Updated on May 31, 2023 by Gabrielle Castania: Between the continued longevity of Barbie and the hype surrounding the 2023 live action Barbie movie, we wanted to come back to our list of the rarest Barbie dolls and double-check that we’ve still got an accurate list. Klimek: Let's hear another piece of archival audio that gets into the increasing sophistication of the hair on these dolls. And so I guess this is what I'm saying, is it didn't matter to us if Mattel said, “Oh, Barbie and Ken are together or not” or like, “Oh, Ken's from Wisconsin.

And he has this girlfriend who's not a really fully fleshed-out character, and who really only exists or matters insofar as she has this boyfriend. It is now seen as a collector's item amongst Barbie collectors thanks to the fashion designer and creative director's involvement in the doll's creation. Ken is dressed in an elegant but boxy-cut suit with shoulder pads and a purple corsage and is ready to take Barbie out for a night on the town. Plus, she had seen this novelty doll while traveling in Europe that had a more buxom shape and thought, “What if I put these two ideas together? Silkstone Barbie dolls are crafted from a higher-grade plastic that almost feels more like porcelain than actual plastic, and the dolls made from this material have risen quite a lot in value because of how infrequently Mattel uses the material.While the original Barbie would be criticised over the years for her impossible standards, the first doll is actually much less unrealistic than later models. And we're closing out the show, as we do every episode, with a little extra bit of info from my colleagues at Smithsonian magazine. Columbus sees cacao beans in a Maya trading canoe, and he thinks they're almonds, but then he reaches out and tastes one and is repulsed by the unexpected bitterness.

Before Michael Cera took the role as adorable misfit Allan in "Barbie," he wasn't a very well known doll. Yes, he was meant to be Barbie’s boyfriend, but his very presence risked more complaints from mothers about Barbie’s over-sexualization. Ken comes with a brown felt bolero jacket, pants, a sombrero, a white short-sleeved tee, a green cummerbund, a black ribbon necktie, black boots and a travel pamphlet. The shaving Ken doll set uses water-activated colour change to make his beard appear and disappear, a toy sponge razor and a cloth towel to let kids immerse themselves in role-play fun.She even has a magnet in her mouth, similar to Barbie's dog Tanner, so she can eat apples and carrying things in her mouth. He was to be fabulous enough to look good next to Barbie, but not so fabulous as to threaten the intricate maze of limited representation upon which Mattel had built a billion-dollar empire.

Ruffles, lace, high heels, velvet, feathers—all these things seem 'girly' now but two hundred years ago were the height of men's fashion.Additional pieces inspire richer stories; some of the accessories have handles the doll can hold or feature a plug-and-play design that helps hold them in place for active play and easy clean-up. What looks progressive for the female-presenting toy is going to be different than what looks progressive for the Ken. Normally, he reflects whatever kind of movie star or sports star or singer is popular or famous at the time,” said Joey Jarossi, a content creator who hosts the doll-enthusiast YouTube channel Beauty Inside a Box. In a design that would make Q proud, Video Girl Barbie contained a small video camera in her necklace with a small screen embedded in her back. While some praise the existence versatility of Barbie, who was given careers in fields like space exploration earlier than most, the doll has also been seen as a vapid and commercialized representation of all that is wrong with a lot of marketing.