Except for the merest suggestion of swelling on her right side in a few illustrations, she is almost, as was said in less enlightened times, as flat as a board. Incidentally, none of the illustrations show that the long-waisted and impossibly leggy Skipper has filled out. Mother, who instantly sizes up the situation, proposes that they go shopping the next day to address the crisis in the closet. Experimenting with hairstyles for a new look for the first day of school, she discovers that her clothes don’t quite fit. The Mattel/Whitman paper doll/coloring book of 1978, which was published after the dolls were discontinued in 1977, presented Skipper’s maturation in a much more indirect and wholesome way. In light of the controversy about the gimmick the newspapers and parenting magazines stirred up, giving Skipper a friend, Growing Up Ginger, in 1976 was not an especially astute move on Mattel’s part. Hence the slogan on the box, “Two dolls in one for twice the fun.” The process of transforming the little girl doll into a willowy teenager, was demonstrated semi-graphically on the marketing videos, which are easy to find on the Web. Rotate the doll’s left arm counterclockwise and the torso grew an inch and petite breasts sprouted on the rubber chest. Mattel decided in the mid-1970s that eight-year-old Skipper had to change and the new Growing Up Skipper doll, designed to bloom before its owner’s eyes, hit the market in 1975. Created in 1964, the doll was supposed to be the answer to fans requesting a mommy Barbie as a better role model for young ladies than the sexy career girl. Skipper has been an enduring character in the plastic-fantastic Barbie world. One shows that the gender expectations for Skipper, Barbie’s little sister, in the books did not quite align with the toys and accessories rom the very beginning. Although the actual dolls are out of scope for the Cotsen collection, it does have a handful of the authorized books about them. The Sun Set Malibu line established a beach line as a standard for Barbie, and Mattel continues to release beach dolls to this day.Mattel’s Barbie dolls project toxic stereotypes that have shaped American girls’ ideas of body image since the 1960s. The original doll with a blue swimsuit was produced through 1974, and later versions with different suit styles were produced after that. Using the Stacey head mold for the first time with wide blue eyes and tanned skin, Malibu Barbie was an immediate hit. Introduced in 1971, Malibu Barbie marks the start of Barbie’s image as a blonde, tanned California girl. (Photo: From L to R: Live Action Barbie, PJ, and Christie. Unsold Live Action dolls were later sold as baggie dolls at discount prices. These dolls are much more difficult to find than their standard counterparts. Barbie, Ken, and PJ also were sold in Live Action On Stage sets, which came with a motorized “stage” with attached microphone, as well as a two-sided 45 rpm record. Capitalizing on the music craze, Live Action Barbie, Ken, PJ, and Christie “danced” with the help of a special stand. She could dance and twist, and she had an amazing outfit - this was Live Action Barbie from 1971. Fashion Photo Christie and PJ dolls were also available. Barbie used the new Superstar head mold and came with mix and match pieces to create a variety of outfits. Barbie was sold with a stand that allowed her to pose with the click of a remote control camera. Returning to her roots as a fashion model, 1978’s Fashion Photo Barbie gave kids a taste of the glamour of a model shoot. The doll was also supposed to make a kissing sound when the button was pressed, and it reportedly took many hours of work to get it to not sound like a cricket. Aldo Favelli, a Mattel sculptor who worked on the project, called it a “little nightmare” to work on. Perhaps the most romantic of the gimmick Barbie dolls, Kissing Barbie from 1979 would pucker up her lips and make a kissing noise when the button on her back was pressed. The ‘70s were a decade of big changes for Barbie, with new faces, hair play features, and, of course, new fashions! I’ve created a list of the most iconic Barbie dolls from the ‘70s you might have heard of - maybe you even own a few!
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