Let’s just call it right now… Summer 2023 is the “Summer of Barbie.” Sure, Taylor Swift is also having her moment (and I DO love TayTay), but thanks to Greta Gerwig, the country is covered in glorious shades of pink and I am here for it!!!
I grew up in the 1980’s… land of Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, and Strawberry Shortcake. Deep down, I was whole-heartedly a Barbie girl. My sister, Julie, and I had tons of Barbies and accessories, which we haphazardly stored in giant white vinyl “fashion cases.” We would play for hours and would then get yelled at when we piled them all back in the case, completely and totally naked, to do something else. (To this day, I’m not sure why Barbie’s body liberation was so bothersome to my mom.) With all the recent Barbie nostalgia, I’ve waxing poetic about all of my favorite things about this iconic toy and what she meant to me.
Though many Barbies have been part of my toy box, there are four that stand out as my favorites. There was the iconic Malibu Barbie, which I still have today. She is now a little worse for wear, with golden blonde hair that’s a bit ratted and slightly stubby fingers from where my sister chewed on them and we had to cut them shorter, but she’s still fun to take out once in a while and give her a fresh outfit. I had Western Barbie and her horse, Midnight. She was a glorious Dolly Parton-esque doll, complete with a shiny, fringy white suit, cowboy boots and hat, and a bright blue shadow covered eyelid that winked when you pushed a button in her back. (After a while the eye got stuck and she was always sleepy.) Fashion Jeans Barbie had a lovely pink angora sweater, pink cowboy boots, and jeans. The jeans were kind of impossible to put back on, unless you slathered her legs with baby powder, and my sister pulled her head off once, leaving us to shove it back on with no neck. (Mom said she looked like Sally Struthers after that.) Certainly, my most glamorous Barbie was Crystal Barbie. Her diamond jewelry and iridescent, crunchy dress truly made her the celebrity of our collection.
Then, there was poor Ken. Seriously, we had ONE Ken doll for most of our childhood. It was a Sun Gold Malibu Ken, and until my Aunt Linda took pity on him, all he had to wear was a pair of swim trunks. He would escort Barbie everywhere with only his fabulous abs and his golden plastic hair going for him. Talk about arm candy!
We may have never had a Dream Home or a Corvette, (our Barbies were content to drive on our floor in a shoe, or to occasionally share the pizza van with the Ninja Turtles), but they did have a few cool places to hang out. My most treasured creation was Barbie Loves McDonald’s: a fully functioning fast food joint, complete with tiny Big Macs, a booth to sit in, and a fancy trash can. I LOVED that thing! The Barbies could also play in the Barbie Bubbling Spa that held real water and made bubbles with the push of a button. And, she had a home and work space with the Barbie Home and Office. The toy was folded into a hexagon, which when opened had an apartment on one side, and a Working Girl style office on the other. The Murphy Bed was may favorite part and always made me want one of my own.
Sure, some people say that Barbie gave girls body image issues. It never occurred to me that she was the ideal. Barbie did, however, give me unrealistic goals about the amount of clothes, shoes, bags, and jewelry which should be in my closet. (I hold her fully responsible for my lifestyle!) She was an icon of my childhood experiences, allowing me to create and dream.
I am super excited about the upcoming film and all of the brand collaborations. Yes, I am that sucker that is being pulled in by all things Barbie pink. Nail polish, jewelry, lemonade, ice cream, you name it… this girl is living for the pink explosion! Come on Barbie, let’s go party!
Forty Fat and Fabulous 