In 2009 the
Barbie doll celebrated 50 years in March 1959 was released by
Mattel, and remains one of the favorite gifts by small, but above all for the not so small. According to
Mattel, the world contains about 100 thousand-and collectors of
Barbie accessories, 90% of whom are women who have, on average, 40 years old. This (a) s avid (a) s collectors acquire about 20
Barbies around every 12 months, they represent an expense of about a thousand dollars a year.
Mattel also assumed that three Barbies sold every second worldwide.
As might be expected, the first
Barbie-which came to light in the late '50s - are listed, currently at a rate of thousands of dollars at an auction held in October 2004 on ebay, a
Barbie 1959, in original packaging, sold in 3.552. $ 50, although at the time that went on sale, five decades ago, was priced at three dollars. The record at auction was in September 2006, when
Christie's sold a 1965
Barbie collection, nine thousand pounds-or about 17 thousand dollars in London.
Obviously toys that fascinate new generations are the wrists, not to mention that
Barbie has been in the eye of the storm for long, as
Mattel's strategy has focused increasingly on adult collectors, for whom he designed Special
Barbies, for example, made of porcelain, or with different ethnic profiles. Furthermore, while Barbie enjoyed almost a monopoly over the Cold War in the New Millennium (2001) faced the first time, a serious competition that has seen his fortune: the
Bratz doll collection , the consortium
MGA Entertainment. Mattel The effects were very severe: in 2004,
Bratz dolls had overtaken
Barbie sales in the UK. A year later,
Barbies consumption fell by 30% in the U.S. and 18% in the world, figures that are attributed to the success of
Bratz dolls.
The Barbie StoryThe American businesswoman Ruth Handler, "mother" of
Barbie, had he thought of the idea of creating the famous doll in the 50s of last century, after watching her daughter Barbara, who played with paper dolls that they characterize as adults. At that time, most dolls were representations of infants, as Handler realized there was a "niche" market that could fill. He said to her husband Elliot, who co-founded
Mattel, but neither he nor the shareholders of the company showed enthusiasm about the proposal. But then in 1956 during a trip to Germany, Ruth found a doll named
Bild Lilli, an adult figure, as she had imagined that I wanted to design.
Bild Lilli was originally created by reinheid Bouthin, who published stories about this character, like comics, in a Germany daily.
Bild Lilli was a "woman" of the working class as a doll that was introduced for adults in 1955, but shortly after he was assigned also at children with various accessories, like a wardrobe and other triques.
Handler bought the doll and her return from Germany, led to
Mattel executives, redrafting his proposal that this time it was accepted. Once Mattel had in his hands to
Bild Lilli, worked on the redesign and was baptized as
Barbie, which was the name of the daughter of Ruth. The most important character in the design of
Barbie was Jack Ryan, the sixth husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor. The doll was presented at the
International Toy Fair in the United States held in New York, 9 March 1959, which is considered, since, as
Barbie's birthday. Five years later,
Mattel acquired the rights of
Bild Lilli, which went out of production since then.
The first
Barbie dolls were presented as "teen models" with costumes by fashion designer of the company, Charlotte Johnson. They were manufactured in Japan and handmade clothing. In its first year of production was sold about 350 thousand dolls. However, controversy surrounded the
Barbie from birth. Many fathers and mothers felt uncomfortable with the wrist, considering that her breasts and back were very marked. Also, the complexion of
Barbie, including a very small waist, it was said that could encourage bulimia and anorexia among young girls and adolescents, although it should be clear that there are also children and men anorexic and bulimic. So,
Barbie has undergone numerous design changes to the passage of the years in part as a response to criticism.
Barbie and her accessories are manufactured to the scale of 1 / 6, also known as
playscale. This means that in the human scale, its actions would be 95-45-82. After an investigation conducted by the Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland, concluded that a woman with the size of
Barbie lack between 17 and 22% of body mass necessary for a period. In this sense, many specialists, including psychologists, nutritionists, educators, and in addition, psychologists report that
Barbie-projects the image of women slim but healthy, which features a sex object, something disturbing when one thinks of the public child, which is in the formative process to define your personality.
Also, with all the accessories that come with the doll, it is clear that he would place in real life, in a high socioeconomic status. According to the novels / stories published by
Random House in the '60s, the real name of
Barbie is Barbara Millicent Roberts, born in a village in Wisconsin. In his teens, went to Willows High School, though on the stories published in 1999 by
Golden Books went to a school in New York. His eternal lover's boyfriend Ken Carson, who first appeared in 1961.
Mattel said in a statement 2004, announced the separation of
Barbie and Ken, but they reconciled in 2006.
Barbie has about 40 pets, including dogs, cats, horses, a panda and a zebra, among others. He has had numerous vehicles, including convertibles and jeeps. It will be recalled, was a flight attendant, but can also operate aircraft. To demolish the argument that only promotes stereotypes
Barbie, Mattel introduced more dolls to develop various skills in order to demonstrate that women are as capable as men. Thus, there is an
astronaut Barbie, a
Doctor Barbie and a
Barbie Nascar. Still, no longer a
girl well and strawberry.Haha nor as to deny! : D.
