Re-meeting my old Barbies (and honorary Barbies)
Today my parents dropped a box of my old Barbies, and associated dolls and paraphernalia, off at my house! I was DELIGHTED, because I never expected to see any of them again!
They, their Barbie Travelin’ House Playset, and all their various accessories are in, ur… relatively good condition? Let me introduce you to them!
Secret Hearts Barbie aka Wendy
My very first Barbie! She came with a little pink ice-cube-maker thingy that you could press against her dress to make hearts appear. She’s meant to look like this but alas, I guess I played with her too much. Her dress and hair are in an absolute state and she’s lost her little necklace.
I called her Wendy, probably because of the character from Peter Pan? Here’s a picture of a very sick me and Wendy sometime in the early 90s.
I, ur, I might have thrown up on her shortly after this photo was taken.
Sun Jewel Ken
My one and only Ken. I guess his job was just “beach”… no wait, his actual job was being the damsel in distress for the Barbies to rescue.
He came with some STUNNING bejeweled shorts but they’re looking a little the worse for wear now.
Rummaging through the bag of clothes, I found this tracksuit which was clearly made for him, but I can’t find anything online to confirm that. Oh well. Fun fact: My PE teacher in middle school had I think almost this exact same tracksuit.
Anonymous Barbie #1 aka Rose
I called this Barbie Rose because she had a rose in her hair. But I’ve never been able to find out what kind of Barbie she actually was! Googling variations on “barbie flower in hair” and “90s barbie pink dress” got me nothing. Love her look though.
Jewel Hair Mermaid Barbie aka Diamond
Okay, Diamond here was my favourite EVER Barbie. I think I saved up to buy her from the local Woolworths, having fallen in love with her in her box on the shelf, and she was totally worth it.
Here’s what she looks like new. But now… I think one of her hair jewels is still stuck in that tremendous mess of hair. And somewhere between the last time I played with her and the day she finally came out of the attic, she lost the fin part of her “tail” so she’s no longer a mermaid. There’s something rather poetic about that.
Honorary Barbie: Linda
Linda here wasn’t a Barbie, there’s a marking on her back that looks I think like a rabbit(?) and under that there’s a MADE IN CHINA label. But she looks pretty close to a Barbie and I remember caring a lot about her, because my mum gave her to me as a present in a cake for one of my birthdays. Sadly I have no photos of this but basically you built the cake part as the doll’s dress and then stuck the doll in the top, presumably with the legs wrapped in plastic or something? Does anyone know what I’m on about? I think my mum got the idea from a Jane Asher cookbook maybe?
Honorary Barbies/Kens: Esmeralda and Phoebus
These weren’t in the Barbie brand, they were all Disney. It’s odd to think of there being a ton of merchandise for The Hunchback of Notre Dame considering Disney has tried very hard to bury it over the years but yep, you could get Esmeralda and Phoebus as dolls from your local Disney store if you so wished.
Esmeralda was the main attraction here because she had TWO DRESSES. I don’t think her skin colour is quite right though.
Sparkle Beach Barbie
I was shocked to see this gal because I only remembered having three “official” Barbies. But after some research I learned this is Sparkle Beach Barbie, and I have NO childhood memories of her whatsoever. I’m so sorry, Sparkle Beach Barbie. Her bikini is indeed very sparkly up close however.
When she came out of the bag she was wearing one of the dresses Esmeralda came with, so I must have played with them both together at some point but I can’t remember what name I gave her! If any! Oh my gosh this is too sad, someone suggest a name for her in the comments or something.
Anonymous Barbie #2
Another sad story of a forgotten Barbie! I’m not sure what name this bedraggled Barbie went under either and nor can I find out what she was marketed as. Look at what a hot mess she is.
She came out of the bag of old Barbies looking like this because I guess the last time I ever put an outfit on her, I was too young to know breasts were supposed to be covered up. (Hey, maybe I should call this one “Eve” or “Eden.”)
Honorary Barbie: Pizzazz from Jem and the Holograms
I knew when I got this doll that she wasn’t a Barbie but I loved her anyway because she was a present from my grandparents. She didn’t have a box so I was never sure what she was, but today I googled around and found out she was Pizzazz from Jem and the Holograms!
But all the Pizazz dolls I’ve seen online have long green hair, not short, so did someone cut this doll’s hair before it ended up with me? Maybe! I don’t think that’s the dress she was meant to come with, either, it’s probably a Barbie one.
The Barbie Travelin’ House Playset
Once upon a time this thing was pink and now it’s faded to an actually quite nice shade of orange. But check out the inside!
Maybe I’ll show this off in more detail one day on YouTube or something? It was extremely cool. All those little buttons popped something up and all the drawers opened and the bed opened up to reveal a bath! Fantastic playset in every way. God I hope it didn’t set my parents back too much.
Assorted Other Barbie Stuff
The little doll on the left here was a Happy Meal toy, I don’t know what Barbie she’s based on though. I think the purple hat and suitcase might have come with the Travelin’ House. The other accessories and the little yellow animal (if it’s meant to be a dog it’s like no dog I’ve ever seen) I have no idea about! Oh wait, I know what the sword is, that came with the Phoebus doll.
I think some of the clothes were actually made by my mum who was very good at sewing. The frilly white one probably wasn’t though, I’m sure that came with a Barbie, but which of these was its owner? Alas we may never know. It’s by far the most battered of anything in the bag of toys, its straps are ripped and it has a massive red stain on it. (Probably not blood, don’t worry.)
The red dress on the right is the one Barbie is wearing in this old picture of me:
And with that photo I’ll conclude my Barbinvestigations. Now that I have them back I reckon I might try cleaning them up and giving them a new lease on life. :)