"Real Dancing Action Dee Dee 1986 SKU# 3160" Photo: T N on Flickr by Viktor Zavadsky
Many years later, when I moved into my first apartment in Baltimore, in 1973, I brought along my sister's neglected ash-blonde, bubble-cut Barbie doll, and along with an eclectic assortment of other artifacts, I mounted it on the wall as an "objet d'art". One day, when my sister came to visit, she was livid that I had absconded with her doll, and she snatched it off the wall when she left. That was the last that I ever saw of it. I have no idea whether or not she still has it. Although she had been happy enough to share her dolls with me when we were children, she certainly had no intention of letting keep one of them when I was eighteen, and I must admit, I did not blame her.
By 1979, I was living in Los Angeles, and one night, cruising in Boystown along Santa Monica Boulevard, I noticed a handful of Barbie dolls attired in glamorous gowns displayed in the window of an apartment building. It was magical and I was enchanted. I knew right away that I had to have my own Barbie doll immediately.
So the following day, I went out to buy one. I do not recall where I went in my search; perhaps a toy store or maybe Woolworth's. However, I do remember how horrified I was to behold what a hideous transformation had befallen my cherished childhood Barbie doll. The dolls that I had seen in the apartment house windows in Hollywood were the same ponytails, bubble-cuts, and T&T mods with which I was familiar. I had no idea that Mattel no longer manufactured these dolls, and that the Barbie doll had been modified beyond recognition. The glamour was gone! What was now called a "Barbie doll" was an orange-colored thing with a huge rib cage and arms that were permanently bent at the elbows. Most alarming was the grinning, grimacing, maniacal child's face with enormous, deranged eyes. Years later, I would learn that this ickety face was called, by Mattel, the "superstar" face. I was appalled. Throughout the 1980's, Mattel continued to make ugly blonde Barbie dolls with too much hair. But by the end of the decade, quite by chance, I spotted a winsome black Barbie doll named "Dee Dee". This charming doll became my first as an adult collector.
Many years later, when I moved into my first apartment in Baltimore, in 1973, I brought along my sister's neglected ash-blonde, bubble-cut Barbie doll, and along with an eclectic assortment of other artifacts, I mounted it on the wall as an "objet d'art". One day, when my sister came to visit, she was livid that I had absconded with her doll, and she snatched it off the wall when she left. That was the last that I ever saw of it. I have no idea whether or not she still has it. Although she had been happy enough to share her dolls with me when we were children, she certainly had no intention of letting keep one of them when I was eighteen, and I must admit, I did not blame her.
By 1979, I was living in Los Angeles, and one night, cruising in Boystown along Santa Monica Boulevard, I noticed a handful of Barbie dolls attired in glamorous gowns displayed in the window of an apartment building. It was magical and I was enchanted. I knew right away that I had to have my own Barbie doll immediately.
So the following day, I went out to buy one. I do not recall where I went in my search; perhaps a toy store or maybe Woolworth's. However, I do remember how horrified I was to behold what a hideous transformation had befallen my cherished childhood Barbie doll. The dolls that I had seen in the apartment house windows in Hollywood were the same ponytails, bubble-cuts, and T&T mods with which I was familiar. I had no idea that Mattel no longer manufactured these dolls, and that the Barbie doll had been modified beyond recognition. The glamour was gone! What was now called a "Barbie doll" was an orange-colored thing with a huge rib cage and arms that were permanently bent at the elbows. Most alarming was the grinning, grimacing, maniacal child's face with enormous, deranged eyes. Years later, I would learn that this ickety face was called, by Mattel, the "superstar" face. I was appalled. Throughout the 1980's, Mattel continued to make ugly blonde Barbie dolls with too much hair. But by the end of the decade, quite by chance, I spotted a winsome black Barbie doll named "Dee Dee". This charming doll became my first as an adult collector.
...I spotted a winsome black Barbie doll named "Dee Dee". This charming doll became my first as an adult collector.
Further investigation of the other Barbie dolls made by Mattel at this time led to the discovery of a lovely Asian doll called Kira, Although her eyes were too big, she had lips closed and jet black hair. I added her to my collection. I had missed out on the 1980 black Barbie doll that utilized the "Steffie" face. The doll called "Black Barbie" in the 1980's was to me a disappointment. The face was merely a brown vinyl duplicate of the demented white "superstar" face, but with slightly fuller lips and slightly broader nose, to which black doll collectors referred as "dipped", for reasons obvious. Even though she had jet-black hair, the hair texture was identical to the white doll. "Christie" had been a black friend of Barbie in 1968, with her own identity, ethnically accurate facial features and hair. But that face had disappeared along with the first two Barbie faces. At this point, all these Barbie dolls had the standard arms bent at the elbows, with occasional straight arms which collectors called "flipper" or "PTR" (palms to rear) which were not as elegant as the original Barbie's straight arms.
And then came the 1990's, a veritable "Barbie Renaissance"!
...to be continued...
And then came the 1990's, a veritable "Barbie Renaissance"!
...to be continued...
About the Guest Blogger
Viktor Zavadsky: "I am an aging Baby Boomer, unrepentant old hippie, post-Stonewall survivor of the Sensational Seventies. My dolls are 3-dimensional representations of my obsessions, fantasies, and aspirations unfulfilled. They comprise a miniature theater that I can visit and control whenever I choose, providing essential therapy for a host of maladies."
Viktor Zavadsky: "I am an aging Baby Boomer, unrepentant old hippie, post-Stonewall survivor of the Sensational Seventies. My dolls are 3-dimensional representations of my obsessions, fantasies, and aspirations unfulfilled. They comprise a miniature theater that I can visit and control whenever I choose, providing essential therapy for a host of maladies."
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