The History of Barbie
BARBIE HISTORY
Let me begin by telling a story. A young girl meets a boy and they fall in love. The girl graduates from high school. She had visions of a great career success in the real world. She wanted to go to college anyways because her parents thought traditional. The girl went to college and married the boy too. They raised two children, Barbie and Ken. They are the creators of the company Mattel and the makers of Barbie, Ruth and Elliot Handler. The reason of me telling you this story is because I am fascinated with Barbie and I’m a Holiday Barbie collector. Barbie was designed after a famous cartoon character in the West German Newsletter named Bild Lilli. Bild Lilli was first sold in Germany of 1955. In March of 1959, Barbie made her way to the New York Toy Show. Once the demand of Barbie caught up, the public purchased $500 million worth of Barbie products. The first Barbie made had a black and white striped swimsuit with a signature topknot ponytail. The dolls were only made in blonde and brunette. The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in Japan, and the clothes were hand stitched by Japanese home workers. Barbie was the first doll to be marketed on television marketing. Barbie had a fictional biography. Her full name was Barbara Millicent Roberts. In the series of Random House in the 1960’s, her parents George and Margaret from Willows, Wisconsin. She attended Willows High School and has an on and off relationship with her boyfriend, Ken Carson. A news release from Mattel in February 2004 announced the break-up of Barbie and Ken. After the breakup, Ken was suppose to have a makeover, Barbie had over 40 pets , owned wide variety of vehicles, held different roles in life. Barbie held different types of jobs from an Aerobics instructor to a Wedding stylist. While on Barbie’s adventurous journeys she met a range of ethnic companions such as family and friends. In the book, Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real
Let me begin by telling a story. A young girl meets a boy and they fall in love. The girl graduates from high school. She had visions of a great career success in the real world. She wanted to go to college anyways because her parents thought traditional. The girl went to college and married the boy too. They raised two children, Barbie and Ken. They are the creators of the company Mattel and the makers of Barbie, Ruth and Elliot Handler. The reason of me telling you this story is because I am fascinated with Barbie and I’m a Holiday Barbie collector. Barbie was designed after a famous cartoon character in the West German Newsletter named Bild Lilli. Bild Lilli was first sold in Germany of 1955. In March of 1959, Barbie made her way to the New York Toy Show. Once the demand of Barbie caught up, the public purchased $500 million worth of Barbie products. The first Barbie made had a black and white striped swimsuit with a signature topknot ponytail. The dolls were only made in blonde and brunette. The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in Japan, and the clothes were hand stitched by Japanese home workers. Barbie was the first doll to be marketed on television marketing. Barbie had a fictional biography. Her full name was Barbara Millicent Roberts. In the series of Random House in the 1960’s, her parents George and Margaret from Willows, Wisconsin. She attended Willows High School and has an on and off relationship with her boyfriend, Ken Carson. A news release from Mattel in February 2004 announced the break-up of Barbie and Ken. After the breakup, Ken was suppose to have a makeover, Barbie had over 40 pets , owned wide variety of vehicles, held different roles in life. Barbie held different types of jobs from an Aerobics instructor to a Wedding stylist. While on Barbie’s adventurous journeys she met a range of ethnic companions such as family and friends. In the book, Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real
Bibliography: Stone, Tonya Lee. The Good, The Bad, and The Barbie: A Doll’s History and Her Impact on Us. Viking Juvenile, 2010. Print. Weissman, Kristin Noelle. Barbie: The Icon, the Image, the Idea: An Analytical Interpretation of the Barbie Doll in Popular Culture. Universal Publishing, 1999. Print. Lord, M.G.. Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll. Reed Business Information, Inc, 2004. Print.