1968 booklets show prototype and actual packaging for 4042 Hair Fair

The first of the Barbie Hair Fair sets, #4042, was released in 1968.  This set has a Barbie head with pageboy, a flip wig, a "wiglet," a very long braid with an intertwined ribbon and a gold barrette, and a hairband with a braid and roses.  Blonde heads and hairpieces are much more abundant than the brunette items.

The 1968 booklets show two different packages.  In the booklet The World of Barbie Fashions Book 1, dated 1967, the actual 1968 #4042 Hair Fair Set with green and purple packaging is shown.

The booklet The World of Barbie Fashions Book One (note that this version has the digit spelled out) is dated 1968 and was released in early 1969.  It has 1969 clothing pictured, but the new Talking Ken is not yet shown and some of the girl dolls are shown in their 1968 outfits.  Ironically, this later booklet has what I believe is a prototype package for #4042, with faceless dolls pictured and what looks like the 1965 American Girl Barbie.

What is a "wiglet"? It's actually a very fancy chignon or bun.  Put it on the top of the head a doll wearing a ballgown.

Barbie in Team Ups wears the hairband and holds two braids with darker pink ribbons.
Barbie in Zokko wears a full wig and holds a braid with a lighter pink ribbon.

The actual 1968 4042 Hair Fair packaging shows
two Barbies, Francie and Casey wearing hairpieces.

It's my theory that the 68/69 booklet shows a prototype of 4042 Hair Fair,
with incomplete faces and no plastic covering.

Some examples of Ken's coats

Ken coats can be just as loud and impractical as Barbie's.  Here are some examples.  Top row:

Free Moving Ken in Best Buy 7227 trench coat, both from 1975, and Best Buy 7759 shirt and slacks from 1974 underneath.  7759 is called Vacation in Europe.

Tropical Ken in Twice as Nice 2306, both from 1986.  This trench coat has three names: Living it up in London in the U.S., and Double Coat and Autumn in Europe.

Bottom row

Ken in 1433 Play it Cool, both from 1970

Ken in Fashion Avenue 14677, both from 1996

Caucasian Day to Night Ken in Twice as Nice 9116, both from 1985.  The "Thriller" windbreaker outfit is called Motor Mania in the U.S.  and Disco in Europe.  Underneath Ken wears the shirt from 5822 Cool N Casual from 1983.

Coats that no one would wear in real life

Not all of the Barbie and family coats are practical or useful.  Many of them are fanciful and don't represent anything a person would wear in real life, even during the mod era.  Four examples are

Blonde Living Barbie in 1799 Maxi N Midi, both from 1970.  I wanted this outfit as a little girl and it was one of the first outfits I purchased as an adult collector.

White Stacy in 1813 Snug Fuzz, both from 1968.  I wanted this outfit as a little girl and it was one of the first outfits I purchased as an adult collector.  Also as an adult collector, I learned that this ridiculous fur suit was adapted from one of Coco Chanel's practical, business suit designs.

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Brunette Twist N Turn Barbie in 1860 Smasheroo, both from 1968.  Although I did not know about this outfit as a girl, it was one of the first I acquired as an adult collector.  I found it loose and complete at an antique mall.

Brunette Twist N Turn Skipper in 1972 Drizzle Sizzle, both from 1969.  The clear vinyl boots are almost impossible to get over Skipper's soft feet.  Now that the boots are on they are staying on!

Barbie and family also own a lot of raincoats

Ken seems very drab in his beige trench coat and slacks next to Barbie, Skipper and Janet in their cheery colored raincoats!  The dolls are, left to right,

Happy Meal Janet in 10747 Raincoat, School Outfit and School Tools, both from 1994.

Brunette Twist N Turn Barbie in 1808 Drizzle Dash, both from 1967, and 1862 Country Caper from 1969.

Pink skin redhaired bend leg Skipper in 1939 Flower Showers and 1940 Rolla Scoot, all from 1967.

Redhaired straight leg Midge in 949 Raincoat and a mustard yellow Sheath Knit Dress, all from 1963.

Redhaired gray skinned straight leg Skipper in 1916 Rain or Shine, with1910 Sunny Pastels underneath, all from 1965.

Brunette molded hair Ken in 788 Rally Day, both from 1962.  Underneath he wears the shirt to 782 Casuals from 1961.

SunSet Malibu Barbie in 3409 Red for Rain, both from 1971.  Since I didn't have any appropriate outfits for her to wear underneath, all she has on is her light blue swimsuit!

The fabric for Raincoat, Rain or Shine, Rally Day and Red for Rain is poplin, and I presume it is supposed to be waterproof?!

You want to stand out against the snow when skiing

Long before brightly-hued ski outfits became popular, Barbie and friends were already wearing them.  Here are five that I own, left to right:

Redhead Living Barbie in 1797 The Ski Scene, both from 1970.

Gold Medal Skier Barbie from 1975 in her original outfit plus her skis.

Sears Action Accents Barbie from 1970 in her original outfit.  (I don't understand why this doll was sold with auburn hair and fuchsia clothing, because they clash!)

 

Gold Medal Skier Ken from 1975 in his original outfit, including his skis.

Walt Disney's Snow White in unnumbered Skiing, both from 1993.

'Real' coats to wear outside to walk or play in

Fake fur is a standard item in Barbie and family coats.  These four items, while brightly colored, are more practical and can be worn for dressing up or more casual situations, such as building a snowman.  From left to right are

Talking Busy Barbie in 3336 Furry N Fun coat and boots, with 3360 Pleasantly Peasantry gown hidden under the coat, all from 1972.

