Biography of Barbie
The ancestor of Barbie and the version with the ponytail
It all begins when Ruth decides to launch a toy that opens the doors to the children of adult life. The volcanic creator of games you put so looking for an idea for a new doll that does not have the infantile, but is characterised by the shapes of a young woman with long legs and shapely breasts. During a trip to Switzerland, Ruth stumbles upon Lady, the official ancestress of Barbie. It is a plastic doll that incorporates the features of a comic book heroine quite cheerful and naughty. The first Barbie is inspired by the German twin and has the narrow waist and slender legs. Mattel decided to produce it in vinyl with the blond hair is collected in the classic Ponytail hairstyle collection known as bruni, ponytail, from which derives the name of the first series. The doll wears a simple striped body and legs have a little hole that lets you have raised on the pedestal that is sold. The success was immediate: only in 1959 (the first example in Commerce dates back to March 9) if they sell well 350 thousand specimens priced at $ 3 each.The biography of Barbie
To strike the imagination of buyers, Mattel decided to give Barbie a biography rich and varied. This is how the boyfriend Ken, named after the family's son, Kenneth, Handler, as well as Barbie comes from Barbara, the name of the daughter of the couple. The long love affair between Barbie and Ken, ben 43 years of passionate engagement, does not result in a romantic wedding. The couple split in 2004, and the biographers of Mattel shall immediately give the doll a fling with surfer Blaine. Over the years, Barbie's family grows with new characters: her sister Skipper, on sale in 1964, the twins Tutti and Todd, hit the market in 1966, to the small Krissy appeared in 1999. Doll's best friend Midge, a character who disappeared for years, and was then recovered by Mattel. Midge herself has his personal biography: it is, in fact, married to Alan and has two children. In 2004, Barbie launches even his first u.s. presidential election campaign with a full blown political programme drawn up by Mattel. In 1963 back the market introduction of first accessories, including shoes, dresses, shirts and then houses, cars, horses, motor homes and furniture. Barbie has also divided his life of doll with fourteen dogs, seven horses, two cats, a parrot, a panda and a dolphin. The number of accessories is huge and includes 4800 different specimens. The success is such that production begins to differentiate according to the type of buyers: namely dolls intended for game and contained in the famous Pin Box, and those aimed solely to collectors. Many international designers have made available their tailoring skills to give life to the most beautiful clothes for Barbie, from Dior to Moschino, from Yves Saint Laurent to Italian Versace.Criticism on the role of Barbie in the world of playground
Over the years, the doll has attracted much criticism because of the revolution which imposed in the world of games for children. If traditional dolls are for girls, a kind of daughters with which to test their future maternal role, the Barbie becomes a means of aping the adult life, eliminating the parental and subsidiary phase. Among the many characters who make up the world, there is no room for parents. To date, Barbie has neither father nor mother. In fact, the very idea of the doll is suggested to Ruth from her daughter, who was trying to imitate adults. And it is precisely with this in mind that the Barbie: pander to the desire of children to behave like grown-ups around them.Article contributed by the team of collaborators.