Barbie Bake Shop and Cafe 1998 and Sweet Treats Barbie 1998

 I’m a coffeeholic and that’s a fact. So while I was waiting for the new Barbie Coffee Shop 2020 to appear in my country, I decided to track down a particular playset that I had had in mind for quite some time – Barbie Bake Shop and Café 1998. It so happens, this playset is rather hard to come by. I’ve seen it on eBay but it was usually missing most of its accessories. But then I found it and I got it through my local shopping portal. The transaction turned out to be a bit disappointing though.

Barbie Bake Shop and Café was produced at the time when the Superstar era was almost at an end. Changes seemed inevitable. A lovely Superstar face smiles at you from the box photos, that’s true, but she’s got the Shani body sculpt and her facepaint seems a little too detailed. I’ve found out there were two different boxes for the same playset and these were dated 1989, 1999 or 2000. The sets were almost identical save for the colors of some of the accessories. Mine seems to be the earliest one.

                               the source: https://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Bake-Shop-Playset-Pieces/dp/B002UP780S

the source: https://barbados.desertcart.com/products/6833461-barbie-bake-shop-cafe-playset-more-than-75-play-pieces-1998-arcotoys-mattel

Barbie Bake Shop and Cafe has some features characteristic for both the Superstar and the Generation Girl eras. You can see the appliances look very realistic and so do some of the utensils, though soft pastels still dominate providing a very pleasant frame. The table is molded to resemble real wood, but the color is too yellow. However, the evidence that the Superstar standards were still there is visible in the number of accessories. Apparently, there were people at Mattel who thought you really need a lot of stuff in the kitchen and supplied it accordingly.

I really like when a playset that is supposed to pretend to be a building really looks like one. That is to say, it has a roof and a floor, throw a couple windows and a door in and I’m satisfied. They give you a sense of dimensions and space. Now, Barbie Bake Shop and Café does have many of these elements and it folds up saving you limited display space. I really hate it when Mattel releases, say a supermarket and it consists of one shelf and a cash register with a conveyor belt. That’s not a shop, not to my mind. That’s exactly what it is – a shelf and a cash register with a conveyor belt. That’s one of the reasons why the Bake Shop and Café appealed to me.  

The building itself is fairly simple in its architecture and it consists of two major sections – the café and the kitchen “in the back”. So I imagine Barbie has to get up at 4 AM to bake these goods and serve them later with the best coffee on Earth. The kitchen should satisfy the most immediate needs of a baker – there’s an oven that opens up and some additional work space that you can hide if need be. There are shelves and hooks to put all the utensils. The Café portion is furnished with a very elegant looking counter to display the baked goods. There’s a revolving platter and a “working” cash register. Outside there’s a sign presenting some of the cakes and there’s a real chalk board too. A flower basket attached to the outer wall should be there as well, but it’s missing, along with some other accessories.

So back to my playset – it’s not new which is fine, but it was described as complete. There was only one photograph to present it and you couldn’t see all the accessories in it. I found it hard to believe that all the tiny accessories were still there after all those years so I asked the seller if the set was really, really complete. The lady was adamant it was. It wasn’t. It was missing a few things, some of them I was really looking forward to including in my collection.

I contacted the seller and I sent several emails that were probably more polite than they should. In return I received … silence. And it was self-explanatory. Pity, I planned to purchase a few more things from the lady like a lovely Potty Training Kelly for my daughter. Of course I won’t do that. I really don’t understand such people, it doesn’t pay to cheat clients. I’m inclined to believe the lady didn’t check the contents thoroughly and she didn’t know what exactly the set should include, but of all people she could sell it to, it had to be a collector who knew that very well.  Now the thing is, I really didn’t expect the set to be complete, but it would have been nice to know what it was missing.

Complete or not, I still like the set a lot and I have to admit it’s been the best offer so far so I should be glad I got it. Barbie’s kitchen is really well supplied. There’s almost everything you may possibly need to bake delicious cakes. There’s a baking tray and cupcakes that fit it. You can actually remove them from the form! There’s still a bigger form with a cake cut into six pieces. There’s a set of cookie cutters and the cookies really fit in them so you can pretend you’re actually making them. There’s spatulas, bowls and spoons galore and even a very realistic looking knife!

