What in the world is a grown woman doing collecting Barbie dolls, let alone blogging about it? It mean, really?! What is the world coming to? LOL I've heard those sentiments so many times and guess what? I don't care. I love my Barbies!
The name of this blog came from my brother. He would look at the Barbies in my bedroom and the dolls that came in when I ordered, shake his head and say "Vanessa, Don't just play Barbie, be Barbie!" Thus the title of this blog. If he had any idea that he would contribute to this I'm sure he would have kept that comment to himself.
Anyhoo, I'm just doing this to have fun and relieve a bit of stress. I'm also incorporating my love for fashion and accessories into this blog. Stay tuned and feel free to join in. :)
My Barbie Collector catalog arrived with an awesome cover of the Christian Louboutin Barbie from the 2010 "My Year in Paris" diary calendar. The mixture of Barbie with real people is so fabulous!
This catalog is definitely a keepsake. The folks at Barbie Collector put together a catalog with offerings that can be described as HOT...HOT...HOT! I'll blog about some of the dolls in the catalog but it definitely has an adult flavor this time. The problem is I'll probably have to eat Ramen Noodles all year just to afford the Barbie dolls and accoutrements that I want!
I am so excited to post this photo of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Centennial Barbie doll. I tuned into The Early Show this morning to watch my sorority sisters spread the word about AKA and share the history of international gathering in Washington, DC.
I did not expect my sorority's spokesperson to unveil the AKA Barbie doll on television; what a bonus! I can't explain how it felt to see our organization's shield and beautiful colors --- salmon pink and apple green on a Barbie.
The doll looked like the one pictured above except I think the hair was a tad lighter. There were several boxes on the display table and one out of the box. You know I wanted to jump through the screen to get one.
Anyhoo, one of my sisters (Thanks, Soror Shawna) will get one for me and you know I will order more. This was a smart move on Mattel's behalf because they will make a mint from the sorority members, family and friends who will purchase the doll as gifts and others who just love the doll.
For any of my family, friends and kind strangers that may read this; I can never have too many of this doll.
It goes without saying that I will write about the doll when I actually receive her. She'll be availalble at BarbieCollector.com in mid-August.
I must add at least two dolls to my collection over the next six months. One is the Hollywood Hostess Barbie that I already have on order and the other is the Toujours Couture Barbie.
The Toujors Couture is a Black Silkstone Barbie --- one of the very few black Silkstones. I'm going to reserve my final opinion when it's released in February 2008. Right now, I'm not feeling the color of the outfit or those boots. She would have looked so much better in the La Vie Rose wardrobe.
I'll likely sacrifice and buy more than one of her. For sure I'm going to opt for black pumps or slingbacks. Look for the photos in February.
Remember how I posted that I wouldn't pay full retail for the KLS Barbie? OK, I am so taking that back. I have become such a fan of Kimora Lee Simmons from watching her television show, Life in the Fab Lane.
What I'd perceived as kind of rude and crude is just her way of making sure that she and her daughters live a fabulous life.
Kimora is such an entrepreneur; I enjoy watching her mind work. She also feels entitled to all of the fabulosity she's attained and you know what? There's nothing wrong with that.
Kimora has worked hard to become a fashion, jewelry and entertainment mogul. I really became a fan when she visited Mattel for an update on her Barbie doll. Miss Kimora made sure that the Mattel folks made no mistake that she wanted her doll to be known as a Barbie doll --- not Barbie's sidekick.
Barbie comes in all flavors and that's something that Mattel seems to forget from time to time.
Kimora also made it clear that she wanted her doll to have a long coat and the accompanying dog. That may not seem to be a big deal but it is. The Mattel folks tried to convince her that she could only have a short coat with the dog but Miss Kimora wasn't having that, OK.
In a life of fabulosity, the KLS Baby Phat Barbie would only have the most fabulous attire exuding an attitude of ultimate fabulosity. Count me in for the purchase of the Kimora Lee Simmons Barbie at full retail price. It's fabulosity, folks!
Mattel is releasing some great new Barbies in 2007. One of the soon to be released dolls is a "Baby Phat" Kimora Lee Simmons Barbie.
Now, I'm not so sure how I feel about this one. The facial features don't look enough like KLS but the outfit surely does. I am not feeling those boots but I'll likely purchase a few of the dolls for that fabulous faux fur coat. I love re-dressing my dolls and this is just, well, too fabulous.
I must applaude KLS for her business acumen. She is working a clothing line... fragrance... book...acting gigs... whatever. I'm not mad at her. You, go, girlfriend. Smooches.
Here’s the story of an art show based on “restructured” Barbie dolls. Artists of various ages and walks of life re-created Barbie in various environments. There’s a mature Barbie, a Muslim Barbie in a burka, etc.
I’m not sure how I feel about this but since I haven’t seen it I’ll reserve my opinion. I know one thing, I’m not crazy about the photo at all. Just my opinion.
I've definitely slowed my collecting pace. For one, I need to get my display space in order. Secondly, Mattel just hasn't been producing the variety and quality of dolls that I like. For example what happened to more Black Silkstone dolls in the Barbie Fashion Model collection?
My latest acquisitions include the reproduction of Career Girl Barbie and the third installment of Byron Lars' Chapeaux Collection, Coco Barbie.
I haven't opened the box to Career Girl yet. I plan to redress one of my Lingerie Barbie No. 5 dolls with her outfit. Lingerie No. 5 has to be the absolutely perfect doll model. I'll do a blog post just on her soon. I should have purchased more them when I had the chance.
Let me get to Coco Barbie. Now, whoever decided to cheapen this entire Chapeaux collection with those permanent gloves on the dolls gets a big fat 'F'. Generally, I love the Byron Lars dolls but I am not feeling the excitement with this collection. The cheap plastic necklace on Sugar Barbie did it for me. Yuck. That's so un-Byron.
Coco is cute and funky. It's likely that I'll purchase another one of these because I do like this doll's pose. I'll remove the clothing anyway a add one of those fabulous doll wigs. She will be beautiful.
It hit me while I was browsing the toy aisle at Wal-Mart amid hula-hoops and rubber balls. They -- Bratz dolls -- are everywhere, like tiny underdressed and overly made-up plastic children. I couldn't help but wonder which genius had thought up the concept to create a "brat" -- one who looks like she wears too much makeup, not enough clothes and has no real talent to speak of.
I'm sure the meeting at Bratz-maker MGA Entertainment, when it came up with the concept, went something along the lines of: "So, that Barbie has been taking over the world for a while. Why don't we make a trashy version of it, give it smoky eyes and a bad wardrobe and see them fly off the shelves?" [MORE]
NOTE: I do not represent all of these photos as my own; these are photos of Barbie and other dolls that I find to be fabulous! If you are the actual photographer and would like to be credited, send me an e-mail.
Barbie Fans
Barbie History
Barbie was named for a real young lady from California named Barbara Handler. Barbie, the teen fashion doll that debuted in 1959 was created by Barbara's mom, Ruth Handler, who named the doll after her daughter and the rest is doll history.
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