Sunday, March 1, 2009
The Birmingham News
LIFESTYLE
INSTYLE
Tell us your
Barbie
memories
Are you a big-time Barbie
fan? Or do you have a special memory of Barbies from
back in the day? Let us know,
and we just might include
your tale in an upcoming
Barbie memories story.
Please e-mail your info, including a contact phone
number (along with a highresolution photo of you and
your Barbies, if possible) to
Kathy Seale at kseale@
bhamnews.com by Wednesday.
FASHION & BEAUTY CALENDAR
FASHION AMBUSH
cessory? “My engagement
ring.”
y What is the most important part of an outfit? “I
would say confidence, just
feeling confident and relaxed
in what you’re wearing.”
y Are there any celebrities
whose style you admire? “I
like Michelle Obama. She’s
very classic but fashion forward.”
y Where do you find ideas
for outfits? “I get a lot of my
ideas from friends and from
just playing around in my
closet, mixing and matching.”
y When you shop, what do
you usually look for? “I shop
sales a lot. I rarely pay full
price for anything. I don’t
think you should have to.”
y What do you think of the
way younger people dress today? “I think a lot of them
look very nice, but I would encourage them to stay with
classics.”
Megan Lawrence
y The estimated selling
price of the original 1959 Barbie doll, in mint condition, is
$27,450.
y Barbie’s real name is Barbie Millicent Roberts. She is
from Willows, Wis., and attended Willows High School.
y Barbie is 11.5 inches tall
and weighs 7.25 ounces.
y Barbie’s boyfriend, Ken
(named after the son of Mattel founders Ruth and Elliot
Handler), was introduced in
1961. Barbie broke up with
Ken on Valentine’s Day, 2004.
y Barbie has four sisters:
Skipper (1964), Stacie (1992),
Kelly (1995) and Krissy (1995).
y Barbie’s first pet was a
horse named Dancer. She’s
had 50 pets, including dogs,
horses, ponies, cats, a parrot,
a chimpanzee, a panda, a lion
club, a giraffe and a zebra.
y Midge has been Barbie’s
best friend since 1963.
y Miss Barbie, 1964, featured “sleep eyes” that
opened and closed. For the
first time, Barbie had bendable legs, too.
y An estimated one billion
fashions have been produced
for Barbie and her friends.
y It takes more than 100
people, from designers to
makeup artists and cosmetologists and couturiers, to create one Barbie outfit and
look.
y The best-selling Barbie
doll ever was 1992 Totally
Hair Barbie, with ankle-length
hair.
y Barbie has had more
than 108 careers, and represented 50 nationalities.
y Ninety percent of U.S.
girls ages 3 to 10 own at least
one Barbie doll.
y Barbie is the No. 1 doll
property in the U.S., and the
No. 1 worldwide property in
the traditional toy industry.
Source: www.barbiemedia.com.
BEAUTY WEEK
SUN - SAT. Saks Fifth Avenue, 129
Summit Blvd., Birmingham. Choice
of 3 Hot House Bags and 7 products
with $75 purchase. 298-8550.
NEWS STAFF.EMMA TANNENBAUM
BILTMORE ESTATE FESTIVAL
OF FLOWERS EVENT
TUE - 3/8, 3/9 - 14. Belk at The
Summit, 221 Summit Blvd., Birmingham. Purchase $200 or more of Biltmore For Your Home merchandise
at Belk and receive 2 ticket vouchers
to enjoy Biltmore’s gardens of delight April 4–May 17 during the Festival of Flowers. This offer is also
available at Belk at the Riverchase
Galleria and Colonial Brookwood
Village. 986-4200.
FREDERIK FEKKAI EVENT
WED. Saks Fifth Avenue, 129 Summit
Blvd., Birmingham. Meet Dakota
Tucker and learn the latest in hair
treatment tips and hair problem solutions. 298-8550.
AMELIA TORO TRUNK SHOW
THU - FRI 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Betsy
Prince, 608 Brookwood Village,
Homewood. European, feminine
mesh dresses and separates.
871-1965.
