Now Playing: "1985", Bowling for Soup
Current Mood : Mixed
Spent on dolls and videotape today : $4.31
Have ya ever bought anything, then wondered if you were happy about it, or sort of unsettled ? Happened to me today, and I realized that, any time you can say, "Remember when...", you have a connection, even if it's not one you like or want.
Now that the cryptic part of today's meanderings are done, I can try to explain m'self. Got my housework done sort of early - hey, that laundry out on the clothesline isn't gonna dry any faster with me here ! - so I contemplated the day. Simply too wired to sit still and sew. And it was such a lovely day, too, and my beloved Molly has a sunroof...
Ten minutes later, I was on my way to the junk shop. It's a bit of driving, so I only go every few months, but it's usually worth it. Today was no exception. I found a lovely Black Barbie - the first one, too, from 1980 ! Her short hair was so pretty, and I loved her Steffie face...but her chin had a gouge out of it, and her legs looked to be chewed by a possessive Rottweiler. And it's rare to find that skin tone for a replacement body, so reluctantly, she got returned to one of the three doll-filled boxes. A SuperStar Barbie floated to the top, notable because of her apparel. One, she had some. Two, it was a Best Buy fashion of an orange knit tube top matched with an orange gingham skirt. Three, she wore the ‘Fashion Photo' fuchsia/orange/yellow tulle skirt around her neck as a scarf. She even had a yellow plastic ring with a red center, and soft vinyl red ‘SuperStar' shoes.
Well, for $1., I certainly wanted that Best Buy ! And I'd always been intrigued about the 1978 Fashion Photo doll. Owners would pretend to take pictures with a plastic camera that housed pre-made images, and as the shutter clicked, the doll would ‘pose' - shifting her head and torso. Now it looked like I had one, minus most of the props.
Two versions of the wrap-around skirt from ‘Growing Up Skipper' swirled within sight and touch. I'd had so much fun with that skirt as a kid. Barbie could wear it, so could Leia (but that bold red houndstooth didn't look good on her), as could several of my stuffed animals. I once ‘spaced out' staring at it for a while. Good times. I was the only girl who had that particular doll (I also owned the only Ken in the whole subdivision for two years), and she always got passed around and shifted into teendom while a hand almost casually lingered where the bust would pop out shortly. In an effort to save her modesty - although I did it myself, pretty frequently - she never came out of that red bodysuit she came in. You'd think a doll that makes such a big deal about breasts would come with a bra instead of Lycra.
Snagged one, and reached for the other - to find it was still attached. To a Growing Up Skipper ! Now this was interesting. Despite having GU and Quick Curl Skippers as a kid, I never really liked either. In my play, Skipper tattled, got others in trouble, tagged along when her presence wasn't welcome, and was basically a priss - one of the worst things you could call another little girl when I was one. ‘Stuck up' was also frequently levied her way as a character assessment. Always a catalyst, but never a good one, that was Skipper in my youth.
And if there was money for doll clothes back in the day, it went to Barbie - even Ken got new clothes before Skipper did, so she was constantly in the Barbies' closet. And here I held one I clearly remember playing with, along with a Malibu Skipper with a chewed nose. The price tag read the same as the FP Barbie, $1. Do I want her or not ?
I must've stood there like an idiot for five minutes, holding a doll I never particularly liked, but flashing through a short eternity of ‘Remember when...' anyway. I realized that I had a bond with this doll, even if I didn't like it or her. After a while, I sighed, and rotated her right arm. I laughed - if she didn't work, there's no way I'd buy her ! She remained young. Then I remembered. It was her left arm that triggered her immaculate puberty. The shifting plate didn't engage for the first two spins, but it did on the third. Perfectly. A small gouge barely visible under surface dirt was the only mar to the still-perfect rubbery vinyl. She went back to preteen just as easily. I used to make mine jump rope - I was kind of mean back in the day.
She and FP Barbie, a second GU skirt and a fuzzy yellow vintage Skipper coat toured the rest of the store with me. Found some plastic sunglasses pins that had hinges at the temples that should be the right size for the Disney Princesses - five in a baggie for another buck. Nothing but porcelain in the Collectable Dolls nook, located half a store length's away from the bargain Barbie bins, but I found a like-new VHS copy of Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Realized that I'd only seen it once, so it went up to the register, too.
Skipper got cleaned up while we waited for Dearest Son's bus. Aside from the slight chest gouge and a single missing hair plug in the very front, she's darn near perfect. Wish me luck finding shoes for her, though. On her, this Fashion Fever blouse is a short dress, so it shouldn't be too hard to dress her. One day soon, I'll pop her head off again and reroot that missing plug. I remember mine as more of a strawberry blonde, but that could just be an interpretation. Always wondered why she had such a stumpy neck when her sis' was like a swan's, and why her scalp was painted brown when she's a blonde. I doubt this one will solve those mysteries, but it's nice to have her again. And also sort of unsettling.
Maybe it's because now, I'm meeting her anew as I'm approaching the other end of a ‘certain stage of life', and part of me is still thrilled with her version of it - and a bit jealous. But to my eyes now, GU Skipper looks older and more tired than your average tween. Then again, she was that before the term entered popular useage, so if anyone has reason to be wiped out, it's her. Switching roles constantly at someone else's whim has to be exhausting !
It's funny how sometimes, you have to make your peace with your youth - and the dolls that were in it.
