OVERVIEW: Barbie From Collector Dolls to Current

Goddesses of Spring, Wisdom and Beauty

My Barbie collecting turned to the collector dolls in 2000 when the Princesses of the World collection began. I loved the detailing on the dolls and how they actually included ancient cultures. But first, I want to talk about my favorites.

I do not remember how I found out about the three Greek goddesses that were more expensive, but I did and I wanted them, of course. But at $79 each, that wasn't going to happen. Beauty was the first in January 2000, followed by Spring in November and Wisdom in January 2001. I can't remember when I got them, but I managed to get all three at once for a very fair price. They remain some of my favorite Barbies ever and their level of detail is just amazing.

Princess of the Incas, the French Court, India, the Renaissance, China, Greece and the Nile

But back to the Princesses of the World. I quickly got the Princess of the Incas and India. India came out in December 2000 and Incas in January 2001, but I'm pretty sure I got both at the same time. I liked French Court, who came out with India, but never got her off the shelves. I ended up finding her at an antique mall in 2010 and bought her for less than original retail. Incas and India will always be my faves from this line. They're both stunning. China came out in November 2001 and I got her, followed by the Princess of the Nile in December. I do love Nile. Most of her is stunning. But I hate that the Greek goddess dolls and Princess of the Incas got the cute wrapped sandals while Nile has...open-toed golden high heels. I will never understand how companies dress Egyptian dolls. It just blows my mind.

Anyway, Princess of Ireland came out with China and she almost got bought several times, but has yet to join my collection. I picked up Portuguese Empire in 2002, Japan in 2003 and Navajo in 2004, but all have since been sold. England almost got bought in 2003, but my friend got her instead and I never picked one up for myself. Maybe I will soon. I loved the designs for Russia and Ancient Mexico, but both had headdresses that squished their poor heads and I didn't like that. The Princess of Ancient Greece came out in 2003 and she's remained with my collection, despite being completely overshadowed by the goddess dolls. I believe I got the princess first actually and I think I may have picked up the goddesses during my first graduate program, so anywhere from 2003-2005. The Princess of the Renaissance was my final doll from this collection back when they were on the shelves. I had switched my attention at that point to My Scene, so I didn't get any of the last few princesses that I actually liked.

Festivals of the World Kwanzaa

Before I get into My Scene, I'm going to continue on with Dolls of the World and finish up that topic. The next series after the princesses was Festivals of the World, beginning in late 2005. I bought Chinese New Year, Diwali and Oktoberfest. Both Chinese New Year and Diwali were sold eventually, because I preferred the princess dolls from China and India. Oktoberfest I still have and Kwanzaa I picked up later on and she's my favorite from the set.

The Dolls of the World have always continued in Barbie world and they switched back to regular country dolls in 2007. I didn't care for many of them though, preferring my older 80s ones or the princesses. I did get Amazonia in 2009, but ended up selling her. I picked up the 1999 Moroccan doll from an antique mall in 2013 shortly before we moved and she was what sparked me finally collecting all the 80s ones I had wanted all these years. The last DotW I purchased was the 2013 version of Morocco from Tuesday Morning in December 2013.

Barbies from Morocco. 2013 and 1999.

So that takes us back to the early 2000s when My Scene came out. I had started collecting Bratz in 2002 with XPress It Meygan and I was very open to the My Scene line and more cool big-headed, big-eyed dolls on my shelves. I believe I had a subscription to Barbie Bazaar magazine at that point and that's where I first saw the gorgeous Madison. I remember buying her in KMart one day and Chelsea and Barbie quickly followed. As did many, many other dolls! I would buy entire lines of My Scene, which was something new for me. I was buying Bratz, but one or two characters, not entire lines. (Not yet anyway and not often as it would turn out.)

Nolee: Spring Break and Back to School

But My Scene? I loved the dolls and the webisodes made the characters come to life, so I even often wanted Barbie, who was my least fave of the doll designs.

My initial favorite was Nolee. That first Spring Break Nolee got a lot of the best outfits, finally ending up in a long black Barbie coat that reminded me of one of my favorite coats at the time. Back to School Nolee with the adorable buns got the best of the fashion packs. These two still grace my shelves looking exactly like they have for years, as they do in the picture to the left.

