Vintage Swirl Ponytail Barbie

In 1964 Barbie hit a new phase of glamor, and it all began with the release of the Swirl Ponytail Barbie doll.

Unlike the first six Ponytail Barbies that had their hair pulled straight back with bangs in the front, this new doll had her bangs combed to the left, resembling a swirl.

Her hair was available in four different colors; Blonde, Brunette, Redhead and Platinum. (The Redhead boxes originally had Titian for the hair color, but was later changed to Redhead.) The dolls all had blue eyes and their eyebrows matched their hair color, but they did come in a variety of different lip shades.

The outfit that she was released in was a red Jersey swimsuit, with pearl stud earrings, red open toe shoes and a yellow ribbon that held her ponytail together. Read more

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

Vintage Ponytail Barbie Dolls

In 1959, Mattel produced the first Barbie with her hair pulled back in a ponytail hence the name Ponytail Barbie.

The Barbie doll had Barbie ™ Pats. Pend. ©MCMLVIII by Mattel Inc. engraved on every one of them, just to make sure that any imitation could not compromise their business.

Referred to by numbers, there are six different types of vintage ponytail Barbie dolls.

There are avid vintage Ponytail Barbie doll collectors that are keen on the differences among the dolls that are used to identify them, since different Barbie dolls have different values associated with them.

The several different vintage Ponytail Barbie dolls can be identified as follows: (article continued below)... Read more