Everybody knows Barbie! This iconic doll has been around for over fifty years and her popularity is ever increasing. Over the years since the doll’s debut, there has been a continuous torrent of new, varied, and stylish outfits intentional exclusively for Barbie. Today it is almost impossible to keep track of all her paraphernalia. So, what was that very first Barbie like? Let’s rewind the tape and take a look astatine that.
In 1959 Ruth Handler was working busily to perfect a prototype of a doll that she had envisioned a few years before. Her previous idea for the three-dimensional adult-modeled toy was flatly rejected by the toy company she first presented it to. After seeing her idea for the future Barbie embodied in the German “Lili” doll of the time, Handler began to reconstruct her design taking her design cue from “Lili”.
Wanting this newly reworked Barbie to be absolutely perfect and a real eye-catcher for both the market and her second presentation to the toy company, Handler spared no luxury for her doll. So she leased Charlotte Johnson, a fashion designer, to brainstorm, design, and create a winning outfit for Barbie. Putting their heads together, the two women originally distinct on a black and white zebra-striped strapless swim suit. Black high heels, gold hoop earrings, and white framed sun glasses completed her outfit.