At the beginning they sold picture frames and dollhouse furniture. Later, Ruth Handler got inspired by her daughter Barbara's fascination for cutout paper dolls, and created the first three-dimensional doll called "Barbie". Ruth adopted the idea when she went on a trip to Switzerland and purchased a German Lilli doll that was 11.5" or 7" tall. Ruth new exactly how she wanted Barbie to look like. She expected Barbie to be a fashion icon. She wanted Barbie to be characterized for her beauty and shape, Ruth hired fashion designers to create Barbie's clothes. Nevertheless, the most important for Ruth was Barbie to become a doll for girls to play out their dreams.
Barbie #1 was known by her stripped black and white swimsuit and wedding dress. The patent was obtained in 1958 and went on sail in the New York Toy Show in 1959, receiving a good response from buyers. Barbie dolls were demanded at many toy stores, and this placed Mattel in the front of the toy industry. Barbie was the beginning of a new dolls generation.
A doll like "Barbie" was never known before, it was not the typical baby doll every little girl was used to play with. Barbie became a fashion symbol, and throughout the years it turned globally recognized. Barbie had such a success that within 10 years from its launching, $500 million were purchased of Barbie products.
This is the beginning of the story, and throughout this Blog we will be exploring more about it.
Welcome to our Barbie World!
Sources:
"Barbie History." Deni's Vintage Barbie Collection. Web. 16 Aug. 2011. <http://www.dolls4play.com/barbiehistory.html>.
"Barbie History." Barbie & Madame Alexander Dolls, Nightmare Before Christmas, Corolle Baby Dolls, Green Toys & Disney Merchandise. Web. 16 Aug. 2011. <http://www.billbam.com/barbiehistory.html>.
Sources:
"Barbie History." Deni's Vintage Barbie Collection. Web. 16 Aug. 2011. <http://www.dolls4play.com/barbiehistory.html>.
"Barbie History." Barbie & Madame Alexander Dolls, Nightmare Before Christmas, Corolle Baby Dolls, Green Toys & Disney Merchandise. Web. 16 Aug. 2011. <http://www.billbam.com/barbiehistory.html>.
wow, it is really interesting, I did knew that Barbie were created at the end of the 50's, but I didn't know it's origins.
ReplyDeleteAlso I found interesting that it became famous really fast and was demanded in every shop, now they’re really famous all around the world thanks to that success they had since it’s beginning xD .
I think it is cute that the parents make a doll thinking in their daughter and in the dreams of every girl, so they could play in their fantasy world with their doll, Barbie.
I liked your blog, also I think it would be interesting to know more about Barbie. I remember she was a like a friend when I was a little girl :’) .
Thanks for the information, good bye, GBU
Your blog is pretty interesting! I didn’t know the story behind this successful doll. I did have many when I was a little girl, but I just used to play with them and I never did any research to find out some information about it. It seemed very cute the way Ruth named Barbie because of his daughter, I think it was the best inspiration she could have had. It was amazing how Barbie was successful at its very beginning. I liked your blog :)
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