Sunday, August 15, 2010

The Barbie-Blythe overlap finally sucked me in and won't let go!














































No, these 10 pictures are not of Blythe (as in Blythe-O-Mania, the title of this blog). They are of Francie, Barbie, Teresa, Casey, a host of "barbies," (small 'S'; different than 'the' Barbie, some of you understand that), a vintage Barbie case cover, and okay, one Blythe (Buffy) in pink with Superstar Barbie.
So what have we here? I guess I have to accept it. It's my newest obsession. Although it looks, feels and smells like my childhood of the 1970s, it's really my second childhood, circa 2010. And it's going well. Lots of fun. No angst about boys, zits or homework. Well, less angst.
It all started simply enough. Blythe bodies are the same as Skipper bodies, and as such can wear the vintage Skipper fashions of the 1960s and 1970s with special aplomb. Call it attitude. Call it whatever you will, but I have been slowly collecting my favorite Skipper fashions, many of which I had once before, for my Blythes to wear.
Then I discovered some of the Francie fashions also fit and looked mod. Francie was perhaps even more of a favorite than 'the' Barbie barbies I had. Francie was fun and mod and hip and had a cool friend Casey, whereas Barbie with a big 'B' was always a little severe looking to me with her arched eyebrows, pursed lips and stilettos. Barbie intimidated me the same way she probably intimidated Midge. And Ken.
Francie was my cool pal when I was about age seven to 10. And now she's my cool pal when I'm about ^%&^%*#@. Oh well, never mind that. Anyway, after accumulating a nice stash of vintage fashions, I realized I could enjoy them more if I could display them on their rightful vintage 'owners.' Suddenly, I had a new old Barbie collection (big and small 'S'). And as fate would have it, they display perfectly on top of my Blythe doll house. So now I can have an ever-changing montage of my first and/or second childhood. Or, as the next-to-last photo demonstrates, I can have a "Who Wore It Best" dress-off, a la Us magazine, any time I want.









No comments: