Happy Birthday Barbie!
Dressed in golden glittery gown & golden earrings “Barbie Millicent
Roberts.”is celebrating her 50th birthday today.So a big Happy birthday to
her.
Known as ‘Barbie’ to all of us she was first introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. This date is also used as Barbie’s official birthday.
The first Barbie doll wore a black and white zebra striped swimsuit and signature topknot ponytail, and was available as either a blonde or brunette. The doll was marketed as a “Teen-age Fashion Model,” with her clothes created by Mattel fashion designer Charlotte Johnson. The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in Japan, with their clothes hand-stitched by Japanese homeworkers. Around 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold during the first year of production.
She is the daughter of George and Margaret Roberts from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin.Barbie attended Willows High School and fictional Manhattan International High School in New York City.
She has an on-off romantic relationship with her beau Ken (Ken Carson), who first appeared in 1961. Like Barbie, Ken shares his name with one of Ruth Handler’s children. A news release from Mattel in February 2004 announced that Barbie and Ken had decided to split up, but in February 2006 they were back together again.
Barbie has had over forty pets including cats and dogs, horses, a panda, a lion cub, and a zebra..BarbieÒdoll’s first pet was a horse named Dancer.
She has owned a wide range of vehicles, including pink Corvette convertibles, trailers and jeeps. She also holds a pilot’s license, and operates commercial airliners in addition to serving as a flight attendant.
Barbie’s careers are designed to show that women can take on a variety of roles in life, and the doll has been sold with a wide range of titles including Miss Astronaut Barbie (1965), Doctor Barbie (1988) and Nascar Barbie (1998).In these 5 decades she She’s enjoyed 108 careers; as a nurse, astronaut, doctor, Marine and, long before Hillary, Barbie was a presidential candidate. Her newest job? A TV chef.
BarbieÒ doll has had more than a billion pair of shoes and over one hundred new additions to her wardrobe annually.BarbieÒ doll’s signature color is Barbie pink. BarbieÒdoll’s collection of couture includes designs by Givenchy, Versace, Dolce & Gabana, Vera Wang and Gucci..Close to 1 billion fashions have been produced since 1959 for BarbieÒand her friends.At the Barbie Design Center outside Los Angeles, Mattel is bringing the doll back to those roots with their latest creation, a tribute to the very first Bathing Suit Barbie.
And for a limited time, Mattel is even throwing back the price tag to just $3 — the original 1959 price.
The company hopes the birthday celebration will boost the bottom line. Like the rest of America, Barbie is hurting in this economy. Sales took a huge hit during the 2008 holiday season — down 21 percent.
We wish her very best in life.
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