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Barbie
Barbie No. 1 in the striped swimsuit, 1959
The look that started it all: a strapless black and white striped one-piece with black open-toe heels, worn by the teenage fashion model doll Mattel launched at the New York toy fair in 1959. A swimsuit was a clever opening outfit, because it presented Barbie as a figure to be dressed rather than a character in a fixed costume. That figure is also where the criticism begins: her proportions have long been attacked as too tall and too thin, with an outsize bust and almost no hips. The 2023 film opened by putting Margot Robbie in this exact outfit.
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Barbie
Solo in the Spotlight, 1960
Barbie's nightclub-singer ensemble is pure grown-up glamour: a skin-tight black glitter knit gown that flows into a frill of tulle at the hem, a single red satin rose, long black gloves, a crystal bead necklace, a pink chiffon scarf and a silvery microphone stand. Sold from 1960 to 1964 as outfit number 982, it showed early that Barbie's wardrobe would chase adult evening fashion rather than play clothes. Margot Robbie wore a black strapless Schiaparelli gown to the 2023 film's Los Angeles premiere as a nod to it.
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Barbie
Twist 'n Turn Barbie, 1967
The doll that brought Barbie into the youthquake. Released with the first Mod dolls in 1967, she had a waist that twisted, bendable legs and rooted eyelashes, and her wardrobe was given a total makeover to match the short, bright styles of the decade. Collectors still call her TNT. She opened the Mod era that ran until 1972, and she proved Barbie could follow youth fashion instead of only modelling a ladylike 1950s ideal.
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Barbie
Malibu Barbie, 1971
The California beach girl swapped couture poise for a golden tan, a bright smile and easy swimwear, and in doing so she matched the relaxed, sun-seeking mood of the early 1970s far better than the gowns of the decade before. Mattel says she introduced the first deeply tanned skin tone in the Barbie line. She made Barbie feel less like a model to be dressed and more like a girl at the beach. The flip side is that the sun-bleached blonde, tanned California look became the default picture of Barbie for years.
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Barbie
Superstar Barbie, 1977
If you picture Barbie as pink, sparkly showbiz glamour, this is largely the doll responsible. Superstar Barbie arrived at the height of disco with long flowing hair, a dazzling smile and glamorous evening styling made for a night out, and Mattel credits her with defining the disco-glam spirit. Where Malibu Barbie was casual, she pointed the doll back towards red-carpet dressing, the direction Barbie's look would take through the 1980s.
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Barbie
Black Barbie, 1980
Designed by Kitty Black Perkins, this was the first Black Barbie. Earlier diverse dolls in Barbie's world had been sidekicks; this one was Barbie herself. She wore a long, lustrous disco-style red dress with a gold collar and loose-curled natural hair, an evening look every bit as glamorous as the white doll's. Perkins said she wanted her to do the same things the white doll did, with a little more spice. For a list about how Barbie's look changed, she marks the point where the doll's idea of beauty first widened.
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Barbie
Oscar de la Renta fashions for Barbie, 1985
The first time a fashion designer collaborated with Mattel on Barbie. Four of de la Renta's signature pieces were shrunk from his collection into play-size versions, though he did not make them himself: Mattel designer Carol Spencer created the designs and he approved them. That arrangement set the template for decades of designer tie-ins, and it turned Barbie into a way for a couture name to reach children and collectors who would never buy the real thing.
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Barbie
Day-to-Night Barbie, 1985
The power-dressing doll of the 1980s. Her soft pink suit came with a hat, briefcase and calculator, and it transformed into a shirred skirt evening look, so one outfit took her from the office to a party. Mattel presents her as a celebration of that era's workplace revolution for women, and she is the clearest case of Barbie dressing like real working women of her moment. Margot Robbie's pink Atelier Versace skirt suit at the 2023 film's Seoul premiere, followed by a sparkling tulle dress for the evening change, was a direct homage.
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Barbie
Bob Mackie Gold Barbie, 1990
Bob Mackie's first creation for Mattel was a limited edition Gold Barbie with a long ponytail, a midriff-baring top, a skirt of golden sequins and a feather boa. Unlike designers who only approved adaptations, Mackie had his own people do the beading and make the garments, which is why his dolls look like miniature stage costumes rather than toy clothes. It started a run of more than 40 Mackie dolls and helped turn Barbie into a serious adult collectable.
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Totally Hair Barbie
The best-selling Barbie doll ever, according to Guinness World Records, with more than 10 million sold worldwide since its release in 1992. The draw was extremely long hair made for styling, worn with a bright minidress that sums up early-1990s colour. If any single doll explains why Barbie's look is tied to hair play as much as to clothes, it is this one. Margot Robbie paid tribute on the 2023 film's press tour with a printed Emilio Pucci minidress and crimped hair.
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Barbie
Christian Dior Barbie, 1997
A 50th anniversary doll wearing an authentic reproduction of a 1947 Dior fashion, with the narrow shoulders and calf-length full skirt of the New Look silhouette that caused an international sensation. The details go all the way down: a Parisian straw hat, a single strand of faux pearls, stockings, a garter and a lace-trimmed tulle petticoat. It is the most direct fashion history lesson Barbie has given, and a strong pick for anyone who collects Barbie for the clothes rather than the character.
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Barbie
Moschino Barbie, 2015
Jeremy Scott had already brought Barbie's style to Moschino's spring 2015 runway; the doll did the reverse, dressing Barbie in Moschino. She wore a slogan T-shirt, logo-trimmed mesh leggings, a quilted faux leather bomber jacket and a pencil skirt, with Moschino-branded bag and heels. It sold out within an hour on Net-a-Porter at $150. It marks the moment the traffic between Barbie and fashion clearly ran both ways, with a runway borrowing from the doll as much as the doll borrowed from the runway.
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Barbie
Barbie Fashionistas in tall, petite and curvy bodies, 2016
After years of criticism of her anatomically inaccurate body, Barbie gained three new body types alongside the original slender, busty one, together with seven skin tones and 24 hairstyles. The change made a Time cover story, and it came after three straight years of falling Barbie sales, so commerce was part of the motive. Mattel's own designers called it a rejection of a narrow standard of beauty; critics welcomed it but said there was still room to grow. Either way, it ended the idea that Barbie fashion meant dressing one body.
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