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Since 1959 Barbie has been a favourite for little girls all over the world. She was a world first as she allowed little girls to imagine Barbie as a reflection of themselves as adults and they were able to dress her in a range of beautiful gowns which came as a refreshing change from the usual baby doll toys. As Barbie’s popularity grew so too did her fashion ensembles, accessories, her career choices and her lifestyle accessories such as Barbie’s horse and the all time favourite Barbie camper van!
The Barbie camper brought Barbie play to a whole new level as it was designed to scale so Barbie and the gang could be placed inside and taken on many new adventures. Aside from the very first Barbie camper which was fashionable (for the day at least) orange, the subsequent Barbie campervan was, and still is, available in striking pink as only pink will do for Barbie. It could be said that the Barbie camper is one of the things that gave Barbie independence and showed little girls that women are capable of doing things for themselves, like owning the car of their dreams. Barbie has come a long way since her birth in the fifties when she was purely a blonde beauty queen for dressing up, now Barbie is African American, Native American, Asian or brunette and is enjoying careers as a doctor, lawyer, nurse or even a rock star!
The Barbie camper has evolved with time as well. The original camper of the seventies was enough to have little girls making sure it was on the top of their list for Christmas, but the latest “Glamour Camper” is certainly a cut above anything of previous years as it boasts just about everything including a pull down TV, complete kitchen, luxurious bathroom with a shower and flushing toilet (complete with sound effects), a pretty pink fold out tent with, of course, a chandelier, a campfire and much more- complete with all the sound effects such as chirping crickets!
The Barbie phenomenon has grown beyond childhood popularity to include serious Barbie collectors of all ages the world over and vintage Barbie and her accessories in mint condition can cost well into the hundreds of dollars. Luckily, the essential formula and appearance of the Barbie doll hasn’t changed all that much so you can be sure that even a brand new Barbie will have her place in Mattel history.