The Hangin' Out line introduced the girl who would become my favorite character. Oddly enough, she was blonde. I hardly ever like the blonde best, but Delancey was something special. She had a cute name and I loved her character in the show. Her dolls were gorgeous and a bit edgier than what you typically saw on playline shelves in those days.

Hangin' Out Delancey and Teen Tees Nolee

My Scene continued along happily until they started making some changes I didn't like. Barbie's character moved away and was replaced by Kennedy...who just happened to look exactly like Barbie. Nolee would eventually disappear and right as she did, Delancey's hair color switched from pale blonde to dark. Kenzie, the adorable redhead, was not used enough. Lindsay Lohan randomly got to appear in an animated MS movie...and even got a doll. The dolls went from cute to much more sultry. Overall, things just got a bit odd.

Karaoke Divas

I don't remember the exact year, because I was collecting so many things by that point, but eventually, My Scene was no longer sold in the US. I remember being very angry I couldn't find any of the Street Style dolls in my stores, because that line was quite edgy and I wanted them all. It took me years to get all four. I had Nolee right away and Madison in 2007 or so. Barbie (she was still Barbie then) was in my collection by 2010. Unfortunately, I haven't been very good at documenting MS stuff photo-wise, since a lot of it happened before I started taking pics of my collection so much. I have no record of when I got Chelsea, but I do know that I first bought a nude one from Australia and had her for a few years, then finally found a complete one. Possibly even after I moved down here, so it took some time.

Golden Bling Chelsea

Naturally, the dolls becoming import-only items meant that they started releasing amazing lines like Karaoke Divas, Golden Bling with its Egyptian theme, Pop Diva and Bling Nights. Plus, they introduced a Latina character named Nia and her dolls were usually gorgeous. I made a contact in Mexico that I bought many dolls from in 2009. I managed to get the entire Karaoke Divas and Golden Bling collections, plus a few others that I eventually sold off. I still have the Golden Bling girls, because they have somewhat of an Egyptian theme, plus Karaoke Divas Delancey and Cabana Beach Chelsea.

Randomly, some Big Lots and other stores got a handful of the newer lines, although not the best ones.

My Scene is still beloved by many and I really wish the entire line had been available here. I eventually lost interest in it because importing was both too expensive and frustrating.

The custom My Scene I bought off ebay. I've named her Kyrie.

I don't typically buy custom dolls, but I did love one enough to pay for her. Kyrie is a custom My Scene Barbie and she's been hanging out with my goth dolls for years now.

The Flavas came out not long after My Scene to help Mattel compete with Bratz, but they did not fare well. The line was ethnically diverse and actually featured multiple body types, which was unusual at the time. I don't think it had been done since Generation Girl.

Flavas: Two versions of PBo and then shorter-bodied Tika.

Each line had the characters looking drastically different from the time before.


I didn't pay any attention to the line when it first came out, being too heavily into Bratz and My Scene. But I randomly started picking them up when I was in grad school from 2007-2009. PBo is my favorite of the group with the two dolls shown to the right being my favorites from the entire line. I loved the more cartoony faces and the wide variety of looks, but the dolls pretty much flopped. They only lasted a year with the final line, which is called both Flavas Awards and Flavas Choice Awards, being quite hard to find. A definite shame, because I would have bought several of those.

So in Style Trichelle, Kara and Chandra

Since 2009, I haven't been that into Barbie. I bought a few of the So in Style dolls, but the ones I liked I didn't often see in stores or I'd have one chance to buy and be getting something else instead. I did manage to get my three favorites though, pictured to the left. I picked up a few of the fairy lines and random fashion dolls here and there. The Fashion Fever series sold in the tubes was pretty good, particularly the Drew dolls, but not many have stayed in my collection. I think maybe I have one Lea left?

