Poland was still a Comunist country when
I dreamt about my very first Barbie and purchasing such a doll was not
an easy task back then. For one thing, you just couldn’t go to your
local mall or a supermarket as none existed in my country at that time.
Barbie was available, however, at our luxury stores called Pewex (The
Internal Export Enterprise) and at a horrendous price too. It’s been
estimated that a Barbie would cost even up to 25% of an average monthly
income. To make things even more complicated, Pewex wouldn’t accept our
currency for most of the time it operated. You needed US Dollars and
those were hard to obtain as currency flow was carefully controlled and
restricted. So I really don’t know how my mom did that, but when I was 5
or 6 she took me to Pewex to buy me my very first Barbie, the 1988
Super Star and now that after almost 30 years I’m opening an identical
pink box, I feel equally excited!
I’ve purchased Super Star NRFB which is
an unprecedented event for my collection and certainly won’t happen
again soon. There are still price tags on the box which state that my
Super Star was originally available for $12.97 and subsequently reduced
to $5.00, and I wonder how much my mom had to pay for her in Poland.
An interesting fact, it appears from the
price tags that my Barbie was sold at a Hills Department Store and
these ceased to operate in 1999. She’s travelled a long way to finally
arrive at my place. The back of the box presents Super Star Barbie and
Ken and a white Ferrari which I used to have until my 2-year old sister
decided to sit on it and drive it. The Ferrari didn’t survive.
The box itself holds many treasures
apart from the doll herself. There is a bracelet and a charm for a
little owner, a comb, a manual showing how to release the hair, a
promotional leaflet encouraging you to join Barbie club, a number of
cardboard punch-outs and a poster catalogue presenting a series of Super
Star fashions and many more objects of desire, a cruel devise to tempt
kids and collectors alike!
Barbie herself is perfect! She had spent
30 years trapped in the box, but her hair is still silky, soft and the
curls hold beautifully. For a movie star, her make-up is very subtle,
the pale pink eyeshadow reaches her brows and there’s but a touch of a
pearly pink lipstick. She’s easy to identify for the stars in her eyes.
She’s wearing her classical pink heels
but her jewelry is very extravagant.The best part of her stock, however,
is her 4-piece outfit. There’s a faux fur boa, a starry top, a matching
mini skirt and a voluminous overskirt. The outfit can be worn in
several ways.
The doll is stunning! For her unquestionable beauty and my own happy memories she remains my favorite Barbie doll.
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