still have my Barbie case too! My grandmother made my sister and I beautiful beaded evening gowns and I treasure them. My Barbie had the black ponytail as I always longed for long dark hair (am a redhead ) and the original black and white striped swimsuit – and those shoes! So many happy memories of our time together!
What a romp through my childhood!! I had the original Barbie and Ken. Barbie has a most sinister look on her face, a black & white strip, strapless bikini with black towering pumps. During my 40s and lots of therapy, I decided I needed to vent my considerable rage and anguish via my Barbie.
Rambo Barbie was born!! She now carried a machine gun and formidable knife tucked into her bathing suit!!! It was cathartic!
These days, I remember all the fun of playing with her with my friends…hours of imagination! And I still laugh about Rambo Barbie. Can’t wait to see the movie!!!
You are not the only grown woman who still has her Barbies … and all the clothes! I had Barbie, Midge and Skipper. My sister cut Skipper’s hair and I never forgave her!
I had a Tressie doll, because of the hair.
I do, however, have a ‘learn to knit’ book which features Barbie clothes, and at 8 I started knitting a sweater for my Tiny Tears doll.
But I am so tired of everything Barbie. The onslaught has been going on for months and though I love the color pink, I’ve been silently screaming ‘enough already.’
I’ll go see Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer. Yes me too.
I played with my Tressie’s hair so much that the reel got locked up. Inevitably, it was at mid-length, just when I wanted her to wear that chic bubble-cut again!
I never had a Barbie doll. I had a Chrissy doll, whose hair would grow and a Skipper doll.
I was given a whole case of clothes including some hand made clothes. I remember a beautiful blue and green cape with a blue lining.
Loved my Barbies for way too long! Had a complete wardrobe crocheted by someone, but my mother gave everything away when we moved. My three daughters also loved Barbies and had Barbie World set up in our unfinished attic for a while. I held onto several outfits and furniture to pass onto my granddaughter, but the Barbies were a little too well-loved and didn’t make the cut. Now I have my own Barbie so she can try on the clothes I knit for my granddaughter’s many Barbies. I have found some great free patterns on Ravelry and enjoy knitting them more than I could have imagined!
As an only child, I had great fun with my Barbies and that same case – that picture brought back memories! At least one of my friends brought hers over to play, a real treat. My more recent fun, though? My son is named Ken (after my dad) and all the girls who invited him to their 6th birthday parties received Ken dolls with accompanying wardrobes. 🙂
When a baseball coach later gave him the nickname “Kenny Baseball”, he readily adopted Kenny in an attempt to avoid the onslaught of “Where’s Barbie?” questions!
Ann, Thanks for sharing these memories. I have a sneaking suspicion that Barbie may have caused my first feelings of FOMO. Friends who had her townhouse were envied…and her Corvette…forget it! I still feel pangs of jealousy over that car. And yet I also remember making loads of doll clothes…loving every minute of that process. Unfortunately, nothing was saved but I do think I learned to knit and sew initially to make items for my dolls. So, thanks for the inspiration, Barbie!
I wish I still had my Barbie, the dream house, and all those clothes. My mom gave them away . BTW, my name is Barbie Roberts…just like the doll
Ah memories. I still have my blond bubble hairdo Barbie, my other Barbie with short blond hair with legs that bend and redhead Midge. I have all their clothes one which was her flight attendant outfit. My mom knit some Barbie clothes for my sister and I. The patterns were featured in McCalls Magazine and I found my mom’s tattered copy a few years ago. They are beautiful. My mom made my Barbie a beautiful long black strapless gown with a silver wrap and a light blue coat with white mohair collar and cuffs. They still look good.
I vividly remember standing in line at the Sears store in Dothan, Alabama to exchange my Midge (the first ‘Barbie’) for the first Bendable Barbie!!!! Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have Midge back – it would be worth a fortune today:) My Mom handmade two beautiful ballgowns for my Barbie out of left over raw silk that my Daddy had sent her from Vietnam, a beautiful navy blue and an emerald green. My Mom had matching shift/coat combos, very Jackie O, of the same fabric. She made a lovely green wool coat with tiny pearl beads around the neckline and cuffs. I got these items for Christmas, just a mere few weeks after my Daddy was killed in Vietnam. I had a tough childhood and often strained relationship with my Mom, but those hand made Barbie clothes, so chic and gorgeous, are a bright light in my memory!