Brunette Twist N Turn Barbie in 1491 Red, White N Warm, both from 1969.

Live Action Barbie in 3429 Cold Snap, both from 1971, wearing 1461 Anti Freezers from 1970 underneath, including its yellow boots.

blonde Twist N Turn Francie in 1245 Snake Charmers, both from 1970.  I wanted this outfit as a little girl and it was one of the first I acquired as an adult collector.

The snowman is wearing the red scarf from Barbie's 3408 Super Scarf from 1971 and the gray top hat from Ken's 1860 Pleasant Manor from 1987.

Why I collect Barbie's winter coats

My sisters and I started playing with Barbie dolls in the late 1960s and continued into the early 1970s.  Those two decades saw some extremely hard winters in Greater Cincinnati, so heavy winter coats were important items of clothing, particularly to children going to and from school or playing outside.

Also, I didn't know anyone who went to balls and needed gowns, and I knew of few women who got married during that time period--I was just too young and the adults I knew not into fancy party clothes.  Our lives consisted of school and play clothes and one dress outfit per season per year, and business clothing for adults instead of school uniforms.  In other words, what my experience was were the following: heavy slacks or skirts and sweaters and long-sleeve blouses in the winter, medium-weight pastel shirts and slacks in the spring, lightweight brightly-colored tank tops and shorts in the summer, and subtle plaids in the fall.

So one set of items I started collecting as an adult was coats for Barbie and her family, both the old ones from the 1960s and 1970s and the new ones in the 1980s.  I now have a large assortment of them from the 1960s through the 1990s, and I discovered that I like taking pictures of my dolls outside in the snow.

The next five blog posts are about Barbie, Ken, Skipper and even Stacie coats, separated by their purposes.  I made an effort to find coats that were sold with boots, one, because it would be difficult to find a lost Barbie shoe in the snow, and two, who wears high heels in deep snow?!

etsy posts Feb. 15, 2021

 Here are one new and two updated listings on etsy:

1961 Barbie clothing

https://www.etsy.com/listing/715833536/1961-barbie-orange-blossom-singing-in?ref=shop_home_active_78

1961 Ken clothing

https://www.etsy.com/listing/949398774/1961-ken-clothes?ref=shop_home_active_1

1982 Barbie dolls and clothing

https://www.etsy.com/listing/618650669/6-1982-barbies-pink-n-pretty-magic-curl?ref=shop_home_active_40

Souvenirs of 60th birthday party

As I mentioned in the previous post, my 60th birthday was Saturday, Feb. 6.  My sister Barb made me a beautiful pink cake, and brought me a number of Barbie decorations.  It was lovely of her to do so.

Note the Barbie Queen of the Prom silhouette
on the birthday flags.

I don't know if you can see it or not,
but I am wearing the Barbie necklace I bought earlier that day
at the Barbie Pop-Up Truck.

My sister blew up all those balloons!
My inner ears hurt just thinking about it!

The remains of the cake my sister made,
plus the flowers and the gin I received as gifts.

Barbie Truck Tour comes to town just in time for my birthday

The Barbie Truck Tour visited the Kenwood Towne Centre parking lot in Cincinnati on Saturday, Feb. 6.  That was also date of my 60th birthday.

I'd seen photos of the truck before when it had visited other cities, but this was the first time it had come to the Cincinnati area.  The press releases never really explained what the truck's purpose was, so I am going to tell you myself.

First of all, the truck itself is a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van painted pink, of course, although I don't know what year.  It looks like a food or ice cream truck--the one side has pop-up windows for sellers inside to hand out merchandise.  The license plate is from California and it reads (what else?) "Barbie R."

When I got there I had to wait in line for about 25 minutes.   I must have missed the coat memo:  I had on my old red heavy wool jacket with the black fur trim and hood, but I would say that 90 percent of the people in line had on black leather or black quilted microfiber coats.  There were a mix of both adult women by themselves and women with children, both African-American and white, but no men at all in line.

The theme of the visit was Barbie in the 1990s and the truck and all the merchandise had the 90s slanted sans serif logo.  It was all new merchandise, just the retro logo.  In fact, I thought a lot of it was more 1980s-looking, with the boom box on the truck and the word "totally" written on the T-shirt and even a patch with the Barbie Rockers logo.

There weren't dolls for sale.  Everything was for us humans.  I bought a T-shirt and a necklace, and all purchases came with a free bottle of Barbie Bubble Bath.

When I showed photos to my family of the Barbie Pop-Up Truck,
my sister said it looked like an ice cream truck!

The T-shirt is black knit jersey, very soft and comfortable.  The logo on front says, "Totally Throwback Barbie Tour."  It is made by Tangram of Irvine, CA, and has the Barbie signature on the inside tag.  It costs $27, which is not bad for a souvenir T-shirt.

My sister immediately recognized
the Mercedes-Benz circle logo!

I am glad the necklace came with a longer 18-inch chain.
Shorter ones don't fit my fat neck!

I eventually will resell
the bottle of Barbie Bubble Bath.

The T-shirt is an unusually soft jersey knit.
I just hope it washes well.

The necklace comes on an 18-inch long chain, and the attached Barbie pendant is holographic; that is, it changes colors.  It, too, is made by Tangram.  Price is $15.

A freebie is a little white plastic bottle of Barbie Bubble Bath by Hit Promo.  It comes on a plastic lanyard that can be hung in the shower.

Some of the other merchandise items are a baseball cap, denim jacket, girls' makeup sets, a couple of cloth patch sets and a water bottle.  The most expensive item at $150 is a pink Barbie Polaroid camera, although I don't know if it was digital or actually took Polaroids.