I remember her fondly: she was brunette, like me, and technically not Barbie but Barbie's pal, Teresa. Specifically, the Glitter Beach edition of Teresa, who came with a yellow one-piece swimsuit covered in brightly coloured flowers. She came with a gem necklace (which, honestly, was maybe a little much for the beach) and a matching headband. And unlike the 1997 Happy Holidays Barbie, who wore a stunning red gown, Teresa was removed from the box and not safe from my elaborate make believe scenarios.
And while Teresa wasn't my first-ever Barbie, she was the one I have the most distinct memory of. As she was beach-ready, young Lindsay decided that Teresa needed a tan. So I, of course, set her up on a table lamp in my room — gotta catch those UV rays. It didn't take long for Teresa's rubber-like legs to start to melt, and then her synthetic hair fell victim to the hot lightbulb. My mother intervened before the situation became an actual safety hazard — though instead of a tan, Teresa received an unwanted "haircut" and a damaged limb. She wasn't retired, though. Instead, I had new challenges to overcome when styling her hair and dreaming up her outfits.
That's just it with Barbies — for many, the Mattel dolls offered an outlet to dream big and get creative (hopefully, in most cases, without starting a fire). As the release of the highly anticipated "Barbie" [1] movie directed by Greta Gerwig [2] fast approaches, many OG Barbie Girls [3] have their merch at the ready [4] and are revisiting the memories they created in their own Barbie dreamhouses [5]. And despite star Ryan Gosling [6]'s claim that nobody cares about Ken [7], he was an active part in many of our Barbie worlds — including POPSUGAR's staff.
Keep reading for more fun anecdotes, memories, and photos of their first and/or favourite Barbies from POPSUGAR's editors.
Nancy Einhart, Interim Publisher
I had two Barbie dolls as a kid. I don't remember how I acquired them, but I do remember a desperate mission to expand their wardrobes, attempting to craft new outfits using transparent tape. My aunt had a massive collection of Barbie clothes, which I found in a cupboard once at my grandparents' house. Rather than just asking if I could have the clothes (everyone probably would have said, "sure," since my aunt had long outgrown Barbie), I decided to steal one thing. In kid logic, I took an outfit I didn't even like that much, because I figured no one would miss it.
Eden Gordon, Celebrity and Entertainment Assistant Editor
I don't recall my first Barbie, but I do remember having a favourite Barbie that, in my memory, had a head of long, frizzy, reddish-gold hair and wore an extremely short, extremely glittery purple-pink dress. A true horse girl at the time, I used to spend a lot of time setting up elaborate horse farms (I had many more toy horses than Barbies, as well as a fairly elaborate stable set). In my mind, the red-headed Barbie seemed extremely beautiful and powerful, and I appointed her as the stable CEO and labeled her the best rider in the business — a true proto-girlboss from long before the term was coined or critiqued.