Thank you so much for sharing your story. The childhood joys of glamorous Barbie along with the grief and loss of your Father are powerful glimpses of a childhood and I’m glad the memories are a bright spot for you.
Wonderful that you shared this with us. I only kept a few of my trolls. I could relate better to them and I think my borderline feminist Mom was glad for that.
Oh my – the green dress with the hat is unbelievably cool!!
OMG… thanks for showing your Barbie stash. I have that exact brown and white faux fur coat! Barbie was my life as a kid. Made all sorts of interesting “homes” for them in our multi-level living room end tables.
I have a handmade sweater for Barbie, too!! My neighbor made it. Good memories!
I still have the cardboard Dream House. And the Barbie Game. Where you had to avoid Poindexter, date Ken, be a club president and get the best dress. The memories of my mom and her friends sewing tiny Barbie bras, undies and dresses for the church bazaars. We spent more time organizing the suitcase full of clothes than actually playing with Barbie. My sister had Tuti and Todd, the smallest of Barbie’s sibs. Skipper endured, but there must have been a split up, because the twins were never heard from again.
I played with my two Barbies perhaps longer than most girls – I was probably sixth grade but learning to sew for her also taught me to do the same for myself. I loved the sewing part more than the playing with part. There is much written about and by Ruth Handler, who designed this doll and named it after her daughter, Barbara. There is also “Dressing Barbie” by Carol Spencer, a wonderful bio about Carol and her dream job at Mattel. Recommend it for all Barbie lovers, regardless of age.
What a nice article. Thank you – brought me back to my Barbie days.
I was a bit too old once Barbie appeared, but I did have her precursors, Ginny dolls. I sewed and crocheted clothes for them, an early indication of my lifetime obsession with fiber arts. I did later sew and knit a “Sandy from Grease” wardrobe for my daughter’s Barbie, however. I remember the yellow cardigan sweater. Wonder if she still has it…..
Same era as mine! I think mine are in about the same state, somewhere in the garage. Hopefully they haven’t melted…
You had me at the bathtub part to drain her brain…wonderful story and I love the handknit sweater.
My mom was trained as a social worker and had solid ideas about body realism (and my name was Barbara) so no Barbies for me. I had a trunk doll with a “suitably” child-like body that had lots of clothes. Hilariously, by the time my sister came along, my mother had loosened up a bit on her ideals, as she did with each subsequent sibling (see also, wearing jeans, buying sugary cereal, etc.) That said, I too loved dressing my dolls and my friends’ Barbies in all their elaborate finery. When my kids came along, we got them Barbies and Disney Princess Barbies and Polly Pockets and Harumika (fashion design mannequins that meant not only could you dress them, but you could actually DESIGN the clothes). Fashion is fun – no matter how you get to play it!
My favorite was PJ, with her sunglasses & brown bangs
I loved playing Barbie! My neighbor friend & I played for hours. She had all the great clothes, thanks to a Grandma that made them, including knitted sweaters! Such great memories until my sister popped the head off mine & lost it
My mom got my Barbie and Ken with her Green Stamps. At Christmas, she surprised me with the Barbie wedding dress…so many days went into planning a big wedding for Ken and Barbie. But they didn’t make it when we moved. How I missed them.
After I got married, I told my husband how I missed having those precious childhood toys. At Christmas, he surprised me with a Harley Davidson Barbie! She has already made a couple of moves with me…..and is listed in my will to go to my granddaughter!
Oh, I loved Barbie and her entourage. My friend, sister, and I played with them through the sixth grade. (We were country kids and slow to develop. ) My sweet Grammy knitted us scores of Barbie couture. There was one lavender evening, tea-length frock that I still remember vividly. On my current bedroom wall I have a white, mohair knitted ball gown with a single spangle star at the waistline in a frame. I am 63 now and still may be experiencing slow development! As a knitter myself, I realize that these things were knit on incredibly small needles and with much love. My brother sold all of the Barbie hoohah at a yard sale following the death of my parents. I love him, but may never completely forgive this!
