Vintage Clothing Spectacular!

Sorry for the delay! I have been busy but unfortunately not with Barbie things! I'm hoping I can get some time soon for playtime.

A few weeks ago my mother-in-law came over while I was in my "Barbie Room" (my office, really). She was admiring my doll shelf when she told me that she had a Barbie! I never knew!

She loves to sew and started at a very young age learning how to use a sewing machine. Her mother bought a doll (a large doll about 1 1/2 feet tall, I think her name was Betty) and she made an entire wardrobe by hand. We are talking no patterns, no measurements, fully by hand. If I tried that for Barbie she would look like Lucy Ricardo did when she tried to make her own dress in one episode.

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Let me tell you this friends: The ONLY reason my mother-in-law bought a Barbie doll was so she could make clothes for her. Can you believe that? She purchased a doll so she could have a model for the clothes she made. What fun huh? I had so many purchased Barbie clothes I couldn't possibly play with them all. I never thought about making my own.

Naturally I was also interested in what type of doll she had. I identified her pretty bride as a classic #4 ponytail! She is beautiful isn't she?

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Remember that this doll was never played with. She wanted her granddaughter to play with her and have fun with all the clothes she made. How sweet is that? This Barbie will get her wish of being played with! But imagine how much she is worth because her beautifully painted fingers and toes are in mint condition.

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I also had a hard time imagining that this was not a purchased dress. She made this beautiful wedding gown for Barbie!

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I forgot to ask her if she remembered the clothes this doll came with. I might do that next time I see her.

So, are you ready to see the other beautiful creations for this amazing doll? Here they are!

First, a mod print party dress. Would go great with my new mod furniture, no?

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Oh my gosh, I fell in love with this dress when I saw it. The print of the fabric is actually a sheer overlay. Apparently this was the fabric of choice of my mother-in-law's bridesmaids dresses (which were handmade by her mother, naturally :) I even put it on a doll, fits like a glove! And so pretty on Barbie! (And I didn't get a photograph, drat!) You will encounter these little shorts through out the different dresses I show. They are actually little panties!

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Now we have a pretty blue wrap-style Japanese print dress. (At least it makes me think of Japan when I see it).

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Now we have this pretty blue hooded cape. You will notice a theme with the blue. My mother-in-law's favorite color.

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I love this blue and lace satin nightgown and robe set. So elegant! It would also look fabulous in pink.

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Next we have a few sundresses with pretty ribbon straps. First, a white with large floral print with red straps.

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And a pink with burgundy vine pattern with pink straps.

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Last, light blue with white polka dots with white straps.

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This next ensemble is a mix and match sweatsuit outfit. A couple of print tank tops, jacket and matching sweatpants.

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I love the Japanese style dress with the piping by the shoulder. I think this one would look particularly good on Barbie. Next to it we have a green spandex jog suit.

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My mother-in-law is not too happy with these pieces. She tried her hand at knitting and realized she liked sewing much better. We have a couple of sweaters and a skirt. The loose yarn skirt is supposed to be a hula skirt. I never thought of yarn for that. Cute idea!

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Another piece she wasn't too happy with. A fur coat. I like it!

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The next two creations are long skirts with a blouse and matching vest. First, the blue print.

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And now the red gingham print. Perfect for a picnic!

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And finally, a Japanese kimono.

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You might be wondering how I knew that this was supposed to be a kimono. If I asked 50 people what this piece of clothing was I bet they would all say bathrobe. The choice of fabric (fleece) is also a dead giveaway for robe.

How did I guess kimono? Because my mother-in-law still has the patterns and it says it's a kimono on the back.

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The most exciting thing is that she is letting me take copies of these patterns! I looked and she has made most of these outfits. You can kind of see which ones are which. (Click on photo to enlarge.) The beautiful wedding dress is from the pattern pack in the middle. I cannot WAIT to try my hand at some of these!

