Finding the right Barbie for you!
Mar 08 '01
The Bottom Line Barbies are fun, she's an old broad, but she's still hip and still looks 27!
Yet another useless topic. But, I thought I could have some fun with this one, so here we go.
What little girl hasn't had or wanted a Barbie? I have had my fair share of those dolls growing up, and I still have a few-- Collector's Edition Barbies.
Choosing Your Barbie
Well, this isn't such an easy task. With all the Barbies out there, you may have to invest more time in the purchasing decision than you think. There are literally hundreds of Barbies to choose from at any given time.
What you should do when buying a Barbie:
While in the store-
·Find a comfy place to sit, a bean bag if one's available and take your Barbie with you.
·Look and Feel test-- Remove her from the box, and inspect her closely. If she's pretty, keep her, if she's ugly, lose her.
·Accessory loss test-- Remove any/all accessories from their plastic bags and play with them, drop them on the floor, spin around for 5 minutes, so that a fair amount of traffic has made it's way past you and try to find your shoes and brush. If you find them, she's a keeper, if not, leave her on the bean bag, and walk away.
·Water-resistant/floatability test-- Take your Barbie with you to the bathroom and drop her in the toilet. If she comes out looking affright, drop her back in and walk away as if nothing has happened. If she sank, flush the toilet. If she comes out and looks okay, she's passed phase one.
·Durability test-- Carry your Barbie to the outdoor equipment section of the store and pull yourself a bike down from the rack (or pull the electric Barbie Jeep, if one's available, off the shelf and test drive it-- you'll be killing two birds with one stone). Place Barbie on the floor in your path and drive back and forth over her. If she keeps shape, and sustains only a few tire tracks, she's a keeper, if not, leave her in bicycle basket (or Jeep trunk).
·Flame-resistance test-- If the store you're shopping at sells kitchen appliances (i.e. ovens) make your way over to the houseware department and plug the oven in. Set it to "high broil"(pre-heat if necessary) and leave her in for 45 minutes (this is a perfect time to drop your film off for 1-hour development). If you don't have an oven at your disposal, find an Easy Bake Oven, or use a match or lighter. If Barbie makes it out with minimal scorching, she's a keeper, if not, let her burn.
These steps are important for two reasons. They're simply really fun, and you will make sure you buy a quality Barbie for your child.
What kind of Barbies are available?
There are TONS of Barbies out there, make sure you pick the right one, as some can be rather expensive. Here's a list of Barbie categories:
·Ethnic Barbie-- you can choose basically any race of Barbie your little heart desires. Black, white, Asian, Indian (the country and American), and so on.
*One-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater Barbies are not yet available. Barbie isn't just Barbie, she's also Denise, Kim, and Bridgett. Depending upon which nationality Barbie you choose, and which color hair she has.
·Collectable Barbie-- These are the more expensive Barbie dolls. You can usually pick up a Christmas and New Years Barbie at Wal*Mart, Target, K-Mart, ToysRUs, KayBee, and the like, but others, special series Barbies are usually only available through special places. Collectable shops, QVC, Home Shopping Network (HSN), etc. And, right now Little Debbie is offering a collectable Barbie (to mark the anniversary of the company) for a pretty good price.
·Professional Barbie-- These are the career-girls. Ken is no longer the one to bring home the bacon! You can getcherself a Veterinarian, a Doctor, a Domestic Goddess, a Dentist, a Flight Attendant, Ice Skater and just about any other type of career you could imagine There's even (for you politically correct minded folks, a Wheelchair Barbie).
·Men Folk-- Barbie is not just Barbie, she's also Ken, Steve, and lots of other folk. Ken, the classic Barbie's beau is still hanging around. These guys don't get as many accessories as Barbie herself, but, they still have a few.
·Skipper and Her Little Friends-- What Barbie collection would be complete without the flat-chested little sishta? She's a baby sitter, she's a sister, she's a niece, she's a working girl (Fry cook, Cashier, Server at McDonald's). As there are different Barbies, there are different variations of Skipper.
·Fred's and Dollar General Barbie-- AKA Trailer Trash Barbie. Be weary of these Barbies, you may find your yard ape bringing one home from school after the Christmas present exchange. They are made of a cheap plastic and their hair is tacky. They run for a fraction of the cost as a regular Barbie does, but if the pockets are empty, she may be your only resort. These Barbies are usually without names. These Barbies SUCK and shouldn't be allowed to carry the Barbie name.