Loved this. I worked at Mattel for several years, and they were very generous in gifting employees with toys — all my Barbies at my desk had hand knit sweaters, ponchos, hats, etc. Thanks for the reminder – they’re still in the garage!
Oh Barbie!! My sister and I were really big on dolls (anyone else remember Dawn dolls?) and had to have two Barbie Country Campers because someone (not me) wasn’t big on sharing. And at some point their was a big Barbie head that you could put make up on and style her hair. Barbie had some great outfits but my favorite was Ken’s B-Centennial red, white, and blue ensemble. Complete with neckerchief.
I had 3 Dawn dolls! I used to pretend that they were Barbie’s neighbors! And I had a Country Camper that even my kids played with! I still have the dolls but the camper is long gone. Such great memories!
I had a big Barbie head! I also had a small Barbie head that came with three or four wigs.
I had a 1964 Barbie in near-mint condition because I never played with dolls. I sold it on eBay in the 1990s and bought a diamond and emerald tennis bracelet. I later sold Ken, Midge, two Skippers and a Francie, and all their clothes. I am clearly not sentimental. I am seeing the Barbie movie on Thursday, the night before it opens. Danielle at Fibrespace rented a movie theater and got the movie to show a day ahead of opening. She is brilliant. I snapped up a ticket asap! Maybe I’ll wear my tennis bracelet to the movie!
Cannot wait for the Barbie movie.! My Dad joined the foreign service and all my Barbies were lost in the shuffle. My friend Candy even made a house with lighting for her that we played with for hours.
Thank you for a fun walk down memory lane this morning! My sister is 3 years younger, so our Barbie family (including Kens, Skippers and Tuttis) spanned from 1966 to about 1973. My sister also had a plastic horse collection, so our Barbies were quite the equestrians. The Barbie family members and their accessories were all pretty well worn out by the time we stopped playing with them; they found some new little girls to belong to at a neighborhood garage sale.
I have always loved Barbies, although I never owned one! My sister and I were given Tressy dolls by our grandmother. We played with them forever. A year later with birthday money I bought myself Barbie’s little sister Skipper in her red striped little romper. She was a brunette like me and I adored her! My 42 YO daughter also had a big love of Barbies and cannot wait for the movie opening. To this day I love Knitting Barbie & Ken clothing, but always as gifts since I have 4 grandsons.
I can say that my Barbies were hands down the best dressed on the block. My aunt Dorothy and my mom knitted Chanel suits for my dolls and assorted ski clothing. My grandma made hats and purses and stoles out of fake fur remnants. My mom even made a few gowns out of left over fabric from various weddings.
I handed them to my sister. Then my mom gave them to Goodwill. I have always hoped that someone treasured those dolls.
I still remember the day my mom took my sister Katherine and I to the drugstore to buy our first Barbies. We each got to pick one outfit as well. It must have been in the mid-60’s. We went along playing with our dolls until one day a neighbor from down the street gifted us her entire collection — a huge black Barbie suitcase full of everything you could possibly imagine, including Ken, Midge, Skipper, and hundreds of outfits. And more Barbies. It was one of the most thrilling days of my childhood.
All that remain of my childhood Barbies are the memories, among which are also “wrenching her head off to drain her brain” – and a lovely knitted sweater and ski pant set that my mother made.
Wish I still had my Barbies! I recall even Vogue Patterns had fancy patterns for the dolls, and
my mom and I made tons of “ couture” outfits. Wonder where they went in our various moves?
Does anyone remember Julia? My sister and I loved our Julia who was created in honor of Diahann Carroll’s character on the 1968 tv show “Julia”.
We had a huge collection of Barbie dolls but only 1 Ken. I guess he had a harem! Our mother built us the most amazing 2 story Barbie house from scrap paneling. The house had a roof top patio with a painted pool. The patio was next to the kitchen, and the bottom floor had a boy’s room, a girls’ room, and a living room. Each room was color-coordinated and featured painted furniture that Mom made from egg cartons, cardboard boxes, wooden spools, and plastic lids. We had pool-side lounge chairs, end tables and a sofa, a TV, a kitchen stove made from a cylinder salt box, clothing armoires from cigar boxes, bunk beds held up with Tinker-Toy poles, and a pink canopy bed. She also made tons of clothes. We later acquired the RV and a car. Hours and hours and hours spent in this imaginary world!
