Saturday Thoughts ---- Barbie Dolls

A 1960 doll, note the high heels

 

My great granddaughter who is almost four is a huge fan of Barbie dolls This makes 3 generations in my family who have enjoyed her. Over the years I have knit and sewed for Barbie and Ken dolls and am amazed that this is one of the toys that has always been there since she was first marketed in 1959.  

 This is not a Retro toy as such, as it has never gone off the market. Mattel has wisely kept her up to date and changed the doll to reflect the changing times. She now comes with a career of your choice. The 1960 Barbie and Ken are the ones I sewed and knitted for the most. 

The new Barbie is larger and Ken is no longer a 90 lb. weakling and so none of the patterns I have fit and there doesn't seem to be patterns out there that work with the newer dolls. 

I think we had most of the cases, available then and packages of shoes as they were easy to loose. She always wore high heels. My daughter also had a Midge, Ken and Barbie's little sister.

Some of other toys that have never gone out of style and are still popular today are Hot Wheels and Legos which we also had an abundance of in our house. The Legos are still sold today as are the Hot Wheels and you can buy kits or the larger packages of Legos. 

 Some of the other items come and go as retro toys such as Fisher Price and Cabbage Dolls, of which again I had to sew for. Even made the dolls as they were hard to get ahold of as they were such an IN item. I don’t think they are anymore but reappear in toy stores at various times. 

 Did you have a Barbie growing up or maybe Hot Wheels?