What Does Barbie Tell Us?

Classic toys tell us a lot about our culture, but I'm not sure what. They reveal changes in the way we view childhood and in the way we look over our shoulder at our past. There have been volumes written about Barbie. I had the first one in 1959 seen here. No, it's not mine. I wish. If I had never taken her out of the box, I probably could have put my kids through graduate school. Who knew? When I got Barbie, I was ten years old. Now the major fans of Barbie dolls are two disparate groups: girls 2-4 years old. (Yes, two to four! Scary, huh?) However, 90% of Barbie lovers are women over the age of 40. Many of these grown-up girls will spend $1,000 a year and buy more than 20 Barbie dolls each year.

These are the kind of Barbie dolls that adults buy: Elvis and Priscilla in replicas of their actual wedding outfits. A Goldie Hawn Barbie from the "Laugh-In" days. A Joan Jett Barbie. A Cyndi Lauper Barbie is coming in 2010. Barbie's like the character in the Woody Allen movie "Zelig." She's been around. You can buy these from my link to Entertainment Earth, the same place you can buy Star Trek Tribbles and a life-size Captain Kirk "bridge chair."

I don't buy Barbie dolls, but I understand the appeal. To be honest, I do have a set of Beatle dolls that I got when I worked for a company that made licensed items. And I'm holding on to them. Ringo is missing his drums, but the moptops are in the original box, and maybe my future grandchildren can use them to fund college.

Do you buy replicas or save originals of nostalgic dolls? Please share in the comments!