·Barbie's a Star!-- I'm not sure when this started, but Mattel now makes Pop Star Barbies. These dolls are of Britany Spears, Spice Girls, that Aguilera girl, and generic Rock Star Barbie, as well as many others.
What You Should know about Your Barbie
·Barbie's Got a Hot Bod- Yes folks, Barbies (and Kens alike) are somewhat anatomically correct. In other words, Barbie's got boobies! Ken's got a little sanded-down looking wee-wee, and Barbie's got a sanded-down looking hoo-ha. Some Barbies and Kens have plastic non-removable underware, but most do not. These Barbies can be almost as dangerous as a Victoria's Secret catalog if you have a pub*escent (censor this!) boy in the house, watch out!
·Barbie's Feet- Her feet are a total pain. The shoes are hard to put on, and even harder to keep on. You'll be buying many replacement shoes in your stent of a Barbie owner. Ken and Skipper, luckily, have flat feet. Which makes it much easier to keep shoes on them.
·Barbie Does The Splits!- Barbie can go much lower than most of us would even attempt. She's extremely limber, just be sure not to pull a leg out. Those things do not go back in.
·Barbie Hair- This is the mistake MANY girls make. They brush Barbie's hair. Folks, let me tell you, THOSE LITTLE BRUSHES INCLUDED WITH EACH BARBIE ARE ONLY SO THAT YOUR DAUGHTER CAN BRUSH THEIR HAIR AND MAKE IT A TOTAL MESS SO YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND BUY HER A NEW ONE. So, hide the brush when you take her out of the box, or better yet, throw it away. Also, girls are notorious for practicing their cosmetology skills on Barbie. Keep the scissors away from your daughter when she's playing with Barbie!!!
Accessories
If you have it, more than likely Barbie does as well.
·Barbie House--Barbie's got a cool pad (well actually several) to entertain all of her Barbie friends-- cus It's a Barbie World!!!! She's got one rooms, she's got two rooms, she's got one stories, she's got two stories, she's got houses with garages, she's got houses with patios.
·CarsBarbie's got cars-- and lots of them! You can get a Porsche, a Ferrari, a Mustang, a Jeep, and many, other cars, all convertible, for easy access. Even a plane!
·Appliances/furniture--Refrigerators, Ovens, Beds, tables, chairs, sofas, pianos, TVs, washers, dryers, small kitchen appliances (blenders, mixers, etc.), stereos, boom boxes, even a computer! Barbie has them all, and your daughter will want them all!
·Pets--Yep, even Barbie's got a pet. You can get a bird, a dog, a cat, or a tiger.
·Barbie's been doing the nasty!--Barbie's got to have a family. Procreation was inevitable. You can find Barbie babies anywhere. Bald ones, ones with hair (blond, brown, black, red). She's been a busy, busy girl. If you buy the set (this includes a Mommy Barbie, a Barbie baby, and sometimes a Sitter-Skipper, you can also get a bathroom/baby room-- these have baby beds, changing tables, rocking chair, and for those potty- training, a little potty- complete with a roll of toilet paper).
·Working Barbie--If you buy a career Barbie, she'll have to have a place to go to work, building tree and dirt offices is no longer the cool thing to do.
So, you'll have to get an office for the respective Barbie. Some Barbies comes with a small job site, such as the Dentist Barbie, Veterinarian Barbie, and the Flight Attendant Barbie McDonald's Barbie (or Skipper).
·Other stuffs--Geez, there's so much more. If you can imagine it, it's out there. I once had the "Heart Family", I believe that was either Barbie's more attractive cousin (or aunt), her husband, and their twins (a boy and a girl). They came with their own little blue "Heart Familimobil". It was way groovy. I also had one of those Barbie Ice Cream Makers. Don't know if they still make those, but I'm sure if you can't find one, you can find something suitable enough to take it's place.
Caring for your Barbie
·Regular Barbies-- Barbies have feelings too! They want to be kept up, not stepped on, not chewed on, no lost limbs, they want to be kept in a warm place, out of the weather. They DO like to go swimming, be sure to take her for a dip regularly when your child is bathing. Barbie hates to walk, and she's got a rep to uphold, so you must get her a nice ride. Most of all, they don't like to be lonely. Get Barbie lots and lots of friends.
·Special Addition/Collector's Barbies-- These are not play toys. They're keepsakes, and perhaps even future valuables (if not already valuable). If your child must play with her collectable Barbie, buy two, one to keep in the box and one for her to play with.
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geovolt
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Member: Rachel
Location: Rutherford, TN
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