my 1st Barbie-Peaches and CreamBarbie turns 50 this year and she's never looked better. Ok, I think she has looked better. I prefer the older versions of Barbie--from the 50s and 60s. Now she looks so beautiful and unattainably perfect that it make us girls who eat feel, well, large.
Nonetheless, I had a good go with Barbie as a youngster. It's no secret that the Dunning Girls (my sisters and I), dubbed the Dunning Dolls, had a close relationship with Barbie. We "played barbies" for hours on end. We built them apartments out of blocks, sewed wedding dresses from panty hose, fried their hair with the curling iron, wasted gallons of water filling their swimming pool, made the one Ken doll be everybody's boyfriend (he was probably exhausted from listening to all the drama!)...we even got to play with my mom's Barbies. One had part of her nose nibbled off by a mouse...the other, a toe or two with the same fate. But they smelled so good and musty and looked so different from our 90's dolls.
I'm pretty sure I played with Barbies until I was at least twelve, maybe older than that. My excuse is not that I was some dorky quiet kid uninvolved in extracurricular activities, but that I had a sister five years younger and it was my duty, in fact my very calling, to entertain her. So we played Barbies.
I got my first Barbie at age 5. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was Christmas. I think I wore some kind of sweats ensemble. My hair existed in it's own untamable way--so huge it had a separate pillow at night. A separate placemat at the dinner table. The word "poodle" comes to mind (I often wonder what my momma was thinking when she had me get those perms?). And when I unwrapped my Peaches and Cream Barbie in her peach, flowy ballgown, peach high heels, with satiny hair and purple eyeshadow, all my 5-year old worries ebbed for a moment. And through welled eyes I hugged that doll like I'd never hugged a toy--ever in my life.
Happy Birthday, Barbie!
You can read Barbie's blog here. Why are you surprised that the one girl who has everything also has a blog?
Ken, the stud
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5 comments:
What memories you brought back! I also was the proud owner of the Peaches and Cream Barbie...but I had forgotten all about her. I had this amazing homemade wooden furniture for my Barbies (a gift from my grandparents, I think). Wonder where that's at now?
I walked by the Bloomingdales windows yesterday & instantly thought of you as I saw fabulous 50Barbie and Ken staring out at me. I hope to take some photos while it's up, since it's right next door to the office. :)
Love ya lady-
Have a beautiful day!
This very well could be my favorite blog post of yours....:)
My favorite line....your duty, your calling, to entertain me and play with Barbies...HA!!!!
Those are some damn good memories I have of us! I very well intend to carry on the tradition and drench my daughters (I'm hoping this will work out despite the genetics I married into) with barbies galore, not matter what Ryan says. In fact, I credit some of my career aspirations to Safari Barbie. She made it look SO cool.
Oh, and how could I forget???!!!!
BABIE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABIE!!!
Remember that $.01 video????
Mindy, you have impressed me once again! How much fun did you have pulling out your Barbies to take their picture for the blog?!?! =)
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