Barbie and the All Stars Midge 1989

I had planned to present an African American beauty today, but the sun refuses to cooperate and I couldn’t take the pictures of her. So I switched her for a lovely Midge doll who had been photographed last month. A great Native American Barbie first edition aka Indian Midge joined my collection some time ago and on that occasion I took all my Divas out of the cabinet to compare them. There they stood all of them in a neat row. There was a Native American Midge (you know what I mean) without feathers in her hair or a bow with arrows. There was a bride without a groom, a sailing enthusiast without a yacht and a mermaid without a mermaid tail. What did they have in common, or rather what did they lack in common? None of them had freckles! Yes, that’s what I needed – freckles! There were two potential candidates, both from 1989, both beautifully and freckled. I wanted them both but Barbie and the all Stars Midge 1989 was more available and more reasonably priced.

The entire All Stars series is just amazing! They’re cheerful and colorful like a rainbow. They were each of them assigned one dominating color – Barbie got hot pink and Ken- blue, like they should. Christie’s color is orange, Midge’s is purple and Teresa’s got red. All these colors pop beautifully against white of their outfits that was common for all of them. The outfits were also sprinkled with sparkly stars. The true queen of the series would be Teresa with the lovely Steffie features. It’s unlikely that she should end up in my collection as her price is exorbitant, but silly I may be, I like the modest Midge just as much. Now the gang is passionate about sports and although they prefer different disciplines, they are a great team. The dolls have been also well accessorized so that they could practice the sports they selected. And after some good physical exertion they still have plenty of energy to hit the town. They’re almost ready, just a quick shower and a change of clothes. And where are their clothes you could ask? In their bags, or should I say, the bags are their clothes, all you need  to do is flip them to the other side.

For some reason, only two of the set ever reached Poland and under a different name – Sports Club. Ken also switched basketball for golf and if I’m not mistaken, Barbie’s exactly the same. Of course a proper doll series should have an accompanying playset to make a good background for the dolls themselves and All Stars is no different. The below commercial presents the amazing Sports Club playset in all its glory!

Of course it would be ideal to be able to purchase only pristine dolls and preferably still in their boxes, but that’s not always possible and my Midge is an example of that. I bought the doll in a replacement outfit, then I got the accessories and a stock outfit. I’m still missing the magic bag-dress. Perhaps one day Midge will be complete, at this moment I’m content with what I got. Midge’s been through a lot. Her jewelry is missing and her hair has lost much of its crimp. But the doll herself is still beautiful, just look at this face paint – the lovely green eyes, the lavender eyeshadow that helps further bring out the color, and those freckles! She looks very youthful.  

Midge is a great fan of baseball and she’s dressed and ready to go out to the field and strike! As I’ve already mentioned, I managed to get her outfit- the tight pants and the shirt that buttons up on the font. I’m still pining over the dress that to all likelihood gets horribly wrinkled in the bag form, but it’s impressive how it can transform. It’s so simple yet so ingenious! What I also love about the series is that all the girls got two pairs of shoes and since I purchased the outfit and the accessories separately, my Midge’s got one pair extra. Of course, Midge also came accessorized with baseball gear – the bat and the ball, there’s no glove though but she got a can of soda to remain well hydrated. There’s a brush and a set of punch-outs as well. My doll was dressed in some remnants of All Stars Barbie outfit – the very faded body-suit and the leg warmers in a surprisingly great condition. There was also a mysterious looking sports bag included in the deal.

The occasion calls for a group photo, so I took out all my Divas yet again, this time there was one freckled Midge amongst them. As it happens there’s another Midge on her way as I’m writing this and she’s very special. I wonder if she manages to dethrone the ravishing bride.