My Favorite Barbie TnT

I did enjoy the My Favorite Barbie series, which reproduced older dolls. I finally got a TnT Barbie! I've always liked that face, but not wanted to commit to the price it would take to get a decent quality doll. I picked up the Barbie and the Rockers doll and then didn't debox her for years. And I got Black Barbie, which was one of the dolls I always liked from my precious value guide that I mentioned in the first half of this post. I was happy to get the doll I liked without having to worry about her having sticky legs or gooey hair.

Stardolls

The Stardolls were an odd little line, but gave me the two awesome dolls to the left here, so no complaints. They have some of the least movement I've ever seen on a doll, so I stuck with only the ones I really loved and didn't collect the whole line.

Life in the Dreamhouse Raquelle

The Life in the Dreamhouse dolls were the next bigger line I liked from Barbie. The show itself is hilarious, although I've gotten woefully behind. I do wish the dolls had done better though, because they turned right back into the same old headmolds fashion dolls they were before right after the more cartoony ones came out. But I'm happy with my Raquelle, Midge, Summer and Teresa anyway.

Nichelle, Shani and Asha

One of the lines I never collected when they first came out was Shani. I rectified that by picking up all three of the original girls last October. They're all awesome! I might get more eventually.

"LA Girl" Fashionista

                                Fashionistas have been the big Barbie thing for a bit now. I wasn't that excited about them until this girl with the gorgeous brown eyes and half-shaved head came out. I have her thanks to one of my awesome friends, because I still have not seen her in stores. I hope that gives Mattel some hints as to what dolls people like, because she was a total hit and I want to see more edgy dolls like this from them on the regular old playline shelves. Although her outfit left a lot to be desired. She got to keep the skirt, but I have her an Azone tank and some random jewelry from my stash. The sandals she's wearing are upgrades, too, although her original shoes were pretty cute.

Tall and Curvy Fashionistas

The Fashionistas this year have managed to do something unprecedented in Barbie history. They have given us not one, but three new body types. The Curvy dolls are bigger than any regular fashion doll I've ever seen. The tall dolls are taller with a rather boxy torso that doesn't always get flattered in the clothing they're given. The petite doll I don't have an example of yet, so I can't comment on it, but I will be getting one. The main problem with these girls is that they can't move. I love that they're putting these new types out there, but a lot of people won't be satisfied until they're articulated. I like them as is, but I definitely agree that articulation would be an added bonus, mostly because some of those arm positions do not work well for redressing. The one arm stuck straight down, other arm cocked dolls are not very easy to dress.

So that's about the extent of my history with Barbie. Started strong, stayed steady and then slowly declined. I like some of the collector dolls now, but not nearly enough to pay $100 apiece. A lot of the ones I'm interested in never show up in stores, because Toys R Us has a very limited collector section now. It used to be half an aisle years ago, but now it's a tiny shelf with the same dolls it's had for the past couple years and nothing new except when the annual holiday doll comes in. I'm looking forward to seeing where Fashionistas are going, but that alone isn't going to get me to really love Barbie again. Give me a new version of Generation Girl with the fleshed out, diverse characters this time made even more diverse by the new body types and I'm in. I'm waiting on you, Mattel.

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine.

OVERVIEW: Barbie From Childhood to Generation Girl

Me and Mom on Christmas morning in the early 80s

So I've been following a pattern of one entry on a vintage toyline, then one on a modern line, repeat repeat. Well, I'm breaking the pattern with this entry, because Barbie spans both vintage and modern and pretty much the entire run of my collecting days. This is going to be a multi-part topic, because there's just plain too much to cover in one entry.

And I will likely ramble a lot, because this is a big topic to be taking on at 3:15am just because I'm not sleepy yet.

As you can see from the pic on the left, I've been collecting Barbie a long time. This was from when we lived in Jacksonville, so likely the Christmas during kindergarten. We were only there for kindergarten and 1st grade and I have another Christmas photo where I look older, so I'm thinking that's the 1st grade one.

