Barbie Girl

If you collect modern Barbie Dolls, you have thousands of choices.   First you need to learn a bit about the Barbie Collectible business.  In the past Barbie Collectibles were sold as Limited Edition or Collectors Edition product lines.  In 2004 Mattel created a “tier structure” to identify Barbie dolls that will be collectible.  The structure is as follows:

Platinum: Platinum Label Barbie dolls are produced in quantities of less than 1000.

Gold: Gold Label Barbie dolls are produced in quantities of less than 25,000 worldwide.

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The Barbie family tree has grown rather big over the years.  The Barbie doll family started in the 1960’s and seems to grow with every era of Barbie’s that go in to production. Not only did Barbie’s family grow, but so did her number of friends and her families number of friends.  The Barbie collection has become quite extensive.  With all the names, babies and kids that have been produced it is hard to know who is part of the original Barbie family. So who is in Barbie’s family tree-who is she related to?

The immediate family prior to 1992 was Barbie and her sister Skipper, and twin brother and sister Tutti and Todd.  The family after 1992 is Barbie, sister Skipper, twins Tutti and Todd, and baby sister Kelly.  Following is a list of the dolls made during various time periods. After each name is the years of production and then the relationship of each doll to Barbie.

1959-1965 THE EARLY YEARS

BARBIE 1959-present

KEN 1961-present, Barbie’s boyfriend

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Barbie clothes can get expensive.  If you are not a collector who is picky about purchasing Mattel brand items, sewing your Barbie’s clothes can save you a bundle of money.

To make Barbie clothes, you need to first make or buy a pattern, and then you can choose any material you like to make the clothing.  Her wardrobe will grow and you can have more fun dressing up Barbie- your sewing options:

1. Buy patterns for Barbie clothes at a local sewing/hobby shop or online.

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