ZONKS! I can't believe it's now time for ...
Doing this one again. Begins on May 1 and runs until Labor Day.
Challenge completed on August 27
Well, it's almost over. Only two days left for the A to Z. My last two posts have already been scheduled. I've enjoyed it so far and there are several blogs I have visited. When the Road Trip begins in May, I'll get to others I've missed and perhaps revisit those I've already seen.
It was hard to decide what to include for each post. A friend mentioned Peaches and Cream Barbie, which I vaguely remember hearing about. I must not have remembered when it came time to decide what to post for each letter. This one came out when I was 13, so I was only vaguely aware of it at that time.
The only Barbie I can ever recall having was this one. I was never that big on the line. I was more about other similar dolls, as I said in this post (from last year's A to Z blogging event). The hype over the movie was mainly what made me choose this theme.
This blogging journey has also brought to mind several references to Barbie in other media. I wasn't sure how to fit these into the regular A to Z posts, so I will post them here while we are on our last Sunday break.
One that comes to mind is the movie Never Been Kissed, where the three mean girls all show up as different iterations of the doll at the prom, with the theme of "Famous Couples Through History." One of the girls is Malibu Barbie, and the others are Evening Wear Barbie and Disco Barbie (Not so sure that these ever were a thing, but it might be true). Disco Barbie's Date (Disco Ken?) looks a bit like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. And they think that Josie's Rosalind (from Shakespeare's As You Like It) is supposed to be "Medieval Barbie." Never heard of that one, either, but my friend found a collector Barbie in Victorian dress (she's fascinated by that era).
Another is from the movie Rat Race, when a girl sees a sign for a Barbie Museum, which isn't what she thinks:
A line of Barbie Extra Mini dolls was also made:
The line only lasted two years (2021-2023), making it one of the more obscure Barbie lines.
Barbie's friend Steffie may not be well-remembered, as she only appeared in three lines. But Walk Lively Steffie (shown above) is notable in that her closed-mouth head mold has been reused many times. Barbie herself has used the mold, as have many of her friends, including Christie, P.J., Teresa, and Midge, and the one-time Tracy Bride doll. Miss America and the African American Mrs. Heart also used the Steffie head, as did one of Jazzie's friends, Stacie. The 4.5-inch doll line Dazzle from the early 1980s used a scaled-down version of the Steffie head for some of its girl dolls (other girl dolls in that line used a scaled-down Superstar Barbie head mold). I had most of this line.
One of the more obscure iterations of Barbie seen in the movie is that of Video Girl Barbie. Released in 2010, the original toy was a real working video camera that was able to record up to 30 minutes of film and even upload to a computer. As shown with the live-action character, Video Girl Barbie came with a large hole in her upper body that featured the camera lens but was disguised as a fashionable pendant. The doll was discontinued for a unique reason: the FBI saw the doll’s hidden camera as a potential threat to children, saying that it could have been used for child pornography. Though no such incidents were ever reported, Mattel pulled Video Barbie from shelves in 2012. (from this link)
The doll was launched the same year as Instagram (link). The rise in social media most likely had a lot to do with the doll's controversy and cancellation. Had it been released in the 1990s or the early 2000s, would it have caused the same controversy? Though perhaps the FBI might have worried over porn at that time as well.
And from the Dreamtopia series:
A commercial for the Dreamtopia Unicorn set:
The Dreamtopia doll with a removable unicorn headband:
Teresa first appeared as part of the California Dreams series in 1988. She has been with the Barbie line ever since, thus making her one of Barbie's longest lasting friends. She used an often-used head mold of Barbie's friend Steffie (more on this to come) before Teresa received her own head mold.
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| Teresa's first appearance. |
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| (From left) Beach Blast Dolls Miko, Barbie, Christie and Teresa. |
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| The Rollerblade dolls were recalled because the light-up skates caused sparks. |
She has also been in many of Barbie's animated videos. That being said, I now wonder why she wasn't referenced in the movie. But I guess they could only show so many characters in the movie.
The first wave of Shani dolls in 1991 featured the lead doll and her two female friends, Asha and Nichelle, in convertible gowns. Shani's gown transformed into a bathing suit and cover-up; Asha's into a mini dress and jacket; and Nichelle's into a ballerina outfit. Each one had a different skin tone, facial feature and hair texture. Four different fashion sets were also sold, and the packaging stated that the clothes fit Barbie, too.
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| (from left) Asha, Shani and Nichelle in the first year of release. |
For the second year, the girl dolls came in two-piece bathing suits (the Beach Dazzle series), and Jamal, Shani's boyfriend, was introduced, wearing a convertible yellow tuxedo. Originally, Jamal had a mustache, but was clean-shaven in subsequent releases. Three more outfit sets were produced, but none for Jamal. Shani's only accessory was also made: a gold-tone Corvette (pictured below), a repainting of Barbie's Corvette from the 1980s. Shani didn't last long enough to get a house or other playsets.
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| The box back of the Beach Dazzle Shani dolls. The bathing suits were made from material used in the dolls' first-year gown bodices, but Shani and Asha swapped material since the original Shani already wore a swimsuit under her gown. |
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| Jamal with mustache |
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| Jamal's party tuxedo could be converted into a casual outfit. |
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| Sun Jewel Shani was the last Shani produced. |
Well, my colonoscopy went well. Last Monday I had an EKG and a urine test at the hospital hours before I began drinking the cleansing solution. I'd bought a box of adult pull-ups the night before at Dollar Tree and began wearing them that morning. As people had told me, I needed to be in the bathroom a lot! At first I sat in the kitchen to drink the stuff, then moved to the bathroom once the need to use the toilet began. I barely slept at all on Monday, and did not shower on Tuesday before the procedure. My cousin drove me to the hospital and her son picked me up afterward. I did not fell anything during the procedure. A day and half without solid food me very hungry and I immediately had some cereal once I got home. I immediately felt better as the rest of the day went on. I spent most of the two days lying in bed.
I'd begun scheduling my posts starting on the 5th, to see how it works. It's been great, and the rest of the A to Z posts have been scheduled for their designated letter days. This was especially a good idea for the timeliness of the posts and for day of my procedure. Originally, I was to have been up at 2AM that morning, per the instructions that were sent to me regarding the solution I was to drink. The instructions had been for a two-bottle, two-dose solution, that I was to have begun on Monday at 6PM, and Tuesday at 2AM. But the hospital sent a 4-liter jug instead. So I now had to begin on Monday at 3PM, taking a dose every 10 minutes until the bottle was gone. I no longer had to be up at 2AM, but I'm sure I was awake by then, since I barely got any sleep on Monday night.
I'm glad it's over now. It was said to be normal, and they now recommend having one every five years.
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| Barbie's friend Kelley (right). |
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| Original and Deluxe Quick Curl Barbie |
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| Cara in one of her appearances. |
The Mod Hair Ken doll was also made around this time and is paired with Quick Curl Barbie in this commercial:
Mattel also used the Quick Curl feature on its Miss America dolls, and on Quick Curl Casey, a 19-inch doll from the 1970s (not to be confused with Francie's friend Casey).
Quick Curl Barbie is not to be confused with Magic Curl Barbie of the early 1980s, which did require wetting the doll's hair. That would also mean waiting.
I'd also like to mention Sport and Shave Ken, from 1979, seen in this commercial:
This blogger thought that P.J. and Fluff, one of Skipper's early friends, looked alike enough to be sisters. That was never said to be the case, but if it had been, and if P.J. had been Barbie's cousin, then Fluff and Skipper would have been cousins as well.
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| Skipper's early friend Fluff (pictured on the right). Any resemblances? |
