United Colors of Benetton Ken 1990

 United Colors of Benetton 1990 Ken doll wasn’t on my 2020 list but he just happened to be for sale and it was such a great deal I couldn’t resist. Who would, just look at him! Whenever I see a 1988 SuperStar molded Ken, a memory of a fierce childhood dream comes back to me. How I wanted to own one, instead I got a well-made clone doll that turned out to be a very satisfactory replacement that I played with for years and now I cannot identify him. There’s very little information on clone dolls. United Colors of Benetton Ken is a doll number 100 on my collection list. When did I get so many? Well, in fact, there’s more than 100 dolls at this moment, because I don’t follow chronology on my blog, so you’ve seen dolls number 101 and 102, and the ones that arrived before Ken are still waiting for the right moment to be introduced.

The United Colors of Benetton Barbie series is very dear to me because the Barbie form that particular line was the second Barbie I’ve ever owned. For years I was sure she was a gift from my mom, but now I don’t think so. My mom would’ve made shopping for Barbie a very special day that I would remember for the rest of my life. She would’ve taken me to the store and let me choose the doll I liked best, my mom is great like that. I don’t have a memory of such a day, but I remember sitting on the floor with the colorful Barbie still in her box. I’m almost sure she came in a parcel from my granny. My grandma, always the elegant and stylish lady who wouldn’t go to the woods to pick up mushrooms without full make-up would have loved the Benetton Barbie. Funny thing, I don’t have a detailed recollection of Christie, Kira or Teresa from the series, but I sure do remember Ken who was smiling at me from the promo picture at the back of the box. Ahhhh the elusive Ken!

 

The source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/534098837032162658/

I don’t know why, but Benetton Kira was called Marina in Europe, and Ken and Teresa were not available in the US, so they’re a little harder to get than the other girls. For this reason, I didn’t take too long to consider the purchase. The 1988 SuperStar Ken headmold may not be the handsomest and it certainly doesn’t look 18 – the official Ken age, but it’s my favorite Ken face. You can’t help an old sentiment. He just feels so nostalgic with his chisel chin and a million dollar smile! I remember the beautiful picture of the SuperStar Ken 1988 with my very first Barbie and there was the luxurious white Ferrari in the background. The ridiculously expensive car turned out to be easier to get than any genuine Ken doll. He just wasn’t there in the stores in Poland still struggling with communism.

According to reliable sources, Ken’s outfit should include an orange bandana, a blue collar shirt and a pair of orange socks, but mine lost these pieces. Still, I’m pretty happy with the outfit he managed to hold on to. There’s a multicolor sleeveless top, an orange hat and a pair of orange pants. Ken’s also wearing a pair of purple shoes and a colorful jacket. I’m so happy he still has his shoes, they would be so hard to get in this color. The jacket is my favorite piece of this incredibly colorful and happy-looking outfit. I forgot to mention that the pants have real pockets! Now that’s the attention to detail that I’m missing nowadays! Now that I look at him, he’s so wonderfully color coordinated – tangerine pants, a tangerine hat and tangerine tan …

Ken has joined Barbie and Christie and now I’m only missing Kira. I don’t include Teresa because she’s incredibly hard to come by. She’s very rare and ridiculously expensive. I’ve recently seen her head for sale and I even contemplated purchasing it and getting her a body and an outfit or at least a fashion pack from the series, but the head had had a haircut. I hardly ever purchase dolls with cut hair so I decided to pass on that occasion but it may be an option to consider in the future if there’s a good deal. Speaking of good deals, I’ve recently come by two dolls that were so well priced that I even decided to risk purchasing them in these troubled times when international eBay parcels may not come to their destination. Still, it was worth the risk, keep your fingers crossed!

International Travel Barbie 1995

 

Sending a married man off to an abroad business trip should be strictly prohibited, especially if that said husband happens to be funny, helpful and kind. But what can I do? On the lonely evenings I entertain myself watching Dynasty episodes. I remember how empty the streets would become on Sunday nights when the show was aired. It was a perfect ending of a weekend. First there was a Disney cartoon, then half an hour of dull news on TV (at least it gave you some time to clear the dishes after dinner) and then Dynasty at 8 PM. Now that I’m listening to a familiar opening theme and there’s a parade of glamorous women on my TV, I kind of fancy showing one on my blog as well.

