On March 9, 1959 this glamour gal was born! And although she had a strange beginning as a gag gift for men (and named Lilli), Mattel bought the rights to her and turned her into a beloved toy. Since then over 800 million Barbie dolls have been sold.
I loved my Barbies–and I loved my Barbie Townhouse: c. 1977. Of course I loved to re arrange the furniture. What little interior designer didn’t love their doll house or Barbie Dreamhouse?
The elevator was awesome (even though it didn’t always slide well) and it is a feature that the designers brought back for the 2013 house–pictured at the bottom of the post.
And on a super random note…
I also had some weird thing called the Liddle Kiddles Klub. I’m not sure if any of you remember this but there were little dolls that went with it.
For a reason that I cannot remember, the Liddle Kiddles came in perfume bottles and jewelry pieces.
Anyway…Just wanted to see if anyone else had those or remembered them. They were incredibly groovy to me as a kid.
I got the Barbie “Plane”: c. 1972 for Christmas one year.
Which was basically an advertisement for United Airlines. It opened up into this wonky interior and I was always a bit disappointed when my stewardess Barbie (she didn’t become a flight attendant til the 1980′s) couldn’t quite close the galley doors properly…(as you can see below). It was vinyl and odd but I loved it all the same.
I remember Ken like this:
And he drove a DreamVette:
Now Ken looks like this: He might actually be prettier than Barbie.
The Beans loves Barbies and at times it is challenging to find a Barbie that is appropriate for a five year old. Apparently Barbie likes to go clubbing now.
I can’t remember if I had the camper or if a friend did. The side opened up and there was a plastic fire pit accessory and folding campaign chairs. You can be sure that Barbie went “glamping” not camping!
The first Barbie Dream Houses in the 1960′s were made of cardboard:
The next Dream House was plastic:
The furniture was basic but colorful:
Somewhere along the way these incredible Peacock chairs came about—And I would LOVE to have big girl versions of these in my REAL house:
Here are some later versions of Barbies pad…
And don’t forget the pool! ”C’mon in Barbie and Skipper, the water is divine!”
The latest version of the Dream House: Lacks imagination if you ask me. Too pink. I dig the elevator though.
Perhaps the weirdest thing I found when I was looking for vintage pictures for this post?
McDonald’s Barbie! Yep, in 1982 Mattel released the “Barbie loves McDonald’s” set. Um, yeah.
If you are a Barbie fan you can purchase most of things off Ebay where I found a lot of the pictures. It’s amazing to me what people save. I love to relive a childhood memory.
Did you have any of these? What was your favorite Barbie moment?
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YES! The Dream Cottage!!! And we also had the Barbie Mickey D’s. Sad, sad, sad, I know. We also a some type of retail store?? I just remember the display cases. My Barbie’s job was always to run a boutique. Better than the McDonald’s, right?
Awesome Traci!!! I love that your Barbie ran a boutique…that kills me that you had Mickey D’s Barbie too.
Oh, and don’t forget the Jacuzzi. You could make the water bubble. Hot stuff, I tell you.
Yes, except I always wanted Barbie and GIJoe to get together in the jacuzzi, not Ken.
WHOA memories!!! I loved my barbies (my mom still has her original 1959 one). For some reason I got that Barbie Mc’D set in 1982…I remember it very well-such an awesome Christmas!! This takes me back, wow. Thanks for sharing Amy! (those liddle kiddles are so creepy, and Ken now-?! what?!)
Just wait..wonder what Marie’s Ken will look like! Your mom’s 1959 Barbie is with about a billion dollars.
I had the plane!!! I still remember that vinyl smell. Ahhh memories!
-Shelley
Shelley, it DID have such a vinyly smell! Hilarious that you brought back that for me…
Oh my. This post brought back memories. I still have my Barbies but they are in horrible shape as Whitney played with them also. I had the cardboard dream house and played with it till it wore out COMPLETELY. Mom made knitted luggage for me that had felt handles with a roll of shirt buttons inside the knitted tube. I slipped that overnight bag on her wrist and she was off on an adventure! The Liddle Kiddles Klub house was in my possession as well but don’t remember the dolls?? Perhaps I used troll dolls in mine? Remember those? Oh, the memories of childhood~
I knew your Barbie must have had fantastic handmade accessories! I think I used troll dolls in my Liddle Kiddles club too. Man those troll dolls were ugly!
Speaking for the guys, i’d say you have uncovered a lost — or rather unknown — world. I sure wouldn’t let my GI Joe hang out with those.. um.. civilians….
Your GI joe is always welcome at the Barbie party!!!
Amy,
I did not expect a trip down memory lane when I came to your blog today! What fun and I do indeed remember Kiddles! I loved them…and of course Barbie too! We used to set up the barbie house on the stair landing so we could have multiple levels…it was a mod condo…you know, right?! Drove everyone crazy! ha
xo
annie
You have restored my sanity Annie! Thank goodness you remember the Kiddles! I so adore that you set up you barbie house on your stairs for a condo effect! I think we would have been besties!!!