Barbie Fashionista Dolls – Tall, Curvy and Petite
About a week ago, my Social Media lit up with tons of news reports about the new Barbie dolls with the new body types–curvy, petite and tall. At first I was intrigued–I figured that perhaps Barbie was finally getting some long-standing friends in the doll line like the 1960s Francie and Casey (they were shorter, less curvy, flat-chested, and quite popular) that could hang out with Barbie. With tall, short and curvy friends found in the Barbie main line of dolls in the Toys R Us Barbie aisle, kids could have a Taylor-Swift like “squad” for their Barbies that reflected diversity and basic reality (most girls, unlike Barbie and Taylor Swift, are not really tall and really thin with straight blonde hair). Lots of play opportunities for girls with their own, diverse Barbie squad!
But, sadly, I then read the articles and that was not to be. Somehow, instead, Barbie will morph into shorter, taller, or chubbier versions of herself depending on which one is purchased. And, if you purchase multiple dolls, Barbie can hang out with…well, Barbie.
I never had trouble with Black or Hispanic versions of Barbie because they still were still 100% Barbie. Same look, same iconic Barbie body and style, same clothes. But these new Barbies will NOT be able to share clothing. They don’t even look like the same doll. Confusing for kids and their parents. And, the new doll body types are in ONE of the Barbie lines of dolls–not throughout the entire line of dolls. Again, confusing. Barbie given permanent tall, curvy and petite friends could have created gift sets, and had their own “themes” and stories and clothing could have been made for the different friends–just like my Francie and Casey had their own clothes line when I was a kid. Continue reading →