![]() ![]() “Condition is king when it comes to collectibles,” says Simon. Meanwhile, the Totally Hair Whitney (Barbie’s friend) can sell for £800. Likewise, the best-selling Barbie of all time, Totally Hair Barbie, released in 1992, can sell for £150 if complete and in good condition. Today, when boxed, they fetch around £170. When originally released in 1990, these dolls retailed for around £20. One such collector is Clare Rawling, who owns over 1,000 dolls and uses them to make stop-motion videos on Instagram ( Clare’s obsession began with Barbie Benetton – a collection created in collaboration with the eponymous clothing brand. That means that women who were 12 in 1995 will hit the collecting market over the next decade, seeing prices of Nineties Barbies go up,” he says. “Collectors tend to start collecting toys they had as children about 25 to 30 years later. Still, Tim concedes that the Barbie dolls of the Nineties are starting to grow in value. ![]() “Dolls such as the 1977 Superstar Barbie can command high prices,” he adds. “The Barbie dolls I mostly see at auction are from the Sixties to the Eighties and all perform extremely well,” he says. “As a general rule, the older the doll, the more valuable it’s likely to be,” says Tim Weeks, owner and Toy Specialist at Wessex Auction Rooms, and expert on BBC Bargain Hunt. It’s not all about diamonds and designers: an original 1959 doll, which originally retailed for $3, could fetch as much as £25,000 at auction if in mint condition. The most valuable Barbie dolls you may actually own These rarer dolls are highly prized by collectors, as well as being pricier than their non-designer counterparts… Meanwhile, dolls with prosthetic limbs, hearing aids ( Strictly star Rose Ayling-Ellis launched the first Barbie with hearing aids) and wheelchairs stand alongside Barbie versions of celebrities ranging from Cher to J-LO to Queen Elizabeth II.Įver the fashionista, Barbie has collaborated with over 75 global brands including Balmain, Moschino and Karl Lagerfeld. ![]() The Barbie Role Model collection includes dolls made in the likeness of space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock and presenter Clara Amfo. “Many collectors have huge nostalgia for this time,” says Simon.īarbie has come a long way in the past six decades and now comes in a variety of skin tones, hair colours and body types. This was when, in the UK, Barbie overtook Sindy as the best-selling doll. Next came the popular “Pink Box Era” (when Barbie came packaged in a hot pink box), during the Eighties and Nineties. Barbie’s British cousin, Francie, was soon introduced, alongside a Twiggy doll (inspired by the eponymous model.) “She entered her ‘Mod Era’ with a new face, ‘twist ‘n’ turn’ waist and Sixties wardrobe,” says collectible toy retailer Simon Farnworth, who runs the online shop .uk. Formally known as Barbara Millicent Roberts (after Handler’s daughter), she was an instant hit.Ī decade later, in the late Sixties, Barbie was given a makeover. Barbie, meanwhile, was aimed at girls, offering a more aspirational alternative to the baby dolls of the day. Ruth Handler, the doll’s inventor, was inspired by a Bild Lilli doll – a blonde bombshell based on a German cartoon, marketed as a novelty gift for men. So, how did a childrens’ toy catapult to global stardom? And why is she so pricey? We chart the rise of this small but mighty model and ask the experts what the old dolls sitting in our attics might be worth today… A history of Barbieīarbie first burst onto the scene in 1959, created by Californian toy company Mattel. Having held positions as an astronaut, pilot and even President, she’s now set to be a movie star, with the new Barbie film, directed by Greta Gerwig, hitting cinemas on 21 July.īarbie is also a woman who knows her worth, with some vintage and specialist dolls fetching tens of thousands of pounds at auction. She may be 11 inches tall and made entirely of plastic, but Barbie is a global icon. ![]()
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