Vintage Barbie Shoes

Barbie has always been envied due to her amazingly stylish wardrobe, her figure, and of course, her abundant amount of shoes.

This is mainly due to the fact that Mattel targeted much of their marketing revenue to the details of her fashion ensemble.

There are many interesting facts about her open and closed toe heels and pumps. This makes it very fun and exciting for any vintage collector to find the various shoe styles.

Open-Toe Pumps

If you look on the bottoms of all of the open-toe pumps, they are marked with the word "Japan" in capital letters. The pumps are also hard plastic. (continue article below)... Read more

What Should I Look For When Buying Vintage Barbie Dolls?

The very first Barbie doll was dressed in a striped black and white bathing suit and sported a ponytail. The later versions of Barbie dolls wore varieties of fashion such as mod in the 60's and so forth.

The designers of Barbie's body had also made modifications to her such as giving her a waist that can be twisted, a wider smile and brighter eyes, to name a few.

Vintage Barbie dolls are dolls that were produced before 1972. Before purchasing a vintage Barbie, one should check the exact year that the Barbie doll was made.

The copyright date is another feature that should also be inspected, as the further back the years go, the more valuable the Barbie doll is. One example of a vintage Barbie dolls that are high in value are the ones marked with "1958" or "Japan" on the rear end or on the bottom of one of the feet. Read more

Where Can I Buy Vintage Barbie Dolls?

Those that are avid collectors of the original Barbie dolls, the ones no longer made, appreciate a good find and are willing to pay for a doll in excellent condition. Because these dolls are so popular, they are hard to find. It's not impossible to find a vintage Barbie doll if you know some of the places that often sell them.

The Internet

Check on the Internet to find a vintage Barbie quickly. If you simply type in "vintage Barbie dolls" in Google, plenty of listings pop up. Most of these sites also carry the original clothing for Barbie.

Because the vintage dolls are from the 60's and 70's, a time when collectible toys and dolls had not peaked, most of the Barbie's purchased found their way to the arms of a little girl and used for their intended purpose, toys. 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

Vintage Bubble Cut Barbie Dolls

Bubble Cut Barbies are the cookie-cutter version of the perfect vintage Barbie doll.

When one envisions a Barbie from the 1960s, then they probably have a vision of the bubble cut Barbie doll. There are numerous versions of this style and each one has different characteristics.

Many assume that all of the bubble cut Barbies are the same, except for their hair and lips. However, this is very far from the truth.

There are at least three different styles of bubble cut Barbies, and they all have different color variations as far as their lips and hair color are concerned. It would take a collector years to find all of the different bubble cut Barbies.

Bubble cut Barbie dolls can be separated into three different time spans: 1961, 1962, and 1963 to 1966. However, there was a certain time overlapping in the terms of factory productions. Mattel was well known for making use of extra heads, limbs, and torsos from previous dolls. (article continues below)...

What Does "Bubble Cut" Mean?

The term "bubble cut" stands for the new hairstyle introduced in the middle of 1961. Much different from the high ponytail that Barbie sported in the 1950s, the bubble cut is a short bob that is very full on the sides. The 1961 bubble cut Barbie was packaged in the original Barbie box, and was changed in 1962 to a new box that illustrated the new bubble cut style.

1961 Bubble Cut

Even though the overall hairstyle of all of the bubble cuts was the same, each year was slightly different. For example, in 1961 it was a very tight hairstyle, as well as having dark red lips and nail polish.

The Barbie also sported the traditional black and white striped strapless swimsuit, with the black heels and earrings. The traditional black sunglasses were not included this time.

One interesting fact is that the vinyl used for the 1961 doll's head has a tendency to sweat just like the ponytail Barbies from 1961, so you will usually find a bubble cut Barbie from this time period with a greasier face.

1962 Bubble Cut

The 1962 bubble cut Barbie came in the newer box, as mentioned above, and she wore a new red "helenca" swimsuit with pearl earrings.

In addition, she donned a pair of red open-toed high heeled pumps, a wire stand for display and a fashion booklet. While most of the 1962 versions have a tight hair style, such as the 1961 version, some have been found with hair that is slightly longer. Instead of only red lipstick and nail polish, the colors vary from deep red to pale pink.

1963-1966 Bubble Cut

The third type of bubble cut is easy to spot due to her large amounts of thick hair, which is not individually styled like the earlier versions.

The dolls were first introduced in 1963 and stopped being produced in 1966. The dolls faces also seem to be slightly "chubbier" than the earlier styles.

The dolls are also marked "Midge/Barbie" on their bottoms due to the fact that this was the year that the Midge doll was introduced, therefore proving that Mattel used the same body parts for different dolls. The 1963 bubble cuts were the only styles to have the Midge word stamped.

Unique Variations and Value

In 1965 there were a few bubble cuts set apart from the rest because of their bright facial paint, such as lighter blue eyes and eye-shadow. You can spot them because of their "crosshatch" woven side-part on the right side of their heads.

The hair below the part line also curls up onto the dolls' right temple. In regards to value, the bubble cut Barbies were produced for years in large quantities. They are still easy to find. Many collectors consider the 1961 bubble cut more valuable due to the fact that it was only made for one year.

Either way, collecting bubble cut Barbies is a great hobby and very fulfilling. You will have a lot of fun trying to locate all of the different styles and finding out their overall value.

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