a customer at my retail job gave me her childhood Barbie c. 1960? and the Barbie’s clothes and carrying case?
this woman is a very nice regular, about my mom’s age (late 60s), and we really enjoy chatting when it’s slow. yesterday, it somehow came up that I collect dolls.
“do you want some old Barbies?” she said, laughing
I chuckled politely, knowing that usually means a daughter’s or niece’s dolls from the ‘80s-’90s. “what kind are they?” I asked
“oh, from the first year they made them! I have all her clothes and a case, too”
once I picked my mental jaw up off the floor, I stammered, “A-are you sure? those can be worth a lot of money.”
she laughed and waved me off. “they need to get out of my closet! I’ll give you my number. call if it’s worth a million dollars”
Barbies aren’t normally my thing, but the midcentury ones are Iconic™ and I wasn’t about to turn one down when it was offered for free
she promised to bring the dolls in today, my next shift, but I tried not to get my hopes up too much. people get busy, and taking old Barbies to retail workers isn’t usually a priority. the offer had given me a wonderful shift yesterday, and that had been enough
and then she walked through the door not an hour into my shift, smiling and holding a Target bag aloft
she laughed a bit at my excitement; not in a mean way, but in bemusement that I could get so psyched over a doll. upon peeking into the blue case, I saw that she’d been a bit off with the timeline and the Barbie was a 1960-61 model, not the original 1959 version. but I didn’t care. a treasure trove of tiny clothes, a Skipper doll, and Skipper’s clothes waited there for exploration- and of course, the side-glancing blonde beauty herself
her face paint is a bit worn, her plastic a bit sticky from (I’m guessing) less-than-perfect climate control and chemical reactions. but her ponytail is still in its original set, with the notoriously fragile rubber bands still in place. she has that heavily stylized face we all know. and she’s mine to study and enjoy
sometimes, working retail doesn’t suck. sometimes, older female customers aren’t cranky and demanding
sometimes, magic happens when you least expect it
UPDATE: here is the Barbie
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