Barbie Dolls - Over 50 Years of History and Still Going Strong

The one thing that every little girl plays with for hours on end is a Barbie doll. Just think, that when it was first thought of Mattel did not want to manufacture it! It turns out that the decision to invest in Barbie was a wise one since it is now a globally known icon with all children.

Barbie has came a long way since it was designed in 1959 by Ruth Handler. Handler first saw the need for an adult doll that would allow girls to play with and dream of how it would be when they were adults. The only option at this time was to play with paper dolls. The first time that Handler took her product to the Mattel Corporation, that she was a co-founder of, she was turned down. The committee felt that it would not appeal to children and would end up costing them more to produce than they would possibly make a profit off. Barbie was modeled after a doll that Handler had brought from Europe, called Lillie. After which, Mattel finally agreed to back her efforts. Then later that year, Barbie was introduced to the world in New York City at the American Toy Fair.

The buyer's of the industry were not impressed with Barbie. However, the little girls went wild over the doll! Within the first year Mattel set a new sales record. It took several years for the supply of Barbie to meet with the demand of the dolls, since every little girl wanted Barbie and all her clothes and accessories.

Over the years Barbie has went through quite a few changes. Her appearance has been the cause of many complaints and even lawsuits. In 1971, Barbie's eyes were changed from the narrow, sideways look as they were designed with to give a look of allure. She was given the round, looking forward eyes that she still has today. Most notable, in 1997, Barbie was given new dimensions, since people worried that Barbie sent an unrealistic body image message to girls with her body measurements. After going through countless lawsuits against Mattel, they decided to take the measures and change Barbie's body.

The last 50 years Barbie has escalated to much more than a doll. Barbie is a trademark icon that all little girls have. There are books, games, movies and countless accessories that are all contributed to Barbie. There are dolls that are cousins and sisters to Barbie, making up the entire Barbie family, complete with a pink car and dream house. Barbie has managed to keep up with all the latest fashion trends and has inspired the imaginations of little girls all around the world. Barbie reinforced the idea that girls can grow up to be whatever they want with Barbie's of all sorts of occupations, such as veterinarian, scuba diving Barbie, or even Nascar driving Barbie.

Despite there being more and more competitors that are trying to imitate Barbie, there is still only one, true doll that can call itself Barbie.

For more information on collectible toys, including tips on collecting classic toys, be sure to visit us at our website, Toy-Collectibles.com.

Barbie Doll Values Collecting - A Value Guide To Find The Worth Of Your Barbie Dolls

When collecting Barbie, the doll values in a guide used for Barbie dolls can be either tangible or intangible but either way we have a value guide for you. As people always say...everything has a price. You might be wondering what the values of your Barbie doll are or if you are getting ready to purchase Barbie doll collectibles to add to your collection what price should you pay? For this a Barbie doll collector should always use a value guide.

Collecting Barbie Dolls, defined by our 8 steps, can be lots of fun but finding their values can become frustrating as a collector because you are not sure what are the "right" price values. With a Barbie doll values guide book you can spend time researching your Barbie collector dolls, to understand their history, and related items like dollhouses, clothes, coloring books, games, etc. to help you in the process of finding the right values for your dolls. During the search you will want to use many different methods such as internet, auctions, local stores, and basic collector guides . While trying to determine the values of your collector Barbie Doll you will need to look for Vintage Barbie collecting terminology and it will guide you in the right direction.

Some key words that you need to know while you are looking through your collector Barbie doll value collecting guide:

HTF- hard to find
MIB- mint in box (factory doll in mint condition)
MIP- mint in package (means all accessories are still in original packaging)
MNB- in mint condition but not in original box
NT- (not touched) can mean excellent as well when talking about the collector Barbie Doll's condition
NRFB- never removed from box
OSS- has the original swimsuit

When a collector is trying to determine the worth of their Barbie doll, here are some key terms they will see in their value collecting guide:

Barbie Doll Book Values is defined as the pricing guide values of the collector Barbie and does not mean the price you should get on a secondary market. This is an important key word to note when collecting Barbie.

