The Girl Who Started it All -- Barbie

35th Anniversary Barbie, and Solo in the Spotlight Barbie are gifts from my beloved friend, Ginny W.


In 1973, I got my first "Barbie doll"-- a 1972 Pose and Play Skipper giftset. My mom was hesistant about me having a "grown-up" doll like Barbie, so to celebrate my little sister's birth, I got sweet little Skipper. This was a pivotal event in my life, and started a love story.

In 1974, my mom caved and got me a "grown up" Barbie. She was an Gold Medal PJ. PJ, who later was known as "Veronica" or "Ronnie" (after one of my mom's girlfriends) remained my favorite doll throughout my childhood. She was my "first doll love."

A couple of years later, my Aunt Judy was moving to her own place, and blessed me with her vintage Barbie collection as an heirloom because she noticed how nicely I took care of my dolls, and how much I loved them. For years, I kept the whole collection ---including a 1959 Barbie Ponytail, a 1961 Ken, a 1963 Midge, a 1964 Skipper, and a 1964 Alan.

There were also a TON of ensembles for Barbie---Floral Petticoat, Nighty Negligee, Sweet Dreams, Wedding Day, Silken Flame, Friday Night Date, Solo in the Spotlight, Enchanted Evening, American Airline, Ballerina, Registered Nurse, Tennis Anyone, Ice Breaker, Masquerade, Dinner at Eight (my personal favorite), Senior Prom....to name a few. Ken had an enormous list of clothes, and so did Skipper.

I kept all of these items, including a host of others that I acquired in the 70's and early 80's, in mint, complete condition.

In 2005, following some very difficult times health-wise for my family, I chose to sell my entire vintage collection. It was a hard decision, but I know that fully giving of one's self always results in blessing. It was so true. As my very last items were auctioned up on Ebay, I discovered the amazing world of repainting. Everything had come full circle, and a new adventure was about to begin.