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My Favorite Childhood Barbies
May. 1st, 2020 08:46 pmI'm gonna keep it simple and just go in chronological order.
1990: Babysitter Skipper & COURTNEY
Let's see, I would have been either two or three years old when these were released, so I honestly don't remember the first time I saw them. I'm not sure if my sister and I had our own, but at least two cousins did, and probably more than a few friends. I love them so much. Their outfits look rather garish now, but if you were a preteen girl in 1990 they were pretty much the height of fashion. Skipper's polka dots, Courtney's tie dye that you know she made herself. Skipper comes with a boombox and Courtney has a Walkman with a tape that you can take out. Both of them have giant long wavy hair.
Courtney's name is in all caps because she's my favorite. She was introduced in 1989 and discontinued in 2001. In her last few years she got aged up and they made her look more generic, but I think her preteen/young teen (she looks like she could be anywhere from 12 to 14) dolls are some of the cutest that Mattel has ever made. This one and Pizza Party are my favorites because I played with them so much, but I'd like to get them all. Pet Pals, Cool Tops, Teen Time, I don't even know. She's just so dang cute.
So yeah, I would love to get my claws on MIB Courtney and both versions of Skipper. We always had the blonde versions, but the black one is also adorable.
1994: Baywatch Barbie
I'd get the black one (again, we had the blonde . . . although I do remember telling my mom that I thought the commercials should at least mention the existence of the black one, who was right there when you went to the store). This doll was fun because she came with a few pieces that you could mix and match for different looks. Swimsuit, shorts, jacket, shoes, visor, whistle, whatever those floaty things they have are called. Plus, she had a dolphin! It wasn't poseable or anything, but it "talked," and it was one of the best bathtime toys even after we grew bored of the actual doll.
Note: I recently asked my sister which childhood Barbie she would like to have again and she said, "idk maybe baywatch."
1994: Pizza Party Skipper, Courtney, and Kevin
My other favorite Courtney! They have the same shoes, but her outfit is way better than Skipper's. That said, you do need to get Skipper and Kevin if you actually want to have a pizza party, because Courtney just comes with a sub. Heh. And ketchup & mustard, for some reason. The mustard makes sense, but WHO is putting KETCHUP on their sub OR their pizza??!
Once again, we had the blonde Skipper (note: we got all three for Christmas), but I really want the black one.
1995: Teacher Barbie
Obviously, "Barbie is a teacher and so can you!" is a doll that Mattel has produced many many many many times over the years, but this one will always be my absolute favorite. The red glasses, red tie, long-sleeved white shirt, and the black skirt/jumper decorated with numbers, rulers, and apples. The red high heels are maybe somewhat questionable for a kindergarten teacher, but hey, she's Barbie.
The black one is my favorite, of course, but I'd also really like to get the brunette and the blonde.
1995: Jewel Hair Mermaid Barbie, Teresa, and Midge
Oh, heck yes. This was the hot toy for a minute. That extra-long hair was so much fun to brush and braid and style, and of course I love mermaids. I think we just had the blonde one, and I'd like to get her again, but I think she'd be even more fun if I dyed her hair blue or green or somewhere in the middle. The black one is my most wanted, naturally, and then Midge (seriously: MIDGE!) and then Teresa. Normally Teresa would be my second fave, but it's so rare to see Midge included in any line that was popular in my childhood, and the blue theme looks just great with her red hair. Ah, bless her.
1997: Cool Blue Barbie, Extreme Green Skipper, Perfect Pink Teresa, and Purple Panic Christie
AAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH, oh my holy what now, yes. I actually bought all four of these in 2015 (as kids I think we just had Teresa), but they got donated when I moved and I really fucking wish I hadn't done that because these four are some of my favorite Barbies EVER. They're so great. Everything about them screams 1997. Knit caps, striped multicolored half-shirts (Teresa's is mostly brown with a pink and white diamond pattern), fuzzy mini backpacks, sneakers, and PASTEL CORDUROY OVERALLS. Oh, and the nail polish, painted thumb rings, and big silver bracelets. Plus, they had little tubes that you could use to put streaks in their hair or yours.
