I'm Still a Barbie Girl

I was a tiny tot when Mattel launched the tall cool blonde with the pony tail. Like most little girls my age - and every age after - I was enthralled. Every Christmas and birthday for the next several years were devoted to outfitting and equipping Barbie.

I had all the classic outfits - Silken Flame, Solo in the Spotlight, Garden Party. If you're my age, you know what I mean. But I had something else that no other Barbie girl had. My mother's good friend, Lura Mae Bradbury, a fantastic seamstress, made outfits for my Barbie. She was the kind of crafter who could take an old handkerchief and turn it into a wedding gown. So my Barbie had an array of one of a kind fashions from a black velvet cape with red satin lining to a blue corduroy coat to a fancy nylon negligee with lace trim. I was the envy of all the little girls because of my very special wardrobe.

When I was a senior in high school, my best friend Sue Hartley had a little sister in kindergarten. In my memory, I gave all of my Barbie stuff to her. Had I instead kept all that, especially the boxes it came in, I could now be living in a villa in the South of France.

Okay, it's not quite THAT valuable, but still...

So imagine my surprise recently when I was talking with my sister about Barbie and she said, "I have all your Barbie stuff."

What!?

One afternoon last week, I went into her playroom, moved the boxes of old photographs, the My Little Pony stable, the Strawberry Shortcake trolley and two large baby dolls to find a box full of Barbie and friends. With clothing. Including my original Midge doll. What a find!

I guess the only thing I gave to Julie Hartley was the Barbie doll. All the clothes are here. The Silken Flame. The Solo in the Spotlight. The In the Mood for Music, which I had forgotten about!! And wonder of wonders,ALL of the clothing especially designed and made by Mrs. Bradbury were in there too.

I'm still a very lucky girl. Here are my friends in their Bradbury originals:



Almost too good to be true, isn't it? I guess I'd given all the Barbie stuff to my niece. I had no memory of it. Amazing, isn't it?

Now I'm off to make up some more stories for my dolls. The ones I move around on paper.

Have a great day.
Susan