Barbie is a successful career woman, isn’t she. After all, she’s been a top surgeon, a loving teacher, a fearless firefighter. She’s been a farmer, a ballet dancer, a stenographer (Barbie Secretary), a chef, a business woman, a paleontologist. In the meantime, she drives a truck, goes into Space and runs for presidency, because “We girls can do anything!”
So this time Barbie does two jobs at the same time, and when she’s off duty, she enjoys herself traveling around the world. That is what the Flight Time Barbie series from 1989 offers. It comprises four dolls – three identically dressed Barbie dolls (Caucasian, AA and Hispanic – Steffie) and Ken. There’s a playset to accompany the dolls. The dolls are wearing outfits that can change from a pilot to a flight attendant to a party girl (not sure about Ken). The additional outfit is beautifully displayed on a paper doll. But it’s not only the dolls that transform, the playset can serve a dual purpose too, it can be both a plane and an airport. I know it’s a glorified diorama, but I’d love to own it. It’s pretty rare though and pricey of course. When doing my research for this entry, I also discovered a very hard to find Leo Mattel version of Barbie in a blue uniform. There’s also the Estrela Tempo de Voar 1991 and I probably many more.
Flight Time Barbie had been on my mind for quite some time, and I kept seeing her on eBay, but I never bought her because of the top that she comes dressed in. The top is made of the same atrocious pleather material that was used for the Super Hair and Rollerblade Barbies’ outfits. The outer layer cracks and flakes off and looks awful and it really doesn’t matter if you keep the doll in the box or you take her out, the nasty fabric just doesn’t age well and mine is no different. So when I go to such lengths as to buy a doll on eBay and I wait for her for 3-6 weeks to arrive and I’m not a very patient person, I just want her to be perfect. But she popped up unexpectedly – one of my favorite sellers locally was offering her out of the box, complete and in perfect condition, apart from the top of course. The top was unacceptable, it was sticky and the white layer transferred o to the doll. So I did what I could- I washed the top, the paint or whatever it was, dissolved and now it looks fine.
So Flight Time Barbie is primarily a pilot and her uniform consists of the nasty top with a gold lame tie, a form fitting jacket with the “shoulder pads/ Dynasty” kind of look, a pencil skirt that matches the jacket, a pilot’s hat and a pair of classic pink pumps. My favorite part will be the jacket – it’s detailed and the cut reminds me of the 80s. I remember one of my teachers just loved this type of look and when I was in fourth grade, she organized a fashion show with the girls wearing 80s clothes. We all had shoulder pads! I felt the irresistible urge just now, to watch my favorite episode of Dynasty with the first catfight that Krystle and Alexis do. Oh I love those – feathers fly, crystal vases break and the silk, shoulder pad blouses are torn to shreds!
Back to Barbie pilot that can also serve the passengers as a flight attendant once the automatic pilot is on. She just tosses her hat, replaces her tie with a scarf and there she goes. I know I’m plagiarizing Annalisa Bianca and her Flickr picture but I just had the same accessories that come with Teen Fun Party Skipper and they match the playline doll so much better than the realistic looking snacks that I got with my one and only playset. Oh if I had a doll like that when I was little …
… I would’ve played with her for hours on end because Flight Time Barbie was designed that way and once she’s off duty she still has time to enjoy the exotic places she visits as a pilot/flight attendant. There is a second scarf that you can attach to her top (with Velcro) and a ruffle skirt. That skirt requires some panties and guess what – she comes with a pair and they’re pink! The paper doll isn’t quite up my alley but I appreciate the way the additional outfit was displayed in the box.
A second outfit (or is it a third outfit?) definitely makes the doll more attractive but that’s not all, she also comes with some accessories. There’s a suitcase that opens so Barbie can pack her party outfit there. You’re supposed to decorate the suitcase with stickers, but I like it plain as it is. For some reason, I have a thing for Barbie luggage, once I almost purchased two contemporary dolls, they were the Dreamhouse Adventures Barbie and Daisy that were deluxe sets with suitcases and all that a doll may possibly need when she’s travelling. In the end I didn’t because I thought it a little silly to buy a doll only to steal her stock. Besides, my wishlist is overflowing with 80s/90s dolls that I don’t have enough budget for so a contemporary Barbie doesn’t stand a chance against them on my priority list. Anyway, Flight Time Barbie’s accessories include also a pin for the little owner (or not so little), a classic pink brush and a sheet of cardboard accessories. I can hardly imagine a Barbie from that time period without a brush or the paper accessories.
So, I’ve covered all that Barbie comes with and would’ve forgotten to mention that Barbie herself is a real beauty. Yet again Mattel used the pink and blue combo for Barbie’s makeup, but yet again they served us with a different variation of it. I don’t know how they did that – they used the same headmold, the same hair color, the same colors for the makeup and yet the dolls look so different. Speaking about Barbie’s hair, I was a little surprised by the length of it. I was expecting shoulder length, but her ponytail or whatever you call it, a twist braid I suppose, is much longer. This is done on purpose so that you can manage a quick up-do for when she’s serving the passengers as a stewardess.
I’ve been very lucky recently with the dolls that had been on my wishlist for a long time, and for pink I should say. For an 80s/90s kid I was, there’s never too much of Barbie pink. Next up I’ll be showcasing a completely non-pink doll that was a long-time wish, so long that I managed to forget about her completely only to rediscover her very recently and she’s turned out to be quite a revelation. As always, thank you for stopping by and I hope you’re well!
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