Don't Just Play Barbie, Be Barbie!

Joe's List

2011-12-19T07:27:00.003-05:00

I really wish I hadn’t surfed across Joe’s List - Joe Blitman’s Fashion & Celebrity Dolls. OMG he has an extensive offering of hard-to-find doll collectibles for sale. There’s an African-American Barbie Convention Doll Set I could die for but $400 is just not in my budget right now. Arrgh!

He also offers other Convention items as well as mint condition clothing and accessories. Check out the other Mattel fashion dolls available as well as fashion dolls by other manufacturers.

Barbie and computer gadgets are my weaknesses so Joe’s site will definitely be a struggle for me to avoid spending money. Please pray for me...I am so serious.

Smooches...

Merry Christmas

2011-12-17T22:07:00.003-05:00

My friend, Rona, sent me this cute Barbie Christmas photo and I'm sharing with you. Please share photos of your new Barbies you receive or purchase for Christmas. Remember the reason for the Season. Smooches...

Multicultural Mashup: Fenella Layla Barbie

2011-09-25T21:03:00.003-04:00

I received my Byron Lars Fenella Layla Barbie in the mail. She’s beautiful as are all of his dolls but her outfit leaves a lot to be desired. I think I see the multicultural mashup concept of the design but it lacks the funky, fashion forward, awe-inspiring flavor I’ve come to expect to adorn a Byron Lars Barbie.

Instead, the outfit looks thrown together. There’s not nearly enough Kente cloth shown. The plaids are overpowering and make the design feel “heavy". After reading an interesting post on the Black Doll Collecting blog, I find that under the Byron Lars design name, Fenella Layla Barbie was actually designed by Ann Driskill.

I usually like Driskill’s designs. I’m looking forward to more great ones from her in the future. I’m still adding this to my Barbie Collection and looking forward to the next Byron Lars Barbie.

Happy Birthday, Lucille Ball!

2011-08-06T13:34:00.000-04:00

Lucille Ball would have been 100 years old today. Here's a clip from one of my favorite I Love Lucy episodes.

The Bratz vs. Barbie War Continues?

2011-08-06T01:15:00.001-04:00

The latest round in the Bratz vs. Barbie war goes to Bratz toymaker MGA. Mattel has been ordered to pay $309M. Read more here.

Model Confusion?

2011-07-30T23:47:00.001-04:00

Here are close-up shots of the Model No. 01 or No. 04 in No. 1's dress? She is not disturbed in the box so I guess this is an error and she's way more valuable than the $20 plus tax I spent for her. Hmmm...?

By the way, I purchased her from the Target in North Miami, FL.

New Addition to My Barbie Basics Collection

2011-07-30T17:58:00.002-04:00

I was pleased to find this lovely doll to add to my collection. She is Model No. 1 from the Barbie Basics Collection Red, a Target exclusive.

I love the electric red color against her ebony skin and the Goddess of Africa face mold is one of my favorites. She was the only one on the shelf so I was blessed to find her.

Barbie Exhibit at Old Davie School Historical Museum

2011-07-17T19:55:00.008-04:00

I surfed across an article about a Barbie exhibit essentially in my backyard. Three collectors are sharing over 400 dolls with the community in one of the historic sites in South Florida. I do hope to swing an interview or at least some photos soon. If I do, you know I will share on this blog.

If you're in South Florida or will be visiting before the exhibit closes on August 19, do stop by for a visit. Here are details from the Museum's website:

SHE'S HERE!!!

Come and see hundreds of fashion dolls from all different eras on display in our museum. If you love fashion, you'll enjoy this exhibit.
If you love dolls, you'll be in heaven!

Tour times: Tue-Saturday 10-2pm
Cost: $7/adults $5/children (12 & under)
Children 3 & under free

Old Davie School Historical Museum
6650 Griffin Rd.
Davie, FL 33314

My Life According to Barbie

2011-02-02T05:46:00.000-05:00

Check out this super cute Barbie photo blog by Stacy McAnulty, My Life According to Barbie. She’s also written a book by the same title. It’s available on Amazon.com via Kindle.