The house is long gone but my sister and I still have all of the dolls and furniture and accessories. We never allowed the grand-daughters to play with any of it!!!
The house sounds absolutely wonderful – what a gift and labour of love.
I remember playing with Barbie as a child, but more memorable is my daughter’s Barbie time. My Oma in Germany knit teeny tiny Barbie clothes that I’m sure she still has! My daughter and my exchange-student-sister’s daughter in Germany had so much fun together with it all!
Thirty some years ago, I crocheted a number of Barbie outfits. The piece de resistance was a complete wedding outfit. The dress had a train. The sleeves came to a point where I sewed on a single pearl. There was a long veil and even a bouquet of flowers. All the patterns came from Annie’s Attic. All of this was for my 6-7 year old niece. My sister put them away. When my niece was an adult she got them. They then went to a niece of my niece’s wife. They are now back and my 4 1/2 year old grandniece is playing with them.
I wish I’d known you in second grade. I had a Barbie Winnebago! We could have had a time of it.
My Barbie was the blonde bubble cut. I still have my case and clothes also but my friend Natalie had the car.
I was laughing so hard, I had tears in my eyes! Your memories cracked me up!
I was too old to enjoy the Barbie craze (tho I certainly would have!), but my daughter was completely enthralled. She had a lot of Barbies and tons of clothes, along with all the other stuff–pool, Corvette, etc. I made lots of clothes and hand knit sweaters, including cabled and Fair Isle pullovers. I would make a formal party dress and a little faux fur jacket for each of her friends’ birthday parties, so she was invited to lots of parties! The girls would remind her to ask me for Barbie clothes. My favorite memory of the Barbies is a circle of little girls sitting on a blanket sharing all their Barbie fantasies, always accompanied by The King of Siam, our precocious Siamese cat. His favorite game was to grab a loose Barbie head and carry it all over the house by its hair like a shrunken head. Thanks for reminding me of all those good memories!
I’m was a little too old for Barbie, but my daughters adored them. They would spend hours setting up scenarios for their Barbies. Once I came home to see two lines of plastic and stuffed toys starting at the front door and leading into the family room where they had set up a stage. It had taken them so long to set up that they had to re-schedule the “parade and show” for the following day!
I also once came home to find Barbie’s house covered in the nasty white gunk one uses for diaper rash, which was then covered with white baby powder. The little sisters wanted to “make it look like winter.”
My grandma was an excellent seamstress and made matching dresses for me and my sister every Easter and Christmas. She always made a similar dress for our Barbies with matching underwear “so she doesn’t catch cold.” I still have a little suitcase of fancy dresses and their matching granny panties which my daughter found absolutely hilarious.
I had a Barbie (late sixties) whose hair you could dye…..took me a nanosecond to turn it into a frazzled orange frizz. Also had the Barbie ‘apartment’ – you could open it out to show the trendiest room, Carnaby Street Road sign on the wall. It was my carry on when we moved back to England from Connecticut!
Oh my gosh – I love seeing your Barbies! I’m going to have to dig up my pink vinyl Barbie box, which looks a lot like yours. The treasure I really need to find is the smaller box full of the Barbie outfits that my grandma sewed and crocheted … tiny pants with snaps, a deep blue satin formal gown with silver sequins and a cape, a full bedding set complete with sheets and pillows, a sleeping bag … it’s all coming back to me now. (Thanks!)
Playing with Barbie’s was a highlight of my childhood, especially with my 3 cousins. Our Barbie’s all dated one of the Beatles and of course my “boyfriend was Paul. So much fun!!
Growing up in the era of disaster movies, paired with the fact that my brother, sister and I liked long term adventure play meant the only two Barbies in our house (a gift from a family friend) were involved in a lot of very non Barbie playtime. Of course there was the occasional “Towering Inferno Barbie” and “The Poseidon Adventure Barbie”, but our personal favorite was “Barbie in a Buffalo Stampede” – that wasn’t film inspired, we just liked Buffalos.
