24/12/2011

Joyeux Noël !



Barbie Happy Holidays 1988 - #1703
Barbie Fashion Play 1988 - #1376 is wearing the outfit of Barbie Happy Holidays 1990 - #3523

09/12/2011

New Dolls #1


Thank god! After 29 years of wait, my Dreamdate Barbie finally has... a date!!  Took him long enough ! but better late than never right?
So he's in a box which isn't the most comfortable situation to communicate, but makes him a valuable boyfriend ;)

























































I really like his head mold, i hadn't had one like that yet. They are particular of the Kens from the seventies. And actually Ken will go to the plastic surgeon the next year, in 1983, when putting on his Crystal tux...







































































KEN DREAMDATE / SOIRÉE
#4077 - 1982


NRFB



The doll was bought in the United States















I also recently bought this beautiful Crystal Barbie AA (Afro-American), and i now have 3 Barbie AA in my collection. The other ones are a NRFB Fun Time from 1986 that i bought a year ago, and Christie Wet n' Wild that i got as a kid.


I think i remember that it was really hard to find AA Barbies in France in the 1980's. My dad brought it back to me from the states and i was crazy about her !!



Anyway, i think she's simply gorgeous. Crystal Barbie is a classic and one of my favorite doll. 
So I'm glad i now have a loose one and a NRFB one!






BARBIE CRYSTAL AA
#4859 - 1983


NRFB


The doll was bought in the United States

08/11/2011

Silkstones : Stylish, sophisticated, and sometimes scandalous ...

This is the perfect description for the two Silkstones dolls i have in my collection. I know, they're not 80's or superstar era but they're gorgeous, they were gifts and i love them!

I've been wanting this doll for quite some time now. But i would have never bought it myself, so it was such a big and happy sursprise when my friends got it for my birthday !! 


What can i say about this doll... Joan Holloway... big big big fan. 
First, of the show of course. Mad Men is by far one of the most interesting and creative show on TV at the moment (the wait for season 5 is killing me!) 

And after that, of Joan Holloway herself. She is sexy, clever, has a strong personnality and attitude, and the perfect dresses ... oh and she has red hair just like me! Needless to say i've been identifying myself with her completely !! (er... right ;)

I only have two silkstones so I'm not used to them yet, and i'm amazed with the quality of the dolls! The fabric, the make up... simply gorgeous!

So anyway, here she is ! 




BARBIE FASHION MODEL COLLECTION #R4556
JOAN HOLLOWAY from TV serie MAD MEN
2010. 


Gold Label
No more than 10,000 worldwilde


NRFB
I only took off the protections over her hands but I'm keeping them safe.


The doll was bought in England.




















The other doll, I got from my father at Christmas. I think she is really beautiful as well!


BARBIE FASHION MODEL COLLECTION #56948
BARBIE LINGERIE GLAMOUR #6
2002.

Limited Edition

NRFB
The box is a bit used as well as the silk paper inside as i used to display the doll

The doll was bought in France.





I haven't taken them out of their boxes, and i don't know if i will. It's tempting because it's a lot nicer for display... but you know... the eternal debate.

++

29/10/2011

Tack!

Hi!
Here is my first real post ... Yay! 
It's not really about my Barbie collection, not yet (they are resting in my country house).

But about a recent trip i made.
I was in Stockholm for a week, and even if i lived there for almost a year, i never visited the very small and cute Leksaksmuseet - the Toy Museum - located in Tegelviksgatan, in Södermalm.

So I thought, what a good way to start this blog! A trip to Vintage Toys Land ... Felt the excitement of a kid, once again.



Like I said, the museum is quite small- only 3 rooms. But not only do they have Barbies, they also have lots of really cool toys from the 50's. You know the classic ones, the american ones, the kind of toys that ended up being part of the "Oh so cool" cast of Toy Story! I love those ... 



Being a huge disney fan too, I was so glad to see a whole section of Mickey Mouse toys, puzzles and films.

















And then one of my personnal favourite toy, the grown up toy, the electrical train!
We started one with my dad and my brother when i was little, but we never finished it... one day maybe!
Anyway, i could stay for hours watching those trains rushing through the pretend little towns and landscapes... beautiful!
































And last but not least, of course, the Barbie section! 
I almost missed it because it's at the back of the museum, but in a glass window corner, stands about twenty dolls from the 60's to the 80's. Ten of them, i believe, where wearing self made dresses.





















My favourite part of this museum was two dolls standing on top of a shelf, above the Mickey Mouse toys. 
One doll is the most famous little girl in Sweden, Pippi Longstockings and the other one, is her friend Annicka, NRFB.
I couldn't find any information on these dolls, the year (i'm guessing the 70's) or if they're worth anything but i tought it was the perfect doll for swedish collectors! ;)





















And as my far as MY collection is concerned, i couldn't stay any longer without adding, the beautiful 1982 BARBIE SWEDISH to it. So... there she is !! My First DOTW doll !!































She is really beautiful with her rosie cheeks and her light blond hair. Love her traditionnal costume too. She is very simple but i like simple dolls.


On the box you can learn knowledge about Sweden like how they like to eat Smögasbord (my favourite dish! :) and how "Sweden is the richest country in Europe" hahaha.
There is also a few words for you to learn like Flicka (girl) or Hund (dog)... But of course i already knew that ;)



I cannot wait to buy more DOTW dolls, they rock!

have a good weekend
+++

02/10/2011

When I was a child...

... I was obsessed with Barbies.

I had so many. I guess you could say, i was a spoiled little girl!
But from 1983 to 1990, my favourite thing on earth was to play with my dolls for hours...
I would cast the right Barbie, give her the right look, create the set, and then play the stories i had imagined for hours, days, and sometimes even weeks!

Of course, over the years, i lost many items and my cat had a real good time chewing some of them. And eventually, i stopped playing with them completely.

But a couple of years ago, i found a big bag in a closet with all the barbies i had when i was little and another one full of clothes !!

Some were in really good condition, some really bad.
But i decided to give a second life to my favourite toy of all time.

They were a little dirty and almost all of them wearing the wrong clothes so i was a bit lost at first. I had to make research to get all the right names and outfits.
And being french, my dolls are going by different names than the american ones.

So i decided to restore them as best as i could to have a beautiful collection and enjoy those amazing dolls again.

This blog is to show you my collection and maybe help you with yours, but also to trade for missing parts and ask for advice when i can't recognize an item.

So I hope you will enjoy it!

++
Angie.