A Barbie post for a change

A lot of late mid 80s to early 90s Barbie Doll fashions are really outrageous - colorful, kitschy, and even though they do reflect trends of their time, they are (opposed to fashions from, say, the 60s or 70s) nothing anyone would really wear - they are just that bit over the top. Anyway, I still love them dearly. This was the time that I played with Barbie, this was the stuff I loved then, and this was the stuff I first started out with being creative at mixing 'n matching. I have a lot of loose outfit parts here, coming from flea markets, big vintage convolutes or simply left-overs from my childhood (when I learned the art of clearing out things I didn't like anymore to make room and money for new things), and finding out where they come from is thrilling, but of course it's even nicer to find still originally packed outfits. Another reason for that is that they often contain the little booklets in which many outfits are depicted of which there is no information in any collector's books. I cherish those...

Every now and then I check out what vintage Barbie things are on offer on etsy - there are usually a few, and it's an easy search. So I came across a 1990 Disney character outfit that I just had to have (and I wish I had the others too - they're just soooo crazy!).

Such an outrageous outfit of course needs an outrageous wearer - Sam!
Sam is a Mattel doll, but probably the one and only of whom I really don't know who she originally was - I found her at a fleamarket. I suspect there was some head-swapping and hair rerooting involved in her "creation", but that doesn't matter. She's unique - and adorable in the craziest outfits.

The outfit arrived this morning, courtesy of tjgholar. Check out her etsy shop - she makes cool stuff, also art photography with Barbie Dolls! It is again and again interesting to see, how artists use or depict Barbie in their work. And I am so of one mind with her in this quote:

"Maybe I am a little biased, but I don't think it's fair to blame it all on Barbie. I feel ambivalent when I hear women blame their low self esteem and poor body image on growing up with Barbie dolls. I don't know if Barbie is entirely to blame. What about fashion magazines and diet ads? What about the ideas and expectations girls learn from their peers and their mothers? What about the culture of self-objectification?"
She's just so right! Nothing gets more on my nerves than those people who try to blame it all on Barbie. I can safely say, though I had loads of Barbies as a kid, their shape and figure was never a thing I considered or wanted to be like - her body was as it was, and that was that. It was just cool that she was a "grown-up" and had that kind of body. And I figured out pretty soon that Barbie's body didn't have realistic proportions either.

I am still waiting for the VFG Forum to be up and running again (they are updating it)... I realize now how much it has become a part of my daily (computer) life over the last one and a half years or so. Sound crazy? Well, there's just always so much to learn, to discuss, to laugh about. There's so much more than just fashion in the strictest sense involved, and it's just nice to meet like-minded people.
From what I'm hearing the updated forum is going to be really, really cool...

Speaking of mixing and matching... I just came across the blog of VFG member Past Perfect Vintage - I love these outfits (and especially the pink jacket!):
Past Perfect Vintage: Building a Vintage Wardrobe, One Step at a Time: One of the wisest ways to build a flexible wardrobe is to take advantage of vintage clothing. Vintage garments bring everything to the fash...