The International Travel Barbie series consists of only two dolls produced in 1994 and 1995. The two dolls share a theme of travelling but that’s all they have in common, to me they couldn’t be more different. The 1994  Barbie is a playline through and through – a pink dress, a pink box, even the suitcases are pink. The doll, however, has a lot of potential and I’ve seen her redressed, she’s gorgeous. But even in her colorful getup she looks sweet and adorable and I’d be happy to own her. Maybe I will. Barbie was available in two options that differed in terms of the box and the accessories inside. The first option was a doll in a large pink box with a window and she came with two suitcases amongst other things. The other one was more of a budget version. The doll and slightly fewer accessories were packed in a slim box solid on all sides so you couldn’t see the Barbie inside unless you took her out. In both cases Barbie was identical.

 

the source: https://www.amazon.com/Mattel-13912-International-Travel-Barbie/dp/B001W98HQC 

 

 

the source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/560909328582726557/

The second edition bears the features of a collectible doll and was also available in two versions- a big box that opened like a book and allowed a good view of the doll beautifully displayed inside or a slim, solid box that looked like a suitcase. This time both the dolls and the accessories seem to be identical, although I cannot be sure, because the table of contents on the side of my box doesn’t mention all the items I found inside. It was a nice surprise to discover there was more than I had initially expected.

 

the source: https://sg.carousell.com/p/barbie-doll-international-travel-doll-32680609/ 

 

My Barbie is wonderful, I had been meaning to purchase her for quite some time and I cannot understand why I put it off for so long. Barbie’s hair is short and secured with a generous amount of hair product. It’s hard and solid so that you could actually tap on it, but it keeps the style. I love Barbie’s make-up, although it’s entirely blue –blue mascara, blue eyeliner and the eye shadow that goes up to her brows. The lipstick is dark magenta with a pearly shine to balance the blue. She’s one of the prettiest dolls from the 90s that I’ve ever seen.

I absolutely love Barbie’s two-piece suit, she looks so smart! The jacket and the skirt are really well made and the fabric if of high quality, but the only thing I’m not so crazy about is her plastic, hot pink belt but it’s a separate piece so it can be replaced with something more suitable. Mattel didn’t cut the corners with this doll and so she’s wearing a real pair of pantyhose, something that I always appreciate! I also like the little hat, it’s a nice touch and it looks great with her hair. In fact, if there was an airline logo on her jacket and her hat, she would make a very elegant flight attendant as well as a business class passenger. Her pumps are fiercely pink, they’re fine but I would prefer them to be red.

Barbie’s many accessories come packed tight in a plastic bag at the bottom of the box, it seems hard to believe Mattel managed to put so much into such a slim box. In fact, the table of contents doesn’t mention a few of the accessories which is quite unusual when compared to today’s practices when every single tiny accessory is well displayed in a box so as to make a doll more attractive. How I love the old Mattel! Anyway, in the box I found a hanger and a garment bag, a bracelet for Barbie’s little owner and a little bag for the bracelet, there’s also a black and functional purse and a hat case that rattled when I took it out of the plastic bag. Inside I found the sunglasses I was looking for and also a can of soda and a pencil that I wasn’t expecting. We’re talking the 90s so of course a classic Barbie brush was included although I cannot imagine brushing Barbie’s concrete hard hair. Barbie doesn’t come with any suitcase, she’s chosen to travel light to Paris – you don’t take a tree to the forest! No doubt she’ll go shopping like crazy in the World’s Fashion Capital and she’ll buy the necessary suitcases as well. On her way back she’ll have to incur a heavy fee for luggage excess.

At the back of the inner cardboard I found some paper stuff. There were the cardboard punchouts that I’m usually not impressed by, but this time I liked the colorful postcards, the passport and the airline ticket that identifies Barbie as the passenger and not the staff. I was also pleasantly surprised by the certificate of authenticity. I don’t know about the 1994 Barbie, but mine was apparently produced exclusively for Wessco International – a company that supplied airlines, hotels and cruise ships with high quality, luxury products. So it seems it was possible to purchase my Barbie at an airport or on board of a plane.

I’m simply ecstatic about the new addition to my collection, Barbie and her accessories are amazing and I even had a crazy idea to get her a plane. I’ve recently been to a toy store and I stopped by the Barbie section. They like to set up a little display they change from time to time and this time I could admire the enormous Barbie airplane with Barbie and Ken as the pilot and co-pilot. I must say that I liked the plane a lot, but I had to remind myself that I only have one display cabinet and a large and awkward item like that would never fit inside.

