In 1970, Mattel introduced the first fully posable Barbie doll, Dramatic New Living Barbie. She could tilt her head, bend her knees and elbows, pose her ankles, rotate her wrists, swing her arms and swivel at her waist. She could even do the splits! She was available in blonde, titian red or brunette hair (see below) and wore a beautiful gold and silver metallic one-piece suit with an orange fishnet cover-up. In 1971 "New" was dropped from her name and was shortened to "Dramatic Living Barbie." She was packaged in a new box and came in a polka-dotted swimsuit with a matching wrap. Another difference between the two is that the 1970 doll had side glance eyes whereas the 1971 doll had centered eyes. Dramatic New Living Barbie's advertisement touted that she "twists left and right and bends at the waist like a willow." Huh? Bends like a tree? No matter, I had hours of fun with these two! She has pretty, extra-long lashes (no falsies here!). These dolls aren't super-popular with collectors unless it's a Living Barbie produced in Japan rather than Taiwan. I tried reading the stamps on the bums from my collection but my old eyes cannot decipher the small imprint! I watched an eBay bid for a Dramatic Living Barbie (1969) today and it sold for $184 NRFB, and another mint/no box 1970 Dramatic Living Barbie which went for $89 - both great deals for the winners! 1970 Dramatic New Living Barbie - Values: $260 NRFB; $120 mint/no box 1970 Dramatic New Living Skipper - Values: $110 NRFB; $60 mint/no box Values from "Vintage Barbie Dolls" by Hillary Shilkitus James (2011)
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Hi Dolls! I'm just starting out with my Mod Barbie blog and decided to share photos of Barbies in my personal collection and a bit of their history. This post features Twist 'N Turn Barbie #1160. She got a new look in 1969; a new hairstyle, the "Marlo" flip style... a shoulder length flip, inspired by the hit TV show "That Girl" which aired from 1966 to 1971. I remember it being one of my grandma and my favorite TV shows - along with Laugh In! This Barbie is often referred to as TNT Flip or TNT Marlo. She wore a new diamond-print one-piece swimsuit with a yellow collar. Values: $525 - $600 NRFB; $285 - $375 mint/no box; $175 - $300 average She's wearing Loop Scoop #1454 (1970). This sleeveless, yellow cotton dress features a skirt with colorful rows of braids below the dropped waist. The dress has built-in panties and comes with yellow chunky shoes. This outfit in mint condition is worth $125. I also have the 2007 Red White 'n Warm Vintage Barbie Reproduction doll which features the TNT Barbie doll with a flip hairstyle. It is a Gold Label Collectible Barbie doll (limited to 11,100 dolls worldwide) from the Vintage Barbie Reproduction Collection. She's wearing a reproduction of the Mod ensemble, Red White 'n Warm #1491 (1969 - 70). It includes a white vinyl coat with faux fur, a fur trimmed hat and white boots w/ gold ankle chains. Underneath it is a sleeveless color block dress in orange and hot pink. The original outfit in mint condition is worth $250. Barbie's fashions in 1969 were super mod minis, midis and maxis in bright colors and crazy prints. Barbie's wardrobe also fit her friends Christie, Julia and Stacey. 1969 brought Barbie 36 new outfits and 16 that were repeated from 1968. Values from "Vintage Barbie Dolls" by Hillary Shilkitus James (2011) |
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