Nice Christmas presents

Although I didn’t expect to find any special Barbie doll for X-mas I was surprised by a nice seller who had a good offer. So I was able to enlarge my Barbie made for the Philippine market collection this Christmas. I had to wait long years to find any Barbie doll from there in general and suddenly it seems that some collectors sell a part of their collection from this very special country. I recently saw a report about a hospital and the poverty there. So I’m surprised that there were sold so many special Barbie dolls only for the market there. In a way that’s strange somehow. As far as I know Spainish is the offical language. Their indepence was celebrated in 1898 and for their 100th independence anniversary  were Barbie dolls available. I got one of them for X-mas.

Centennial Barbie
Centennial Barbie
Tradisyong Barbie
Tradisyong Barbie
Tradisyong Barbie
Tradisyong Barbie

Unexpected ways to meet Tropical Barbie

Do you know Tropical Barbie with the vibrant swimsuit from 1985? Yes, that’s right. She is already 33 years old but she’s not alone. She has many sisters worldwide and I don’t want to talk from the US version. She has a sister in Spain, one in Peru and one in Venezuela. Maybe there are even more versions I never heard of. I have four versions. Two versions made for the US, one from Spain and one from Peru. I haven’t found a version from Venezuela but there are pics online.

Anyway today I want to share my versions of the dolls with you. The Spanish one came in May into my collection although she is hard to find. One of the US versions came recently. My first version came several years ago but her hair is very thin. The versions from Malaysia and the Phillipines are the same but the make up is different. The blue is different and the amount of make up used for the dolls.

Different versions of the Tropical Barbie
Different versions of the Tropical Barbie
Different versions of Tropical Barbie

Totally Hair Barbie around the world

Have you ever asked yourself if the Totally Hair Barbie had the same make up in every production place around the world? If your answer is no, then you are right. There are many different make ups depending on the production place. Here are some of them as examples.

African American version of the Totally Hair Barbie
Steffi head mold
Ultra Hair Whitney, a friend of Barbie
Totally Hair Brunette version ( only sold in the USA and Venezuela)
Ultra Hair blonde version
Totally Hair Barbie/ Ultra Hair Barbie

Thanks to Christian Felipe Silva for the permission to use his pics.

Finally complete

In the last weeks I had the chance to complete my  1977  Superstar Barbie doll. She came with her dress, earrings and her ring.  Back then when she was released with a dress, a boa, a pair of  pink Superstar shoes, earrings, a necklace and a ring.

Here are some pictures of the now completed outfit:

First new Barbie doll in 2015

The first new Barbie doll in my collection has arrived. It’s a Barbie from one of my favorite decade, the 1990s. It’ the Barbie at Bloomingdale’s from 1996. It may be a simple Barbie doll but what makes her interesting to me is that she was not available in Germany. Furthermore it is interesting that she was only available at Bloomingdale’s, one of the biggest department stores in the US in times before the internet was wide spread.

BB2

Barbie at Bloomingdale's

Christmas time is when wishes come true

I had a lot to do in the last weeks and I haven’t bought very much new Barbie dolls. I recently found this one and I thought she would fit perfectly in my collection. I always wanted her but in the last year she was hard to find here in good old Europe. Anyway I thought she would be the perfect X-mas present for myself. And here she comes … my Grand Premiere Barbie doll.

GPB1

GPB2

She was the first Barbie doll released for the Official Barbie Collectors Club back in 1996. I like the late Superstar Era very much since all my childhood dolls were released in the 1990s. In my opinion this face is one of the most beautiful faces that I have ever seen. It’s no question that it’s my own personal taste. I like simple dresses when the pattern is good.

Fashion Avenue dress

Fashion

Today I gonna open my treasure chest again because I have received a new fashion that I would like to show you.  The fashion is from 1996.  The item number is Asst. 14307.  It is a party dress for the evening with a lot of glamour. The dress is made of a bell-bottomed black skirt with valance and a silver sparkling strapless top.  Accompanied by a pink bolero and a pink purse reflects this outfit the taste of the mid 1990s.

Time for Skiing Vacation

I know it’s still Advent season but I like to introduce you today the only set I bought in the last months. It’s called Skiing Vacation Set and it’s from the year 2000. I’m not sure whether it was available in Europe or not. It contains Barbie, Stacie and Kelly,  Ski equipage for each sister and a ski lift.  The box is very big in comparision to other boxes.

Barbie wears a floral jacket, pink leggings and pink ski boots while Kelly wears an outfit almost completely in blue. Stacie, here in this set with a new face, comes with a mulit-coloured  pullover light pink tones and a light pink leggings. I hope they are not freezing but a leggings is not the most suitable kind of cloth you should wear in winter.

Skiing Vacation group picture

Skiing Vacation Barbie

Skiing Vacation Kelly and Stacie

Ski Fun Time

I know I haven’t posted anything in the last 2,5 month. I have been very busy. Now that I have time again I would like to show you my little Ski Fun collection. I got the Barbie and the horse in 1991. Unfortunately most of the barettes got lost and I had to search and search and search to get new ones. I was so happy when I got them back. In summer I also found the dog Snowball, that I always wanted but never found,  and the blanket of the carriage. Maybe I can find the rest of the carriage in the future to complete my Ski Fun collection. It’s not the original saddlery that you can see. The original one was pink and I used the one that was delivered with the luxury horse trailer in 1996/1997.  Hope you like the pics.

Ski Fun family members

Ski Fun Barbie, dog Snowball and horse Blizzard

The Totally Hair Barbie family

Today I can proudly present you the complete Totally Hair Barbie family. It consists of Totally Hair Barbie (blonde), Totally Hair Barbie (brunette), Totally Hair Barbie (Afro-American version), Totally Hair Whitney (Steffi Face), Totally Hair Ken and Totally Hair Courtney and Totally Hair Skipper. Totally Hair Courtney and Skipper were only available in the US at Toys r us. Totally Hair Whitney was only available in Europe and Canada and is the most expensive doll of this series. It seems as every collector wanted her. Of course the Afro-American version was not available in Europe. She has a more metallic make up than her sisters with green and yellow instead of blue and lilac eyeshadow. I really like the idea.

After several years of searching I have now the whole family and I’m really happy that I own them. I had the Totally Hair Barbie when I was a child and she was the Barbie that I had to wait for her three whole weeks. The demand for her was big when I was little. I was so happy that I found out the American name of the doll since she was called here in Europe “Ultra Hair Barbie” and I learned that I had the luck that the demand was not as high as it is at the moment. It’s a real good feeling that I have the whole family and that I have the blonde version nrfb now. Unfortunately the of  my doll was after serveral years not as thick as it has been at the begin and the plastic of the nrfb doll has become yellow in the meantime. I always felt a little worried about the fact although I was not the one who played with the dolls every day. I more often used them as models and only redressed them.

The complete Totally Hair family

Totally Hair Ken

Totally Hair Ken

Totally Hair Barbie (blonde)

Totally Hair Barbie (blonde) Close-up

Totally Hair Barbie (brunette)

Totally Hair Barbie (brunette)

Totally Hair Barbie (brunette) Close-up

Totally Hair Whitney ( available in Europe and Canada only) Close-up

Totally Hair Whitney (she has the Steffi-Face). Notice the old Barbie style of writing from the 1980s.

Totally Hair Barbie (Afro-American version)

Totally Hair Barbie (Afro-American version). Notice the newer Barbie style of writing.

Totally Hair Skipper (only available in the US) Close-up

Totally Hair Skipper

Totally Hair Courtney (also only available in the US)

Totally Hair Courtney Close-up