Love the Barbie memories. My parents would only buy Barbie’s little sister Skipper for me, so I had Malibu Skipper. But better than that and even Barbie with the moveable hands was “Growing Up Skipper.” When you raised her arm, she grew…boobs!
My parents gave me a Tammy doll instead of Barbies. They thought Tammy was a more realistic image. I also had Tammy’s younger sister Pepper and her friend, Dodi, along with Tammy’s Ideal House and Pepper’s Tree House. Eventually I had a couple of Barbies and Skipper, too. My fondest memories are of making clothes for the dolls, imagining how a piece of pretty fabric with armholes cut out and a ribbon around the waist was a beautiful dress, or creating a doll’s room with furniture made of cardboard boxes and aerosol can caps. My mother also sewed some clothes for the dolls; incredibly small and detailed, with seed beads for buttons. I moved on to learning to sew myself, continuing to unleash the creativity that it all entailed. Knitting is now my thing for that. I gave away all the dolls several years ago, but kept photos of them and all the clothes. I still think Skipper’s green coat with checkerboard hat and tights is the coolest!
Sweet memories. I am too old to have done the Barbie thing, but remember younger sisters playing endlessly with them.
I loved playing with Barbie in the 1960’s and I do still have my original dolls and outfits. Some of my grandma’s friends made some elegant knitted outfits for my dolls. I also sewed and knitted some of the clothes. I don’t think anyone really wants the old stuff anymore but it is fun to look at it every so often.
Wow, Barbies 🙂 that takes me back.
No multiples for us as kids. I had Midge and a blond crew cut Ken. I maintained her flip do with a small rubber band doubled around her neck, a perfectly reasonable answer to keep the curls perfect. My sis had a brown haired Ken and the blond bubble do Barbie, so much more glamorous, perfect hair no matter what, and that eye liner, oooh. She was intimidating, ha, and what an influence. Years later, blue eye shadow was what we started with for make up.
We had a great aunt who sent us each a suitcase of handmade outfits plus we made our own. No accessories, very little store bought anything, but we made lots of stuff, like houses, tents, borrowed cars and trucks from our brothers. We played with our Barbies for years and both of us still have them. Trolls, too. We took great care of them.
We loved our them! Weird ridiculous hard bodies, permanent tip toed feet with coveted high heeled shoes, graceful hands, etc. It didn’t matter to us as kids. Hours and hours of play.
Thanks Ann! I might go dig out my Midge and see if she still fits into her 1960’s wardrobe 🙂
Omg I had a pink case just like this in the 1970’s I also had Tiffany the one who had blonde hair one side and dark hair when you twisted a part of her head! She had a house and everything Barbie was so independent many hours of fun I used to love to organize the clothes and shoes!
I too as a child of the 60s loved my Barbie (I had the original Barbie – which my mom gave away or donated at some point – who knew???), Skipper, and Stacey dolls (I believe she was the English friend). However I must confess I never warmed up to Ken – much to my brother’s chagrin Barbie preferred his troop of GI Joes – and the GI Joe jeep was so much more fun than the Barbie convertible.
I had a Stacey doll, too. When you pulled the string in the back of her neck, she spoke one of the phrases in her English accent – “Let’s go to the cinema”.
Red-head, “bouffant” Barbie — would that be the bubble head?–from early 60s, was lucky to wear clothes made by my very talented and much older cousin. Among three sisters we had a Tammy and a Skipper too, no Ken. I never understood why girls of the 80s and beyond needed a This Barbie and a That Barbie — if you had one Barbie, she could be anything. You just used your imagination. Made our own doll houses out of shoe boxes, etc.
One of the most entertaining exhibits I’ve ever seen was a Bob Mackie exhibit at FIT museum in NYC — Carol Burnett costumes on one side (yes, including the Gone With the Wind curtain rod outfit), and his Barbie clothes on the other. Look them up online!
