With the Barbie movie out recently, Barbie seems to have become even more popular. Barbie, the doll, has been everything from Astronaut Barbie to Zookeeper Barbie. Over a decade ago, I saw Shoe Obsession Barbie being sold in a toy shop in Australia, and I thought, ‘I can’t believe this doll exists. Is it healthy for children to play with this doll?’ I mean, should we be encouraging obsessions?
Shoe Obsession Barbie is from 2011. It features Barbie wearing black stiletto boots. But who says shoes are only for the feet? Shoe Obsession Barbie wears a white bubble dress made of tulle, with her signature shoes (mules in pink, purple, yellow and black) sewn into the skirt. She also wears a necklace made of shoes.
I have to say Barbie dolls were a part of my childhood. I wasn’t interested in the recent Barbie movie, but I do love Barbie dolls. I was very happy to visit Wellington City Museum recently (not to be confused with Te Papa, New Zealand’s National Museum, which is just down the road from Wellington Museum). The Wellington Museum currently has a temporary exhibition called ‘The Barbie Collector’. It features a collection of almost 500 Barbie dolls owned by New Zealand’s biggest Barbie collector, Patsy Carlyle. There are a few other dolls as well, like the Sindy doll. This exhibition is just a fraction of Patsy’s doll collection. All the Barbie dolls in the exhibition are still in their packaging, and had never been taken out of their boxes. Patsy says, “They say people who collect things live longer.”
I had so much fun at ‘The Barbie Collector’ exhibition. It was like reliving my childhood as I saw dolls there that I had owned as a child. If you feel like being a real-life Barbie doll, you can also take a photo in the life-size Barbie and Ken boxes.
It’s not too late to see the exhibition. ‘The Barbie Collector’ exhibition has been extended and runs at Wellington Museum until 8 October 2023.
shihyenshoes 