1959 Barbie Dolls

The world was first introduced to the Barbie doll in the year 1959. She debuted in the now famous black-and-white striped swimsuit and top knot ponytail that came in shades of blonde and brunette.

She also came with holes in the bottom of her feet that had metal cylinders inside them so that you could attach her to a black metal stand. Also the number one actually has no blue color in her eyes, the iris is white.

Near the end of the year 1959 the second type of ponytail Barbie was introduced to the world, known as the  number two ponytail. The only difference from the first doll was that she no longer had the holes and metal cylinders in her feet.

Although critics did not give her a warm welcome, at the New York Toy Fair where she first appeared. However she was a huge hit with little girls, selling almost 350,000 dolls in her first year of production.

A popular outfit that came out this year for Barbie was the Cotton Casual. Which was a navy and white striped dress paired up with white open toe shoes.

Other popular outfits for collectors from this year include the Gay Parisienne and the Roman Holiday.

Below is a Barbie's very first commercial from 1959... Read more

1959 World’s First Barbie Commercial

The video below is the first commercial that Barbie was ever featured in. It aired during the Mickey Mouse Club show in the year 1959. To learn more about the history of Barbie go here.

What Is The History Behind Barbie Dolls?

A doll that has adorned the shelves of every little girl all over the world has got to be the Barbie. Produced by Mattel Inc, these dolls are a major source of revenue for the company.

An American business woman, Ruth Handler (1916-2002), is said to be the creator of Barbie and the design of the doll was inspired from a German doll called Bild Lilli.

The idea of an adult bodied doll came to Ruth Handler as she watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls and often giving some of them adult roles. At the time, children's toys were replicas of infants.

Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Ruth suggested the idea to her husband Elliot, co-founder of the Mattel toy company. But he, as well as the other director of Mattel did not show much enthusiasm with the idea.

In 1956, during a trip to Europe with her children, Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth found a German doll called Bild Lilli, which was exactly the kind of doll she had in mind. She purchased three of them, gave one to her daughter and took the other two back to Mattel. This German doll was based on a popular character that appeared in a comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper Die Bild-Zeitung. Read more