Vera Wang,
Ralph Lauren, Anne Klein, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Christian Dior, Dooney & Bourke...
(Above Photo - Vera Wang Barbie)
What was that? Oh, you thought I was going to say...
Fashion Model
Ponytail
Perfect Figure
Loves Pink
Boyfriend Ken
Baby Sister Skipper
Malibu Dream House
Glamorous Gowns
- Below
Of course, those are the obvious things that pop into your head when describing Barbie. Let's face it, our 1959 Barbie has come a long way baby, since posing for the camera in that cute striped one-piece.
Barbie Collector Generation of Dreams African-American Doll
And at the rocking age of 54, she's still in demand with our fashion design royalty and collectors alike. Still more design geniuses created striking designs for our fashion doll icon over the years: Byron Laws, Givenchy, Monique Lhuillier, Bob Mackie, Nichole Miller, Badgley Mischka, Ana Sui, Versace and the list continues.
We're definitely in the pink today, Barbie Pink. Test how smart you are on everything Barbie from our Barbie I.Q. quiz at the end of this
text-webisode.
FADE IN:
Welcome to today's iCafe Woman Moderne... Jackie, here. I send you miracles and blessings from iCafe Woman Moderne's humble owner, Kiki Kearse.
"I have glorified you down here on the earth by completing the work that you gave me." John 17:4
(Barbie Dream Church - Sacred Sandwich)
Hmm, interesting... a Barbie Dream Church... I love it! But there's one important item missing. Where's the cross?
"He personally carried the load of our sins in His body when He died on the cross so that we could be finished with sin and live a good life from now on." 1Peter 2:24.
Was this Barbie Dream Church designed by a Mattel Barbie designer? Inquiring minds want to know? Tell us what you think about Sacred Sandwich's Barbie Dream House?
(Kitty Black Perkins - The First African American Barbie Designer)
Chief Designer of Fashions and Doll Concepts for Mattel's Barbie line
Kitty Black-Perkins contributed her fashion genius to Barbie's 300 million plus fashions. That's quite an accomplishment, seeing that Barbie hasn't lost her marketing steam since she made her debut in 1959.Let's go back for a moment to 1976, when a classified ad for a fashion designer for the largest toy company in the world, Mattel -- caught her eye. Little did she know the impact it would have on her life. Mattel gave Black-Perkins an amazing opportunity to travel all over the world and create Barbie designs that girls of all ages would love.
One of her many lines include African-American fashion dolls: Shani and Friends, introduced in 1991.
Sun Jewel Shani was part of the Barbie line of dolls in 1994. Shani head mold marked in 1990.
| Devon another dark-skinned beauty accompanied Barbie to the Dance Club in 1990, along with Ken and a new friend, biracial Kayla. These two new friends of Barbie were only sold for one year and are pretty hard to find today. |
| In 2003 Midge Hadley, married to Alan since 1990, was released in an African-American version. They had a 3-year old boy and a new born baby girl named Nikki. All of these were also released in an African American version besides the regular Caucasian Midge. |
Fashion Savvy was introduced in 1997, along with the Brandy line. A special doll designed by Black-Perkins was donated to the South Carolina State Museum in May of 2001.
Text-Webisode Host Jackie:
Wow, can you imagine, working for Barbie? That's what we Barbie-nistas call a Dream Barbie Job. From the time I inherited my first Barbie in 1965 at age 8, I've loved Barbie and particularly enjoyed collecting vintage Barbies.
If you've often wondered who collects Barbies and why. Or maybe you're a Barbie collector, and want to hear about what others doing. We have a treat for both of you.
Bonnie Turner-Lomax
Featured Barbie Collector
I'm thrilled to be hosting today's text-webisode: Today's Barbie Collector: The Inside Scoop.
Today, we're chatting with Barbie Collector and Toastmaster, Bonnie Turner-Lomax, mother of five, grandmother of four and step-grandmother of one.
