Restoring Barbie #1

So, remember the Fashion Play Barbie head below??
I decided to give her my first reroot ever !!!

Obviously it didn't turn out perfect, i made a lot of mistakes, so I will try to improve my technic before i give you the explanation on how to do it.

In the meantime, here are the before and after pictures.
Please note that the body is just temporary until i find her one with the right tone matching her tan head.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Erratum and European Exclusives

Putting the right name on the right Barbie can be quite challenging if you haven't been around your dolls for years.
And that's what happened to me !
  
On a previous post i showed you my Crystal and my Dream Date Barbie.

But I go it completely wrong !!!!!
Thanks to a great forum i now visit daily "MesBarbies.com", I realised that the Barbie i thought to be Dream Date was actually Crystal ! A good way to recognize her is the eyelashes. One out of two is shorter. That's good to know !

But then, is the "other one" Barbie Dream Date? Noooooo, that would be too easy!!
And that's when beign european doesn't help (but is very interesting). There are loads of Barbies that were made only for Europe and it's really hard to find information about them on the net.

Fortunately, I got the fabulous book "Barbie around the world" and it helped a great deal!

In 1984, Mattel released a doll called " Barbie Star Saint-Trop' " exclusively for France.
She was a bit tan, and based on make up, I believe my "other barbie" to be her.

She is a variation of a Barbie that was part of a 12 barbies collection, released in 1983/1984, under the same name "Fashion Play" and the same product code : #7193.

Here are 4 of them. Star Saint-Trop' is based on the second one (only the pants are different).

I also own the grey dress and the pink one below (that belong to another Barbie from that collection) but it doesn't mean i owned the dolls.
Because to make it really simple to us, these outfits were also sold separatley as simple "Barbie Fashions". Follow me??

I also have the head of a Barbie that could easily be any of them. 

But i believe her to be "Barbie Loisirs" (sold as "Barbie Party Cruise" in Canada), released in 1986 under the product code #3075. I know i had the outfit, but i lost it.

She will need a body and a "re-rooting" but we'll get to that later :)

Anyway, now that i've re-discovered this collection, i really think that they represent the Perfect Barbie to me.
For starters, i always loved the simple ones, with simple boxes and simple clothes.
And i also think their faces and make up are just perfect. Simple, soft... Nothing like the crazy make up she will have ten years later !! ;)

So I'm gonna make it my quest for 2012: Find all the foreign barbies Fashion Play from 1983 to 1986.
They are quite hard to find now... So any help is welcome !

Anyway, here is my "other barbie" hopefully wearing the right clothes this time !

But what about my Dream Date Barbie? Does this mean my Ken no longer has a girlfriend??
I need to find him one pronto !!

To be Continued ...
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Valentine Picnic

Barbie Loving You / Tendresse 1983 - #7072
Derek Rockers / Rock Stars 1985 - #2428
Derek is wearing the outfit #1327 from the "Collection Weekend" 1988

Under the xmas tree

Took me a while to show the presents i had for christmas, but here they are!

Barbie "Le Nouveau Théâtre de la Mode" was created in 1985 by Billy Boy to commemorate the first Barbie retrospective exhibit in Paris.

The exhibiton was taking place in a train and was a collection of barbie dolls dressed by the most famous designers, such as Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Ungaro etc, as well as regular vintage Barbies.

It was the first Barbie to have a designer name on the box, before Oscar de La Renta.

And probably the only doll "Made in France".

Billy Boy had a real vision for Barbie which wasn't a collectible item then. He wanted to create a line that would attract adults. He really disliked the sparkling and acrylic gowns that were made in the early 80's and wanted to get back to more "noble" fabrics as well as different hairdoos and make ups. 

But Mattel wasn't quite ready or it yet... And though "le Nouveau Théâtre" doll has a black dress and black sunglasses which was very unusual at the time, he wasn't very pleased with the make up and hair style.

He would be able to express himself a lot more with his second doll, "Feeling Groovy" released in 1986.

Only 10000 dolls were made with an extra 500 with black finger nails, which is quite valuable now.

Mine is marked 3029, and does not have nail polish.

Barbie Deluxe Tropical giftset #2996 was released in 1985 exclusively for department stores.

It's the same doll as the regular Tropical one but she has a few extra accessories including a surfboard, a towel, a hat, a clear floral beach tote, snorkels, fins and mask, magazines and a black camera.

She is hard to find, so i feel really lucky to have her !

The next two loose dolls are Midge Ski Fun #7513, released in 1991 but wearing Midge Naf Naf outfit from 1993, and Ken Butterfly Prince #13237, a European Exclusive released in 1994.

And last but not least, this very cute vintage Skipper. It's not superstar so not from the period i collect, but i still love her ! I love the old boxes and style of the vintage era...

Since I'm not an expert i can't be 100% sure but i think she is the Vintage Straight Leg Skipper #950 from 1964-1966 as she doesn't have bendable legs.

Unfortunately she got her hair cut so if i can find the right hair i will give her a rerooting.