22 Comments
User's avatar
susan mernit's avatar

This is so inspiring! Wish that I had the Barbie clothes I hand made in the mid 60s..a turtleneck from a cable knit sock, tweed miniskirts. Sigh.

Eleanor's avatar

I wish you had those too!! Handmade!!

susan mernit's avatar

they were so good!!!! thanks!

Mariam Ansar's avatar

Gorgeous writing! Those lines about remembering how to clothe a Barbie is so sensory and visceral!

Evelyn Squadrille's avatar

We didn’t have money for new Barbie outfits except at Christmas but my mom would make me the most beautiful original dresses and coats, she also bought me a Barbie paper doll book, colored and patterned paper and color pencils so I could make my own fashions! I remember spending hours creating …❤️

Reilly Cardillo's avatar

i’m getting a theatre de la mode tingle !!!

Mildew's avatar

Have you seen Claire Huss’s book Taille Unique? It’s all photos of Barbie clothes!

Eleanor's avatar

No!! Looking it up now

Mildew's avatar

also you would love the Saturday market outside of Ciudadela in CDMX — tons of vintage Barbie clothes that I wish were my size

Angela Jones's avatar

Oh, I can picture you hunched over the ironing board! Thanks for sharing such an evocative piece of writing—it’s that good, artisanal nostalgia 😉

Robyn T. Davies's avatar

I love the image of you ironing the bitty Barbie clothes ❤️

Lisa Sibbett's avatar

I love this

Emmy Singer (she/her)'s avatar

Your collection is incredible and so are your words about it all. Picturing you ironing all of these gorgeous mini pieces was so beautiful. And that online resource to identify it all... I'm in awe!

mary's avatar

like my own vintage wardrobe, many of the vintage Barbie clothes I've collected are handmade/mom-made!

Eleanor's avatar

Incredible! I think it's even harder to make clothes for Barbies than for humans... really difficult to do detail at that scale

Best Friends's avatar

It was such a treat when my sister and I got to play with my mom’s Barbies from the 60s! She and my grandma used to make their own clothes, truly special! Love this post 💕

Lucy Thinks's avatar

This was such an enjoyable read! Love the idea that it made Barbie feel more like a person with a wardrobe - you are so right. And what a wardrobe!!

Lynn Chen's avatar

These clothes are nicer than anything I have in my closet 😍😍😍

Eleanor's avatar

Right?! I wish I had that cloak!!

Dacy Gillespie's avatar

Eleanor!! This scratches such an itch for me - I love clothes and I love tiny things!!!

Sheila (of Ephemera)'s avatar

Oh, I very much enjoyed looking at this amazing collection, Eleanor! I had a Barbie (c. 1969/70?) and my mom sewed her a bunch of clothes, and later, I crocheted many frilly dresses for them. I think the only original clothes I had were a sheer organza white shirt and a pair of black culottes (my first experience of a Fashion Term!).

LF's avatar

Every time you go deep on a subject I'm hanging on every word!!!!