Barbie. You might have played with her as a child. You may rail against her as an adult for giving girls unrealistic ideals of feminine beauty. You might not think of her at all. That’s okay. Me? I collect them. Not for a long time; I don’t have an original Barbie or even an original Western Barbie with winking action. I’ve been collecting for about a dozen years. I’ll get a few new ones when interesting new ones come out. And I make fun of ones I think are ridiculous. Like this.
My collection started when a friend of mine got the Princess of India Barbie. Wow, I thought, that’s a pretty cool doll. So I got my own doll, and then most of the rest on the series as they came out. I tend towards the ones with an historical bent—medieval lady, renaissance queen, Barbie & Ken as Romeo & Juliet—partly because I love history and partly to make fun of the costumes. Seriously. It’s probably not healthy.
I’ve augmented the historical collection with some other cool ones over the years. Barbie as Batgirl or Supergirl? Cool! A limited edition My Scene Barbie that was related to Project Runway Season 2 (the best season!)? Yes, please! And a Heidi Klum Barbie? Perfect! Barbie for President? Add that to the wall. I keep them all NRFB, partly so I’m not an adult playing with dolls and partly for that all-valuable resale value.
My favorite one, however, might actually be my Posh Spice doll. I don’t think she’s actually made by Mattel and she is totally RFB. She has awesome shoes, Posh’s trademark blank stare and even a little Posh Spice doll of her own (NRFB, of course!). Meta.
Ikea used to sell these shallow shelves which were unstained that are perfect for displaying Barbies. I bought a bunch of them, stained them with their Antique Satin stain to match my office. Sadly, the Swedish giant has discontinued this product so now I find myself wondering about curtailing the collection. Well, sort of. I know I’m going to buy them, I just agonize over it for a while longer. Do I really need the Grace Kelly bride AND the Rear Window Grace Kelly Barbie AND Cyndi Lauper AND Debbie Harry? Is this really a question?
With Sprinkles on Top 