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News 6 Thursday, March 6, 2014

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BARBIE The original Barbie doll came with this stylish zebrastriped, onepiece swimsuit. She was available in blonde and brunette hairstyles and cost $3.

Criticized for her unrealistic body proportions and hammered by copycats, the iconesque – and statuesque – American fashion doll, Barbie, turns 55 on Sunday.

A RISQUÉ ORIGIN Ruth Handler — wife of Elliot Handler, co-founder of El Segundo-based toy company Mattel — observed how her daughter played with paper dolls and began looking into a doll that might take a more adult shape.

While traveling in Switzerland in 1956, Handler stumbled across a men’s gag gift sold in tobacco shops: Lilli, based on a character in a naughty comic strip in a German newspaper.

A MALIBU HISTORY

At Ruth Handler’s request, Mattel bought the rights to Lilli, cleaned up her image a bit and launched the new line at the American Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959.

AN UNREAL BODY SHAPE

1959 More than 350,000 Barbie dolls are sold during their first year on the market. 1960 The runaway success of Barbie leads Mattel to go public.

In addition to copyright-infringement lawsuits and countersuits, a pregnant Midge and an unfortunate incident in 1992 when Teen Talk Barbie complained that “Math Class is Tough!,” Barbie has also been under fire for leading girls to have unrealistic expectations about their own bodies:

1961 Mattel introduces a boyfriend doll for Barbie: Ken. 1962 Barbie becomes a homeowner: The first Barbie Dream House is released. 1963 Barbie gets a friend: Midge.

If Barbie were five feet, seven inches tall, her waist would be only 16 inches. This is less than half that of an average woman.

1964 Barbie gets a little sister: Skipper. 1967 Ruth Handler becomes president of Mattel. 1968 The first black doll in the Barbie line — Christie — is released. Mattel strikes gold again with a line of die-cast cars: Hot Wheels. 1969 The Barbie brand expands to include celebrity dolls. First to be made are Julia, a TV character played by Diahann Caroll, and Truly Scrumptious from the movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” 1971 Malibu Barbie is released, meant to capture a tanned “California girl” quality.

Barbie’s legs are 50 percent longer than her arms. The average woman’s legs are 20 percent longer than her arms.

Barbie would have six-inch ankles and wear a child’s size 3 shoe.

Although Rehabs.com published that material in 2012, it used measurements of pre-1997 Barbie body molds. Mattel has revised its Barbie shapes since then. Mattel’s vice president of design, Kimberly Culmone, told Fast Company last month:

“Barbie’s body was never designed to be realistic. She was designed for girls to easily dress and undress. And she’s had many bodies over the years, ones that are poseable, ones that are cut for princess cuts, ones that are more realistic.”

1974 The Handlers step down at Mattel. 1975 Ruth Handler patents Nearly Me, a naturallycolored prosthesis for women who have had a mastectomy. 1992 Totally Hair Barbie is released, with Rapunzel-like hair. It becomes the best-selling Barbie ever, with more than 10 million units sold.

Barbie took the offensive in the body-image battle last month by appearing in a four-page advertising pullout in the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. The ad features pictures of Barbie shot by famed Sports Illustrated photographer Walter Iooss Jr. Barbie wears a black-and-white bathing suit similar to her original one. The doll on the cover is available at Target as a limitededition collectible.

2002 Happy Family Midge is released, with a tiny baby magnetically attached inside a mother. Walmart pulls the dolls from shelves. 2005 Mattel sues the makers of Bratz dolls, claiming the designer created Bratz while on Mattel’s payroll. The court rules otherwise. Eight years later, Mattel is ordered to pay $309 million in damages. 2007 Mattel recalls more than 675,000 Barbie play sets found to contain lead paint.

Sources: Mattel, Barbie Collector, BarbieMedia.com, Fashion Doll Guide, World Collectors Net, Rehabs.com, The New York Times, Forbes, CNN, The History Channel, Ideafinder.com, How Stuff Works

COMPILED BY CHARLES APPLE, FOCUS PAGE EDITOR

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