to Barbie or Not to Barbie

This post originally appeared on my first blog, Which Name?, on January 21, 2010. My Grandma, "Nonna A," mentioned in the post below has since passed away. In addition, I believe some of the clothes pictured below that I once thought were hand-made, are not, but many of them were. I am re-posting this on August 26, 2017, to link to a new post.

to barbie or not to barbie?

recently, my mom handed over a bag full of doll clothes. these aren't just any doll clothes. each item in this full sack is a handmade family heirloom.

the clothes are amazing. dresses, petticoats, coats, sweaters, skirts, pajamas, pants...
each and every item was made to fit a barbie-sized doll.


so here i am, torn. we have avoided all things barbie, princess, disney (except the kids' loveys, eeyore and tigger, which were a.a. milne before commercialization, and which i think lala still doesn't know belong to a bigger material world.) i am not keen on what barbie stands for.

but i want these clothes to be used again and i don't think a barbie will turn lala into a self-conscious growing girl. i think she will see barbie's big breasts and want to find a baby to nurse on them.

so i turn to all of you. does anyone knows of a less-barbie like doll that might be similarly slender enough to fit these gorgeous clothes, but not have all the "issues" that poor barbie has?

if not, i might re-name and let her have one of my old barbies. (yes, i had them and i didn't turn out twisted as a result.) she has already played with them at friends' houses and loved dressing and undressing the dolls and doing their hair. i am okay with this. perhaps it is all the plastic accessory "stuff" that comes along after the barbie that i have more of a problem with?

i am curious and eager to hear what others have to say about the bodacious barbie.

(if you know us and this post has you thinking you should go out and buy her a barbie, please don't.)

these two sweet dresses were crocheted by my great grandmother on my mom's side.


and each of the items below (as well as everything in the bag in the first photo) was hand knit or sewn by nonna A, my paternal grandma. (she reads my blog. hi grandma!)