We tour the Barbie exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum on Mary Anne’s birthday.
Barbie was a stroke of genius when she was introduced to tiny Boomer girls in 1959. But maybe not immediately recognized as such.
In the pre-Barbie world, dolls were usually much younger - and considerably less, er, developed. Conventional wisdom predicted a flop.
But now, after 250 careers, 30 skin tones, a large collection of Barbie friends, and a seemingly infinite number of outfits, we know better.
“So, Steve”, you might ask, “how did you enjoy the exhibition?”
Quite well, thank you. Not so much the dolls as watching the interactions between the current and former Barbie owners as they swapped stories, identified which outfits they owned, and relived some happy days.
