Barbie History

Barbie History is an interesting example of how women, even in the position of housewives, are talented enough to create and push an empire. And that's  inspirational for all women.

Barbie was created by Ms. Ruth Handler, a woman who got inspiration in Germany in 1956, when she saw a doll named Bild Lilli,  intended as a collectible pieces for adults. It had blond hair, tall and curvy body, and served as an inspiration for Ms. Handler to create a doll, when she saw her daughter, playing with paper dolls and giving them adult personalities.

She realized the missing gap in the toy industry and believed that a Doll as Bild Lilli could be sold by her husband's toy company: MATTEL.

She told her husband about the idea, and even thought he wasn't sure about it, she starting designing the first Barbie dolls that eventually were launched in 1959. 

Initially, the Barbie production was made in Japan.  And as we know now, she has been the dream of many girls and lately, the nightmare for others. 

Personally, I always loved Barbie Dolls because they are beautiful and as a kid, I didn't care about the marketing, the lawsuits, or about Barbie as negative figure to follow by girls, specially for the standards of beauty that she represents  for many people. 

My thought about this is that children don't look up at a toy as a figure to follow, but to the values parents teach and practice at home. So enjoy Barbie the same way we did as kids.