 

the source: https://www.oxendales.ie/shop/barbie-dream-plane/vw649/product/details/show.action?pdBoUid=3019

 

the source: https://www.oxendales.ie/shop/barbie-dream-plane/vw649/product/details/show.action?pdBoUid=3019

And speaking of my display cabinet, I recently purchased some no name doll stands from China, plastic ones. I normally buy only metal Kaisers because they’re the best, but they’ve always been quite expensive in my country and their price went further up and availability down so I had to find a suitable alternative. These Chinese stands are satisfactory I must say, they’re clear plastic are adjustable so they fit both Barbie and Skipper. Their price is also hard to beat – a dozen costs just slightly more than a single Kaiser. The delivery takes some time though, I should’ve ordered a couple dozen but now that I look at the contents of the cabinet, I don’t think I can squeeze in  another doll. I promised myself my dolls would rotate, but it seems impossible to pick a doll to go to the boxes when I love the sight of each and every one of them!

 

 

Babysitter Courtney #2

 I’ve been incredibly busy of late. There’s too few hours in a day! I almost feel like I’m stealing some of the precious time for my dolls but I do that with a clear conscience. After all, a hobby isn’t a luxury, it’s a must. I need it to be able to fulfil my duties properly. So today’s post is a product of that necessity, and since I can only squeeze a few moments to sit down and scribe something in haste, it’s going to be pretty short. Say hello to my Babysitter Courtney 1990.

I should probably call her Babysitter Courtney the second, because the first one appeared in my collection about two years ago. Both Courtneys come from the same seller and I remember how fiercely I was bidding for my BC number 1 till the very last seconds and how thrilled I was when I won her. Luckily, since that time, the seller changed the portal she was offering her dolls through and there’s no need for me to bid anymore, I just hate to do that.

My first Courtney was near perfection. Her hair was still soft and shiny and the doll was in a good condition. Her only flaws were the lack of her stock outfit and her bangs that someone had seen fit to brush back – who does things like that, I ask?! I tried to do something about the bangs but the process exhausted my patience and I just tamed the uncooperative bangs with an oversized hair clip and decided I like the fact that it doesn’t cover the doll’s face.

And then the second Babysitter Courtney was put out for sale and I had a bit of a dilemma because on one hand I already had a very nice looking Courtney and on the other, the new doll had the two things mine was missing – she was sporting perfect bangs and her original clothes. I’ve always liked the two-piece outfit. It’s white with fiercely green and pink splotches. She even came with shoes. Now, these don’t belong to her as hers should be green and these are light pink, but they look just fine. I wish she had some of her accessories too, but I’m not complaining. It only took me a few minutes to consider the purchase. I knew I needed to hurry - a doll like that wouldn’t stay available for long.

I’ve already described the Babysitter Skipper series and Courtney in here, so instead of repeating that post, I’d like to ask you if you collect duplicates of dolls. I do my best to avoid that since I promised my husband that dolls wouldn’t flood us or look at us from every corner of our house. We made a deal – my dolls would occupy one cabinet in our study and one cabinet it is. Since I have a very limited space to display them, I only purchase duplicates of some very special dolls that, depending on the country make, differ greatly in terms of their face paint. Those would be Peaches’n Cream, Crystal or Magic Moves, but I’m also planning to get some more variants of my all-time favorite SuperStar 1988.

Courtney is the doll of the 90’s when face paint application methods were further standarized, but you could still come across some great examples of facial screening diversity, just look at Sun Sensation Barbie from China and Malaysia – they’re completely different. I didn’t expect to see something like that in Courtney, but when I took her out of the packaging, It struck me how vibrant her face colors are. If you look closely, you’ll notice that in her eye shadow and her eyes. The eye shadow of Courtney #1 is much more transparent and watered down in comparison. It may be a subtle difference, but for a guilty conscience that needs an excuse to keep both dolls, it’s a difference enough. By the way, both dolls were produced in Malaysia.

If two Courtneys weren’t enough, I’ve recently purchased a second Cool Tops Skipper. I haven’t decided whether I’ll keep her or give her to my daughter yet. Skipper #2 cost me a few pennies, she comes with most of her outfit and cleaned up better than the first one that almost cost me a heart attack when I thought she’d lose all her hair. It also appears the two Skippers aren’t identical. Although they’re both of Chinese make, their eye shadow is a different shade of lavender. Both are pretty and the second one would look lovely in a fashion pack from the series. Tricky, very tricky!

Ok, my battery is full and duty calls, so until next time!