Everywhere in the world, Barbie dolls are being sold by the hundreds. In fact, it is being sold in more than 150 countries around the globe. Every second, two Barbie dolls are being bought, making it one of the most successful toys in the recent centuries.
Barbie Dolls is an industry in its own right. It earns billions of dollars annually with business interests that do not only include toys. Barbie also has video cds, movie titles, computer games, clothes, shoes, accessories and bags. You name a fashion merchandise and they've got it.
But what is it about the Barbie doll that made it click. Even at its debut in 1959 with the now famous black and white striped bathing suit-clad doll, it sold about 351,000 units. It did not take long for the craze to transform to a mania. Everyone just loves Barbie, from little girls to grown-ups who do collecting; from girls to men. In fact, Barbie is second to stamps as the most collected item in the whole world.
What makes it so adorable? Here are some of the reasons.
Mirror of the times
Barbies have been around for centuries and it defined the style, fashion and look of the year it was made. Like people and culture, it is also evolving, showing the current fad and the current way of thinking of that generation. Barbies dolls tell history in its own right, even having dolls that commemorate special events in history like the end of the US-Soviet Union Cold War and the Olympic Games.
There is a Barbie that will define the 70s flower power era and the millennium that came. In a piece of doll is also a piece of history.
Memories of childhood
Having been introduced in the 1950s, Barbie dolls have been around for centuries that most women in the United Stated have probably played with one or two. Seeing Barbie dolls remind people of their childhood days, which they would most likely want to pass on to their own kids.
In fact, some collectors do not only collect the items because of their price value but because of the memories that the dolls evoke. After all, buying a piece that is exactly the same as the one they have played with when they were little kids can be really exciting especially if we have managed to destroy the hair or the clothes by our childish attempts at haircutting and fashion designing.