My Story of Barbie Collecting - how it started and where it is now

 Barbie collecting for me has had several rounds. (Seems like that is the case for many of the collections that I still have...) The first round of Barbie collecting began for me way back in 1999. It started one day while browsing in KB Toys - why I was in there, I really do not recall. But they had one of those specials which they would offer when they needed to clear out a bunch of stock. It was spend X amount and get a Ballerina Barbie for $1. The first Barbie I got was the beautiful Marzipan Nutcracker Barbie. Oh, was I ever enamored with her! And hooked on Barbie. I waited for sales as money was very tight in those days, and with time I snagged Swan Lake Barbie (another bargain doll) Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. I opened them all, but kept them stored in their boxes, only to take them out to admire them, and then back they went into their boxes and into my closet. A few more dolls joined the family. I remember Butterfly Tattoo Barbie and Kira. I don't recall the exact timeline, but for whatever reason, I didn't end up keeping the dolls. Perhaps that decision came when preparing for an upcoming move, I don't really remember. To this day I do miss Snow White and Marzipan Barbie. I've never replaced them.

Phase 2 of Barbie collecting came in 2002/03. I got a couple of dolls at K-Mart, and then more came on eBay. I didn't have many at this point, and the only ones I can really remember were Western Stamping Tara Lynn, and one of the 90's Beach Kens, who was my absolute favorite doll that I owned. I know I had others. This collection was sold when I branched out to collecting other things, such as G3, and then G1 MLP and American Girl dolls. I didn't look at Barbie again until.....

Phase 3 started in probably 2019. (These last few years have been a blur, and sometimes I can't remember what happened in which year. I know many of us can relate to that disconnected feeling when we look at 2019 onward.) I found this stunning birthstone Barbie Topaz, NIB at a Flea Market. I really wanted her, but I thought to myself "Self, you already collect enough stuff. Do you really want to try Barbie again?" I decided that the answer was "No" and left the market, only to turn around, go back and buy the doll. I did open her (her box wasn't super, and I am simply not a NIB collector) and then just had her tucked away in a container to occasionally get out and admire. About a year or so later, I found a fantastic deal on facebook MP where someone was selling holiday barbies for a great deal. I got 2 different rounds from her and was over the moon. One was Millenial Barbie, others were 2002, 2005 holiday Barbie, and so forth. I did open them and kept them in a container. Next I found repro Totally hair Barbie at Ollie's and a Caboodles Barbie from someone close to where I live,. And then came the real fun. I started finding cheap - usually nude and in need of cleaning up - 80's and 90's barbies at Flea Markets. This was the ultimate. Unfortunatley, I no longer have those dolls and its a regret that I have to just get over.

Here's the story behind that. To sum it up quickly, I had been living in a very stressful situation, halfway in boxes, with much of my stuff in town in a storage building. Things would get hauled back and forth when it had been too long since I had seen it. After so long, that gets extremely old and endlessly depressing. Sometimes you don't make the best choices in those situations. We were cleaning up and organizing the building to prepare for the upcoming move, and I was tired and worn out with it all, and basically just bagged up a lot of my stuff and simply donated it. Most of what I donated I really have no regret. But boy, I wish I hadn't tossed all my Barbies!! I'm just incredibly relieved that for some weird reason, I saved all their shoes and also kept the pack  of 40 pairs of shoes I got at a Flea Market. 

And now here we are in Phase 4. I really missed my Barbies, so I decided it was time to revisit some old friends. These dolls might have been new to me dolls, but Barbie herself is an old friend. First I got Earring Magic Barbie. I did buy her NIB and trust me, I felt incredibly guilty for opening her. But she also had her bag of shoes loose across her face, so she wouldn't have been ideal for NIB collectors. Then I found Earring Magic Ken for a very good price. And then came Paint and Dazzle Barbie who I got for so cheap, I was shocked. I found a Nude Caboodles Barbie and won her. (I still had her Caboodles case and shoes from my previous one.) My intent was to stick with those for awhile and then eventually add maybe one or two other dolls. And you know just how those plans go! I started thrifting again and while I still mourn for some of my past dolls, I have been able to find some wonderful treasures. I got a repro Barbie (nude, with her bangs not so perfectly removed, but not a problem) for Christmas, and I have since been going strong with the hunt! 

What I find amusing about looking back at what was important to me in each of these phases and where I am now. Phase 1 and Phase 3 (in the beginning) was all about the holiday or collectors Barbies. Phase 2 and my present self, it's all about the playline dolls. I started out only thinking about the early to mid 90's dolls,  and then I got interested in the 80s, then the 70s and now I have 60s dolls on my Dream List. One of my recent finds was an early 80s Ken that I  in previous phases would never have bought. I sure do love him now though!