She also had a couple of other dolls that she pulled out. She loves to coupon and get freebies so these were ones that she saved up points or box tops for. First, Kool-Aid Wacky Warehouse Barbie. Do you remember the Wacky Warehouse? It was a kids treasure trove with goodies you could send away for with Kool-Aid points. This doll is wearing another sweatsuit outfit that she made. Original outfit is underneath.

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Another Wacky Warehouse Barbie. Still in the box! I love her overalls.

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So pretty isn't she?

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This one was still unopened but did not have friendly packaging so I could not photograph her. She is the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Barbie. She did have another one that she opened but gave it to a friend.

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Another thing that she had that would be very exciting in the eyes of collectors is she has the book that came with the doll.

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Here I took a picture of two outfits that were in my mom's collection.

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And lastly, some pictures of Ken outfits! I like Terry Togs. Goes perfect with Barbie's bathrobe kimono.

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I will leave you with another picture of this beautiful vintage doll...with her original stand too!

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So readers, have you made your own doll clothes? Any words of wisdom you can spare before I start my journey into the world of sewing machines?

Stay tuned for the "Year of Haute Couture" post in a couple of days!

 Until then!

There is nothing better than finding a treasure

"There is nothing better than finding a treasure." True, no? Who doesn't love a little hidden surprise every now and then? I know we all do especially when it comes to dolls. You see that one you have always been wanting but then when she comes with a rare outfit? Even better right?

I found a few hidden surprises when I went to a garage sale last weekend and found a box of Barbie things. This diaper box was chock full of surprises :)

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First, at the very top of the box I saw this lovely fellow.

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This is Superstar Ken. Remember when I did a post about my Superstar Barbie? You can read about it here in my collection showcase post. She was one of my favorites growing up. I'll make a confession. I always wanted Superstar Ken for this ONE reason.

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This little academy award for Barbie. I guess my mom was not too keen on Ken because I never got a ton when I was growing up. But I was even more excited when I dug into this box and saw the little award for my Barbie doll.

Also in the box was Ken's match....you guessed it, Superstar Barbie! (With the shoes still attached. How did they not come off? haha)

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Now I have two! But the main difference between this doll and mine is that this one has the earrings still attached. But I like the face and hair of mine better so I don't want to switch heads.

The Help! How in the world do you get the earrings out? I tried to gently tug on them to no avail. I'm thinking that they have a larger piece on the post so they don't come out (kind of like the end of a fish hook.) I don't want to break them but I want to get them on my doll. So? :)

While the box was still at the garage sale I was looking through it seeing what else was in there and I saw this  pretty gal.

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SKIPPER! The third one of my collection. This is Wet n' Wild Skipper. Now I knew I had to have this box. Marked at $3 I was in luck as I had only $5 in cash with me. I knew who she was just by looking at her bathing suit. However, it was cold outside so when I grabbed her the warmth of my hands started to make her suit change. So my thoughts were confirmed. Wish I had her when I did my last post!

I only saw the Ken and the Skipper before I grabbed the entire box and hurriedly ran my purchases home to check the other surprises.

I did find this amazing gal. Perfume Pretty Barbie! Alas, she is not scented anymore but her dress is in amazing condition. I always loved how you could make her dress be long or short.

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And...another Kira!

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I did get some clothes in the box and while I was researching this bathing suit......

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I found out she was Beach Blast Miko. She even came with her original sunglasses! (But did not come with her color change hairpiece.) What a score!

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Well, that's all for the dolls. 5 dolls is great for me! But we did get some clothes too!

First, the outfit that Miko had on in her first pic. This is Barbie Fashion Fun Perfectly Pink. No shoes though.


Oh, and we got this gem of a find! Barbie and the Rockers outfit!

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I searched Google for Barbie and the Rockers and saw that this was from Real Dancing Action Barbie of Barbie and the Rockers.

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I wanted to put this outift on a doll right away. This is one I purchased at the thrift store a few weeks ago. I figure she would fit the outfit because she has little "z"s in her eyes. This is 1991 Hawaiian Fun Barbie.


