The Plastic Princess at 50

Friday, February 13, 2009

Page 15

AT THE SIDEBAR (Column)

The Plastic Princess at 50

By J’AMY PACHECO

It’s no secret that I’ve been playing with Barbie most of my life. I got my first Barbie family doll, her little sister “Skipper,” when I was just four or five years old.

My single mother didn’t have a lot of money, so my Barbie play consisted mostly of me taking them into the bathtub, or making elaborate houses out of books.

A much luckier cousin had it all – Barbie’s Austin-Healey, her Dream House, outfits with names like “Gold ‘N Glamour” and “Senior Prom.” She even had a molded-hair Barbie that came with removable wigs. Ordinarily she wouldn’t let me play with her stuff, and I still remember the joy I experienced when she went away to summer camp and her mom gave me free reign in Barbie world. It was Nirvana.

That probably had a lot to do with my collecting Barbie dolls as an adult. I held onto most of my childhood Barbie dolls, and accumulated many more along the way.

Ten or 11 years ago, I was lucky enough to get to meet Barbie’s mom, Ruth Handler. I even had my picture taken with the marketing genius who insisted that little girls would enjoy playing with high-fashion dolls as much as baby dolls.

Once, I went with a Barbie pal to see a taping of Roseanne Barr’s talk show. It wasn’t that I was a big fan – but she was doing a special Barbie show and we wanted to be part of it. Barr even kept a pair of the custom-made, jeweled Barbie shoes I offered that day for her own doll. Good times.

Over the years, I hosted other people’s Barbie dolls as they traveled the country via U.S. Mail. I took them to Disneyland, Universal Studios, work, school, museums, the beach, Hollywood, and just about anyplace else I could think of. In 2000, I even traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to attend the annual Barbie Doll convention.

Of course, my daughter grew up in Barbie’s world, and has got to be Mattel’s most loyal ‘tween customer. When the upstart Bratz dolls hit the market, my daughter refused to play with them – and actually turned down a nice man who tried to give her a whole set of them – free – at a doll convention.

When Barbie kicked Bratz booty in a legal battle last year, I doubt even Mattel’s top brass exhibited more excitement than my Barbie girl, who actually followed the case in the Los Angeles Times.

No doubt about it, the Plastic Princess holds a very special place in our hearts. Which is why I was delighted to read that for her 50th birthday, Barbie is getting star treatment. She’s being dressed by designers ranging from Jason Wu – who designed Michelle Obama’s inauguration gown – to fashion legend Diane von Furstenberg.

Of course, wunderkind Wu was dressing Barbie long before he dressed the president’s wife – he was winning awards for his Barbie dresses when he was just 17 years old. I even met him at that Barbie convention in Tulsa.

Perhaps what really ties me to Barbie, though, is the fact that we’re the same age. Technically, she’s a few months older, but we’re both hitting the half century mark this year.

She’s celebrating her birthday at Fashion Week; I’m planning to celebrate my 50th on Thanksgiving Day at Disneyland. She’s perpetually perky; I’m…er…not so gravitationally resistant.

She’s been dressed by Tommy Hilfiger, Tuleh and Nicole Miller; I’m usually dressed in stretchy pants by Target. She starred in a segment of “Project Runway;” I watched it.

Yup, me and Babs – we got history. A half-century of it. Through it all, she’s kept that same lovely smile, even when I didn’t.

There’s something about looking at the Princess of Pink that makes turning 50 a lot less painful. I know Barbie has taken a lot of heat over the years for her shape and size, with some women complaining that she sets an unattainable standard for impressionable girls, or gives them the wrong idea about how they should aspire to look.

I’d have to dispute that. I’ve been playing Barbie for almost 50 years, and I’m still happy with my stretchy pants.

I think the lesson I’ve taken from Barbie is that you can turn 50 and still have fun – and that style is whatever you want it to be, whether you choose Jason Wu or Target. Barbie’s all about being happy with the girl you are, whether you’re five or 50.

Yup, me and Babs – we’ve got a lot of years behind us — and hopefully, a lot more ahead.