ICWM: Thanks for joining us today.
Bonnie: It's my pleasure.
(EBAY)
ICWM: Why do you collect Barbies?
Bonnie: I started collecting Barbies back in 1984 when my daughter Tara was a baby. My husband, who collects trains, used to take me to the Greenberg Train Shows around the area. While the show and displays were primarily about model trains, some of the vendors would show dolls and dollhouses. Just to have something to do there, I started looking more at the dolls
ICWM: When did you start? What was your first Barbie purchased as a collector?
Bonnie: My first collectible doll was a Nigerian Barbie from the Barbie Dolls of the World Collection around 1984-85.
ICWM: Why did you pick that particular doll?
Bonnie: She was dressed in ethnic clothing and had ethnic styled hair. She was just so pretty, and at that time different. Another early doll I got was the Holiday Barbie, again around 1984-85. I've been collecting Holiday Dolls every year since.
ICWM: What are some of your favorite Barbies? (I know that's a hard question.)
Bonnie: I do have a lot of favorites. I really like the Dolls of the World Collections. Mattel has updated that line quite a few times since I started collecting.
(Diwali Barbie)
Bonnie: I also like dolls celebrating my birthstone, or the month I was born ...and the high- end designer dolls. I can't afford designer clothes for myself so I splurge on dolls.
(First African American Doll in Happy Holidays Collection - 1990)
(Hawaii Barbie)
ICWM: How many is in your collection?
Bonnie: I'm not really sure, since a good deal of them are packed away. Every time I look at the one that's packed away, I see one I forgot I had.
Collector Edition Japanese Barbie Dolls of the World
Bonnie: I have the first Black Holiday Barbie and I had a Black Skipper.
ICWM: Do you collect any vintage Barbies?
Bonnie: Not really. I started collecting some of the vintage reproductions that have been made to celebrate various Barbie milestones. Mainly the 50th Anniversary Barbie a couple of years ago.
50th Anniversary Barbie Glamour Doll
ICWM: What makes a doll collectible?
Bonnie: A lot of value is placed on dolls being "mint in the box.” Personally, there are some dolls I just love to take out of the box and enjoy.
ICWM: Have you collected any other fashion dolls like the Tonner Dolls?
Bonnie: I have a Josephine Baker doll designed by Tonner. I got her a couple of years ago to celebrate Black History Month. And though they are not Fashion Dolls, I really like the Historical American Girl Dolls.
ICWM - Why is Barbie so special to girls and women of all ages?
Bonnie: For people my age, it brings back memories, I guess. Also, because there are so many Barbies, there's a doll for almost anything special in your life.
ICWM: What are the most collectible or highly desired Barbies?
Bonnie: I don't know about anyone else, but there are a couple of collectible dolls, which are very hard to come by (and very expensive) that I wish I had: Barbie as Marie Antoinette which is absolutely exquiste; and there are two dolls from the Portrait Collection I believe.
Also, Barbie as the Duchess Emma and Barbie as Duchess Camille. (Those are the real names, and the dolls came out after my eldest daughter was born and represent the names of my mother and youngest daughter, Emma Camille.)
(Duchess Emma)
Bonnie: Get what you like and enjoy it. If you want to take it out of the box, do so. Don't be concerned about future value.
ICWM: What are the dos and donts of Barbie Collecting?
Bonnie: The main thing is just to enjoy yourself. But if you really want to be serious and organized, it's probably best to start with a single line or collection -- like the Dolls of the World or Holiday Dolls.
ICWM: You've introduced Barbies to your three daughters, what were their first Barbies?
Bonnie: Believe it or not, my daughters aren't really into Barbies. Victoria, my second eldest daughter, has a couple of Hello Kitty Barbies, and she has an Alvin Ailey Dance Barbie.
She also has a celebrity Barbie Doll - Brandy, which my mother gave her for Christmas when she was about six. But that's about all. Emma, my youngest, has a lot of "played with" dolls, but she isn't really interested in collectibles.