Don't Just Play Barbie, Be Barbie Listed in Top 40 Doll Collecting Blogs

2011-01-20T00:40:00.001-05:00

Smooches and best wishes for a pink and pretty day go out to one Ms. Carrie Oakley who honored this blog by listing us among the Top 40 Doll Collecting Blogs. Woo-hoo! Yes, we are blushing.

Thank you, Carrie and thank you to everyone who reads this blog. Stop by Carrie's blog and say hello. Remember to make 2011 fabulous!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

How Many Dolls Do You Have? Don't Ask Sharon the Barbie Lady of Arlington, TX! [PHOTOS]

2010-11-27T11:11:00.000-05:00

OMG! Check out these pictures of the collection of one Ms. Sharon the Barbie Lady of Arlington, TX! I am so keeping the pictures for my family and friends who are amazed (and complain) about the number of Barbies I have. LOL Sharon's collection includes over 900 Barbies and over 100 Kellys/Tommys.

Sharon has been collecting for over 15 to 20 years. She has a very understanding husband who custom built floor-to-ceiling cases for her in a room in their home. Keep him, Sharon and does he have a single brother? What a collection! I could sleep so peacefully in that room.

Thank you so much for sharing your collection with us, Ms. Sharon! Smooches...

P.S. If you want to share photos of your collection, don't be shy! E-mail them to vanessa@vanessabyers.net.

Barbie Basics Model No. 8 Red Collection

2010-09-28T12:11:00.010-04:00

Thanks to a great friend, I am the happy owner of two of this hard-to-find Target Exclusive Barbie Basics Model No. 8 from the Red Collection. I am partial to Afrocentric hairstyles so I fell in love with the curls on this doll in the promo photo. For dolls that I really love, I try to get two --- one to collect that remains in the box and one to "accessorize". One of the reasons I love the Basics collections is the opportunity to release some creativity in dressing and redressing the dolls. To keep my collections complete, I may be forced to get the other two dolls in the Red Collection. Anyhoo, I'll share more later. Smooches...

Barbie as Cleopatra

2010-08-17T16:34:00.000-04:00

I received the latest Barbie Collector catalog in the mail today. The Barbie Doll as Cleopatra is on the cover and I may want to add her to my collection but I want to see her in real life before spending $100. I have plans to redress other dolls in her attire.

If you already own this Barbie or have seen the actual doll, let us know what you think of it. Thanks. Smooches...

“Mad Men” Dolls Featured in Barbie Collector Catalog

2010-06-21T08:32:00.002-04:00

I have never watched the television show, "Mad Men" --- not one episode or portion of an episode. That may change after seeing the fashions on the cover dolls on the latest Barbie Collector catalog. I absolutely adore the up-do, black belted dress and accessories on the Joan Holloway doll and the darling floral party dress on the Betty Draper doll complete with a lovely pearl necklace. Not usually one for the male doll fashions, I do like the attire on the Roger Sterling doll and Don Draper doll.

Miss Angola Wins Ninimomo Mini-Pageant

2010-05-26T08:05:00.004-04:00

As soon as my campaign is over, I’m going to sell some of my Barbies and buy Ninimomos. I have had enough of admiring them online. I really, really want some. Take a look at this creation that won one of their mini-pageants. Miss Angola is absolutely gorgeous.

If you haven’t checked out their doll pageants, it’s a must for doll collectors. The workmanship of their customized dolls is unbelievable – especially the detailed beading and fabulous hair re-roots and face re-paints. Check out the other delegates in this pageant and other pageants online.

Oh yeah, before she was Miss Angola, she was Lt. Uhura Barbie.

Do check out the Ninimomo doll pageants for more amazing transformations.

© 2010, Don’t Just Play Barbie…Be Barbie!, www.bebarbie.net

More Barbie Controversy: Basic Model No. 10 Too Risque!

