After promising it for ages, I FINALLY have volume 1 of my Barbie collection up on my YouTube (you can watch it below!), and part two is definitely still coming, but for now I thought it might be fun to show you some of the things I'm still keeping my eye on to add to my collection! I said in the video that I love big glam, 80s fashion, and things that bring me joy, so take a look at my list below and see if there are any surprises!
Let's dive into the list!
Superstar Barbie from 1977 is such a vibe! I love the hot pink dress (definitely setting us up for the pink explosion of the 80s!) and the black dress is equally fun. I really love this line that reproduces classic Barbies, so I will probably end up picking up this version. If I find a vintage original doll in the box at a good price, I mean, never say never, but I love the way this line presents the dolls with their fashions and accessories, and it would fit perfectly in my collection.
I mentioned in the video that I might go after a Golden Dream Barbie to match the carrying case. I think that would be a really cool display, to have a case with the doll inside, plus some of my random loose fashions. Plus, this doll also has a similar vibe to my beloved Western Barbie - gold and silver, baby!
Have you seen the documentary Black Barbie on Netflix? If not, what are you doing with your life?! There is such an interesting story about this Barbie that really created a moment for representation, and it also talks about the history of black representation in the toy industry. It's just really, really good. There was another Barbie Documentary recently that talks to some of the same people, so there is a little bit of overlap, but you really owe it to yourself to see this one as well.
As far as the doll, this is another one that I wouldn't mind a reproduction of, because I think it really shows off the doll and all that it comes with really well. If I found a really good deal, I would consider picking up a vintage original, but then again I might leave it for another collector who has a deeper emotional connection to the doll and what it represents.
The 40th Anniversary edition is also on my radar, but less than the original.
These Bob Mackie Fantasy Goddess Barbies are to die! They are so expensive on the secondary market - not surprising when they were a few hundred dollars brand new - so I probably won't ever own one, but if the right deal came along I would be sorely tempted! I just think they are so intricately decorated and do beautiful. I am sure that some people find them problematic, especially since they are basically filtering huge regions of the world into one look, through the lens of a white designer, and I think that's a conversation worth having...but the heart wants what it wants.
I first saw Asia and Africa on display at an FAO Schwartz in Kansas City, and I was in love! They are just decorated within an inch of life! Such painstaking detail. Like I said: I'll probably never own them, but a girl can dream!
Classic gay: I love Marilyn Monroe! I have a couple of Marilyn Barbies that are going to appear in a later video that I'm planning for my vintage toy series (they were purchased after we filmed the vintage Barbie video!), but there are still more that I have my eye on! My top two favorite movies of all time both feature Marilyn Monroe: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and All About Eve. I also really love How to Marry a Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch, so those dolls are must haves in my collection. I also really love that white outfit with the fur stole that she wore to some big Hollywood event, and I'm glad that Barbie did a version of that too (though I would have loved more detail in the dress than just a sequin dot fabric!).
By the way, there is a Marilyn Monroe Collector Series line of dolls from American Beauty Classic that I have looked at. I see them often at decent prices, but I've never pulled the trigger. The face is decent but not great, and as far as I know, none of the outfits are based on real outfits that she wore on film or in her personal life. They are just sort of generic vintage looking gowns and outfits. Still, I do love Marilyn and I keep seeing these, so some of them may eventually end up in my collection. There is a green one, after all! If I do end up with any of them, I'll be sure to include it in an upcoming collection video.
One more Marilyn moment, and then I'll move on, I swear! I have this paper doll book by Tom Tierney, and it is amazing! His recreations of fashions for paper dolls are unparalleled! There are so many Marilyn looks, most of which are featured in this book, that I would love to see Mattel turn into Marilyn Barbie looks. If I had one Barbie wish that I could see converted into a doll? It's a close tie between the showgirl look on the far left of this cover (from The Prince and the Showgirl, appropriately!) and her orange dress from the dinner scene in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Oooh! Or the pink casual dress with the tie front from Niagara. Or that leotard costume from Bus Stop. There are so many good options!
Alright, enough, back to Barbie!
I have several Dream Glow fashions (as you can see in the video!) but this is the one that keeps getting away from me! I love the Dream Glow line and I love Barbie lingerie fashions - so of course this is the one that I want the most! It's also the hardest to find still in the package, and it tends to be the most expensive when it does come up for sale. I will keep hunting for sales, but I get the feeling that I'm going to have to suck it up and lay out some COINT if I want to add this lavender lady to my collection!
I found this image while googling, and it referred to this as the "Dream Glow Collection." I know that there was a vanity playset as well as a canopy bed, and the two on the left are definitely Dream Glow fashions while the two on the right are the original Dream Glow Barbie and Ken. But here in the middle...what am I looking at here? I was just trying to put together a nice wishlist post, and I'm about to go down a rabbit hole!
I love green, and if that green dress also glows, that is going to be a must have. The yellow nightie is also cute, but not part of the collection as far as anything I've seen. Besides the fashions I show in the video and the purple outfit I mentioned above, the only other Dream Glow fashion that I know of is a royal blue ballet-look dress. Also, as much as I like the green dress, the neckline looks a little too severe for 80s Barbie, as do the pilgrim shoes. I think this might be a knock-off fashion?
If anyone knows anything about the yellow or green outfits in this picture, please comment below, I'd love to know more!
I mentioned in the video that the other Dance Magic fashions were on my list - and I think you can guess why! This pink flamenco number that converts down to a leotard with huge ruffled shoulders?! Come on now, you could see a leotard like that on Drag Race at any time! And this blue fashion gives us two delightfully unhinged options!
This purple one is especially intriguing to me because not only do you get the signature 80s Barbie ballgown look, you also get a shorter option that is not only a cocktail dress, but it also features capri pants. Capri pants, bitch! This is such a tacky 80s look, I am LIVING for it!
I don't collect a lot of playsets (who has the room?!), but I am intrigued by this Photo Studio playset for the Dance Magic series. I love that it pretty accurately recreates a professional photo set. Say what you want about Barbie, and some of the options are questionable if not downright ridiculous, but they did occasionally come out with career playsets that were accurate to what that job would entail. Sure the camera is pink, and the cover shows Ken directing the shoot, but it still opened up the possibility that a girl might want to grow up to be a photographer, and she could play out that fantasy with this playset. If I saw a good deal on a still in the box playset, I would probably pick it up. These kinds of playsets are hard to find complete if they aren't still in the box. Too many little pieces to lose!
To round out this wish list, I wanted to include Tropical Miko. There is a longer story that I will save for an upcoming video, but I did have this doll when I was younger, and I have a lot of feelings tied up in this doll, the experience of buying her, how I felt about her in my collection, etc. I know it sounds like a whole lot of drama for one of Barbie's assorted friends in a discount playline, but it kind of is. That's the thing about Barbie and why she has been so polarizing and popular since her introduction: Barbie is about possibility, and buy this Miko, my first female doll from the Barbie line, was a big deal for me.
So, that's my probably incomplete wishlist for vintage Barbies! I hope you enjoyed my video, and if you see any of these dolls or fashions for sale on a 3rd party site, preferably still in packaging, and it looks like a good deal - let a bitch know! Send me a message with the link - I keep an eye out pretty regularly, but you never know when or where the perfect deal is going to pop up!
XOXO,
Miss Jaye
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