Barbie has always been well loved by little girls. Many mom’s have smiles on their faces as they watch their daughters play with such objects. Barbie paper dolls became a hit in the 1950’s due to the Great Depression. Children weren’t able to have all the toys they once did, but paper dolls were very inexpensive. They were also something that offered little girls hours of entertainment. They could pretend to be anything they wanted and escape the reality of what was going on around them.
Even after the Great Depression ended though, Barbie paper dolls continued to be a huge selling item. By the 1970’s the manufacturers were also printing them of her sister Skipper as well. Even though she never became as famous as Barbie, she definitely had high numbers of sales. It was also great fun for little girls to have both Barbie and Skipper to play with. However, there were many arguments out there between siblings as to who got to be which one of the paper dolls.
Towards 1975 there were more Barbie friends introduced to the line up. Ken who has been Barbie’s long time boyfriend was added. Her friend Midge was also featured in some areas. With the addition of Ken, there were often little boys taking the time to play with paper dolls as well. Due to the stereotypical roles of males being what they were at that time though, it was often frowned upon in most households.
There have been very few new lines of Barbie paper dolls to emerge on the market since the 1990’s. Those individuals that still have them from the 1950’s and even the early 1970’s have a very valuable collectible on their hands
Towards 1975 there were more Barbie friends introduced to the line up. Ken who has been Barbie’s long time boyfriend was added. Her friend Midge was also featured in some areas. With the addition of Ken, there were often little boys taking the time to play with paper dolls as well. Due to the stereotypical roles of males being what they were at that time though, it was often frowned upon in most households.
There have been very few new lines of Barbie paper dolls to emerge on the market since the 1990’s. Those individuals that still have them from the 1950’s and even the early 1970’s have a very valuable collectible on their hands. These items are bringing in thousands of dollars depending on the quality of the materials.
Today, most little girls that are interested in Barbie paper dolls do it on the computer. Barbie has her own site where you can click on clothes and drag them to place on her. There is even great music to go along with it. Children of all ages seem to be enjoying using the computer for such games. They can even choose to print out their final production if they choose to.