2010-05-25T09:20:00.000-04:00

It seems one doll in the Barbie Basics Collection is causing a controversy in Minnesota. The particular doll, No. 10 (the one one the far right), is too risqué for children according to one mom. She’s correct. The doll is too risqué for children, that’s why the Barbie Basics Collection targets adult doll collectors, not children. Perhaps placement of the product should be addressed rather than pulling the doll from shelves.

A similar controversy arose a few years ago with Mattel’s Lingerie Barbie series. Mattel discontinued the Lingerie series but not before changing the doll’s signature lingerie to something more acceptable. Once again, those dolls were for adult collectors; not for little kids who may terrorize the doll with haircuts, underwater swimming or even beheading.

Let’s go back further to 1980 when the first Black Barbie hit the shelves and the thigh high cut of her red wrap skirt caused a stir. Heck, if we go all the way back to Barbie’s beginnings, her origin has always been a bit controversial since some say she was based on a German cartoon character and adult toy of questionable repute called Bild Lilli.

All Barbies are not for children. Be sure to select one (or more) that's age appropriate and don't get your knickers in a knot.

Helpful Video Series for Barbie Collectors [VIDEO]

2010-05-18T06:15:00.003-04:00

I surfed across this helpful video on how to keep track of a Barbie collection. Several years ago I was really meticulous about keeping track of my collection. Unfortunately, I haven’t done that in quite some time. Instead of cataloging my collection, I think I’m going to really downsize this time and sell most of them online.

Techniques for Organizing your Barbie Doll Collection -- powered by ehow

Check out the video series of tips on Barbie collecting from Sonja Fischer. Happy collecting! Have a pink and pretty day.

Real-Life Barbie: Miss America Dr. Debbye Turner

2009-12-23T15:37:00.001-05:00

From debbyeturner.com

I never dreamed, as a little girl, that I would one day become Miss America. I didn’t really want to. I always loved animals. And, except for a brief time in elementary school when I thought I wanted to be a teacher, I always wanted to be a veterinarian. Since I was a young girl, I knew that the expensive veterinary education was way beyond my family’s financial abilities. So I began looking for scholarship opportunities to help get me through veterinary school.

When the Director of the Miss Jonesboro pageant approached me about entering her “local” pageant which is in the Miss America System, I was more then willing because she told me that the Miss America Scholarship Program was the largest source of scholarship for women in the world. She then told me that I could win tens of thousands of dollars if I won a state pageant and went on to the Miss America competition. I knew right away that this might be my ticket to paying for veterinary school!

But before I met the Miss Jonesboro Director, I had participated in two other pageants. Thanks to the encouragement and inspiration of my church choir director, I entered my very first pageant, “Miss Black Teenage World.” I was fifteen at the time. All my friends were in it too. It was more fun than competition. Still my natural tendency to want to win made my First Runner-Up placement a bit of a disappointment. But I did enjoy the experience, so when the high school counselor announced the Junior Miss Program was looking for participants, I signed up. I went on to win the title of Northeast Arkansas Junior. And placed in the “Top 8” at the Arkansas Junior Miss Program. I was later told that I was “too sophisticated” for the Junior Miss Program and that I should consider the Miss America program.

In 1983, I was nominated to represent the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) in a high school pageant. I gladly accepted. I won! That’s where I met the lady from the Miss Jonesboro Pageant. So later that year, I entered my first pageant in the Miss America system, the Miss Jonesboro Pageant. The road was long to the Miss America stage. You see, I HAD to win a “state pageant” in order to get to the Miss America pageant. It took seven years, eleven tries in two states to get there. I entered four local pageants in the Miss Arkansas system. I won three of them, which meant that I went to the Miss Arkansas pageant three times. But I could never win the Miss Arkansas title. So after that third failed attempt, I changed my method. By this time, I was a veterinary student at the University of Missouri-Columbia. So, since I was a student in the state of Missouri, I was eligible for the Missouri preliminaries. So in February of 1989 I entered the Miss Columbia pageant and won. I went on to the Miss Missouri pageant that summer and won. In September, I became Miss America 1990. And my life changed forever...

