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Barbie, the world's most
well-known and best-selling doll, debuted at the American International Toy
Fair on March 9, 1959. The doll is produced by Mattel, Inc |
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In the 1950s Ruth Handler,
"creator" of the Barbie doll, noticed that her daughter, Barbara, preferred
to play with dolls that resembled adults rather than infants. At that time,
most three-dimensional dolls were made to look like babies or small
children; however, Barbara preferred playing with paper dolls that looked
like adults. Realizing that there was a hole in the marketplace, Handler
suggested the idea of a three-dimensional adult-bodied doll to her husband,
Elliot Handler, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company, but the idea was
scoffed at. Mattel's directors told her that it would be impossible to
create such a doll.
However, during a trip to Germany with her daughter, Handler discovered a
German doll named Lilli in a shop window. The adult-figured Lilli doll was
exactly what Handler had had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She
gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. |
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The first Barbie doll wore a
black-and-white "zebra-striped" swimsuit and signature topknot ponytail with
tightly-curled bangs. The dolls were available either as blonds or
brunettes. In succeeding years, Barbie dolls were made available with other
hair styles and colors. The doll was marketed as a "Teen-age Fashion Model",
so many fashions were available for her as well. Barbie's wardrobe was
designed by esteemed Mattel fashion designer Charlotte Johnson, whose
inspiration came from the fashion runways of Paris. |
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Ruth Handler stated that she
felt it was "important to a little girl's self-esteem to play with a doll
that [had] breasts", believing it would allow them role-play and imagine
their future lives as adult women. However, Barbie's exaggerated proportions
have always been a point of contention for her detractors. Mattel asserts
that Barbie's exaggerated proportions are necessary to allow clothes to fit
properly on such a small scale, but many have suggested that Barbie's
unrealistic proportions may contribute to self-esteem and body image
problems in young girls. Mattel has adjusted Barbie's proportions in recent
years as an answer to current fashion trends, but the present Barbie doll
body is still uncharacteristic of most women. |
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Barbie doll and her friends are glamorous models who move in a
whole new way. When the "camera" is on them, they move to strike different
poses. With so many fashions and poses, Barbie is definitely ready for her close
up. Barbie dolls are collected by girls of all ages all over the world. Barbie
doll and Ken doll sets are also collected by kids everywhere.
The Barbie doll is a $1.9 billion dollar a year industry. Mattel has claimed
that approximately three Barbie dolls are sold every second. |