Creation of Barbie

Alyssa A. 

                                                                                                                                                                                   Period 5

                                                                                                                                                                                  March 23, 2011

                                                                        Creation Of Barbie

                  As we all know Barbie is the most popular doll in the United States, but have you ever wondered who created Barbie?

Ruth Handler, wife of Mattel’s co-founder, Elliot Handler, created Barbie in 1959. She named Barbie after her daughter Barbara. The first time Ruth took her idea to Mattel they turned her down. Ruth didn’t give up though. While on a trip to Europe Ruth saw a German doll named Lilli and she had everything that Ruth had envisioned. She went back to Mattel and showed them her idea again and unsure if it would be the next famous toy, they approved it.

                  Barbie was the first doll of its kind in the U.S. and critics questioned whether consumers would buy it. In the first year of sales: 351,000 Barbie dolls were sold. The cost of a Barbie doll when it first came out was $3. Barbie was mainly made to be a role model for young girls. Ruth wanted little girls to know that they can be anything they wanted. Barbie has over 500 makeovers such as a Doctor, Veterinarian, Astronaut, Rock star, Aerobics instructor, Princess and they even make Barbies that look like celebrities.

                  A few years after the coming out of Barbie, Ken was created. Ken was named after Ruth’s son. Now they have Barbie’s friends and family like Skipper, Tutti, Todd, Francie, Jazzie and many of other characters. They also made accessories like clothes, cars, shoes, houses and even pets for Barbie. For Barbie’s houses they sell refrigerators with food, that’s not real of coarse, and furniture like sofas, showers, beds, closets, and drawers. They have made everything for Barbie.

                  I have owned over 100 Barbie’s since I was younger and I had lots of accessories for her and her friends. Being a kid and going to buy a Barbie was so fun. It was hard to choose which Barbie you’d want because there were so many to choose from. Barbies would never go out of style for little girls and the history of Barbie is interesting to know.