If you want to know more about the Miss America system, click here: http://www.missamerica.org/.

Comme des Garçons Barbie

2009-12-09T09:42:00.006-05:00

From the Telegraph:

The Comme des Garçons Barbie doll by Japanese fashion designer, Rei Kawakubo, comes in a Jingle Flowers box. Kawakubo has designed a multicolored, silk dress, with a full, asymmetric skirt that stands away from the body – perfect for Barbie’s Christmas social whirl.

The dress is in a photo-style, print graphic and forms part of ‘Jingle Flowers’, the Comme des Garçons ‘new nonsense’ Christmas range.

The limited edition Barbie is part of the Barbie Collector Platinum Label collection, and comes in its own box, featuring the Jingle Flowers print, and display stand.
Comme des Garçons Barbie was launched in Tokyo last week and sold out.

© 2009, Don’t Just Play Barbie…Be Barbie!, www.bebarbie.net

Heidi Klum Gets Doll'd Up…Fabulous! [VIDEO]

2009-12-07T07:36:00.000-05:00

Here’s a video capturing a bit of the discussion on the design for the Heidi Klum addition to Mattel’s Blonde Ambition Collection. She worked with the always-fabulous Robert Best, one of my favorite Barbie designers. If you recall, he was a contestant on Project Runway a couple of seasons ago.

Anyhoo, Heidi’s doll is gorgeous. That dress is oh so cute. (“If it’s not pink, it’s not good.” Loved that comment!) And those shoes!!! OMG Everything works well on this doll; I can hardly wait to redress another doll in that fabulous ensemble.

Real-Life Barbie: Cindy Crawford

2009-12-04T07:29:00.002-05:00

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Crawford

Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is a former American model. Known for her trademark mole just above her lip, Crawford has adorned hundreds of magazine covers throughout her career. She was named #3 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90s. Her success at modeling made her a celebrity that has led to roles in television and film, and to work as a spokesperson.

Early life

Crawford was born in DeKalb, Illinois, the daughter of Jennifer Sue Crawford-Moluf (née Walker) and John Crawford.[1][2] She was discovered at the age of 16 by a newspaper photographer. He noticed Cindy at work during her summer job of detasseling corn and took a picture of her. The photo and positive feedback she received were enough to convince her to take up modeling. She entered the Elite Model Management's Look of the Year contest at 17 and was the runner-up. The Elite modeling agency in Chicago then started representing her.
Crawford graduated from DeKalb High School in 1984, as valedictorian.[3] She won an academic scholarship to study chemical engineering at Northwestern University, which she attended for only one quarter. She dropped out in order to pursue a full-time modeling career. After working for photographer Victor Skrebneski in Chicago, Cindy moved to Manhattan in 1986; she was signed with the Elite New York modeling agency.

In 1987, she briefly appeared during the opening credits of the Michael J. Fox film The Secret of My Succe$s.

Career
During the 1980s and 1990s, Cindy Crawford was among the most popular supermodels, and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, and in fashion campaigns. She was repeatedly and frequently featured on the cover of many magazines, including: Vogue, W, People, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Allure. A partial count in 1998 totalled over 400 appearances.[4] Crawford also appeared in many fashion campaigns during her career, including those for Gianni Versace, Escada, Revlon, Ink. She has also worked for Omega, Maybelline, and Clairol.