Brandy Doll 1999 (Includes Autographed Poster Copy Inside! - Amazon)
ICWM: What Barbie have you introduced to your granddaughter, Paris and plan to introduce to your two-year-old granddaughter, Jayla, and seven-month-old Joselyn?
Bonnie: Since I really like French things, I have a lot of dolls with a French theme that I plan to introduce to Paris when she's a little older. One of my favorites is Eiffel Tower Barbie, which Paris describes as "Barbie as me."
Barbie Collector Dolls of the World Eiffel Tower Doll
Jayla really likes dolls, and I can see the possibility of her collecting at some point. She has a habit of opening up my curio and pulling out some of my collectible and porcelain dolls, which of course is a big no-no.
ICWM: Do you visit the blogs and purchase any other Barbie related merchandise?
Bonnie: The biggest thing I collect, probably even more so now than the dolls, is the Hallmark Christmas Ornaments. I've been collecting Barbie ornaments since 1985 and continue to add to the collection each year.
Ornaments are smaller, cheaper, and easier to store. My entire tree is done in Barbie and there's really never enough room for them all, yet I continue to purchase ornaments year after year.
You can find some really good sales off season. Sometimes new ornaments are selling for as little as $1.00. It doesn't matter if I already have it. If the price is right, I'm getting it. (Photo on Left - Granddaughter Paris posing in front of the Barbie Christmas tree with her parents.)
ICWM: Do you have the first multicultural Barbie, (Kayla) which came out in 2002?
Bonnie: Yes, my eldest, Tara-Jeanne had a Kayla. She also had Barbie's friend, Tara-Lynn, that came out around that time.
ICWM: What do you think of the So, In Style Barbies?
Bonnie: They're nice, but I haven't purchased one yet.
ICWM: Are they collectible dolls?
Bonnie: Anything is collectible. It's up to the collector.
ICWM: And last but not least, I've noticed that some collectors create settings or scenes for their Barbies that look like stylish dioramas. Have you ever done this?
Bonnie: That will make a nice project when all the kids are grown and I'm retired.
ICWM: Thanks again for taking the time to share you passion.
Bonnie: Anytime. I enjoyed it.
Text-Webisode Host - Jackie:
I'm sure you enjoyed today's text-webisode guest, Barbie Collector, Bonnie Turner-Lomax... I know I did.
Now it's time to test your Barbie IQ. Are you up for the challenge? What was that? You're not scared, you know your Barbie. We shall see. Let's give it a whirl, shall we?
How well do you know Barbie? Take the test!
1. Barbie has had 50 careers from paleontologist to a presidential candidate. True or False
2. Barbie Goes to College was introduced in 1970. True or False
3. Army Barbie, introduced in 1992, represented a helicopter pilot Sergeant enlisted in Desert Storm. True or False
4. Summit Barbie dolls were introduced in the 1980s to commemorate the end of the cold war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
True or False
5. In 1997, Share-A-Smile Becky was the first Mattel Inc. fashion doll introduced with a wheel chair. True or False
6. French was the first nationality Barbie doll represented in the Dolls of the World Collection. True or False
7. Quinceanera Teresa doll was released in Mexico in 1994 to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
True or False?
8. Every second, three Barbie dolls are sold somewhere in the world. True or False.
9. The best-selling Barbie doll ever was
a)Twist-n-Turn Barbie
b)Totally Hair Barbie
c)Malibu Barbie
10.) Barbie has five sisters. Match the sisters to the year they were introduced. Twin Tuttie, Krissy, Kelly, Skipper and Stacie. (I bet bathroom time was rough.)
1992
1964
1999
1966
1995
11. The first Barbie was sold for: (Select One)
$1.50
$2.00
$3.00
12. An original 1959 Barbie in mint condition has sold for $10,000. True or False.
Find out the answers: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=981662425348443138#editor/target=page;pageID=2191124938647567267
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