Barbie Doll Market Values is defined as the actual price you expect to sell your collector Barbie Dolls for. There are many factors to take into consideration as a doll collector so you will want to use online auctions as a guide when determine your collector Barbie values.

Barbie collector dolls should reflect the values of the items you collect because they appeal to you. This is the point where the values of your Barbie collector doll become intangible so even if the worth of the Barbie you are collecting is not valuable to the market, the sentimental worth will make it a value to you!

For more information on Barbie visit http://www.crazyforbarbie.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jen_Stewart

Watch Your Daughters Face Light Up With Excitement and Joy When You Give Her Barbie Doll Dream House

It's every little girl's dream to own a Barbie collection. Chances are your daughter is craving for Barbie collectibles to augment her current toys. Barbie collectibles are famous not only because of the Barbie figurine, but also for other sets such as the Barbie Doll Dream House.

If your daughter is eight years old or older, you can wow her this holiday season by giving her the splendid set collection of the Pink Barbie House. This set includes over fifty-five unique parts which imitate real-life household furniture and accessories.

The Pink Barbie Doll House is three feet high when fully assembled. There are ambient effects as well, lights and sounds which give the dream house a realistic feel. Tiki lights and chandeliers provide a luxurious glow to five delicately molded deluxe rooms in the three-story dream house.

Samples of ambient sounds include the crackling of the fireplace, the ring of the kitchen timer, and the flushing of the toilet. Your kid will delight in helping Barbie explore her new Pink Barbie House.

Watch as your kid makes Barbie ride the pull-string elevator to the different floors of the dream house, or let Barbie relax amidst the outdoor spa area complete with a whirlpool-type tub which can be filled with water. Your kid can re arrange the parts of the house every time Barbie has an occasion.

With the Pink Barbie Doll House, your daughter will learn household responsibilities such as cooking in the kitchen and cleaning up the house. The Pink Barbie Doll House provides your daughter with a good training ground for her future household activities. If your daughter's looking for only fun and relaxation for Barbie, she can let Barbie bask in the warm glow of the fireplace, or watch a movie on the mini-flat screen TV.

The Pink Barbie Doll House provides a perfect role-playing experience for your daughter as she dictates Barbie's activities in the luxurious house.

This is my Squidoo minisite where I put up all sorts of incredible videos, articles and reviews about Barbie Doll Dream House. To find out more about Barbie Dream House Click Here

The How-To Guide For Barbie Dolls

The Barbie doll was born in 1959. It was one of the most valuable collectibles by virtue of potential appreciation value. Barbie first made its debut in Japan and is immensely popular the day she was born. As the years went on, Barbie went through makeovers after makeovers and came back in greater varieties than before. Barbie can now be a lawyer or doctor and has numerous clothes and accessories that she is dazzling to behold.

To collect these dolls, you first have to know almost all there is to Barbie dolls, both her past, present and future. Altering them can improve their appearance but however, this will decrease their value. Barbie dolls that are of a limited edition will be more value than the others.

One of the most important things to notice when determining the value of a Barbie doll is to see whether there is any kind of damage on the doll. A slight tear in the clothes or the lack of cleanliness will cause the value to decrease immensely. Not taking out the dolls from the box will preserve their value and shield them from almost any kind of damage

Even though a collectible Barbie Doll that has been altered or restored may be worth less to collectors you may decide that you would still want to go ahead with the Barbie Doll restoration process. If you are not going to get the price you would like at this point and you would rather keep the Barbie Doll then you should consider restoration if you are not concerned with the value and more concerned with maintaining the essence of your Barbie then start the restoration process.

Due to her immense popularity, many people started to collect Barbie and all the different people she represents. As a collectible or toy, Barbie dolls are definitely worth it and lovers of Barbie dolls are now having much more choices as to which dolls to choose nowadays.

DaDaBean [http://dadabean.com] is an informative blog that offers many different articles on collectible dolls. Browse the store [http://dadabean.com/store] of various collectibles and find the dolls you are looking for at DaDaBean.