HOLIDAY BARBIE 2011

I am loving the new Holiday Barbie for 2011! She is a change of direction from last year which is a good thing. Not to say there was anything wrong with the 2010 model but Mattel needs to change her up and surprise collectors to keep the series relevant.
Designed by the head designer Robert Best this Holiday Barbie is elegant. The understated green and gold colors with the structured gown and subtle "holiday" embroidery would not be out of place on any red carpet.

The display box is gorgeous and really compliments the doll with a red and gold theme. Holiday Barbie is in a large hall decorated for the holidays and it looks the inspiration was the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. The overall effect is stunning.

This years Holiday Barbie will be appreciated by the seasoned collector or will make a beautiful introduction to collecting for the novice.

3rd Time Lucky

Every year I think of joining the Barbie Fan Club but some how I never actually get around to it.
With a discount each quarter and exclusive club only dolls, it's a good deal. But it's just all too hard for an Australian Fan what with them not being able to ship to Australia.  But this year something happened that motivated me to join and figure out how to get my club dolls down here to Australia. I had seen the club only Palm Beach Honey doll and thought she was gorgeous what with that whole Palm Beach/ Chanel mash-up thing going on and of course the cute dog.

I didn't really like the rest of the dolls in the Palm Beach Series, the whole caftan thing didn't work for me, although Im sure they have they're fans. While waiting for my $20.00 club discount coupon to kick in I had a look around the other great doll blogs out there and people were talking about the Palm Beach Honey having a bad fitting jacket.  Going around to ebay I found tons of the doll for sale and when I looked at the photos of the actual doll, that jacket really didn't fit. In fact it was bad, real bad. To be fair I have never seen a Barbie Collector doll with this problem before.

I fell in love with the drawing and not the reality, thank god for the online community!  So I didn't order it, lost my $20.00 discount for the first quarter but never mind, being the fickle collector that I am I now had my eye on the Glimmer of Gold Doll for the new quarter.

  I got on the Barbie Fan Club website first thing in the morning on the day she went on sale and found out she was sold out already. Of course with the time difference it was 2pm in America and she was obviously a hot doll so she sold out in a matter of hours! Foiled for the second time! I decided next time I will set the alarm for 2am Australian time and put my order in as soon as the doll is released, but of course I didn't! I actually did the opposite.

My third attempt was the Roger Sterling doll from my favorite TV show, Mad Men. With my $20.00 discount plus some other bonus he was a really good deal. But it wasn't until the last day that I actually ordered him and got the supposedly most rare of the Mad Men dolls. Well I don't have him quite yet, he is on a journey via Canada to Australia.  So it's third time lucky, I just hope his jacket fits!

happy collecting,

janet christina
dollcollector

The Look

I am a doll collector and proud of it!  Gosh that's great to say out loud or a least in print!  I figure I'm amongst friends here so it's cool. But Im sure Im not the only one who's had everything from a look of mild amusement to downright contempt when you mention you collect dolls that sometimes makes you think twice before sharing your passion with others.
So a few years ago when the plumber arrived to fixed my blocked toilet and he caught a glimpse of my doll collection as he passed my office I immediately bristled when I saw the smirk on his face.
On his way out he stopped and looked at my collection again from the doorway and that smirk crept back onto his face.  I thought okay here we go he won't be able to resist himself, he's going to make some smart ass comment.  I was wishing I had some witty answer for these situations and thought I really must think of something.  I was lost in thought trying to come up with some smart and condescending reply to his imagined insult and coming up empty when I realized he was speaking to me. "Do you mind if I have a look, my mother and sisters back home in Ireland collect dolls and it reminds me of them." I must have looked stunned or worse because he quickly added "it's okay if its not a good time".  I recovered and said of course have a look. Well we spent the next hour discussing Bubble Cut Barbies, vintage repros vs real vintage dolls and the best place to bicycle in Ireland, the west coast was his suggestion by the way, for a holiday I still haven't taken.
He told me how he had been in Australia on a working holiday for about a year but was missing his family. It was my vintage repro Bubble Cut Barbie that had caught his eye, his mother collected them because they reminded her of Jackie Kennedy! but what really surprised me was that he knew that my doll was a repro and not the original.  It's the hair that gives it away he explained, they never get it quite right according to his mom.  I did point out that the coat was an original vintage Red Flare!  He looked impressed but I think he was just humoring me.  Something tells me his mom's Bubble Cuts only wear real vintage and that she brought up her son to be polite!

So when the 1962 Bubble Cut Vintage Repro from the My Favorite Barbie series came out last year and I had a good look at it, I found myself agreeing with a woman in Ireland who I have never met or spoken to, about how the hair on the Bubble Cut reproductions is never quite right.

So on this St. Patrick's Day my thoughts were of the interesting Irish plumber and how I was so ready to believe a lop sided smile was smirk and how I was so busy thinking that he was judging me that I was in fact judging him, that I almost missed a lovely chat with a man who could fix my plumbing and talk dolls, my ideal guy really when I think about it!
So now I don't worry about what "The Look" means, whether its a smirk or a smile, I just think bring it on good or bad because I don't want to miss anything!
So have you any experiences, good or bad with "The Look"?  and what about the hair on the repro Bubble Cuts do you agree with the Irish plumber's mom?

Hope you had a great St. Patrick's Day
Happy Collecting

xoxodollcollector

Mad Men and Barbie

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It just doesn't get any better than this, my favorite TV show and Barbie teaming up to produce a line of dolls based on the characters of Joan Holloway, Betty Draper, Don Draper and Roger Sterling from Mad Men!

Mattel is obviously going all out getting their premier designer Robert Best to design the dolls. Robert's signature work has been the stylish Barbie Fashion Model Collection and word is that the Mad Men dolls will be a part of that collection. It will be the first time a licensed line has been part of the BFMC Collection and I'm liking it. I think its a good fit, Mad Men is all about style and class and those wonderfully detailed clothes, all hallmarks of BFMC and Robert Best. I find there is often a retro feel to Robert's designs which is perfect for getting the show's signature 60's look right.

I think the Joan doll is my favorite, even though she is the furthest back in the picture she just pops out with that gorgeous red hair and purple dress but its the pen necklace around her neck that makes it perfect. Some commentators are going on about the lack of martini glasses and cigarettes but for me it's all about that pen, much more subtle. Im betting Robert Best is a Mad Men fan.
Im wondering if that pen is going to open? I just love detail!

Apparently as a tie in, the DVD and Blu Ray of the 3rd season being released in late March will contain Robert Best's sketches for the line on a postcard. I love his sketches, they are so beautifully detailed. When Robert came to Melbourne, Australia in July and gave a workshop as part of the Barbie 50th Anniversary Exhibition he brought along his sketches from the BFMC line and gave a fascinating talk about his creative process. Judging by the crowd clamoring around for a look at the sketches after his talk, and I tell you it was all elbows to get to the front, except for me of course! I got the primo viewing position, actually I'm not sure Robert was actually finished speaking when I ran up but I digress, the point being the fans were just as interested in the sketches as the dolls themselves.

Robert Best giving a Workshop at Barbie's 50th Anniversary Celebration in Melbourne

I'm impressed with the dolls and the new direction for BFMC, but what do you think of the new Mad Men Barbies?

Happy Collecting
xoxo dollcollector