Today's doll recently survived the deluge of water from the fire fighters. She was in a cardboard box full of boxed Barbies, in the room below the one where the fire was. Luckily for her, there was a vintage metal tray, with edges about 2 inches tall, in the top of the box. In a weird quirk of fate, the tray caught the water, and saved the dolls! It didn't do the vintage child's dish set, in it's original box, any favours though. The dish set, which looks to be from the 1960's, is porcelain, so it's fine. The box is shot. It had started to mold before Ken got to it. Know anybody who wants a children's dish set from the 60's, which until recently had it's original box? And how did the Barbie boxes, being cardboard, survive the water that must have pooled around the bottom of the box? For some reason I left the thick styrofoam that came in the box, as packing for whatever came in it, in the bottom of the box. That held the Barbies up, out of the water. The water then dried off the box, and behold! Undamaged Barbie boxes! The stuff that survived the fire and water, and how it did it, continues to amaze me.
But which Barbie am I showing you today? She's Home Pretty Barbie.
Sorry about the blurry picture. I was photographing things quickly before Ken took the packed storage tub away to storage on his way to work. The rest are better.
She's from 1990. Now, this doll kills me. She's pretty enough, and there was some great furniture available for her. (We'll get to that.) But...what today's society would make of the suggestions here! Let's take a look at how Barbie is 'pretty' around her home. For one thing, let's discuss the whole outfit. The dress has a huge tulle skirt, a gauzy bodice, and GIGANTIC rosettes on the shoulders.
Now let's talk about the suggestions for 'gown changes for every room!', as it says on the front of her box. Um, let's start with the dining room and the living room.
Then we move to the bedroom, where Barbie is ready for bed by just removing the fluffy skirt. She sleeps in those huge sleeves too. I'm reminded of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", in the scenes where she woke up before her husband so she could put on her make-up and take down her curlers, which she stayed awake to put in after her husband went to sleep, and then pretended to wake up beautiful when he woke up. My mom used to put her make-up on while dinner was cooking, so she'd be pretty when Dad got home from work. Give me a break. I'm afraid Ken has to put up with me hanging around the house, going to bed, waking up, and going almost everywhere, without make-up, or a hairdo...or a giant tulle dress, come to think of it.
Speaking of hairdos, Barbie has some pretty big, excuse me, Home Pretty big, hair too.
Of course, it was 1990. The specter of the 80's loomed large. And so did hair. Luckily hair has died down now.
But, as I mentioned, the best thing about Home Pretty Barbie was the stuff sold to go with her. The furniture was nice, and if not for the pinkness of it, fairly realistic.
But the house was pretty cool too.
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| The fireplace has the 'cooking center attached to the back. |
It had window boxes full of flowers, 'wallpaper' in every room, a ringing door bell, a ringing phone, 'working appliances', a fireplace that lit up and crackled, a porch light, vanity light, desk lamp, ceiling fan with light, and chandelier that all worked. It came with the bed, sofa that extended to a bed, and chair (which extended into a lounger), dining room table and chairs, shower/tub and vanity, plus patio furniture. There was a lot of work to this house though, as the instructions recommend giving yourself 6 to 8 hours to put it together!
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| "It's recommended that two people assemble the magical mansion |
There were loads of furniture sets, in a series called 'Sweet Roses', that you could buy separately from the house too, including a china cabinet with separate side book shelves, a fridge, an oven, and more. The sets were also combined into larger boxed sets. You can watch a commercial for the Sweet Roses furniture HERE.
But why was the furniture called 'Sweet Roses'? Well, in 1989 there had been a Barbie doll called 'Sweet Roses Barbie'. She looked just like Home Pretty Barbie, with a slight change to her underneath dress, and a larger tulle overskirt. She also had that apron pictured on the box of Home Pretty, but seen nowhere in the package.
Why were there both? I have no idea. There had also been a Sweet Roses PJ doll, but she was all the way back in 1983, and had nothing to do with Sweet Roses Barbie...the snob!
That's today's doll, and a bit more. See you tomorrow for another doll...and a bit less?
