Boxes of Nostalgia

I spent half a day sorting through boxes in storage. I have gone through all of my Barbies at various different times, but it has been close to a decade since I really looked at every doll in my collection. There are the ones I remember in exceedingly concrete detail. And then there are the dolls that catch me unaware. I forgot they existed, I forgot I own them, I am in awe at the choices Mattel made over time. Here are a couple of the dolls I rediscovered today:

XFiles and Star Trek Barbie and Ken Gift Sets

How could I ever forget the pop culture crossovers of XFiles and Star Trek Barbie and Ken sets. I'm of the age that, yes, I of course watched both of these series. These two series remain iconic but were in the mainstream milieu in the 1990s in a way that Mattel saw a way to capitalize on a cross-marketing campaign. Does the fact that Barbie is the red shirt suggest that she is disposable? Or is it just that she looks best in red? And I also wonder why Mattel chose to connect Barbie to the original 1960s original Trek and not the popular-in-the-90's Next Generation series. And the XFiles Ken is not a typical Ken head; it shows a willingess to create new head models in that era.

I Left My Heart in San Francisco by See's Candies

This is one of those dolls that I have no memory of but takes my breath away. To me, this is the absolute best of the Barbie doll. It was a late-90s crossover with a well-loved American brand. But as the second doll in the series, it allowed for nostalgia, novelty, and creative beauty. I love everything about this doll - and that is in no small part because of my personal memories of buying my grandma hard caramels from See's Candies as a little girl.

As I sort through the 16-20 boxes of dolls, this is just a start to what I have found.

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I am Ken-in-Roller-Skates Years Old

This weekend a friend and I went through the clothes and the dolls that I played with as a kid (and she has an amazing memory on the clothes. This website is quite the resource if you're interested: BarbieWorld.it ). I had A LOT of Barbies and accessories. There was the Barbie pool, the piano, the three-story townhouse. I had an RV, an airplane, and a boat. And then there were the dolls themselves. Yes, I had lots of Barbies but there were also Skippers and Midges and Christies. But today, we have to talk about Ken. This is my first Ken Doll: Roller Skating Ken c.1980. The short tight shorts, the shiny purple jacket, the Addidas style roller skates. He's so retro, what's not to love? I can't pretend to remember why six-year old me needed a Ken doll at that point. I was never as gung-ho about the guys because for me Barbie was about Fashion shows and climbing mountains, and sleepovers. But there were definitely days Ken was part of their entourage. I didn't have Ro

Barbie as Iconic Musician

It has been in the news recently that Mattel has released Barbie as Mariah Carey and as Stevie Nicks. Both of these dolls continue a long tradition of recreating Barbie as iconic stars who will appeal to kids, to the parents who buy dolls for their kids, and to adult collectors. For what it's worth, both dolls are currently sold out on Amazon and already listed (as of November 17) on eBay for $150. The collector's market and upsale of collectibles is alive and well. This series of dolls is intended to represent role models as well as fashion icons. I have to say, this line of dolls has never appealed to me over much. There is nothing wrong with them, but I have always gotten Barbies that were not "Mattel-style-doll-recreated-to-resemble(ish)-someone-famous." When I was looking through my collection in storage last week I came across two other iconic Barbie recreations from 25 years ago. Barbie Loves Frank Sinatra and Barbie Loves Elvis. In both of these Box Sets the

Crafting and Barbies

Two fundamental things about me: I have had Barbie dolls since before I was two years old. They were a stable part of my childhood long past the age many kids played with dolls. I grew up doing crafts. My mom and grandma taught me to cross stitch, needlepoint, and knit (although I have long ago forgotten that particular craft). I don't sit still and if I'm watching TV there's a good chance I have a needle and a project in my lap. ( okay, let's be honest, it's 2023, there are definite evenings it's a mindless puzzle game on my tablet. ) Which means that while I have extra time on my hands I took the opportunity to combine those two aspects and created two Barbie cross stitch patterns this fall Both projects are smaller than 4" square and are perfect for a crafter who has never done cross stitch. They're simple and can be finished in a short amount of time. But they also are quintissential to today's Barbie love and the resurgence of attention becau

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