Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun ... By Marco Tosa
For anyone who loves Barbie and wants to know more, this illustrated biography tells the story of the doll's evolution into an icon of popular culture, beloved and avidly collected by children and adults alike. 
Conceived in 1959 as an "adult" doll to dress for every occasion, Barbie has since become a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. Illustrations reveal her many faces, styles, and incarnations, from the blonde, blue-eyed mainstay to the exotic dolls available around the world. Here too are her most glamorous costumes, and the real-life Hollywood stars-Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Vivien Leigh-and fashion designers-Christian Dior, Calvin Klein, and Bob Mackie-who inspired them. 
Doll expert Marco Tosa presents a wealth of documentation, including a description of how the dolls are made, a family tree, a chart of the dolls' occupations, the dates of issue of each Barbie doll discussed, and photographs of original packaging. There is also a section on the forthcoming, more anatomically correct Barbie doll.  |
| Linda (of course not!) |
OUR REVIEW
| I received this absolutely beautiful Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun by Marco Tosa from my girls at Christmas. I am a Barbie collector and found this book fascinating. It gives the history of the creation of the Barbie doll, as well as the transformation she has had over the years. Did you know that in 1945 the birth of the toy company named "Mattel," stands for "Matt" for Mattson and "El" for Elliot, old friends who worked together in a garage converted into a small creative studio. Not only does it contain amazing pictures, the history behind Barbie will rock your socks off! | ||
Here are a few from my own collections:
Amazon Review
4 comments:
I am not a big fan of Barbie myself but my little girls (3 and 4 years) love them.
The iconic Barbie has been around for so long and have influenced so many generations of little girls. The history of how Mattel got started and how the doll has changed over time is something I would find interesting.
I remember when I was little, my parents couldn't afford the "real" Barbie, so I just got the knock off ones, which was ok with me.(didn't have any peer pressure back then)
It was a bit surprising to find out how she began and what she evolved into and still, the controversy goes on. I never thought about her body image and wanting to be like her so my views are more like...oooh, look at those cool outfits.
In fact, when my girls where little that's how I made Christmas money...sewing Barbie clothes and hosting little parties like the Tuperware parties. It was a big help to us. Then I moved onto Cabbage Patch Kids... sewing outfits.
Needless to say, my girls had the most creative fashion outfits around!
Barbie the world of little girl.Nice post .
Lol, I never had a Barbie when I was a kid.
That's creative of you to sew clothes! It's amazing how we adjust and open up new options for ourselves.
I grew up playing outside with other kids as a result of not having many toys. Lots of exercise and fresh air!
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