It’s been 64 years since the first Barbie doll was released, and 26 years since Aqua’s Barbie Girl. But with a big-screen live-action outing on the way, 2023 is set to be Barbie’s biggest yet. To mark the auspiciously pink occasion, Buzz designer Charlotte Little invites you into her own plastic, fantastic world…
It all started in 1992: a 54-piece Capri Barbie mini jigsaw puzzle that cost me £1. It was a strange decision for me as I hate doing jigsaw puzzles, but something about the pink packaging, retro logo and 80s, kitsch-looking Barbie on the box appealed to me. Within months, I’d bought a Sun Jewel Barbie doll with ash blonde hair in a pink bikini with dazzling embellishment. I loved looking at her smiling, sunkissed face and admired her OTT style. Before long, I had every bikini Barbie I could find.
Today, my Mattel Barbies and accessories collection encompasses over 120 dolls, none of which have ever been removed from their boxes. A small number compared to others, I imagine, but I still managed to document a slice of 90s pop culture through this plastic icon nonetheless.
I was never fixated on vintage, value or purchasing collector editions aimed at adults. I loved the regular children’s line of dolls that were cheap and easily obtainable in supermarkets. Even then, I realised that I could potentially be buying a future classic.
I’m always asked what the value of my collection is, but to me it’s worth more than the money. Each one holds a memory of where I purchased it, who I was with or who was kind enough to indulge me in my passion for pink.
I had pretty much stopped collecting by the end of the decade as I needed to start saving for my own dream house. I still get gifted a Barbie every so often but I haven’t made a purchase in 23 years… until now. At the time of writing, I’m sat waiting for a ping from Facebook Marketplace to pick up a #14 Barbie Extra doll. She’s wearing a skirt and top printed with a pattern repeat of the same retro logo that caught my eye 33 years ago. I’m definitely not ready to sell!
Did you know…?
Barbie has never been pregnant
Barbie pink is Pantone 219C
The first ‘Charlotte’ in Barbie’s world was a pig
words CHARLOTTE LITTLE