GUERLAIN FACIAL EVENT
THU. Saks Fifth Avenue, 129 Summit
Blvd., Birmingham. Call Julie or
Sandra at 298-8550 ext. 264 to make
an appointment.
HART SCHAFFNER MARX
TRUNK SHOW
THU 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saks Fifth Avenue, 129 Summit Blvd., Birmingham.
Made-to-Measure personal fitting
event for men’s suits. 298-8550.
MARISA BARATELLI EVENT
THU - SAT. Village Sportswear, 2421
Montevallo Road, Birmingham.
Mother of the bride, groom and
wedding guest clothing. 879-5748.
sethadams@charter.net
PETER COHEN TRUNK SHOW
THU - FRI 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Betsy
Prince, 608 Brookwood Village,
Homewood. Peter Cohen’s spring collection of silks and linens. 871-1965.
CREME DE LA MER
SKINCARE EXPERIENCE
FRI. Saks Fifth Avenue, 129 Summit
Blvd., Birmingham. Call Susan at
298-8550 ext. 258 to make an appointment.
DR. BRENDA EDMONSON
SAT. Saks Fifth Avenue, 129 Summit
Blvd., Birmingham. Dr. Edmonson, a
dermatologist, will discuss the latest
medical technology regarding skincare
at the Laura Mercier counter. Call
Chris for details at 298-8550 ext. 269.
TRISH MCEVOY FACIAL EVENT
SAT. Saks Fifth Avenue, 129 Summit
Blvd., Birmingham. Call Kim, Kimmie or
Sandra at 298-8550 ext. 258 to make
an appointment.
PORTS 1961 SPRING 2009
TRUNK SHOW
3/11. Gus Mayer, 604 Colonial Brookwood Village, Homewood. Designer
collection of dresses and separates.
870-3300.
WANT IT
3/12 - 4/1. Saks Fifth Avenue, 129 Summit Blvd., Birmingham. Fashion trends
for spring. 298-8550.
FIT FOR THE CURE
3/13 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Macy’s at Colonial
Brookwood Village, 614 Brookwood
Village, Birmingham. Wacoal will host a
complimentary bra fitting event to
raise money for breast cancer research. Wacoal will also donate an additional $2 for every Wacoal bra,
shapewear piece or b.tempt’d bra purchased at this event. 868-2600.
LAURA MERCIER
FACE TO FACE EVENT
3/13 - 14. Belk at The Summit, 221 Summit Blvd., Birmingham. Makeup tips
and color consultations. For additional
details or to book your appointment,
visit the Laura Mercier counter.
986-4200.
KEY BARBIE LOOKS THROUGH THE YEARS
Hispanic
Barbie,
1980.
Malibu
Barbie and
Ken, 1970s.
Working
Woman,
1999.
AfricanAmerican
Barbie,
1980.
Think you know
all things Barbie?
Check this out
y Mattel introduced Barbie, the Teen-Age Fashion
Model, at the annual Toy Fair
in New York on March 9,
1959. The first Barbie doll sold
for $3, and 300,000 were sold
the first year.
5E
News and trends in today’s fashion
‘I rarely pay full price for anything.’
y Who: Liesl Ward, 39, of Birmingham. She is the Communications Division chair for
Jefferson State Community
College’s Shelby campus.
Ward is engaged to John Harris and lives in Highlands
Park.
y Caught: At Jefferson State
Community College’s Shelby
campus.
y Wearing: A black corded Joseph A. sweater, plaid pencil
skirt by Ralph Lauren, boots
by BCB Girl, leather bag by
Sequoia from Belk and diamond engagement ring from
Levy’s.
y Where do you like to shop?
Why? “I like to shop at Belk
and Macy’s. I also like consignment shops and speciality
shops. They have one of a
kind pieces and I can always
save money.”
y How would you describe
your style? “I wear a lot of
classic pieces, but I also mix
and match. I like to wear neutrals with a splash of color.”
y What is your favorite season to dress for? “Fall. I just
like the fabrics and the colors.”
y Do you have any fashion
pet peeves? “I really love my
students, but I hate it when
my students wear their pajamas to class.”
y Do you have a favorite ac-
j
Bob
Mackie
Barbie,
2004.