Sold mine (one dark haired Barbie, circa 1964, I was told) and a big box of clothing, shoes, and accessories, including hand sewn things my mother made (dresses, a coat, and beach cover) to a friend who is a collector. She was SOOOO EXCITED. I am certain my own love of clothing, color, texture, and creating one’s own “look” grew from Barbie. Though she wouldn’t have recognized it as “style” in the 60’s, I love each of my hand sewn and hand knit pieces. And I need to believe my own Barbie’s style would have eventually followed mine (that of aging hippie who loves a personal style that weaves comfort and cool simultaneously), had she been allowed to jump off the corporate wheel of fortune when I did. So fun to think back in all this! Thanks for the trip on memory lane!
I too have so much nostalgia and also regret that my Barbies (in their double case with a hanger rod and drawers stuffed with ratty accessories) traveled with me from attic to attic sancrosanct and kept preciously away from my own daughters.
Now my dear friend who played Barbies for hours through years of our lives has sadly passed away and I have only this reply to your succinct little article to throw back into the vast internet with a howl of recognition and nostalgia for what simple beauty and love we felt for one another and our weird, gorgeous, and who-knew-what-was-going-on sexy Barbie.
Barbie had not yet been invented when I was child – we played endlessly with our Ginny dolls. My daughters, however, growing up in the 1980’s, loved their Barbies. There was a time when Barbie was married and had children (twins!) with little car seats, even. There was furniture – living room, kitchen and bathroom sets – that resided in a doll house made in a bookcase. Creating that was fun for me, too!
Never owned high heels until you were 40?!?
Was so upset with my sister when she went through a decluttering frenzy and she tossed all my Barbie stuff out, besides the doll my mother was a seamstress and made matching outfits for me and my Barbie!
My Barbies may still be at Mom’s house!
My Aunt Vivian used to knit clothes for our Barbies; my sister and I played with our Barbies endlessly. Pictures of some of the clothes here: https://pdxknitterati.com/2019/01/04/knitting-for-barbie-in-the-1960s/
Mine are long gone but i did cut off the curly part of the ponytail. I had curly hair and felt sorry for my Barbie!
Still have mine from the mid-sixties complete with shiny black patent case. My mother made her a purple velvet evening skirt. I thought it was the most glamorous thing ever. Mom often sang while washing the dishes. Cole Porter’s “Miss Otis Regrets” left an indelible mark on me. “From underneath her velvet gown, she took a gun and shot her lover down. Madame, Miss Otis regrets she’s unable to lunch today.” I never looked at Barbie & her velvet finery the same again.
OMG – SO funny! I too had my Barbie phase, though sadly, I did not keep mine.
My collection started with two Malibu Skippers (twins, of course, Leslie and Lori, who I could tell apart because Lori had a small green boog on her nostril – ha!) and mod-hair Ken with his sticky face that, once all the facial hair stickers were long gone, had permanent 5:00 shadow for all his remaining days. A friend of my sister’s gifted me all of her Barbie things, which included several dolls and a huge closet of clothes! THAT was a banner day for me. Between us, my best friend and I had 9 dolls, all named (and the names never changed though the adventures always did…interesting in retrospect) – I had a very cool double day bed in my bedroom and we used those beds and bolsters to create their world almost every day. One of my best birthday memories is a scavenger hunt that led to the Barbie 3-story penthouse, gifted very specifically from my Dad (feminist mother never gave me Barbie items even though of course, she was the purchaser all along… 🙂 ) I would love to see all of that again–I recall a few items but being able to see the bins of clothes and the dolls and all the household stuff we used to make up their world would be really fun. Happy to say that I gifted it all to the little sister of a friend of mine long ago. Hope she has great memories and that she passed them along as well when she was done with them. I will say that knitting tiny Barbie cardigans would be pretty fun… Ann, I loved this – thanks for the walk down memory lane!
OK, sorry, have to comment again after reading everyone’s hilarious comments! I had forgotten about Growing Up Skipper with pop-out boobs, PJ with the long blond hair (my PJ was a bit of a tramp…), the bendy limbs and the fact that my Malibu Skippers could actually get a TAN! I think you put them under a lamp maybe? Can’t even remember… And I too had the camper (how could I forget?!?) whose pop-out plastic tent lasted all of 5 minutes. You all made me SMILE this morning! Thanks to a great start to my Saturday!
