Hawaiian Fun Skipper 1990

 

This is going to be pretty long, because I’m about to show you a very special doll, so special that nothing else would do but a brand new doll, never removed from the box. Now, I like NRFB dolls like any other collector. They’re new (as new as a 30-year old doll can be), they’re in a great condition (this is not always the case) and they still have their own clothes and accessories. But I feel boxed dolls are kind of wasted on me, I always free them from their cardboard prison the moment I get them and I really like all the washing and brushing and making the doll look presentable again plus a used doll is a sort of compromise – she costs less so I can have her. But in terms of Hawaiian Fun Skipper 1990 there would be no bath, no brushing, no compromise. I’ve waited long enough, now I wanted to feel like the 7-year old kid taking out a dream from the box!

First things first, some facts from the Barbie encyclopedia. Hawaiian Fun is a beach series but one that Mattel put some money into and also invested in TV commercials that you can see below. The series comprised as many as 7 dolls: Barbie, Christie, Kira, Skipper, Jazzie, Ken and Steven. Barbie is sweet and lovely, just like the dolls of the early 90s knew how to be, but it’s Jazzie that I’d love to own, apart from Skipper of course. A proper doll series requires a proper background in a form of playsets and fashion packs and Hawaiian Fun has it all because it’s great to own that doll from a commercial, but it’s even better to get her a playset from that commercial too! So there’s a boat, a hammock, a pool and another pool, a beach bar and all that you could wish for. The outfits, 6 of them, were bright and colorful and neon and … they had no shoes but instead you got some silicone bangles or hair pieces or whatever those colorful little circles were. A great series and that’s me saying – a person that dislikes beach series in general.

the source: https://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Hawaiian-HAMMOCK-HIDEAWAY-Playset/dp/B002DQTWUI

the source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/47991552254602239/

the source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/329888741449733078/

the source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/474074298260410310/

the source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/556124253957181592/

the source:https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/323203710742838852/

the source: https://www.amazon.in/Barbie-Hawaiian-ISLAND-HOPPER-BOAT/dp/B0044VCW6Q

 

the source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stundika/16282628483

So back to my dream! I was 7 when I first saw Hawaiian Fun Skipper that happens to be the very first Skipper I laid my eyes on. The doll was a favorite of my cousin who owned quite an impressive shelf of Barbie and friends dolls but Skipper was special, so I could admire her from a safe distance. My cousin explained the doll was called Skipper and that was her official name, she was Barbie’s little sister, that’s why she was so small and then she put Skipper on a genuine Mattel Vespa, secured the doll with a strap and set the doll and the Vespa in motion with a remote control. I must admit an RC operated Vespa was quite a thing, but I focused my attention on the doll memorizing every single detail of her. She had long, golden hair, very, very thick and her face was round like the Moon. She had striking blue and very large eyes, her knees would of course click bend – she was a genuine Mattel product, and she had flat feet. How I dreamt about the doll and I never got her until I decided to treat myself with her on my 36^th birthday!

Decades passed and as my collection wish list began to form I tried to identify the Skipper doll my cousin owned based on my memories. They were of little help because Skipper’s features that I remembered best were pretty much general and applied to most Skipper dolls produced between 1987-1994. But as I flicked more  and more pictures online, I began to remember some other details, like those flat feet! I remembered them because the doll had no shoes and it was impossible for my cousin to lose doll shoes so she never had them in the first place. SO she was a beach doll! And she wore that hula skirt and she had sunglasses – those were really cool. I remembered the doll came with a friendship bracelet that my cousin would proudly wear sniffing the perfume balm inside the bracelet charm. I even remembered the fiercely orange hair brush because … well call me a nut, but I’ve always loved that classic, seashell design Barbie brush and the fact that it came in all possible colors – neon, pastel, with or without that lovely pearly finish! When my cousins or friends got new Barbies I would always ask if they came with that pretty brush and what the color was.

So after almost 30 years Hawaiian Fun Skipper was finally mine and the fierce dream of a child’s tender heart was confronted with reality of a thirty-something. Skipper’s hair is wild and totally uncontrolled but that’s to be expected – she had spent 30 years in the box with her hair strapped to the inner cardboard. I’ll boil wash it when I pluck up my courage. The scented balm stinks because it was secured with plastic so it wouldn’t lose the scent… and it worked only too well. I guess I’ll have to remove it. So overall, what do I think of the doll? I’m ecstatic! I love every detail of her, of course she got a pair of shoes from me and she stands in the front row of my cabinet. I sometimes enter the study to just look at her. My only wish is that I got her at the right time, which was when I was 7. Now she’s just an echo of an old, very old dream.