ten to twenty items are choice.”
“Did you have Barbies when you were younger?”
Nancy grew quiet. “No. My mom didn’t encourage it. She’s not a doll person. I wanted them, but I kind of dropped the issue. I got other toys instead.”
Caresse leaned back into the couch. Nancy was just about ready to fully open up. In a way, asking leading questions was akin to therapy.
Nancy explained that she had more than made up for her mother’s unwillingness to give her dolls. In 1992, she was stricken with Barbie fever. Her friend Margaret, in San Francisco, started collecting Barbies first. Nancy was visiting her in the Bay Area when they went to a flea market, where Margaret spotted some Barbies.
“And then I realized,” she said, “all these things are still around! After my first blond bubble cut, I began stockpiling dolls and clothes as fast as I could get my hands on them. I bought a case and I thought, ‘you know, I really like the graphics, the artwork.’ Then I started going to shows and began realizing there was such a variety. Every time I thought, ‘Oh, I’ve gotten all the cases,’ I’d go, ‘No, I haven’t. There’s another one, and another one!’ Trunks, cases, hat boxes, and travel pals—what can I say? They’re intriguing and fun.”
Caresse smiled, thinking Nancy should leave the legal world for a job in PR or advertising.
“I can store my dolls and clothes in them,” she enthused. “And I view them as a real sampling of our culture at the time, what with the way the dolls are dressed and the artwork is done.”
“Tell me about some of your favorite cases,” she prompted.
Nancy first described a case she called “The Equestrienne.” It was a beige case featuring artwork of Barbie and Skipper wearing riding outfits. Then she described a case that was dubbed “The Picnic.” It showed artwork of Barbie, Ken, and Skipper.
“They’re sitting down, having a picnic, and they have a watermelon. There’s a butterfly in the scene and a blue jay in the trees,” she explained.
In addition to Nancy’s fondness for the lavish artwork, she was fascinated with different color combinations. “There’s a case which shows Barbie dressed in Red Flare,” she said. “This case is intriguing because on some cases they used Red Flare in red, like it really is, and they put it on a blue, black, or white background. Then, for some reason, they made the case again and used a yellow version of Red Flare, putting the Barbie graphics in yellow on a blue, black, or red background. Six cases with two variations of Red Flare! Who decided to sit down and say, ‘Let’s just put this in yellow here, on red’? Did they leave it up to the artists? Was it because one day they didn’t have enough dye?”
Caresse laughed. Nancy was running at full steam now. “You have vinyl friends?”
“I have many friends who are equally into vinyl collecting,” she stressed, pausing to blow her nose again. “We have a great system so we’re not competitive. We like to know what we’re each specifically looking for. At shows, we’ll say, ‘I’ve got my heart set on finding this,’ and then we work it out. We don’t just run in and snatch it. Whoever wants something that day gets it.”
“And what would you like to add to your collection that you’re missing?”
Nancy sounded a bit vague as her mind wandered to her wish list. “There’s a Skipper Purse Pal I want. It’s done in the shape of a purse you’d carry in the ’60s. I also want the case that features the head of a side-part American Girl. The case was originally sold together with a brunette Swirl. There’s a window in the case, and you can see the doll.”
“Got kids to pass your collection on to?”
“No,” she said, “but my three-year-old niece is a budding Barbie collector. On her third birthday, she had a Barbie party. I’m training her to follow in my footsteps.”
“Sounds good,” Caresse said, glancing at the wall
“Did you have Barbies when you were younger?”
Nancy grew quiet. “No. My mom didn’t encourage it. She’s not a doll person. I wanted them, but I kind of dropped the issue. I got other toys instead.”
Caresse leaned back into the couch. Nancy was just about ready to fully open up. In a way, asking leading questions was akin to therapy.
Nancy explained that she had more than made up for her mother’s unwillingness to give her dolls. In 1992, she was stricken with Barbie fever. Her friend Margaret, in San Francisco, started collecting Barbies first. Nancy was visiting her in the Bay Area when they went to a flea market, where Margaret spotted some Barbies.
“And then I realized,” she said, “all these things are still around! After my first blond bubble cut, I began stockpiling dolls and clothes as fast as I could get my hands on them. I bought a case and I thought, ‘you know, I really like the graphics, the artwork.’ Then I started going to shows and began realizing there was such a variety. Every time I thought, ‘Oh, I’ve gotten all the cases,’ I’d go, ‘No, I haven’t. There’s another one, and another one!’ Trunks, cases, hat boxes, and travel pals—what can I say? They’re intriguing and fun.”
Caresse smiled, thinking Nancy should leave the legal world for a job in PR or advertising.
“I can store my dolls and clothes in them,” she enthused. “And I view them as a real sampling of our culture at the time, what with the way the dolls are dressed and the artwork is done.”
“Tell me about some of your favorite cases,” she prompted.
Nancy first described a case she called “The Equestrienne.” It was a beige case featuring artwork of Barbie and Skipper wearing riding outfits. Then she described a case that was dubbed “The Picnic.” It showed artwork of Barbie, Ken, and Skipper.
“They’re sitting down, having a picnic, and they have a watermelon. There’s a butterfly in the scene and a blue jay in the trees,” she explained.
In addition to Nancy’s fondness for the lavish artwork, she was fascinated with different color combinations. “There’s a case which shows Barbie dressed in Red Flare,” she said. “This case is intriguing because on some cases they used Red Flare in red, like it really is, and they put it on a blue, black, or white background. Then, for some reason, they made the case again and used a yellow version of Red Flare, putting the Barbie graphics in yellow on a blue, black, or red background. Six cases with two variations of Red Flare! Who decided to sit down and say, ‘Let’s just put this in yellow here, on red’? Did they leave it up to the artists? Was it because one day they didn’t have enough dye?”
Caresse laughed. Nancy was running at full steam now. “You have vinyl friends?”
“I have many friends who are equally into vinyl collecting,” she stressed, pausing to blow her nose again. “We have a great system so we’re not competitive. We like to know what we’re each specifically looking for. At shows, we’ll say, ‘I’ve got my heart set on finding this,’ and then we work it out. We don’t just run in and snatch it. Whoever wants something that day gets it.”
“And what would you like to add to your collection that you’re missing?”
Nancy sounded a bit vague as her mind wandered to her wish list. “There’s a Skipper Purse Pal I want. It’s done in the shape of a purse you’d carry in the ’60s. I also want the case that features the head of a side-part American Girl. The case was originally sold together with a brunette Swirl. There’s a window in the case, and you can see the doll.”
“Got kids to pass your collection on to?”
“No,” she said, “but my three-year-old niece is a budding Barbie collector. On her third birthday, she had a Barbie party. I’m training her to follow in my footsteps.”
“Sounds good,” Caresse said, glancing at the wall
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