Is there anyone left on the planet that doesn't know what a Barbie doll is? Barbie dolls are sold nearly worldwide. They have been the subject of numerous books and controversies, plus the star in their own movies. There are even lines of Barbie-inspired cosmetics and clothing, and a new live Barbie stage show for 2006. All this for an 11 1/2 inch plastic vinyl fashion doll.

Barbie is, almost universally, 11.5 inches tall, and she has been this size since her inception. However, there have been Supersize Barbie dolls which are the size of a small child as well. Ken is generally 12 inches tall, and Skipper (Barbie's Little Sister) 10 inches (check!). Barbie has had a few shorter friends and relations as well, including vintage Francie and Casey at 10.5 inches).

Almost all Barbie dolls are made of vinyl with a soft feel to it. However, a few collector Barbie dolls have been made of porcelain, and the collector Silkstone Barbie dolls are made of a hard vinyl with a porcelain feel. Hair on Barbie dolls is generally rooted synthetic fiber.

If Barbie was all frilly, cotton-candy pink when I was 13, I can assure you I wouldn't have wanted to play with her. When I was little, Barbie dolls were more sophisticated. They had real clothes--the clothes were perfect replicas of career outfits (nurses, business people) or glamorous copies of real-life evening and day wear.

The accessories were realistic too, real telephones and realistic food. The clothing and accessories were quality miniatures, and fascinating for older girls. Today, everything in Barbie's world is not only cotton-candy pink, but frilly and sparkly and sweet, and very, very fake plastic. Mattel hasn't made realistic accessories for years, and the clothing tends to be cheaply made and frosted with glitter.

Vintage Barbie is highly collectible, and prices for early vintage Barbie dolls can be hundreds or thousands of dollars. The early clothing is also eagerly collected, and most collectors seek mint and andquot;completeandquot; outfits (a complete outfit has all the pieces as originally released by Mattel-for instance, the Picnic Set outfit to be complete would have to have the top, jeans, cork wedgies, fishing pole with fish (very fragile) and straw hat with flowers and frog attached.

Barbie as Fashion DollSure, Barbie IS a fashion doll, but one way to tame your Barbie doll collection is to consider only collecting the fashion-themed dolls! Fashion-themed dolls include dolls made to represent a designer (Christian Dior Barbie, Nolan Miller Barbie) and dolls made in the traditional, vintage tradition of Barbie with clothing and accessories available separately--the current fave for Barbie fashion fans is the Silkstone collection. Another, now retired fashion collection is the Barbie Millicent Roberts collection from the mid 1990s.

Do Your Own Thing! If you march to your own drummer, you may have your OWN way of collecting Modern Barbie. I've seen some amazing collections based on something simple such as Barbies dressed in Black and White, or Red-haired Barbie dolls. If you are a doll customizer, perhaps you only care about Barbie as a base for your own creations, in which case you'll select your Barbies based on facial features and body type (poseable, not poseable, etc.)

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Article Submitted By: JulieNormski
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