Fashion designer Michael Kors summed up her impact:
"Cindy changed the perception of the ‘sexy American girl’ from classic blue eyed blonde to a more sultry brunette with brains, charm, and professionalism to spare."[11]

After modeling
Crawford quit modeling in 2000. She continues to provide celebrity endorsement for a variety of projects. In 2005, Crawford created a line of beauty products with Dr. Jean-Louis Sebagh called Meaningful Beauty for Guthy-Renker. Crawford has admitted to regularly receiving certain cosmetic procedures, including Botox, collagen, and vitamin injections. She first saw a plastic surgeon at the age of 29.[12]

In 2005, Crawford launched a new line of furniture under the "Cindy Crawford Home Collection" name. This collection is manufactured by HM Richards Inc., and is sold through many retailers including Art Van Furniture and Rooms To Go. She assisted in the creation of the line by directing the designers to include certain features, colors, or styles that fit the needs of families or reflected her own tastes.[13] She also has a furniture line with Raymour & Flanigan and will launch another home goods line with J. C. Penney in late 2009.[14]

This one-of-a-kind Cindy Crawford Barbie was designed by Robert Best for a charity auction. The winning bidder paid $33,000 for this doll.

I think this Chocolate Obsession Barbie doll looks like Cindy Crawford!

Cindy Crawford’s Official Website: www.cindy.com/

007 Bond Girl: Die Another Day Barbie ~ Halle Berry as Jinx

2009-12-03T07:11:00.000-05:00

This doll is a must have for my collection. I love dolls with short hairdos and IMHO, Halle Berry has never looked better than when she rocked this style. It is likely this doll will serve as an excellent model for other doll fashions just as Ms. Berry does IRL. Anyhoo, I'll be sure to share photos with you.

Christian Louboutin Barbie #1: Love the Shoes!

2009-12-02T07:20:00.000-05:00

This is the first of three dolls in the Christian Louboutin series of dolls from Barbie® Collector. It comes straight from the "My Year in Paris" dairy calendar’s September scene—Barbie vividly dreaming of being a jewel thief on the rooftops of Paris with her sophisticated partner in crime, Christian Louboutin. Barbie wears a sleek, black catsuit with hood, headband and ultra-chic Differa gold sandals by Christian Louboutin.

The Doll comes with four pairs of Barbie shoes by Christian Louboutin each with the signature red sole, miniature shoe boxes and cloth bags. Shoes include the Differa gold sandals, Altameche Leopard boots, the Claudia ankle straps in Barbie 219 Pink and the Belle Ankle shoes in black.

Monsieur Louboutin ruffled many feathers earlier this year when he declared a redesign of Barbie's legs would be required before the doll could wear his creations. It seems the Barbie we've known and loved has fat ankles but let's not go there, okay? His shoes are fab so I may have to buy the doll just to get them!

Today is World AIDS Day

2009-12-01T06:45:00.001-05:00

From Avert:

Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. The World AIDS Day theme for 2009 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.4 million people living with HIV, including 2.1 million children. During 2008 some 2.7 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 2 million people died from AIDS. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.

The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

The Barbie Basics Collection: Permission to Play, Uh, I Meant Redress and Accessorize

2009-11-30T07:52:00.004-05:00

The new Barbie Basics Models Collection 001 is perfect for collectors who love to redress and accessorize their dolls. I confess that would be me. I have bought dolls just for their fabulous ensemble or accessories to adorn another doll. Thank you for this collection, Mattel.

I must tell you that I’d planned to only purchase three of the dolls until I saw these photos on Flickr. All of the dolls are so much more appealing than the photos on the Barbie Collector site.

Here’s more info about the Collection:

Customize. Personalize. Play. Barbie Basics is all about permission to play. Part of the Barbie Basics Collection, this collection of dolls and fashions is all about customizing the fashion staple, the "Little Black Dress," and making it your own! This collection includes 12 different dolls each of which is dressed in a different style of a "Little Black Dress.” Barbie Basics Accessories, sold separately, help you personalize your very own "Little Black Dress" Barbie!

As you probably already know, the entire collection is on back order on Barbie Collector and pre-order at many doll dealers on the internet. There may be a few available at your local Toys R Us or other large stores. Shop wisely, as the dolls are advertised on the internet for a wide range of prices.

Let’s hope Mattel produces a sufficient quantity of these creations but remember this is Collection 001 so let's try to exercise restraint. LOL