Evolution of Barbie
As I flipped through Allure magazine this week, I came across an article that made me have a horrible flashback to a ridiculous song: "Barbie Girl," by Aqua. After recalling the tunes that used to play on the radio every other song, I read an article about the actual Barbie doll and how she's aged (gracefully?) over the years.
The article titled "A Barbie World" discusses Barbie's many fashions and makeovers over the past 50 years.
Allure said between 1959 and now, Barbie has had more than 50,000 makeovers, or 1,000 makeovers in one year, or 2.7 makeovers a day.
Well, lets round those makeovers up to three a day--this chick has worn thousands of different hair-dos and has accommodated each generation and their trends. Barbie must be tired.
I am well aware of the fact that Barbie is just plastic ("life in plastic, it's fantastic!"), but it annoys me that she can have on average three different outfits, hair-dos (even different hair colors), jewelry, and makeup a day and some REAL LIVE girls get made fun of when they accessorize just a little, or even if they over accessorize or are a semi-shopaholic. And as we [college students] approach the "real world," we have to learn to dress appropriately for the work-world--sweats in the office is not going to work out too well--so why not experiment with fashion trends now.
Besides shopping sprees and accessorizing I began to think--Barbie is 50-years-old and she looks fabulous! If I were 6-years-old and still playing with the plastic doll it would never cross my mind that maybe Barbie--the plastic woman--is a great example of how someone looks after plastic surgery. I went online to allure.com and pulled up some old popular Barbie pictures. As I went from the slides of the 1959 doll, through the '60's, '70's, ''80's, and '90's, I saw how her makeup went from simple to over-the-top. I also noticed the different nose jobs and also the different shape of Barbie's eyebrows. Is the shape of Barbie's new eyebrows the result of a major facelift? And her cute plump lips--Botox?
Maybe I am reading into it far too much. Maybe thinking that Barbie has had plastic surgery and Botox is extreme. But what isn't silly is how the doll is changing with each generation and how her style is even being picked up on the runway! Way to go Barbie! Good luck with future Fashion Weeks!
-Cayla
