Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959.
American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.
Barbie is the figurehead of a brand of Mattel dolls and accessories, including other family members and collectible dolls.
Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for over sixty years, and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parodies of the doll and her lifestyle. Mattel has sold over a billion Barbie dolls, making it the company's largest and most profitable line.
The Barbie doll brand has expanded into a media franchise, including a long-running series of animated films that began in 2001. From 2002 to 2017, the films were aired regularly on the Nickelodeon cable channel.
Barbie and her boyfriend Ken have been described as two most popular dolls in the world. The doll has transformed the toy business in affluent communities worldwide by becoming a vehicle for the sale of related merchandise like accessories, clothes and friends of Barbie.
Writing for Journal of Popular Culture in 1977, Don Richard Cox noted that Barbie has a significant impact on social values by conveying characteristics of female independence, and with her multitude of accessories, an idealized upscale life-style that can be shared with affluent friends.
Sales of Barbie dolls started to decline sharply from 2014 to 2016.
More information: Barbiemedia
In 2020, Mattel sold $1.35 billion worth of Barbie dolls and accessories and this was their best sales growth in two decades. This is an increase from the $950 million the brand sold during 2017.
Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors.
During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli. The adult-figured doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper Bild. Lilli was a blonde bombshell, a working girl who knew what she wanted and was not above using men to get it. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955, and although it was initially sold to adults, it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately.
The doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on March 9, 1959. This date is also used as Barbie's official birthday.
The first Barbie doll wore a black-and-white zebra striped swimsuit and signature topknot ponytail, and was available as either a blonde or brunette. The doll was marketed as a Teen-age Fashion Model, with her clothes created by Mattel fashion designer Charlotte Johnson.
The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in Japan, with their clothes hand-stitched by Japanese homeworkers. Around 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold during the first year of production.
Louis Marx and Company sued Mattel in March 1961. After licensing Lilli, they claimed that Mattel had infringed on Greiner & Hausser's patent for Bild-Lilli's hip joint, and also claimed that Barbie was a direct take-off and copy of Bild-Lilli. The company additionally claimed that Mattel falsely and misleadingly represented itself as having originated the design. Mattel counter-claimed and the case was settled out of court in 1963.
In 1964, Mattel bought Greiner & Hausser's copyright and patent rights for the Bild-Lilli doll for $21,600.
Ruth
Handler believed that it was important for Barbie to have an adult
appearance, and early market research showed that some parents were
unhappy about the doll's chest, which had distinct breasts.
More information: History
Barbie's appearance has been changed many times, most notably in 1971 when the doll's eyes were adjusted to look forwards rather than having the demure sideways glance of the original model. This would be the last improvement Ruth would make to her own creation as, three years later, she and her husband Elliot were removed from their posts at Mattel after an investigation found them guilty of issuing false and misleading financial reports.
Barbie was one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based extensively on television advertising, which has been copied widely by other toys.
It is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.
The standard range of Barbie dolls and related accessories are manufactured to approximately 1/6 scale, which is also known as playscale. The standard dolls are approximately 11½ inches tall.
Barbie syndrome is a term that has been used to depict the desire to have a physical appearance and lifestyle representative of the Barbie doll. It is most often associated with pre-teenage and adolescent females but is applicable to any age group or gender.
A person with Barbie syndrome attempts to emulate the doll's physical appearance, even though the doll has unattainable body proportions. This syndrome is seen as a form of body dysmorphic disorder and results in various eating disorders as well as an obsession with cosmetic surgery.
More information: The Culture Trip
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