When you bake a cake, you’re going to need something to serve it on and Mattel had thought of that. The plates and cups are made of nice, clear plastic that unfortunately scratches easily, but that’s fine. The set is rather old, isn’t it. The best part of the entire set, at least to my mind, is the coffee maker, an old-fashioned, traditional one that comes with a jug. I imagine waitresses of an old diner carrying them asking clients if they need a fill-up. That’s the picture I had in my mind for the Barbie that’s presenting the set today. Sadly, the jug is missing and it may sound really silly, but it’s not the same without it and the lack of this single item makes the entire playset much less attractive to me. At least the cash register is still there and it still works – I mean, it opens. Inside there is some paper money. The cash register should open up with a credit card, but that piece also happens to be missing, so you need to use … the knife!

Overall, as far as the playset goes, it’s a great piece to have in your collection. Even without a few pieces, it makes a great mini diorama for your dolls. You can hardly expect that quality and that many accessories in the package from today’s Mattel. This happens to be the very first playset in my collection and it certainly won’t be the last, because I enjoy collecting playsets almost as much as the dolls themselves! And speaking of dolls, there’s one Barbie that fits the scene better than any other. Let me introduce her to you – Sweet Treats Barbie 1998.

I love this doll and I’d been meaning to buy her for quite some time. I actually don’t know why I like her so much. She’s not the typical doll I would collect. She’s from 1998 which happens to be the end of the superstar era, her body sculpt and face paint are the best evidenace of that, yet there’s something about her that reminds me of the good old Mattel of the 80s and that’s the fact that she comes in two variations – high and low color and the dolls’ bangs differ as well. Mine is a high-color doll with straight bangs, but you can also come by a doll with curled fringe. That’s what I like and it used to be pretty common in the 80s.

What I also appreciate about this doll is the simplicity about her. Her hair is pretty short, for the standards of that time period, but it’s made of the most marvelous, silky, golden saran. The outfit is pretty basic but it’s a three-piece. It’s not a dress that pretends to be a top, a skirt and an apron, you actually get three separate pieces that you can mix and match with other clothes! The denim skirt is incredibly versatile too. The shoes are the basic, white tennis shoes that look great with many casual outfits.

Sweet Treats may look simple and basic, but she came well accessorized, at least if you manage to get her still boxed. There was a nice looking furniture piece to prepare baked goods on, there was a mixer that really worked, a bowl, a spoon, a spatula, a measuring cup, a sprinkler and two cookie cutters. There were also some edibles, but these would’ve been long expired, that is to say if I actually got them. Unfortunately, all those lovely things are long gone, I got only the doll, but I’m pretty satisfied by the fact that she still kept her stock outfit and her shoes. I remembered my little girl got a nice little accessory pack a few years back and I took it out to show you. It comes with a mixer, a cupcake, some measuring tools, a bowl and a muffin form.

Doesn’t Sweet Treats Barbie look perfect in the Bake Shop and Café? They were even manufactured in the same year! Now my dolls have a nice place to go and have some coffee and a lovely Barbie to serve it.

 

FAO Schwarz Madison Avenue Barbie 1991

I’m angry with eBay! Yet again! I cannot understand why the customs fees and shipping costs went up again. And no, I don’t accept Covid as an excuse, It’s been used as one far too many times. All of a sudden it’s become too heavy on my conscience to shop there, especially when it comes to the US eBay that holds the best dolls and the best deals. Whenever I’m looking for a particular doll, I’m almost sure I can find it there and it offers options as well – I can get the doll new, boxed, unboxed, gently played with, nude or the outfit alone. The problem is, the price of the doll alone is but a fraction of the costs I have to incur. When you sum it up with the customs and eBay Global Shipping Program fees (pure thievery) it turns out I need to put out three times as much! So I had to modify my initial dolly plans and say bye-bye to Harley Davidson II Ken, Phone Fun Courtney, both Mrs Pfe Albee and so many other dolls. I was sure Madison Avenue Barbie would join the group, but I was lucky!