The cherished Sweet Roses PJ

You can see my childhood Sweet Roses PJ in my hand, plus my other two Barbies, Sunsational Malibu and Great Shape, in costumes. I'd just received the generic costume set and that pop-up bedroom/carrying case. PJ is not in costume yet, because she stole Great Shape's outfit pretty quickly and decided to show that off, I guess. I played with PJ so much that about half her hair got brushed out of her head. She always smelled good, too. I only wish my upgrade one, the one pictured here to the right, still had her scent. Between her and Rose Petal, I really adored the scent of roses. In fact, I think Rose Petal herself was my first Rose Petal Place doll because of PJ. PJ is also the reason I still adore the Steffie mold. She's one of the best uses of it.

I got Day to Night Barbie and Ken and Peaches 'n' Cream Barbie in 1984 and after that I moved on to the Rockers.

Dana international variant

Dana was my #2 childhood fave Barbie. Once I got her, I played with her about as much as PJ. I still have my childhood one, but to the left is a boxed one I purchased a few years ago. She actually is an international version (I believe she was in a Spanish language box.) with a few differences from the one I had. So someday I'll get a boxed American version and open her, too!

I loved the Rockers and Jem almost equally. Jem obviously had the better show, but I had the Panini Rockers sticker book and I was obsessed with that thing. The gorgeous Tom Tierney art like the Jem storybooks had! I think he drew Dana better than any character in either franchise. She's just utterly gorgeous.

Dana and 2nd edition dancing Diva were my only two Rocker girls. I loved Diva, but she was quickly eclipsed by someone that borrowed her face.

Midge, Kayla and Bopsy rock the Diva headmold.

Dance Club Kayla was my next doll after Diva and 2nd edition Derek, I think. (I got Tropical Miko somewhere in there, too.) Kayla was like Diva, but better because she had crimped hair and that white leather bra top and awesome neon green and pink outfit. In retrospect, I'm not sure why I picked dancing Diva over original Diva, because original Diva was way more my style.

The Kayla on the right in this photo is my childhood doll, wearing her original earrings and ring. The outfit is from the Paris Pretty line. I was obsessed with the Barbie trading cards when I was young and this outfit was a must have when I started my adult collection, because it was one of my faves from the cards.

1st edition Rockers Diva

The Kayla on the left is the boxed one I bought in 2009ish. She's wearing a budget fashion that I had in childhood and was so crazy about. I finally found it around the same time I bought this boxed Kayla, so she's been wearing it with her stock belt and shoes ever since.

Kayla was a solid favorite. Her, Dana and PJ were my most loved childhood adult Barbie characters. I wanted several I never got, like DeeDee, Bride Midge, Animal Nikki and the non-Barbie Sensations characters.

1st edition Rockers Deedee

The Diva mold has continued to be a favorite into my adult collection. I bought Rockers Diva, plus Barbie and the Sensations Bopsy and Barbie and the Beat Midge, who are the two in the Diva foursome photo above.

Barbie Basics No.9

When the Barbie Basics line first came out in Spring 2010, the one I simply had to have was No.9 with the Diva headmold.

Those were pretty much all my most favored childhood adult character dolls. I had Hot Stuff Skipper, who came out in 1985 and came with tons of workout-type clothes. I guess I got her to go along with Great Shape Barbie? I'm not sure, but that poor doll never got a lot of positive attention. When the prettier Skippers started coming out, I got Teen Sweetheart in 1987. I loved her for two years and then got Cool Tops Courtney to be her friend in 1989.

Cool Tops Courtney in a Teen Time fashion

Courtney got played with A LOT. She was right up there with PJ, Dana and Kayla as one of my most played with dolls. She got all the best pets and accessories. I'm sure I had her stealing the Barbie Ferrari at some point. (Although that honor usually went to Buster Slydale from the Sylvanian Families. How I thought a 3" fox could drive a Barbie car I dunno, but he did it.) 

I did not get too many Barbies after Courtney. I had All-American Teresa and Hawaiian Fun Jazzie in 1990 and Hollywood Hair Teresa in 1992. I consider my Jasmine from 1992's Mattel Aladdin line to be my final childhood doll purchase. 

I never had a ton of playsets. I had the hot dog stand (my favorite), the Dream Kitchen. the Ferrari, the pop-up bedroom thing in my Christmas picture, and a generic pool/barbecue playset.

I read this so often.