MATTEL
BARBIE:
bie’s height (5-foot, 9-inches,
if she were flesh instead of
plastic). Perhaps the bigger
faux pas was the accompanying book, “How to Lose
Weight,” which directed readers toward a successful eating
disorder: “Don’t eat.”
Then there was the infamous Teen Talk Barbie, whose
phrases included “Math class
is hard!” ’Nuff said.
But let’s not hate Barbie because she’s beautiful, in a notfound-in-nature kind of way.
Original based
on German doll
From Page 1E
enough to support her lofty
frame?
M.G. Lord, author of “Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real
Doll,” says, why, no, Barbie
would not be the doll decades
of young girls know and love if
she were anything other than
a caricature.
Lord, a teacher in the master’s writing program at the
University of Southern California and a former political
cartoonist for Newsday, hypothesizes that Barbie’s inyour-face, caricatured features
and proportions are the very
reason she propelled to superstardom in the first place. Exhibit A: The more recent “kids
can’t get enough of them, but
parents hate them” Bratz
dolls.
Mattel began tampering
with Barbie’s va-va-voom figure in the ’90s, Lord says, and
her popularity has waned.
(Coincidence? Lord thinks
not. Albeit, she says, Barbie
remains a multi-billion dollar
industry.)
Ruth Handler, cofounder of
Mattel Creations, created Barbie in 1959. She was inspired,
according to company info, by
watching her daughter, Barbara, and her friends play with
paper dolls, which they used
to play adult or teenage makebelieve. She recognized a
product void, and filled that
niche with a three-dimensional fashion doll.
The first Barbie featured
highly-arched eyebrows and
pursed red lips. In the ’60s,
she sported softer makeup
and a less distinct arch on her
brows. In 1967, she exhibited
a “new, younger looking face
sculpt.”
In 1971, Malibu Barbie debuted with an open smile and
a smokin’ tan. Her eyes were
adjusted so they look forward
rather than the original Barbie’s “demure sideways
glance,” according to Mattel
info. Lord suggests there was
MATTEL
Barbie stylists create new hairdos on doll heads.
nothing demure about that
glance.
The original model for Barbie, she says, was based on a
German doll named Lilli. Lilli
evolved from an adult cartoon
character, and was a young
woman of questionable character, Lord says. Lest you
think she’s throwing Barbie
under a pink plastic bus,
though, hear this:
“I actually position Barbie
as the first feminist,” Lord
says.
Baby dolls allowed little
girls to express their nurturing
behavior, she says. Barbie and
her friends allowed them to
imagine their future selves, as
friends, girlfriends or wives, in
varied careers such as fashion
designer, astronaut, veterinarian, professional basketball
player, even presidential nominee.
Barbie’s finer moments include her forays into philanthropy, including her stints as
a volunteer “candy striper”
and a UNICEF ambassador.
She was a member of the
Armed Forces, too (with a
Pentagon-approved uniform),
and tiptoed into the green
movement with the Barbie
BCause limited edition accessories collection, made from
repurposed excess fabric and
trimmings from Barbie fashions.
Barbie celebrates diversity
as well. She’s had friends with
wheelchairs and eyeglasses.
Her first African-American
friend, Christie, appeared in
1968, and the first AfricanAmerican Barbie debuted in
1980. Hispanic Barbie debuted
that year, too, but she was
something of a misstep, Lord
says, because of her stereotypical Latina clothing.
“It was an outrage,” Lord
says.
There were other politicallyincorrect hiccups along the
way. In 1965, Mattel introduced Slumber Party Barbie,
complete with a toy scale
which read 110 pounds —
roughly 35 pounds underweight for a woman of Bar-
Or because she’s not as perfect as her blemish-free skin
might indicate. Let’s celebrate
this landmark birthday by
helping her blow out those 50
candles (which would be
tough for her to do alone, seeing as her lung capacity is
probably compromised by a
small torso).
She is, after all, just a doll.
“I don’t think Barbie’s a bad
thing or a good thing — just a
phenomenon of our time,”
Lord says.