Happy birthday to Barbie, who turned 50 today. Talk about a toy with legs! Whether 50 is the new 40 or 50 is the new 30, she sure looks good. And she’s got all kinds of “dream” things — dream bedroom, dream dining room, dream kitchen, dream game room and more, much of it pink, like the dream bathtub (pink clawfoot tub with a pretend flat screen TV). You can see it all on the Mattel site, which sports wallpaper in a violent pink with tiny paired images of her classic slip-on shoes.
Oh, Barbie. Yes, I had her, and a black case with tiny hangers holding her vast wardrobe of snug sheaths, pencil skirts and evening gowns, both store bought and lovingly sewn by my talented mother. I had little boxes holding multiple tiny accessories, like those iconic shoes. I had a cardboard Barbie Dream House, built by inserting tab A into slot B — my handyman father took on that chore, probably late one Christmas Eve. I briefly had a Barbie cake, made out of the stacked icing from four or five Oreos, until a visiting neighour kid ate it.
I also had Skipper, Barbie’s little sister. She had long blonde hair but few other features of her curvy sister; she had flat feet and a chest to match, so I totally identified with her. She also had sensible shoes and raincoats and shorts, and I don’t recall ever seeing a ballgown. I had a flashback moment visiting BarbieCollector.com when I spotted my “Dreamtime” set: dotted two-piece PJs with a lightweight fleece robe and slippers (all pink, of course) and a tiny blue felt stuffed cat.
Oh, you’re thinking this collection stuff is a girly thing. Nuh uh. My two sons had an enormous collection of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle gear that far surpassed my Barbie/Skipper collection. They had several different versions of the original four Turtles — Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael and Michaelangelo — plus assorted vehicles, a whack of bad guys to fight, and seemingly millions of tiny plastic weapons and accessories like pizza slices. The Turtles’ version of the Dream House was a sewer lair; we had that, too. (We may actually still have much of it all in our basement. Make me an offer, please!)
Some people scoff at toys like Barbie and the Turtles (hey, that would be a great band name, as humour columnist Dave Barry used to say). It’s true they seem to inspire an unfortunate need to collect, but a lot of imaginative play goes on amidst the piles of stuff. So keep on dreaming, Barbie!