Author's collection
Barbie Fan Club Booklet came with the dolls
Hello fellow Barbie aficionados! As a young girl, I had Dramatic Living Barbie and Living Skipper. Unfortunately, like all of my other Barbies, they drowned in a basement flood in Milwaukee. With eBay, I was able to recreate my collection.
(L to R): Titian red, blonde and brunette Living Barbies (author's collection)
The first fully posable Barbie doll
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 was available in blonde, titian red or brunette hair (see above).
She wore a beautiful gold and silver metallic one-piece suit with an orange fishnet cover-up (see above photo, center).
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.
1970 Dramatic New Living Barbie
1971 Living Barbie
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 her!
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! That said, you can usually find these dolls at reasonable prices on eBay.
Shop for New Living Barbie on eBay!
1970 Dramatic New Living Barbie (author's collection)
1970 Dramatic New Living Barbie (author's collection)
1970 Dramatic New Living Skipper (Author's collection)
Dramatic New Living Skipper
Dramatic New Living Skipper
Barbie had a sidekick, her baby sister, 1970's Dramatic New Living Skipper #1117. She wore a pretty one-piece blue, pink and green geometric one-piece swimsuit and had two pink bows in her ponytails (see below).
1970 Trade-In (#1147): In 1970, Mattel ran a massive promotion where children could trade in any old, used Barbie or Skipper doll and pay just $1.99 to receive a "Living Skipper." These promotional dolls were distributed in a plain, unique trade-in box rather than the standard decorative Mod-era retail boxes.
In 1971, Skipper wore a cute yellow swimsuit with a lace overlay. The only difference is, like her big sis Barbie, "New" was dropped from her name. And now she came with an orange skateboard.
In 1970, there was a Sears Exclusive Dramatic Living Skipper "Very Best Velvet" set (#1586). She wore the same swimsuit as the 1970 Skipper but also came with a pretty orange velvet dress and coat, and yellow stockings and shoes.
1970 Dramatic New Living Skipper Very Best Velvet Set
I highly recommend this book when researching what your Barbies are worth: The Complete and Unauthorized Guide To Vintage Barbie Dolls Hillary James 2011