My Vintage #4 Brunette Barbie Ponytail

In February of 2014, I found a vintage #4 Barbie doll at one of my favorite thrift stores. She was in with all the other Barbie dolls, and she was filthy. I already had several dolls in my arms that I had found, but when I saw her face, I gasped and dropped what I was holding, just like in the movies! I was glad nobody was around, because I would have died of embarrassment. "But is she a repro?" I thought to myself. "No way," upon further inspection. I had found my very first vintage Barbie! I was ecstatic! Somehow, the sorters had not known who she was. I scoured the rest of the Barbies, just in case this one had a sister that had made it through, found nothing, gathered the rest of my finds, and waited very impatiently for my best friend to be done shopping.

When I got home, I had nothing else on my mind. I went right away to inspect her. She was filthy. She was almost black from decades of play and love, and I knew I had to wash her. But common sense (and a litany of horror stories about dolls being ruined by people that didn't know about vintage dolls) came to mind, and I somehow made myself wait and research the best way to go about giving this Barbie the best care.

By the next day, I had found out that gentle washing with mild soap was the way to go, and I set forth with Barbie's first bath in decades. I used a microfiber cloth and Dawn dishwashing soap, and I would say it took a good hour to wash the entire doll (keep in mind, I was treating her with kid gloves, as if she were an ancient artifact). I did not comb her hair initially, because I did not want to ruin it, I thought it might disintegrate or something. (A week or so later, I did feel comfortable enough to try working with her hair, and found it to be quite easy, and the hair did not disintegrate).

After she had been washed, she positively glowed. I was in total awe, and she quickly became the queen of my Barbie collection, sort of an ancestral figurehead from which all future Barbies (and Kens and friends and family) flowed. Barbie had some wear on her makeup, mostly the lips and eyelashes (one of her eyebrows was a little less bold as her other), and some fingernail/toenail polish wear. She had the tiniest hints of green ear, and 2 of the hairline plugs were gone. But otherwise, she was basically in perfect condition, and I loved her. She also introduced me to the world of Vintage Barbie, which I knew next to nothing about - my childhood era of Barbie collecting was 1989-1992, and was reignited in 2009 with my Tarina Tarantino Barbie. I had a large collection of Barbie and friends, but they were mostly from the 80's to current times, with a Malibu Barbie or two.

I wanted her original swimsuit, and in searching for one (they're not hard to find) I came across the SilkStone Debut Barbie, a SilkStone tribute to the original Barbie. She looked amazing in her white satin swimsuit with black glittery stripes and lace-fringed top. I was able to buy that swimsuit for her, and she looked fantastic in it.

I wanted to have her lips touched up, but I don't have a large Barbie budget, so I was going to have to save up. I also wanted to find out who to send her to, of the many restorers online. I dug through person after person, looking at their before and after photos, making a list. I myself have no talent as an artist, though I am quite creative, so I couldn't do it myself (one attempt made that abundantly clear).

Then, last Fall, a friend of mine did something entirely unexpected. She gifted me a restoration. I was completely blown away, and will forever be grateful. The restorer my friend chose repainted the lips and eyes, and set Barbie's hair in the ponytail with curls. I began a green-ear treatment, but have not followed through with it, so a little bit of green-ear remains. I am currently undergoing a massive reorganization of my Barbie collection, and when I am done with that, I will resume the green-ear treatment.

Now my #4 is complete, and beautiful. I have since been able to add to my vintage collection a Ken, 2 Allans, and a #5 or #6. The friend that gifted me the restoration also gave me a beautiful titian Swirl, and I have a Fashion Queen head that is currently looking for a body. But the #4 remains the jewel in the crown of my collection.

Before & After:

As she was when I found her (the lighting wasn't off, she really was this dark from dirt!):

Post wash, in the repro bathing suit and heels, with the repro box:

Fun dressing her up, pre-restoration:

My one ghastly attempt at painting her lips:

Post-restoration:

With eternal thanks to my friend, she will be beautiful for decades to come!