The Barbie© Doll Turns Fifty

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Aired during the transmission of the Mickey Mouse Club, the Barbie doll's first TV commercial is part of a historical legacy that all fashion doll collectors share. And in spite of what we may think about its message in regards to a girl's aspirations, no one will deny the fact that the Barbie doll, as presented in 1959, revolutionized the adult figured fashion doll and created a standard that to this day, all fashion doll lines wish to attain.

After fifty years, the earliest vintage issues of the Barbie doll made in Japan continue to command attention not only for their historical relevance but also for the quality of their manufacture and the uniqueness of the doll's countenance. Based on the Bild Lilli doll, vintage Barbie dolls from 1959-1966 use a face mold that still mesmerizes, intrigues, and shocks. This highly stylized representation of a human face boasts a tiny pointy nose, cantilevering eyelash ridges that partially hide side glancing eyes, and an enigmatic closed mouth. A blank canvas it is not, regardless of what the lore may say about Ruth Handler's initial vision, for the Barbie doll in its 1959 form, shows nothing but attitude and self-confidence. This is an image of femininity that although graphically minimal, conveys intensity and strength of temperament. But is this the characterization of a seductress or that of a teen-age fashion model? 

Regardless of what your reaction or your associations may be, it is difficult not to fall under the spell of those early hand painted faces, of a raised eyebrow, of sleep eyes, of blood red lips, of saturated make-up, of platinum white hair. These are faces that define beauty as something other than pretty and demure and that present a distinct view (and a powerful one while at it) of femininity. 

The Barbie doll persona, that universally recognized character, celebrates fifty years as the quintessential icon of style and a veritable modern-age sphinx. For it all started with Barbie and it all comes back to her.

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