When someone posted this vintage doll commercial to Instagram, Tom showed it to me and Tim tagged me on it. They know the way to my heart.
While I watched it and felt nostalgic about the dolls of yesteryear, and mused about which outfits I had and how my old Barbies still bring me the pleasure of dressing them and making stories in my head for them, even using them to represent my Neverending Saga characters, I thought about the detail and craftsmanship that went into those early fashions. Those zippers and buttons and snaps. The stitching. The matching of plaids and stripes. Even Mattel’s current-day adult collector dolls don’t have that kind of attention to detail or the high-quality fabrics of the originals.
It’s a fact of life, and I figured commenters on the post would make note of the same but also share some of their good memories. So I did that thing I freely acknowledge I should not do, as noted in my comment to a post from one of my favorite Instagrammers, effinbirds.
Yes, other commenters did recount their happy memories of their own dolls, and of their moms and grandmoms pulling out their dolls to share with their kids and grandkids, and of the fashions and how well made they used to be.
As usual, today’s less-entertaining version of Maleficent showed up to the party: I used to collect Barbies until political correctness completely screwed them up.
Since I don’t reply to negative commenters, and my blog was having issues, to vent, I texted Tim, “What does that even mean? Obviously not because they were denounced for giving girls unrealistic expectations of beauty, because apparently she was on board with that. So I guess because perfect (pick-your-hair-color) Barbie now has tons of friends who don’t all look just like her? I mean, you’re not mandated to collect ANY doll, just pick the ones that fit in your doll world, Karen, and move on. So sad a little kid with a friend or family member in a wheelchair can see them represented in the toy box.”
As he pointed out about the commenter, “Really…dolls? That’s the battle hill you’re going to die on?” He suggested this is a person constantly looking for a reason to be negative.
I think he’s right. After Tom generously used his time to fix my poor blog, I decided to share the new girl I bought to make friends with my baseball-playing Barbie, who I adore (and who I got last year because she is my doll stand-in for a character). One commenter said in today’s dollars, a $3.00 Barbie would run about $30, and I got this one deeply discounted at Ross, way less than her original retail price, which was already not as high as $30.
In a world of plagues, forest fires, earthquakes, and hurricanes, Mattel can still bring this tired old woman happiness, and I know every one of the dolls I see on the shelves is making some other kid (and kid on the inside) happy, too. Why spread misery to others? Let people be.
is that an auburn haired doll???? in a baseball uniform?????? back off Rusty.
HA HA HA! I didn’t even think of her. I love when the doll universe gets testy!
I do think that most things were better made in the past. And fashion hasn’t been classy, at least for the most part, since the 1950s.
Barbie fashion in the early ’90s, at least, was deplorable. Things I can find from the ’80s are so shiny and tacky. They really were not the best fashion years for humans, either.
There’s some early ’60s stuff I like. I do love the mod and groovy fashion periods for their fun. But I agree that things are pretty abysmal after that. Barbie just reflects what the masses are willing to buy for themselves, I suppose.