Christie is my personal favorite (she's soooo GORGEOUS), but I love and miss them all. Sigh.
1998: Cool Teen Sitter Skipper
Yep, another babysitter Skipper! This one came with either two or four babies, and it was a big damn deal that she had POSEABLE ARMS that could actually, you know, hold them. Heh. She wears a multicolored turtleneck, pink and green and white plaid bell bottoms, and . . . pink platform heels. Again, somewhat questionable. But whatever, this doll was gorgeous and I don't think we ever had her, but she was in all the ads and I fell in love with her. I'd like to get both versions.
1998: Beyond Pink Barbie, Christie, and Teresa
Again, we didn't have these but I totally wanted them. Barbie is the only one who actually wears pink, of course (although they all come with a real cassette that is pink). Christie's in green and Teresa's in orange. Apparently, they have glow-in-the-dark accents, which sounds v cool. Not quite a must-have, but I would still love to get all three of these dolls someday.
2003: Secret Spells Barbie, Christie, and Kayla
Okay, these weren't really around in my "childhood" (I turned 16 that year), and I don't even remember if I knew about them when they were released, since they got pulled from a lot of shelves almost right away, but the fact that I want them should be MORE THAN OBVIOUS. I mean, come on, Barbie and her friends getting into Wicca? Gimme gimme gimme!
HONORABLE MENTIONS
My favorite beach line is definitely Sun Jewel. None of them are must-haves, but I'd like to get them all someday: Christie, Ken, Kira (KIRA!!!), Skipper, Steven, Teresa, and of course Barbie herself. I think some of our cousins had about half of them, and I vaguely recall a pool playset of some sort?
At some point it would be nice to get at least one Stacie/Janet/Whitney collection. I think I'd go with either the Polly Pocket line, which was fun because their backpacks expanded into scenes for their Pollies to play in (that's right, you could play with your dolls and make them play with dolls!) or the Gymast line, because they had the super-poseable bodies that were pretty rare back then, especially for such small dolls.
And I'd also like Mermaid Skipper and the Sea Twins. Yes, YET ANOTHER babysitting Skipper, but this one is a mermaid.
So that's it for now. I'll hold on to this list and maybe start collecting again someday.
1990: Babysitter Skipper & COURTNEY
Let's see, I would have been either two or three years old when these were released, so I honestly don't remember the first time I saw them. I'm not sure if my sister and I had our own, but at least two cousins did, and probably more than a few friends. I love them so much. Their outfits look rather garish now, but if you were a preteen girl in 1990 they were pretty much the height of fashion. Skipper's polka dots, Courtney's tie dye that you know she made herself. Skipper comes with a boombox and Courtney has a Walkman with a tape that you can take out. Both of them have giant long wavy hair.
Courtney's name is in all caps because she's my favorite. She was introduced in 1989 and discontinued in 2001. In her last few years she got aged up and they made her look more generic, but I think her preteen/young teen (she looks like she could be anywhere from 12 to 14) dolls are some of the cutest that Mattel has ever made. This one and Pizza Party are my favorites because I played with them so much, but I'd like to get them all. Pet Pals, Cool Tops, Teen Time, I don't even know. She's just so dang cute.
So yeah, I would love to get my claws on MIB Courtney and both versions of Skipper. We always had the blonde versions, but the black one is also adorable.
1994: Baywatch Barbie
I'd get the black one (again, we had the blonde . . . although I do remember telling my mom that I thought the commercials should at least mention the existence of the black one, who was right there when you went to the store). This doll was fun because she came with a few pieces that you could mix and match for different looks. Swimsuit, shorts, jacket, shoes, visor, whistle, whatever those floaty things they have are called. Plus, she had a dolphin! It wasn't poseable or anything, but it "talked," and it was one of the best bathtime toys even after we grew bored of the actual doll.
Note: I recently asked my sister which childhood Barbie she would like to have again and she said, "idk maybe baywatch."
1994: Pizza Party Skipper, Courtney, and Kevin
My other favorite Courtney! They have the same shoes, but her outfit is way better than Skipper's. That said, you do need to get Skipper and Kevin if you actually want to have a pizza party, because Courtney just comes with a sub. Heh. And ketchup & mustard, for some reason. The mustard makes sense, but WHO is putting KETCHUP on their sub OR their pizza??!
