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It all started in the late 1950s, when Ruth Handler of California saw that her daughter, Barbara, and her friends preferred to play with adult dolls instead of traditional baby dolls. The adult dolls were made simply from cardboard cut-outs and so like any good mother, Ruth Handler set out to make her daughter Barbara whom she lovingly called Barbie an adult doll that would make her happy.
Ruth and her husband Elliot then created the Mattel Toy Company in their garage. It was not long until the little company grew to include a few salesmen and ad men who booed the concept of the Barbie toy.
Ruth was determined that Barbie not be put aside and so she travelled to Germany where she found a doll named Lilli that would become the basis for the new and improved Barbie. Armed with ‘Barbie 2.0’ Ruth convinced her Mattel friends to produce the doll. The original patent date is 1958.
Ruth then had the concept that would place Barbie leagues above future rivals; she hired Barbie a fashion designer. Barbie was the first fashion doll, and she gets at least 100 new clothing designs every year, and because they produce so many Barbie outfits each year, Mattel has become the biggest garment manufacturer in the world.
The fashionista Barbie first appeared in the 1959 American Toy Fair on New York City in her classic black & white swimsuit. She absolutely flew off of the shelves leading Mattel to declare her the best selling toy of all time (at the time). The decade that followed the launch of Barbie saw parents spending in access of $500 million of Barbie dolls and accessories. Consider what that amount would be now, 40 years on.
The entire Barbie family consists of over 100 nationalities and thousands of outfits and accessories. Barbie and her clothing is in the top class of collectables and a 1950s Barbie in good nick can fetch as much as £7,000, but do not forget that it is the memory of your daughter’s face when she opened her first Barbie that is priceless.
Some borrowed Barbie Trivia:
The first Barbie cost $3.
Today, more than 1 billion Barbie's have been sold
The Ken doll was named after Ruth and Elliot Handler's son
At first, Barbie was a teenaged fashion model, but she's had over 80 careers since then, from astronaut to war medic
Barbie's full name is "Barbie Millicent Roberts."
Barbie didn't have a belly button until 2000.
Two Barbies are sold every second around the world.
A whole series of vintage Barbie photos www.mistergiuseppe.it/vintage.html
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