I’ve created an account for my youtube channel in the last weeks to enlarge my circle of viewers and followers. I hope you like the idea that you can reach me better and see more of my videos elsewhere than on youtube.
Happy watching!!!
Let’s celebrate 22 years of Barbie collecting!
Sometimes the time goes by really fast. That’s how it feels when I look back. I really started 22 years ago with Collecting Collector Barbie as she was called in the last 10 years. When I started in late 1996 the whole collector thing was known as Barbie Collectibles. I still have some advertising and catalouges from back then. All of them were made very high-quality. I guess the input to produce the whole thing was very expensive and very time consuming back then. Not to forget to mention that it was a very expensive hobby since single dolls were very expensive and at first I had to convince my parents to drive with me to special toy stores where they were sold. You were never sure what to find. It was not like ordering online. It was still unknown to most people. I got my first book online ordered in 2003. Man, that was a thing… and the delivery time for English books to Germany was 4 weeks from amazon.
In the last decades I got to know many Barbie collectors. Some collected only for a short while. Other are long time collectors like me. What we all have in common is a topic to talk about. Although it became easier to order the dolls online you often still need the help of other collectors because there’s always you want and can’t buy immediately.
Ken prototype heads you don’t see often
Sometimes pics appear from Barbie prototypes. Last week I got to see some Ken prototype heads. I asked Patrick McGovern for the permission to show them. I think it’s a Mod Hair Ken prototype but I’m not 100% sure.
Anyway, enjoy the pics.
I must say I really like these prototypes. I think they had sold well. I’m not 100% but I think the first blond rerooted Ken came in the 90s or as a Fashionista Ken recently. I’m not so good informed about Fashionistas because I don’t collect them.
The only 7 Barbie resources you will ever need
When you’re looking for suitable books I can recommend you these books:
-
The Collectible Barbie Doll: An Illustrated Guide to Her Dreamy World, by
-
Barbie Doll Around the World 1964-2007: Identification & Values by Michael Augustyniak (2007)
-
The Ultimate Barbie Doll Book by Marcie Mellilo (1996)
-
Barbie Fashion Vol. I – III by Sarah Sink Eames (1990)
-
Skipper Barbie doll’s little sister, second edition by Cottingham, Arend and Hemingway (2011)
- The story of Barbie by Kitturah Westenhouser (1994)
- It’s All About the Accessories for the World?s Most Fashionable Dolls 1959-1972 by Hillary Shilkitus James (2017)
And when you’re looking online for information:
- e-book: Barbie® Talks!: An Unauthorized Exposé of the First Talking Barbie® Doll: An Expose’ of the First Talking Barbie Doll. The Humorous and Poignant Adventures of Two Former Mattel Toy Designers (2001)
- https://barbieinthehouse.com/2017 (for Vintage and MOD Barbie dolls)
- http://papusilemele.com/en/ (when you search for information about the latest Barbie collector dolls)
- http://www.sewingandpattern.com/all-barbie-patterns/ ( Source for free patterns)
- https://plus.google.com/photos/115834299775567346266/albums/5279686365593771025 ( free sewing patterns)
- https://www.dollreference.com/barbie_vintage_fashions1959-1963.html ( Page for Vintage Barbie dolls and clothes)
- http://www.fashionave.info/ (Page with all Fashion Avenue fashions from 1990s – 2000s)
13 insane (but true) things about Barbies from 1966
As a collector you often learn this:
- a person without any knowledge about Barbie dolls offer you a Barbie from 1966
- inside your brain ( as a collector) “Great, another fool” pops up
- Why?
- Well, the 1966 mark on the back does not describe anything but the year of the patenting
- The patent was used for more than 40 years and
- there are very much Barbie dolls with the 1966 on their butt or back
- how can you see if it’s really an old doll or just one from the year 2000 or later?
- Early Barbie dolls have the mark on their butt
- Later ones from the 1970s until 2000 have them on their lower back
- Another important hint is the form of the face
- Early dolls have this face
(this one is from 1964) - the dolls have painted fingernails and toenails (sometimes the colour has changed to a light peachy tone)
- the colour has changed like the one you see in the pic with my 1964 Barbie
- the you can twist and turn the waist but early ones are at an angle (I’m going to show this in a later article)
- they have real eyelashes
Print Aplenty Barbie doll dress
Do you know the feeling when you got a piece that you have been looking for an eternity?It’s a very good feeling. That’s what I feel at the moment like. Last weekend I found it unexpectedly and I won the auction. The postal service managed to ruin the envelope but nonetheless the dress arrived here safe and sound. I like it because it’s a nice piece of history. I have the green version dress although there is a black version of the dress too. Maybe that’s my next goal.
Finally a Japan body
Several years ago I got in different lots a Twist n Turn Japan body (from 1967) and in another one the right head. I restored the doll down to her waist but the legs of the body had bite marks and the joint was coming out of the knee. In the last weeks I was lucky enough to find the right body with good legs. So in the next weeks I can finally finish a repair project that lasted several years. It’s good to know that my search has come to an end.
I will tape how to clean the MOD Barbie and how to do the rest that two dolls become one.
Francie, the cousin of Barbie
Today I’m going to present you Francie. She’s the first and only cousin of Barbie. She was released in 1965 and was produced for approx. 10 years. She disappeared around 1975. When she was available she was popular among young girls. At first she was only available as Straight Leg doll (without knee joints) but in 1967 a Bend Leg version was available too. Francie has a different body than Barbie and she is smaller. She was originally called Francine Fairchild but she was sold under the name of “Francie” and was thought to be a 14 year old.
The Francie dolls are popular among the collectors too. She was available in a wide variety of dolls like the two one I have in my collections. The “No Bangs” Francie is the most expensive doll. She has no bangs and giant hair do. I don’t have one yet in my collection but I really like her. She so late 1960s – stylish. Her wardrobe is very beautiful. Exiting outfits from the Mod-era (Mod-era 1966 – 1975) contribute to her popularity. The Growing Hair Francie was the only mechanism Francie doll. I was glad to get one last week.
Differences in the Movie Date dress (Mattel) and Cream Puff dress (Fab Lu), a good copy of the Movie Date
Last week I found a Vintage Movie Date dress. 
It might not sound very special but here’s the story why I write about the dress. In summer 2017 I got a Vintage dress (Barbie Vintage era 1959 – 1966). I thought I had bought the Movie Date dress but in reality I hadn’t. I needed several months to find out that my dress without any label was made by Fab Lu. It got the name Cream Puff. The design of the Cream Puff is very similar to the Movie Date. The only difference is in the processing of the seams, the wideness of the stripes and the colour of the stripes.
Cream Puff looks like this…
and here you can see the difference of the seams… the Fab Lu seam is normal, not special but in comparison to this seam the Movie Date seam is very different but very Mattel-like. I have seen the Mattel seams in very different outfits but all in the same way done.
At first sight and without both dresses it’s very hard to see the difference. That was my problem too. I hope I can help you with my information.
Let’s dance … a new dress
Last year I wanted to buy a Let’s dance Vintage Barbie dress but most of the sellers refused to ship to Europe. So what kind of idea came into my mind? If I can’t buy one, why not do my own copy? I found a seller who recreated the pattern and bought it.
Two weeks ago I was able to start my work and within a few days I had my own version. It’s very similar in comparison to the real Let’s dance Vintage dress. Here are some pics of my version…
Finally I found the real Let’s Dance. Another collector from Europe had one left over.
