I’ve found nothing in adult life that can compare to the thrill of arriving home from school to a bin bag on the doorstep. A Barbie leg jutting out of a hole in the side and a note attached saying, “Hannah doesn’t play with these anymore thought the girls might make use of them. love Mary”
Fuck yeah, Mary! We made use of them alright! We were off our imaginary plastic tits in Barbie heaven. It was like Christmas, only completely unexpected and we hadn’t actually asked for anything. Father Christmas had read our minds!
The more we delved into the endless Santa sack, the more treasures we uncovered. Barbie chest of drawers and bed, mini telephone, outfits and shoes galore and even a Barbie wardrobe. I think I might have hyperventilated when we opened said wardrobe to reveal TINY BARBIE COAT HANGERS!
Suffice to say, we had obviously been very good girls that year.
Word must’ve got around that the Dalton girls loved Barbies as more and more neighbours were offloading their neglected Barbie collections onto us to dress up and act out scenes from their made up lives with.
Before long we had accumulated what must’ve been the biggest Barbie collection in the whole of East Anglia! Ranging throughout the Barbie ages and trends. Including one very early flat chested, jeans wearing, short hair donning Sindy doll who – I’m ashamed to write – was usually cast as Ken, and that was only when our brother’s Mr. T action figure was otherwise engaged.
I know what you’re thinking. All those Barbies and not one Ken!? We held annual debates as to the merits of asking for an actual Ken doll for Christmas but, all in all, it seemed a squander of a main present. I imagine other girls before us had had the same conundrum which resulted in the population of Barbies far outweighing the population of Kens.
Each time a new ‘shipment’ arrived I would round up my sisters to begin the sorting and organising process.
“Come on Letty lets get down to business untangling their hair, for these Barbies aren’t going to marry and then divorce Mr.T on their own.”
I think I’m the only person in the family to have made the connection between all those long shifts Letty relentlessly spent brushing knots out of second hand Barbie hair (with what is essentially nothing more than a toothbrush) and her eventual career as a talented hair dresser, creating beautiful masterpieces for hundreds of real life brides.
What? No! I don’t ‘always’ take credit for everyone else’s achievements. THANK YOU!
These early hand-me-down experiences also paved the way for my appreciation of recycled and second-hand treasures, and my future career in the vintage charity shop world.
L
ThriftyHipsters 