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But the top does not seem to fit her well. Or maybe it's supposed to fit like that? And it still needs a wash so that will have to be done. And the leggings are not very silver anymore. Not sure if I can fix that. I could always make her new pants!

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Another outfit, I'm not sure if it goes together or not. White sparkly tank, white sparkly boa, white leather skirt. Fun outfit but I don't know if the skirt really goes with the rest of the outfit.

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I'm hoping someone might help with this one. My first thought was it was from 1991 Pretty Hearts Barbie. But her hearts and skirt look different than the one pictured. I posted a pic of Pretty Hearts Barbie but I don't think this is her outfit.

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I got a red jacket and two cowboy hats. A red and a teal. The teal might match my jacket from Western Stampin' Barbie.

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Here is an outfit for Ken. Maybe the red jacket goes with this?

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A colorful halter dress in a nylon material.

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A denim cape (looks homemade) and a pair of denim shorts (looks not homemade.)

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Lastly, I got this swimsuit. It's kind of a camo print? I put it on Stacie but it's a little big for her unfortunately. I'm itching to display my cute Stacie but have no clothes! But I also am getting the sewing bug again so she will have some clothes soon. BUT! In researching Hawaiian Fun Barbie I realized that this is the suit for her. So I guess another doll will have to wear the Rocker outfit and she will now wear this one! I need to fix her hair though to make it more like the original. I love matching dolls to their original outfits!

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Well, well. Look here! Day to Night Barbie clothes!

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I put them on my Working Woman Barbie (who was wearing Day to Night ensemble) but the pink felt on the "day" side on this set matched better than the pieces I had (and the coat contained snaps where mine didn't.) It's a little dirty but I think I can clean it up with a lightly damp cloth. I realized that full washing the felt makes it turn a different shade of pink.

Here is Working Woman Barbie in her new Day to Night clothes.

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Want to know what else goes with Day to Night Barbie? Prince, Barbie's Poodle Dog!

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Prince is cute and came with ALL his accessories. Two dog bowls, his bow tie collar, a belt (not sure where it goes on the dog) leash, and beret. SO French! His beret is the same color as Barbie's jumpsuit under her day to night blazer. Love him!

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And a pic of Day to Night Barbie with Prince. Just like the box shows. :) So cute together!

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I also got some accessories in this box. A couple pairs of sunglasses (I believe the blue ones go to Wet n' Wild Skipper), a camera, pictures of Barbie, ballet slippers, a yellow stereo, the charm that came with Superstar Barbie and a plastic record.

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The record has some slits in it and is flimsy. Maybe a prop for Barbie and the Rockers?

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Want to know what else I found at the bottom of the box? Remember my pool post a couple of months back? Remember this set?

www.barbievalues.com
Look at this!

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The chairs and table! No pool though. Boo! But I love the chairs! (and so does Skipper!) Mine are purple so it differs from the picture but this is so cool! I am seriously going to have to make a beach/pool Barbie setup. My swimsuit dolls are growing in numbers!

Also there was the coffee and end table from this little set.

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I also got two of the reversible throw pillows. But no couch or chairs. Does anyone know why the top of the table opens up? There is hardly enough room for storage.

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I also got this couch, bed, and 6 chairs.

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So MOD! On the bottom was printed the year "1973" so I searched and saw that they were from the 1973 Barbie Penthouse! I saw a few posts that said that some of this furniture came from the penthouse and sometimes the couch was orange, not yellow. Can anyone confirm?

These will work so perfect with my original TnT Barbie and my other doll with the mod doll head. Can't wait to get them washed and set up!

Finally I got this little hand shopping cart. Too bad I don't have any Barbie groceries to put in it!

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In the meantime, I also dressed another doll. I put my Splash and Color Skipper swimsuit on my Sun Sensations Jazzie doll. I then took the sunglasses from Beach Blast Miko and put them on her. Love!

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What do you think?

Until next time!