I'm a Barbie Girl...

I grew up in the 90's so I completely and un-ironically love the song "Barbie Girl" by Aqua, because I was (and still am) a Barbie girl. This weekend marks the 60th anniversary of Barbie and I am here for it! This photo below is much more pristine version of the 1989 My First Barbie, which was actually one of my first Barbie dolls. She looks like a prom queen princess with customary iridescent 80's pouf sleeves, hot pink lipstick, and blue eye shadow. Her hair is in soft curls and she has some sweet bangs. She is awesome. There were yearly releases of new MFB through the 80's, and each one is a treasure. Here is why I love Barbie so much.

1. She has amazing outfits.
Half the fun of playing with Barbie was dressing her up. Thank you to my mom for always agreeing to brush out the hair of the dolls when I got weighed down in the minutiae of outfit choosing.

2. She has an infinite amount of careers.
I have had Barbies/outfits for the following jobs: police officer, ice skater, teacher, mall rat, rock star, Olympic gymnast, diver, dog walker, tennis player, beach bum, doctor, business lady, and though my own creations, Sandy from Grease. Plus, Barbie takes care of all of her siblings (Skipper, Stacey, Kelly, Chrissy) and drives them around in a minivan (best car ever) because her parents are never around.

3. She's a symbol for the ultimate cool girl.
In the 90's, I would collect Barbie catalogs and magazines (and tradings cards) to make sure my entire life would celebrate Barbie. I owned barbie-themed accessories such as:
CLOTHES: Dresses, shirts, a robe, a giant hair bow, purse, slippers, sneakers
ELECTRONICS AND TOYS: walkie talkies,a walkman, movies, books, cassettes,
HOME ACCESSORIES: sleeping bag, sheets, a suitcase
SPORTING GOODS: roller skates, a bike

4. She's stood the test of time
I regularly visited FAO Schwartz's Barbie area to pay tribute to the original 1960's Barbie in a glass case, and it was a religious experience. She changed with the times, going from a red lipped a high pony-tailed bombshell to a California-cool coral lipped mermaid. Now she comes with different body shapes, earrings, freckles and hair colors (shout outs to Barbie's ride-or-dies, Midge, Christie and Theresa).

5. She's made PINK a power color
Long before Victoria's Secret launched their college-friendly PINK line, Barbie's name was emblazoned in pink. I'm not ashamed to say it's my power color.