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A rare swimsuit from Spain

Some of you know that I like the Congost Barbie dolls from Spain. Last year I got a Tropical Barbie from Spain but she came naked. I had the chance to get it via a Spanish Barbie collector. She arranged it that the swimsuit landed in my collection. I really like the color. It’s very different from the US version but hard to find. What makes the swimsuit different from its US version is the pattern. It’s more yellowish than the normal version while the US version has more black in the fabric. It is as elastic as the sister but it is much rarer and harder to find. You may ask yourself why. I think it is due to a smaller quantiy that was produced in spain. I was told that it is hard to find Spanish Congost Barbie dolls in good condition because the production was done cheaply and many children customized their dolls. That means the children cut the hair. I have also seen dolls with missing hands or legs. I know it’s weird. Dolls in good condition are not so easy to find. I don’t know anything about the prices but maybe they could be the missing link why some of the Spanish Congost dolls and fashions are hard to find in good conditions.

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Spanish Tropical Barbie in original swimsuit



Phillipines
Left and middle pic show the US versions of the swimsuit
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The Insider’s Guide to Takara

Have you heard about Takara yet? Probably not. Do you know that they are Japanese toy makers? Probably not. Why the hell am I asking you so much questions? Well, I like to teach and discover the world. So, if you have no idea what Barbie and Takara have in common, watch my video.

and if you want to know more about the Japanese doll craziness, watch this episode of Japanology.

And here’s a short commercial about Takara from the early 1980s.

 

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Fashion from the 1980s – Haute Couture post 3

This outfit is not new in my collection but I forgot the number of the outfit. So I had a problem to tell you about the outfit. It’s so sad that there are no reliable books from the 1980s with all fashions. Often it’s a coincidence when you find the number.

Today I’m able to present you the right number for the outfit. This outfit has the number 3278. It was released in the Haute Couture collection 1986.

Haute Couture 1986 outfit

Haute Couture fashion 1986

Haute Couture outfit 1986

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Fashion from the 1980s – Haute Couture post 1

Today I have only a pic for you. I thought it might be a good idea to show you some of the 1980s fashions because the documentation is very poor and you have to search for hours. So here’s the start of a new series. This outfit is called #9150. I don’t know which of the two bags originally belongs to the outfit but I assume it’s the one between the outfit. I got it with the two you can see.

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My finished Ooak project

Today I finished my Ooak project. In March I got a Kira/Marina head with a haircut. Somehow she was cute and I decided to restore her. The first step was to remove the hair and give her new hair. I decided for black and pink because I wanted to do a reroot in two colours. I wanted to do a very elegant hair style for her long hair and decided to do the “Arwen”-hairstyle with 9 strands that was not shown in LOTR(Lord of the Rings).  Then she needed a new body. Her body was broken. During her hairstyling I was looking for a new body and by the end of May I finally found one. When she had a new body I was able to restyle her bangs. You need a body when you want a short pony.

When her hairstyle was finally finished I started to repaint the eyebrows. 50% of the colour was gone. So I repainted the brows and had to wait several weeks for stains that appeared in the repainting process. I used a cream to bleach them. They were gone last Thursday.

Yesterday I started the final styling of her bangs and finished it today. Then she got her jewelry, earrings and a ring.

I wanted to make her look like a mixture from 80s and 90s so that she reminded me of my childhood with the giant bangs. Now she’s ready for her great entrance.

two tone Kira head

Close up from the head

My latest piece of art

The hairstyle

The bangs

The ensemble

And this is a pic of the head before I started to work.

The head before ... cut hair and 50% of the eyebrows are missing

The right head also got new hair in the meantime but this will be another Ooak project. I’m still looking for a new body. I’m going to show you more in my next post.

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Twins or no twins? That’s the question!

Recently I got my second Hispanic Barbie (aka Rio Senorita). I wanted to complete my first one. She only came with her dress. I put the new one in my showcase and realized that although it’s the same doll and they were made in the same country the facial painting is completely different. Each of them is beautiful but very different. I already heard it from other collectors but it was hard for me to contribute something to this topic because I only had one. Have a look at my beauties…they are from 1979.Close up from my new Hispanic Barbie. Note the earrings used for Ebony or Black Barbie.

My new Hispanic Barbie

Here is her twin.

you can see the different ribbons used for the dresses.

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Sea Lovin Barbie

Today I open my treasure chest again and present you the Sea Lovin Barbie. She’s a Special Edition since she was only available in Europe. I’m not sure whether she was available in Canada or not.  Mine is almost complete except the two blue stars on her skirt (as you can see she has two blue stars on her skirt but they are not original). I got her from another collector, we changed the dolls. As you can see she comes with a t-shirt in navy style, a white skirt, duffle back and a pair of white shoes. She looks very similar to the Loving You Barbie.

Sea Lovin Barbie

Sea Lovin Barbie (Close up)

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Magic Moves Barbie

Several month ago I had the feeling that I wanted this doll. She’s from the year I was born in, 1985. At the moment I really like the 1980s Barbie dolls. I don’t know why they never before attracted my attention.I love her sky blue outfit. It’s so 1980s like. Anyway, I love this doll. The box says she was produced in Taiwan. I recently learned that there are two versions of the same doll. One has pink lips and the other one used an light orange lipstick with a shade of a colour called “nude” today.

Magic Moves Barbie 1985

Magic Moves Barbie