I don't remember my first Barbie. I don't remember getting her. I don't know for sure when I got her nor do I know where she came from, what edition she was, or how much she cost. I do know that it must have been after I was 6, because I was no longer living with my two older sisters.
I did end up with one, though. That one was shortly followed by another, and another. I loved Barbie. I must have developed a taste for her from my older sisters, though I'm sure I would have discovered her on my own. I do know that by the time I was 8, I had maybe thirty Barbie dolls, Barbie Friends, and Ken dolls. I would design clothes for her, and I would try to make some as well. Most of my own creations ended up looking like a long poncho with a belt. Nonetheless, I would try.
Unfortunately, at about that time in my life, I became friends with the boys across the street. I was embarrassed at owning the dolls, although I loved them all. This embarrassment was a flaw that proved fatal to my beloved Barbies... The neighbor boys got violent with them, and I, too afraid to tell them to stop, joined in. All of my Barbies eventually found themselves in various pieces, in various places throughout the yard. My grandparents would not buy me any more (understandably so!) and I was left Barbieless.
I did have a few Ken dolls left, along with a few G.I. Joe dolls. Neither sort looked good in dresses, and I eventually had to move on to other toys and pastimes.
I bought a few Barbie dolls when I was 18, though they wouldn't stay around long for various reasons, be it moving, my older sister stealing them, etc. Then, a few years ago, I came across a 'special' Barbie doll while shopping with my best friend. This doll was the Tarina Tarantino doll that I have previously written about.
When Tarina came into my life, I found that I was no longer at risk of losing my collection. Barbie Tarina opened a door (or dare I admit 'floodgate') to my Barbie collecting. In the 5-ish years since Tarina came in, I have amassed about one hundred dolls. The majority of them came to me used via thrift stores, ebay, and craigslist, but others have been store-bought. Currently, there is not an accurate count as I have moved and have had to pack some away temporarily. But I do believe I have at least one hundred.
Although I have been a fan of Barbie for most of my twenty seven years, I do not claim to be a Barbie know-it-all. I am merely a Barbie enthusiast, an amateur collector. Some may ask why I have a blog devoted to Barbie, since I am not an expert. To this I reply (jovially)... this is the internet; none of us are 'experts'. I like to share my collection. I like sharing pictures of my dolls for multiple reasons. Initially, I believe I was inspired to start this blog because I could not find many photos of certain dolls I was interested in. I thought someone, somewhere, would appreciate seeing pictures of a doll they may be interested in before they took the plunge and bought the doll. Since I like taking the dolls out of their boxes - a faux-pas to most collectors - I thought perhaps I could shed light on what the doll may look like without her/his box and ssave another collector the trouble/curiosity.
Though I take my Barbie dolls out of their boxes, and almost all of them from their cardstock backings, I do tend to save most of the boxes (generally I toss the boxes to the cheaper dolls I buy new). I don't intend to ever part with my collection, but I know that the boxes do add to the value of the doll, and whoever is next in line to have my dolls may appreciate my efforts.
And that is my story. Stay tuned; there are plenty more entries for me to write about!
No comments:
Post a Comment