My Mother Disappeared My Barbies.

When I asked her where they were, she looked off into space and changed the subject.

Malibu Skipper, Ken, and Barbie in front of their camper van from 1971. I bought these vintage toys recently to replace the ones my mother “lost.”

When I was growing up, Barbies were my favorite toys. I was born in 1960, just a year after the first Barbie doll rolled into production in 1959. Basically, Barbie and I are the same age.

I remember going shopping with my mom to get my first Barbie doll. My sister got one too. I got the 1964 blond Swirl Ponytail Barbie and my two-year-old sister got a brown Bubblecut. They had stiff, unbendable legs, and both came with red bathing suits and black open-toed high-heeled sandals.

“Swirl Ponytail” and “Bubblecut” are terms I learned only recently from joining vintage Barbie groups on Facebook. At the time, they were just Barbies.

And I loved them. I played with them until I was way too old. My sister, being much cooler than me, gave them up about age ten and basically let me have the Bubblecut, along with her orange and turquoise convertible car.

Why did I love Barbies so much? I think it was the elegance. Early Barbies, especially those from the early sixties, were very elegant, and their outfits were of high quality. I loved clothes, elegant food, and decor from an early age. My ultimate fantasy as a child was to have an elaborate doll house with…