Just because I didn't have a lot of dolls didn't mean I didn't want a lot of dolls. At some point I bought this little pricing guide to the left and I still have it. I pored over that book and made lists of the dolls I would love to have. That's how I discovered Dolls of the World. I don't know if I never saw them or just thought they were fancy and didn't ask for any, but I fell in love with four in particular. 

1979 DotW Parisian

The first was this green-eyed Steffie mold lovely to the right here. I know why I never saw the Parisian doll. She was released in 1979 when I was one. I loved the color of the dress, the cameo, the strappy pink shoes. She probably would have been young me's first choice if I could have picked one from the book. I finally acquired her sometime in the early 2000s, I believe. My only issue with buying these older dolls is the hair. I don't know what they put in doll hair back then, but so many of them have this sticky, downright goopy-feeling hair. Hers isn't so bad, because it's in that updo, but some of them...yeesh.

1983 DotW Spain

The second on my list was 1983's Spain. Again, I would have been a little young to notice her. Although I did favor red and black even from a young age, so I probably just didn't see her. She was bought around the same time as Paris for my adult collection. She's gorgeous, but that hair took ages to put to rights. 

1981 DotW India

1981's Barbie from India was high on my list, too. This one took me longer to add to my adult collection. She was a bit pricier at the time I bought the other two, so I passed on her. I saw her in an antique mall many years later and she was only $20, but her eyes were printed so oddly that I couldn't bring myself to buy her. I finally got one I liked in March 2013, shortly before we moved. 

1984 DotW Japan

Japan from 1984 was also high on my want list. She was the last addition to my adult collection from this group of four in October 2013. Well worth waiting for! I've also added some unplanned DotWs to my collection: 1992 Native American (Diva face!), 1998 Moroccan, 1983 Irish, 1980 Scottish, 1980 Oriental, and 1996 Russian. 

Generation Girl Dance Party Lara

So after Jasmine, I stopped collecting dolls until I got into Sailor Moon and bought the noseless dolls almost everyone except me hates. I was more into comic books and action figures at that point and hadn't begun my vintage rebuying yet, but it wasn't too long after Sailor Moon that the Jems and Battle Beasts started trickling in. It was also then in 1999 that I spotted this beauty to the right on the shelves. Dance Party Lara from the Generation Girl line! I bought her and quickly got the Generation Girl bug.

Generation Girl Dance Party Chelsie

Tori quickly followed Lara and then the stunning Chelsie, who was a Toys R Us exclusive. I bought doll outfits for the first time in years. Chelsie to the left is wearing one of the Generation Girl fashions. I believe it was meant for Lara, but I think it looks better on Chelsie.

Generation Girl Dance Party Mari

The Dance Party line introduced the Japanese character, Mari, and she was the first doll I remember scouring the stores for. We finally found her at Walmart and I loved her like crazy. She's in the pic to the right wearing a Generation Girl fashion I bought for her fairly recently.

Generation Girl My Room Tori

The My Room line came out and man, were those rooms awesome! I'd never seen anything like that, so I ended up with Tori (wearing an Azone top, American Idol Barbie pants and Dance Party Lara's arm warmers), Ana, Nichelle and Mari.

I bought all twelve of the Generation Girl books, too, and they were amazing! The characterizations were excellent, the New York setting is something I always appreciate, and well, they're just the best doll-based book line I've ever read, including the modern ones.

I've since parted with some of my girls (all the Room ones except Tori) and bought new ones (1st edition Ana, 1st edition Chelsie with the nose ring, and My Room Lara). But Generation Girl will always be really special to me and the best Barbie line ever. Excellent diversity (even body diversity!), excellent characterization, excellent designs. I wish they'd come back, but I know they wouldn't be the same.

Mystery Squad Kenzie

2002 saw the release of the Mystery Squad line. Kenzie looked like she stepped out of the Generation Girl lineup, so I bought her right away. All four are pretty awesome though and I may end up with at least Drew in my collection eventually.

That's where I'm going to end things for this initial entry. I'll continue on with my first collector dolls, My Scene, and the even more modern lines soon.

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine except the book photo, which is from Amazon.