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SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | MAY 2020 9 By Theresa Berg, Resident The first Barbie, a ponytail doll, originated in 1959. I received my first Mattel Barbie doll, the blonde bubble cut, in 1964 when I was 10 years old. My girlfriend, who lived across the street, had the same one so that's the one I wanted. My parents weren't thrilled about purchasing a Barbie doll for me as she was expensive ($3) and a little too curvaceous. I begged and pleaded and finally scored my Barbie. Barbie was the first doll marketed as a Teenage Fashion Mode, with all these beautiful clothes. The outfits were advertised on television and showcased in the little booklets that came with the dolls. These outfits cost money, more than my parents were willing to spend, so my mother sewed clothes and my grandmother crocheted a whole trousseau. I didn't appreciate those handmade outfits at the time because I really coveted the Mattel clothing. The next doll I wheedled out of my parents was Midge (with the brunette flip), Barbie's best friend, in 1965. She wasn't as attractive as Barbie and was supposedly created to counteract the criticism that Barbie was too much of a sex symbol for young impressionable girls, although they had the same body. Later that year, I acquired Skipper (with red hair), Barbie's little sister. She had her own cute wardrobe that coordinated with Barbie's fashions. My girlfriend and I played many hours with our dolls together. Not too long after I received my Skipper, my girlfriend's dog Fritz chewed off her Skipper's head! This was very traumatic, and my friend refused to play with any of her Barbie dolls ever again. That signaled the end of playing with Barbie. Barbie and her friends were relegated to their doll case not to be seen again for almost 30 years. Fast forward to the early 1990s. While visiting my parents in Portland, I rediscovered my dolls and took them home to Seattle. Shortly after, I noticed an ad in the newspaper for a Barbie doll show. I attended with the idea to sell the dolls. Once at the show and seeing all the "vintage" outfits just like in my little booklets, the idea of selling my dolls was out of the question. I wanted to purchase these outfits and give Barbie and friends new wardrobes! I did just that for the next several years, going to the twice yearly shows and purchasing vintage outfits. Barbie and friends were now the best dressed dolls around. Of course, outfits that originally cost $1.50 and $2.50 were now $30 to $100. Then along came personal computers, the "worldwide web" and eBay. I was now able to get 'near mint' complete outfits at the press of a button… and a considerable depletion of my bank account! I have collected about 50 vintage outfits but stopped serious collecting in the early 2000s. What A Doll!

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