Nostalgic for Nostalgia

 I think about nostalgia a lot. Not in some weird personal way. Instead nostalgia defines a lot of the work I have done academically. My book about mixtapes is defined exclusively as a cultural examination of how nostalgia has been used as a marketing tool, gimmick, and genuine emotional pull to continue to reinforce a love of analog technology.

Lately I have started thinking more and more about the role of nostalgia when considering Barbie fandom. The movie has definitely played into that consideration. There are two facets to the Barbie movie last year: you can buy Ken in a ridiculous fur coat and the Margot Robbie Barbie doll. 

Fur Coat Ken

Margot Robbie Barbie 

But there is also a resurgence of interest in the Barbie items from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. I was shocked to discover that the Barbie outfits I have had in a plastic bin in the basement or garage for the past 30 years are notable to current collectors. I posted some of my well-loved, far-from-pristine-condition Barbies on eBay and they were snatched up almost immediately.  Roller-skating Ken from a previous post has found a new home, hopefully in a place of Pride (Yes, double entendre fully intended).

A friend (who knows who she is 💜😃 ) helped me sort and label many of the Barbie outfits I still had in my collection. While I will never part with the 1959-63 outfits, I am willing to pass along some of the 1970s and 80s outfits to collectors who will enjoy and display them. Looking at these outfits is personally nostalgic - I remember dressing Barbie in these outfits as a little girl. But looking at them today, they are most intriguing to me as symbols of American women's fashion in the 1970s. 

The American Revolution dress above?? I mean really? What was the explanation for that dress? Sorta Colonial, but really?

And this one SCREAMS Solid Gold/Studio 54 to me:

This one reminds me of my childhood neighbors who were the quintissential hippies of the early 1970s. They introduced me to carob chips and had cousins who lived in a commune in the mountains:

This dress reminds me of the early 1980s variety shows with Diana Ross, Carol Burnett, or Cher. High fashion, but not red carpet fashion:

And finally this dress. I don't know. It's just so of its time. Not any particular show or person, but it is absolutely reminiscent of the late-70s/early 80s - albeit not in any practical way I would've seen in real life. 

At the end of the day, the reason all of these dresses (and yes, they are all dresses) are in pristine condition is because that is not what Barbie usually wore when I played with her. My Barbies climbed mountains, flew airplanes, worked at McDonalds and the fashion store. They were not icons of fashion in impractical evening dresses, they were working women interacting with other working women. Sometimes there were fashion shows - I was a little girl in the 70s/80s. 

The nostalgia for Barbie is for me a reminiscence of my childhood. Sitting on the floor with my grandma, my dad, or my friends acting out real, normal, every day life. I hope that whoever ends up with these outfits can love and appreciate them. And maybe put together a Solid Gold reunion complete with Cher, Diana Ross, and the fabulous dancing team I watched on TV while surrounded by my dolls.