Once again, we had the blonde Skipper (note: we got all three for Christmas), but I really want the black one.
1995: Teacher Barbie
Obviously, "Barbie is a teacher and so can you!" is a doll that Mattel has produced many many many many times over the years, but this one will always be my absolute favorite. The red glasses, red tie, long-sleeved white shirt, and the black skirt/jumper decorated with numbers, rulers, and apples. The red high heels are maybe somewhat questionable for a kindergarten teacher, but hey, she's Barbie.
The black one is my favorite, of course, but I'd also really like to get the brunette and the blonde.
1995: Jewel Hair Mermaid Barbie, Teresa, and Midge
Oh, heck yes. This was the hot toy for a minute. That extra-long hair was so much fun to brush and braid and style, and of course I love mermaids. I think we just had the blonde one, and I'd like to get her again, but I think she'd be even more fun if I dyed her hair blue or green or somewhere in the middle. The black one is my most wanted, naturally, and then Midge (seriously: MIDGE!) and then Teresa. Normally Teresa would be my second fave, but it's so rare to see Midge included in any line that was popular in my childhood, and the blue theme looks just great with her red hair. Ah, bless her.
1997: Cool Blue Barbie, Extreme Green Skipper, Perfect Pink Teresa, and Purple Panic Christie
AAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH, oh my holy what now, yes. I actually bought all four of these in 2015 (as kids I think we just had Teresa), but they got donated when I moved and I really fucking wish I hadn't done that because these four are some of my favorite Barbies EVER. They're so great. Everything about them screams 1997. Knit caps, striped multicolored half-shirts (Teresa's is mostly brown with a pink and white diamond pattern), fuzzy mini backpacks, sneakers, and PASTEL CORDUROY OVERALLS. Oh, and the nail polish, painted thumb rings, and big silver bracelets. Plus, they had little tubes that you could use to put streaks in their hair or yours.
Christie is my personal favorite (she's soooo GORGEOUS), but I love and miss them all. Sigh.
1998: Cool Teen Sitter Skipper
Yep, another babysitter Skipper! This one came with either two or four babies, and it was a big damn deal that she had POSEABLE ARMS that could actually, you know, hold them. Heh. She wears a multicolored turtleneck, pink and green and white plaid bell bottoms, and . . . pink platform heels. Again, somewhat questionable. But whatever, this doll was gorgeous and I don't think we ever had her, but she was in all the ads and I fell in love with her. I'd like to get both versions.
1998: Beyond Pink Barbie, Christie, and Teresa
Again, we didn't have these but I totally wanted them. Barbie is the only one who actually wears pink, of course (although they all come with a real cassette that is pink). Christie's in green and Teresa's in orange. Apparently, they have glow-in-the-dark accents, which sounds v cool. Not quite a must-have, but I would still love to get all three of these dolls someday.
2003: Secret Spells Barbie, Christie, and Kayla
Okay, these weren't really around in my "childhood" (I turned 16 that year), and I don't even remember if I knew about them when they were released, since they got pulled from a lot of shelves almost right away, but the fact that I want them should be MORE THAN OBVIOUS. I mean, come on, Barbie and her friends getting into Wicca? Gimme gimme gimme!
HONORABLE MENTIONS
My favorite beach line is definitely Sun Jewel. None of them are must-haves, but I'd like to get them all someday: Christie, Ken, Kira (KIRA!!!), Skipper, Steven, Teresa, and of course Barbie herself. I think some of our cousins had about half of them, and I vaguely recall a pool playset of some sort?
At some point it would be nice to get at least one Stacie/Janet/Whitney collection. I think I'd go with either the Polly Pocket line, which was fun because their backpacks expanded into scenes for their Pollies to play in (that's right, you could play with your dolls and make them play with dolls!) or the Gymast line, because they had the super-poseable bodies that were pretty rare back then, especially for such small dolls.
And I'd also like Mermaid Skipper and the Sea Twins. Yes, YET ANOTHER babysitting Skipper, but this one is a mermaid.
So that's it for now. I'll hold on to this list and maybe start collecting again someday.
