Barbie Turns 50!

I was excited to read today that Barbie is turning 50. Over the course of the year, Barbie's birthday will be celebrated through a host of "pink carpet" events that aim to get the doll back on track as an aspirational fashion brand with cultural relevance, said Richard Dickson, gm and svp, Barbie. Brands such as Bloomingdale's, colette, Stila, Dylan's Candy Bar, Jonathan Adler and 50 fashion designers are just some of those that will be participating in Barbie's 50th birthday celebration.

As a child, my sisters and I would get a Barbie every Christmas. Each of us always had one favorite Barbie so that new dolls would get stripped of their valuable clothing. They would then be practiced upon for new hair cut ideas, which never panned out well. One day I happened to be looking for something in my father's basement and opened a drawer that revealed at least a dozen and a half naked Barbies with crew cuts. It was very disturbing...

Growing up my sisters and I would have Barbie marathon weekends, beginning Saturday morning and ending Sunday night when were sent to bed. As a result of our over exposure to the media at an early age, my Barbie and Ken had unusual problems. Barbie got pregnant out of wed lock and was unsure what to do. Ken feigned support, but was secretly hoping Barbie decided to get an abortion because he was not ready to be a father.

$@bs