Wow! I enjoyed reading about Leah's "Barbie World"! I also checked out Caulis: wow again!
Leah Legault's Barbie Collection brought me back to the sixties and early seventies. My sister and I never had real Barbies; we were given very plain Jane "Mar Jay"s I think and spin off Barbie dolls afterwards.
I googled Mar Jay and I saw a doll dressed as a princess. Our Mar Jay looked like Gilligan from Gilligan's Island with light brown short curly hair and the typical white "Gilligan" hat. She had a very flat chest and did not have curves. She wore shorts, a striped T-shirt and white sneakers. The other dolls were more feminine. They had dark brown, straight, chin-length blunt hair cuts. I love that look! Both the Mar Jays and the spin-off Barbie dolls limbs were made out of plastic that did not feel as soft as the real Barbies' "skin".
Our mother's philosophy was that very young girls would play with baby dolls and then eventually "graduate" to Barbie type dolls as they grew older. That was fine as I have always loved to nurture. I loved my Tearie Dearie, Thumbelina and other "real" dolls!
As an adult, I have felt somewhat uncomfortable seeing very young girls or children play with Barbies. Had they completely missed the joy of playing with babies?! It also seems to me that children, including boys, are pressured into grown-up behaviour and decision-making too soon.
Back to Barbies--I guess that what I loved most about Barbies were the very life-like miniature clothing, accessories and props! To this day, I find that Barbie sequin cocktail dresses and froufrou boas are very glamorous. Oh! Let's not forget the high-heeled shoes! It was awful when one of the shoes went missing!
A cousin of ours had the real McCoy Barbies with all of the the trimmings and accessories. (We are still in the same sixties and early seventies era!) I think that she even had a Ken doll. That felt strange though...I preferred the all girl world of Barbies! (OK, in the eighties it became politically incorrect to use the word "girl"! One had to say "women", even if it meant young girls!)
I also loved to play with friends who would join in the dialogues. Come to think of it, I was probably the one coming up with narratives. Perhaps that my friends would indulge me as a director as well?!
Thank you for taking me along your Barbie journeys dear Michelle and Leah. It was fun to go back to mine as well!
Brigitte, thank you so much for sharing your doll-related childhood memories! I looked up some of the dolls you mentioned, since I was only familiar with Barbie growing up (and Sour Patch Kids, but I don't remember being particularly interested in them). I too loved the Barbie clothes and accessories, and YES I know what you mean about a shoe going missing!! So frustrating! Haha! My neighbour at the time had an impressive Barbie collection, clothing and accessories, so I always preferred playing at her house. I'm not surprised you came up with the narratives, being such a creative person! Brigitte for Director anytime!! :)
Wow! I enjoyed reading about Leah's "Barbie World"! I also checked out Caulis: wow again!
Leah Legault's Barbie Collection brought me back to the sixties and early seventies. My sister and I never had real Barbies; we were given very plain Jane "Mar Jay"s I think and spin off Barbie dolls afterwards.
I googled Mar Jay and I saw a doll dressed as a princess. Our Mar Jay looked like Gilligan from Gilligan's Island with light brown short curly hair and the typical white "Gilligan" hat. She had a very flat chest and did not have curves. She wore shorts, a striped T-shirt and white sneakers. The other dolls were more feminine. They had dark brown, straight, chin-length blunt hair cuts. I love that look! Both the Mar Jays and the spin-off Barbie dolls limbs were made out of plastic that did not feel as soft as the real Barbies' "skin".
Our mother's philosophy was that very young girls would play with baby dolls and then eventually "graduate" to Barbie type dolls as they grew older. That was fine as I have always loved to nurture. I loved my Tearie Dearie, Thumbelina and other "real" dolls!
As an adult, I have felt somewhat uncomfortable seeing very young girls or children play with Barbies. Had they completely missed the joy of playing with babies?! It also seems to me that children, including boys, are pressured into grown-up behaviour and decision-making too soon.
Back to Barbies--I guess that what I loved most about Barbies were the very life-like miniature clothing, accessories and props! To this day, I find that Barbie sequin cocktail dresses and froufrou boas are very glamorous. Oh! Let's not forget the high-heeled shoes! It was awful when one of the shoes went missing!
A cousin of ours had the real McCoy Barbies with all of the the trimmings and accessories. (We are still in the same sixties and early seventies era!) I think that she even had a Ken doll. That felt strange though...I preferred the all girl world of Barbies! (OK, in the eighties it became politically incorrect to use the word "girl"! One had to say "women", even if it meant young girls!)
I also loved to play with friends who would join in the dialogues. Come to think of it, I was probably the one coming up with narratives. Perhaps that my friends would indulge me as a director as well?!
Thank you for taking me along your Barbie journeys dear Michelle and Leah. It was fun to go back to mine as well!
Brigitte, thank you so much for sharing your doll-related childhood memories! I looked up some of the dolls you mentioned, since I was only familiar with Barbie growing up (and Sour Patch Kids, but I don't remember being particularly interested in them). I too loved the Barbie clothes and accessories, and YES I know what you mean about a shoe going missing!! So frustrating! Haha! My neighbour at the time had an impressive Barbie collection, clothing and accessories, so I always preferred playing at her house. I'm not surprised you came up with the narratives, being such a creative person! Brigitte for Director anytime!! :)