Barbie fashions for adults - ewww.

[dirtylibrarian]

Mattel Introduces Barbie-Inspired Clothing Line
November 14, 2007
By Vanessa L. Facenda

Patricia Field, famous for the colorful and talked-about fashions she created for the Sex and the City stars, has a new muse: Barbie.

I confess, I was a Barbie-loving little girl.  My parents were too much of hippies to buy me one, so it was the first thing I actually saved up money to purchase.  She was Pink and Pretty.  She had pink spandex pants, pink high heels, and a pink faux fur stole.  With this sort of early fashion influence, it is easy to see why Burning Man wasn't a big leap for me.

My Barbie drove shoe boxes, and wore dresses I styled for her out of tube socks.  She was the only one I owned, other than an ancient Midge doll missing her bangs I had inherited from an aunt.  The only male in her life was a Michael Jackson doll my brother got for Christmas, long after I was done playing with dolls.  I really liked my Barbie (and I confess, I think she is somewhere in this house, right now).

But...I do think there is something seriously wrong with the cultish fetishizing of this toy amongst grown women.  I place it right up there with the huge wave of Disney Princess products that can now be purchased for adults (including of all things entire weddings and gowns), which I find loathsome for children, but horrifying for adults.  Kids pretending to be princesses don't bother me so much...it is hard to escape society's idea of a princess...someone well cared for, adored, comfortable, well dressed, and special...who wouldn't want these things?  But it is the extensive branding on top of this that gets to be too much for me.  The idea that you may not be a Barbie or a princess, but if you purchase enough things, maybe you can pretend really hard.  In a society that holds Paris Hilton up as a model of young womanhood, I would much rather see resources being put into giving girls the sort of intelligent imaginations that enable them to dream of better worlds based in science, peace, hope, and communication, rather than escapist fantasies revolving around material wealth.

Comments

arasay here...

[(Anonymous)]

stupid lj won't let me log in from my phone.
i just had the "no princess (tm) crap allowed" conversation with my in-laws. they were only moderately offended, andnot very surprised. after all, i did buy SG the most awesome cowboy pajamas, prompting her grandma to say "the poor kid won't know if she's a boy or a girl!"
there was an ok article on the disney princess behemoth earlier this year. might be worth digging for.

Re: arasay here...

[(Anonymous)]

that was a nytimes magazine article.

Re: arasay here...

[dirtylibrarian.livejournal.com]

Perhaps this one?:

What’s Wrong With Cinderella?

[bookchick.livejournal.com]

Home remodeling products. That's what sends me over the top on these things. Well, that and checks.

As for Barbie clothes for adults? I agree - EW.

[terriblestorm.livejournal.com]

"I would much rather see resources being put into giving girls the sort of intelligent imaginations that enable them to dream of better worlds based in science, peace, hope, and communication, rather than escapist fantasies revolving around material wealth."

So true, so true. Even though children often play "princess" without notions of the "prince," it is forever tied to the concept of marrying and being "taken care of" by a man.

My friend told me the best story yesterday. She was in an elevator at Pacific Place and two women walked in carrying large Coach shopping bags. A man in the elevator said aloud, "I would hate to be their husbands! They must have made a dent on the pocketbook." The two women turned around, and as they were leaving the elevator, one said, "I'm not married. This is all mine." The other one said, "I buy exactly what I want. That's why I don't have a husband." (as though the husband drains the wife's money... it probably flew over the guy's head though.)