I’ll describe my luck in a minute, but first thigngs first – Barbie encyclopedia! Madison Avenue Barbie was one of the many collaboration dolls made exclusively for FAO Schwarz which is an American company specializing in selling high-end toy products. The company was first set up in 1862 by one Frederic August Otto Schwarz in Baltimore and then it moved to Manhattan. The history of FAO Schwarz has had many turns, it changed hands several times, it went bankrupt twice but some amount of shares have almost always remained in the hands of the family of the founder. The sources inform FAO Schwarz is back in business and the family holds the voting shares again but in the meantime the number of stores grew and went down and once there were 40 of them with the headquarters at Fifth Avenue. Now that store may be familiar to you even if you’d never been there, like me. It was where the amazing Duncan’s Toy Chest featured in Kevin Home Alone 2 was located. Oh how I loved that movie and the amazing toy store was my favorite part. Alas, the location closed up but then moved to an equally prestigious spot – the Rocefeller Plaza!

the source: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-fao-schwarz-5th-avenue-manhattan-new-york-16299512.html

FAO Schwarz is known for their high standards so they wouldn’t accept anything that didn’t meet their expectations. Having said that, it is safe to assume their Barbie dolls were exquisite each in their own way. The Statue of Liberty Barbie, the Circus Star or Barbie as George Washington sure look impressive but even some more basic dolls such as Barbie at FAO, Shopping Spree or FAO Fun are amazing quality as well. Just look at Barbie at FAO, her stock is so well made, her skirt is real denim, and such attention to detail is rarely seen nowadays. In 2012 Mattel released an anniversary doll - FAO Schwarz Toy Soldier inspired by one of the FAO logos. It’s a very contemporary doll and as such, isn’t perhaps as tempting to me as some of the older FAO Barbies, but I love her outfit and her cat-like gaze.

 

the source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/24699497940294220/

 

 

 

the source: http://snickerdoodlestreet.blogspot.com/2014/09/fao-schwarz-toy-soldier-barbie.html

Ok, that amount of background information will suffice, now back to my doll – Madison Avenue Barbie 1991! Each time I saw her, my wallet would itch and just couldn’t take my eyes off her! I almost got a nose bleed when it turned out she was within my reach because one of my favorite local vendors had her and still in her box with her stock complete and at a very reasonable price too! That’s how lucky I was! The box is enormous and the white lid is decorated with a simple and elegant design sketch. It gives you the impression you’re dealing with a collector’s item though it’s strictly speaking not. I think the box should also contain a warning like – too long an exposure to the doll may result in eyesight deterioration or something like that, because when you open the box, you almost get assaulted with the fierce and strangely conflicting colors.

 

My camera makes colors a little more vibrant than normal and perhaps that’s why Barbie looks like an old lady that desperately tries to conceal the damaging properties of passing time and the brutal way the nature works on a woman but you have to believe me that Barbie’s make-up is much more subtle in reality. The doll’s hair is short and it was once styled in an elegant bun that I cannot recreate because my styling skills are mediocre at best and I can’t support them with any picture that showed what it looked like before the hair elastics deteriorated. So I just put it in a wild and wavy ponytail. The bun would go better with her impressive jewelry though. By the way, her beads remind me of Wilma Flintstone.

Barbie’s outfit comes with several pieces that look pretty spectacular, the design is great, but the fabrics leave much to be desired. I know, it’s only a doll, but since she’s not just any doll, Mattel should have come up with something better than rustling polyester that her coat is made of. Underneath, Barbie’s wearing a magenta jacket that I like much better and I appreciate the broach detail. The jacket is great, but it would’ve been even better if the skirt and the top were not … a dress! The one-piece that pretends to be something else is a little too loose as well but it’s cinched with a golden belt to make for it and it does. The dress looks best with the jacket. I’m also a great fan of the tights, you won’t find anything like that in today’s Mattel’s offer.

My Barbie comes with a lot and apart from the multi-piece outfit she’s also got accessorized with her classic pumps, a purse that opens, a shopping bag with the FAO logo, a pair of shades, a doll stand and … lingerie! The last piece is a mystery to me because the box mentions a Teddy Bear instead, but I’m glad it’s mistaken. I like the fancy frills better though the underwear is perhaps inconsistent with FAO’s profile, but I’m not complaining. Not at all! In fact the dolls offers so many options I don’t know how to display her – in the kids appropriate or the grown-up mode.

I like to look at FAO Barbie though my eyes are tearful when I take too much time doing that. The doll is so wonderfully color-unconstrained, so vivid and happy looking and extravagant at the same time and it’s also dangerously bordering on tackiness. The kind of tackiness that I love. Now this post is by no means lacking in colors, but I’ll toss a few more. It turned out that within those two and half years I’ve managed to amass quite a number of … doll brushes. Enjoy the colors!

 

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.