Wow! I had the exact same case and many of the same clothes (that pink dress!). This was so fun to see. I remember when my brother received Big Jim (and the Rescue Rig). Thereafter Barbie’s interest in Ken (understandably) diminished…
in the 60s my mother knit sweaters & dresses for my barbies. it’s long gone but i have vivid memories of her cranking them out on tiny needles.
Oh I loved my Barbies. For years a Barbie or Barbie item was top on the Christmas wish list. Barbie, Malibu Barbie, PJ, Ken (of several varieties), Barbie car, Barbie house. One house was all cardboard, with a grass hut look. I loved putting it together everytime Barbie had to go to Hawaii for pineapples.
I would spend hours setting up the house, changing Barbies clothes over and over. I was just fascinated by how it all went together, and then the taking it apart to store it for another day. A successful day was getting all the clothes and shoes back in the case without there being a gap one would fall from.
I had very few clothes that didn’t arrive on Barbie. My mother would make her a few new outfits out of scraps from clothes she made me each season. When I got out my set for a dear friends daughter to play with, she laughed so hard when I told her the clothes were from fabrics of my clothes. She couldn’t imagine ever wearing some of those patterns and fabrics!
Good times.
I was a young mother and money was ‘tight’ the year she received her Barbie, so I knitted a complete wardrobe for her Barbie. Today she’s 64 years old and still has Barbie and the wardrobe, having never let her little girls play with them. I believe the knitted patterns were in a McCalls Needlework magazine.
My mother made some Barbie clothes for me. I had a standard Malibu Barbie and the regular ken, but my favorite was the Barbie that had the curl-able har. Mine was a red head. Her go to style was a neat french bun. I used glass ball pins pushed into the earlobes for earrings. The advent of braces led to dangle earrings. The tiny rubber bands were just the right size to string on seed beads and put a ball pin through the top. My mom made me some clothes and a posh bed with a blue velvet coverlet. I really became a clothing snob after a really nice old lady near my Grandma opened a tiny little store at the end of her driveway where she sold handmade doll clothes. Her Barbie clothes where exquisite and once you had her clothes there was no way you wanted the cheap polyester crap they sold in the toy stores. I would save money all year to spend there when I stayed with my Grandma in the Summers.
My mom had her Barbie from the 50’s. It was one of the first ones that hit the market. The doll had short black hair, porcelain skin and very 50’s makeup.The clothes were quality back then. I was allowed to get her out once in awhile and change her clothes. It was a treat.
I discovered as an adult that I never had a Barbie doll, she was Tammy. I found the case with a headless doll and lovely collection of knitwear that demonstrated my childhood mastery of increases, decreases, cables and picked up stitches. I tried to attach a photo for laughs but sadly this format didn’t seem to allow that. Also found a cardigan with one cabled sleeve. I was on Sleeve Island before it was a thing.
I don’t know what my mother did with my Barbie and my Dream House but the neighborhood girls and me had a wonderful time and my grandmother made her clothes for my doll and knit for her as well. My mother didn’t like to keep anything that wasn’t being used so I don’t know what happened to my doll and those wonderful handmade clothes
As a kid, I collected a piece of driftwood at the beach that was shaped sort of like the number 7. I called it Goofybird, and my Mom knitted a red and blue striped tube for it – a sweater! She also crocheted my troll a red sweater with white edging. And my dolls had dresses that matched mine, also handmade by Mom. I’m not sure I appreciated her handiwork sufficiently back then. Sadly, I don’t have any of them anymore, though I still have Cocky, my Steiff stuffed dog, that barks when you squeeze his middle. I remember bringing him to the grocery store in a basket. Several ladies oohed and ahhed over him, and my Mom must have enjoyed it all as much as I did.
I not only still have my Barbie doll and her case and wardrobe but I have one of the original 1959 dolls; blonde ponytail, black and white striped suit the whole works. I have all of the original clothes except the brocade dress with the mink collar. My Mom would not get me that one. I used to play a sort of mid century Project Runway with my friends. We would beg fabric scraps from the moms that sewed and make our own doll clothes and have fashion shows. I also have several early knitted garments that I made. Great fun!!! I hope to see the movie this coming weekend.
I only have one Barbie and two outfits left. They were in Mom’s basement for the grandkids. When we went to get them, the field mice had been there first and it looked like an episode of CSI. Totally disturbing!