Funny holidays - Barbie doll's birthday (Barbie Day)

March 9th marks a funny holiday - the birthday of the Barbie doll, which has become a cult toy All girls used to dream of a classic blond beauty with huge blue eyes and a white-toothed smile In the wake of popularity, toy manufacturers began to produce all kinds of accessories and sets with clothes, shoes, and handbags appeared on store shelves; entire roomboxes with miniature furniture and interior attributes What was the reason for such a resounding international success? How was Barbie created? Mattel was founded by spouses Ruth and Elliot Handler in 1945 It bore little resemblance to modern brands The company was headquartered in the couple's home garage, where they made picture frames At first, business was not going well The couple decided to switch from making frames to making accessories for doll houses and musical toys This was the first step towards success The change in direction had a positive impact on the company's fortunes The business began to develop, the products were in good demand At that time, girls played with baby dolls and received soft animals as gifts Ruth watched her little daughter and her friends The girls also had toy babies, but they preferred paper dolls Such toys were sold on every corner back then Dolls were made of paper or cardboard They portrayed adult women More advanced models were additionally equipped with a magnet The same paper outfits and hats were made for the dolls They were secured using thin circles of metal, which were attached to a magnet on the back of the model It was possible to make such a doll at home When Ruth watched her daughter play, she realized that grown women arouse keen interest in girls and attract them much more than dolls At that time, there was only one doll on the toy market that fit this description: Bild Lilly She was a comic book heroine and a reflection of fashion trends Bleached hair, black eyeliner, scarlet lips - Lilly became the quintessential Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe The dolls came in two sizes and were originally sold in gift shops and tobacconists They were painted by hand Lilly was first bought by adults for collections and as decoration for a bookshelf, but over time schoolgirls also became interested in them It was Lilly who became the prototype of the first Barbie Ruth's idea did not find support from Mattel management, but still the woman decided to bring it to life Handler purchased a plastic Lilly and took it to the company engineer Together they managed to completely redesign the doll Ruth named the new model Barbie in honor of her daughter Barbara The doll was made in two versions - with white and dark hair The new product was presented at the toy fair Her debut took place in 1959 Black and white swimsuits were sold separately for dolls, which became iconic, but the public did not like Barbie at that time Some adults were slightly shocked by the frank appearance of the dolls and their overly seductive forms The first years sales were very low Ruth had to redesign the doll The too flashy makeup was replaced with a lighter one, and her shape became closer to that of a teenager Two years after the debut, a partner for Barbie was released, named Ken in honor of Ruth's son Kenneth Three years later, Mattel bought the rights to Bild Lilly and its production was permanently discontinued By 1965, Barbie's sales revenue amounted to more than one hundred million dollars Gradually, the popular doll acquired a family and friends Designers constantly came up with new outfits for her The first black Barbie model was released, and by the 1990s, the doll began to actively master various professions, which led to the production of themed sets The Handlers left Mattel in 1975, but they managed to create one of the best-selling toys in the history of the industry Even today, despite the variety of different models, girls still dream of Barbry, which has become the standard of doll beauty, and adults fanatically replenish their home collections with rare specimens