Happy 62nd Birthday, Barbie

Ruth Handler, the woman who spawned the Barbie empire, named her teenaged fashion model doll after her daughter, “Barbara Millicent Roberts”, aka Barbie. Today, I’m wishing Barbie a happy 62nd birthday, she made her debut at the American Toy Fair in New York on March 9th, 1959:

Original 1959 doll (left) / Reproduction anniversary black-label Barbie (right)

This doll is nothing if not controversial.  Depending on who you ask, Barbie is either a fashion icon collectible or a demon-doll that causes body issues in young, impressionable minds.  For most of us, I’m guessing she’s somewhere between. 

Happy birthday, demon-doll 😉