Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Dolls of the World Japanese Barbie 1995



The Superstar mold with its irresistible charm could easily obscure the beauty of all the other dolls that Mattel had on the menu back in the 80s and 90s. No wonder it was Barbie’s official face for good 20 years. But although Superstar is my favorite of all Mattel’s creations, having a redhead, a brunette and a couple of blondes, I could finally turn my attention to other headmolds.

The 1980 Oriental mold is so graceful I really can’t understand how I could have been so blind as not to have appreciated this face sooner. There were many prospective candidates to my collection who hold the exotic, oriental features, yet, for all my love and fascination for the culture of Japan, the choice was quite simple.



This one came as NRFB and she seems to have been packed a little more diligently than a play line, though I have a very limited experience with boxes. The back of the box contains some information about the country and its customs. The front of the box informs it’s a collector edition and displays the doll beautifully. The box contained also a stand, a brush, an invitation to subscribe Barbie Bazaar and a 2-year warranty, precious little artefacts reminding of Barbie’s glory from the past when attention to detail and high quality of the product were more important than they seem to be now.




My Japanese is dressed in a Kimono 着物- that literally means a thing to wear. My knowledge on this subject is quite limited, but from what I know, Barbie is wearing a spring kimono for young, unmarried women, which is evident by the length of the sleeves. The kimono is closed with a gold, embroidered Obi sash tied at the back and the purple layer underneath is slightly protruding. It’s attached to the pink layer of course. To keep the kimono in place, it’s been sewn with a single thread and there are 2 plastic snaps at the level of the obi. Velcro holds the Obi in two places so it doesn’t slide up or down. The doll’s kimono looks very accurate and authentic. 



Barbie is also wearing the Tabi – the socks, and her traditional clogs that have a slight tendency to fall off but they keep to the feet far better than I thought. As for her jewelry, she’s wearing a simple pearl ring and no earrings whatsoever. There’s a pretty pink bow in her hair and I can see the rubber band has started to disintegrate.




The hair of my Japanese is raven black and incredibly soft. It’s completely straight and very long. The fringe is unnecessary in my opinion and Barbie would look more authentic without it, but the 90s and no bangs? No way! Her face is simply gorgeous! Her lips are full and red and there’s a bit of lavender eye shadow and a thick eyeliner over her slightly too large, hazel eyes, but that’s Barbie, so whatever her origin, her eyes must be full of expression. Her face speaks peace and harmony. I guess, she’s exceptional in my collection in a way that she prefers tea to coffee. Green tea, of course.






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