Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Day to Night Barbie 1984


My collection isn’t unusual. I like the popular models of Barbie like Peaches’n Cream or Dream Date and Magic Moves is my all-time favorite. So it should come as no surprise that I pursued the famous Day to Night Barbie 1984. It was only a matter of time and good deal. Finally, the doll arrived, beautiful and glamorous, the problem is, I’m not entirely sure it’s Day to Night, but about this in a minute. First I need to deal with the encyclopedia part of the post, so sit back, it’s going to be a long, looong text.


So back in the 80s Mattel had a brilliant idea – they would make Barbie an independent, career woman, possibly a corporate worker. Barbie’s running shoulder to shoulder with the male work force in the endless rat race and her stiletto high heels wouldn’t slow her down, though the clacking is muffed by the office wall-to-wall carpeting. She’s the embodiment of Mattel’s slogan “We girls can do anything, right Barbie?”. She’s added a little pink to the corporate dress code, she’s got a briefcase in one hand and a calculator in the other and she’s ready to become the big fish of world class business. Beware! The Taiwan, Philippine and Malaysia sites received the same design and interpreted it in their own, unique way of course.


The „foreign” sites producing Barbie dolls on Mattel’s license were pretty active too albeit on a smaller scale. That is why Barbie Dia y Noche by Congost or the Estrella Night and Day clad all in blue carry a hefty price tag nowadays. These would also include Barbie dolls by Rotoplast and Basa. Those dolls are rare and exotic to me and I know very little about them. Apart from the Caucasian D2N Barbie and her exotic variants, the series also included 2 more dolls – an African American and Hispanic Barbie both based on the Spanish1983 headmold as well as 2 Ken dolls.

 the source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/115967759134402861/?lp=true
 
                        the source: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/669155658/mattel-vintage-african-american-day-to

 the source: https://www.toysisters.com/1985-day-to-night-barbie-hispanic/
 
The dolls were gorgeous, but they needed the right setting and a number of clothing options. There were 6 fashion packs available with a great disproportion of 5 of them dedicated for Barbie and only 1 for Ken. These suggested 6 possible career types and my favorite sets would be the Teacher and the Dancer. As to the themed playset, there was one and it possessed the properties and abilities worthy of a Transformer. The playset was called Home and Office, it was produced in 1984 and though it was not large, it offered a lot of fun. There were two play spaces – an office and a bedroom with a plenty of playability features such as real opening closets and drawers, a bed and a desk pulled out of a wall. There was also a number of small accessories such as an ancient looking computer or a coffee mug. Now I want this playset, and badly, but I don’t entertain high hopes of ever getting it in a decent condition, because it didn’t age well. All those little hinges are prone to damage and the drawers are easily lost, not to mention the accessories. My research revealed there were also two somewhat obscure accessory / fashion packs – Barbie Finishing Touches 9 to 5 and Barbie in Office by Leo Mattel exclusive to the Indian market. The first one appears on eBay from time to time but the other one I’ve found only reviewed on Youtube. 

 the source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/838021443134421600/?lp=true



the source: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/323696291962175538/
 
Day to Night Barbie was a great success and no wonder she was reproduced in 2017 as one of the most popular Barbie dolls in history. The reproduction is quite close to the original but due to the more advanced technology, the face paint lost some of its charm that manifested itself in blurred lines and soft strokes. D2N from 1984 looks far more dreamy than the repro whose hair seems stiff and heavily sprayed with some kind of a hair product, but I still believe it’s a decent reproduction as it’s got a TnT waist and click bending vinyl legs. The outfit was also copied to the last detail and so were the accessories and there are the original photos on the box. I was even tempted to buy the repro to have a nice, clean and fresh doll, but I chose the 1984 Barbie because she’s prettier and she’s well … my age.

 thes source: https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32863533000.html
 
Ok, that was a lengthy introduction, but the series had much to offer and in my attempts at identifying my Barbie I was discovering more and more wonderful things. It was impossible to me not to mention all those marvels. Now as to my Barbie, she’s probably Day to Night, but she might as well be the Vacation Sensation 1986. The two dolls are incredibly similar as they share the general facial screening design. Do they differ - well there are many country variants and face paint itself is prone to fading due to storing conditions. I thought Barbie’s feet may be of help – to the best of my knowledge D2N should have more detailed, pointy feet whilst VS’s are round, but then again, body swap is not an uncommon practice. There was one version of D2N produced for the European market and she has two white spots in her eyes instead of one so she’s easily identified. As for the other ones, I have a feeling that VS is a little more done up. Her eyeshadow and blush are a little more vibrant but that I only inferred from photos.

 the source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/479914904035569756/?lp=true

 the source: https://www.amazon.in/Barbie-Vacation-Sensation-Sportswear-Accessories/dp/B000PJCPUY



As I was waiting for my „probably” D2N Barbie, I ordered her stock outfit and accessories. The condition of her clothes isn’t the best but it doesn’t age well in general. The body suit lost its straps and threads are coming out, the “suede” suit has faded and there are some rust stains on it, the tulle is frayed at the bottom, but I’m still glad to have it. The design is great allowing two different looks and it’s also incredibly detailed, just look at those miniscule buttons!  The accessories are also almost complete, I’m missing the newspapers and a credit card though.







My doll came with a lot as a part of the deal. She had a suitcase with two nearly complete fashion sets, two pairs of shoes, some sunglasses a D2N purse and a phone. I like the clothes best of all and one set in particular seemed quite familiar though I couldn’t tell where I’d seen it before until I found this picture online. It shows the Living Pretty Roll-top Desk and Bookcase that I used to own when I was little. That was my first playset and I loved it! I got it the same day my mom bought me my very first Barbie doll. The Barbie in the picture is wearing the Weekend Collection fashion pack – the very one I own now. I must have loved it back then as much as I do now, it reminds me of Dynasty



The other Weekend Collection fashion is incomplete – I’m missing the sleeveless top, hopefully I’ll get it someday and in case my Barbie was really VS, I got her blue one-piece. VS came with some great travel accessories and two additional fashion options, unfortunately she’s rather hard to get these days.

 the source: https://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Weekend-Collection-Jacket-Clothing/dp/B001MQ9XM2
 
My new Barbie, be it D2N or VS is really pretty and I’m very happy with her. She occupies the 80s classics shelf that’s becoming increasingly pink. I do love this pink!





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