Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun

For anyone who loves Barbie and wants to know more, this illustrated biography tells the story of the doll's evolution into an icon of popular culture, beloved and avidly collected by children and adults alike. Conceived in 1959 as an "adult" doll to dress for every occasion, Barbie has since become a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. Illustrations reveal her many faces, styles, and incarnations, from the blonde, blue-eyed mainstay to the exotic dolls available around the world. Here too are her most glamorous costumes, and the real-life Hollywood stars-Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Vivien Leigh-and fashion designers-Christian Dior, Calvin Klein, and Bob Mackie-who inspired them. Doll expert Marco Tosa presents a wealth of documentation, including a description of how the dolls are made, a family tree, a chart of the dolls' occupations, the dates of issue of each Barbie doll discussed, and photographs of original packaging. There is also a section on the forthcoming, more anatomically correct Barbie doll. Marco Tosa, a native of Genoa, Italy, teaches at the Venice Academy of Fine Arts. He is the author of several books on fashion and on the history and culture of dolls. Read more