Since bursting onto the toy market in a black and white swimsuit on March 9 1959, Barbie has certainly made her mark and is undoubtedly queen amongst dolls even after more than forty years of life.
Created by Ruth Handler and marketed by the Mattel toy company, Barbie has successfully moved with the times for almost five decades adopting changing fashions to maintain her place as the top toy doll brand. From nurse and olympic Barbie to president and married Barbie, she has an impressive resume with more than eighty careers and countless costume changes along the way.
As the American dream personified, Barbie has led a very privileged life that most celebrities would envy even today. With a wardrobe to die for, a fleet of cars and even a bespoke swimming pool just some of the trappings of world wide domination and fame. But many collectors are concerned that her days as queen of dolls may be about to end. In 2007, Barbie is still a big fish in a growing pond but now faces stiff competition from new, fresh and energetic doll brands like Bratz which have successfully diversified into multimedia and continue to sell well.
And it appears that Barbie is responding to her competitors with smaller versions of the traditional doll called Barbie Mini Kingdom. At just 6 inches tall this gentle change of direction may be the tip of the iceberg as Mattel moves to strengthen it's position.
As she approaches her 50th birthday, Barbie remains an international phenomenon sold in over 40 countries and a sought after collectors item. As you might expect, Barbie is the best selling doll on Ebay with some rare early examples fetching as much as $10,000. So, for now, Barbie is certainly worthy of a place in any toy collectors catalog, but only time will tell if Barbie dolls can continue to move with the times and maintain their appeal with young girl's on into the 21st century. Even so, I wouldn't like to bet against a Barbie doll being at the top of many Christmas lists in twenty years time.
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