I have no intention of ever parting with my collection again. I feel pretty confident in that assessment since I am finally in a far less stressful, much more secure phase in my life. I know we can never predict these things, and while I expect my collection to have adjustments periods, I intend to keep Barbie as a very close friend. 

Newest Barbie thrifted finds!

The week of Christmas has finally arrived. Most of the shopping has been done, but there's always that last hurrah to ensure you have everything you need for Christmas dinner. The last thing I honestly wanted to do yesterday was brave the 39 degree weather (I know, I know. It wasn't that bad.) and the pre-holiday crowds and traffic but we all gotta do it. The trip wasn't going to be too terribly demanding - just Wal-Mart, Meijers and Hobby Lobby. Goodwill is right next to Wal-Mart, so I wanted to quickly run in there to see if I could find some little treasure.

The toy aisle there is pretty much 2 rows of toys, and then the stuffed animals have been moved to an idiotic corner where you can't actually find much. Which is better because I am OUT of Build a Bear room! They keep the barbies in one or 2 big plastic totes on the bottom shelf. The last few stops in there have been a bust, but the sight of them overflowing with dolls was promising! Most of the dolls you will find are the recent dolls from the last few years, a great deal of Disney princesses and some knock off sort of dolls. Yesterday, however, I unearthed some goodies. :D First I found the 1997 brunette Christmas barbie. She had her crown and jewelry and seemed to be in pretty good shape, even though she had some spots on her face that I was doubtful as to whether or not they would come off. I've always preferred the blonde version, but seeing her then, I had to have her. 

Next, I spied the Tropical Splash Barbie from 1994. Her earrings were broken off and her hair was messy but other than that, she was in good shape! Next I unearthed a Pearl Beach Barbie with a broken neck. Her head was shoved down low on the neck, which is always quite a sight to see. I knew I could switch the bodies if I could find a suitable replacement. I have a serious weakness for the 80s/90s (especially the 90s) beach barbies, so when I find them, I have to grab them. Her hair was a fright - ratty and tangled, but her face was clean and she still had her earrings. I set her on my growing pile of To-Get dolls and went back to searching through the containers. Lo and behold, there was a second Tropical Splash barbie! Perfect match. Finally, I found a Scarlett O'Hara doll in the burgundy dress. My final find for the day was an unexpected non Barbie find - an early release brunette Bitty Baby, for a whopping $1.79! Yay!

The rest of the trip went as expected. Busy aisles, annoying traffic. But we got pretty much everything we came for. Gifts were completed, food and necessities acquired. Well, except for the over bags. Darn it all, I finally found some and didn't bother to notice that they were only for 8 lb turkeys. 8 lbs is not going to suffice for our 19 pound turkey. It was all Wal-Mart had, but if I had just paid attention, I could have gotten the right size in Meijers. It's always something though, right? :)

I was really excited to get my dolls cleaned up, so after dinner I got out the kitchen Lysol and Magic Eraser and wiped my dolls down. This is a winning combination. Just spray the dry sponge with Lysol - it is second to none for removing grease, grime and surface stains. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to completely remove the 2 small stains on my brunette Barbie's face, but it's okay. They aren't bad. I was really nervous to remove the second Tropical Splash barbie's head to do the head swap. I heated the head up with a blow dryer and with much trepidation, went through the process. What I discovered was that there is a time to be careful and then a time to just pull hard. Otherwise, you can run the risk of splitting the neck or breaking the ball joint. The head swap went well. After that, I decided to take off my other Tropical Barbie's head so I could take the broken earrings out. With both dolls put back together, it was time for the hair treatments!

First, I washed them with shampoo and then slathered on a good amount of condition. And then, I combed. My first project was the Pearl Beach barbie. It took some time to carefully comb it all and untangle the tightly coiled hair from around her earrings. Once I felt pretty good about my initial comb through, I got out my flat iron. The lowest setting on mine is 100 C and it is perfect for doll and pony hair. It took me awhile to get through her whole head, going 1/4" wide and very thin sections at a time. But once I was done, wow! She looks almost as good as new!

My Tropical Splash Barbie's hair was okay, but I figured I would go ahead and use the flat iron to tame any remaining frizzies. I haven't decided yet whether I want to put her hair back in its original style, or curl it. 

My Christmas Barbie's hair was such a horrible rats nest I thought I would have to use the flat iron on it. Surprisingly though after several reapplications of conditioner and lots of vigorous combing (I really couldn't be gentle - it was that bad) it seems like it'll be okay without the flat iron. Which is better, as I hated to lose the original curl (which is now more like a gentle wave) and I don't quite feel confident with curlers as I know I will be with more practice.

Right now, all 3 dolls are waiting for their hair to dry before they can meet the other dolls in my tiny collection. I set Scarlett aside for another day's spa, as her hair is going to take a different approach to clean up.