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BARBIE - The Barbie doll was invented when Ruth Handler noticed her daughter Barbara playing with paper dolls and imagining them in grown up roles, realizing that the dolls on the market at the time were all baby dolls, and that there was a need for a doll that would inspire little girls to think about what they wanted to be when they grew up Ruth Handler came up with the idea for Barbie doll, the teenage fashion model.. Ruth named the doll Barbie, after her daughter.
The doll first appeared at the New York Toy Fair and was met by a lack of enthusiasm from retailers, but the 11 and a half inch doll soon proved a success with consumers. Her first outfit is a black- and white-striped swimsuit that comes with sunglasses, high-heeled shoes and gold-colored hoop earrings. Blonde Barbies outnumber brunettes two to one.