I wish they bring this line back. I love seeing dolls that represent different countries holidays/traditions. I think a dolls from each US state line would be cool.
I think my favorite era of this line was “Princesses of the World,” because it seems like a relatively unproblematic line. It addressed a specific region of the world in a specific time & socioeconomic status, so less chance of stereotyping a whole culture; it just highlighted a very small piece of that culture’s history. It also seemed that more intentionality, thought, and care was put into that line. It would have been cool if that built on it, creating dolls that were based on real-life princesses & told their stories. Elizabeth I, Njinga, or Catherine de Medici for example. However, given the controversy of the line, and the repeated mistakes made, I understand why they’d be hesitant to continue producing dolls for it.
I'm Mexican, and I still don't see a problem with Mexican Barbie.... I mean, all the dolls came with an animal/pet that originated and are commonly populated in their country of origin, and Chihuahuas are well known to have originated in Mexico... also, the dress she wears is a traditional Folklórico dress that looks fine. idk I never got the backlash
Fr I think it says more about the people complaining about it being possibly racist than Mattel. Why was their first thought when seeing Mexican Barbie immigration and not the same for the other dolls..? That says more about the people complaining than it does Mattel.
The controversy was made up by the media when they related that it was ironic that the Mexican Barbie was given a passport considering the migration situation between Mexico and the USA. I don’t remember this controversy was a big issue then. Maybe on these times, specially with the Trump administration on government, it could be more controversial than in 2012. Anyway, the real irony could be to give her a visa.
Puerto Rico only had 1 doll in the late 90's and it was a nationwide festivity. We usually go unnoticed, so having a barbie designed for us was like winning the olimpics. Moms would by her in bulk. We have nothing bad to say about her. She represents the "jibara" yes we have many other things and are not just that but is not like Mattel was gonna do a whole line for us, they had to choose. That doll was such an important thing in our lifes and so iconic that this years Miss Puerto Rico had the Barbie dress as her cutural dress for participating in Miss Universe.
I have her and totally agree! Since we are frequently overlooked in these representations, we have to make sure the we keep an eye out for the few times we are recognized. It is for this reason, that I will never part with my Boricua girl, and I just got my Rita Moreno doll too! She is not only Puerto Rican, but she is from my hometown. :)
As a Mexican and doll collector, I love the “dolls of the world” collection for the beautiful representation of each country. Especially Mexico, they are my favorite dolls from this collection, the Mexico doll from 2012 especially is my favorite and I don't see it offensive since Chihuahuas are part of our culture too. I think this line should return since it demonstrates the diversity and beauty of each country through a doll and teaches girls the different types of beauty of each country❤
@@nancyomalley6286 Not me. I'm American. I don't think you can take a concept of a country or people without using some stereotypes. There is an actual city in Mexico called Chihuahua where the breed of dog was first seen! Joey is so woke, he can't see reality.
As the person from Poland, I find polish Barbie really great and matching our culture! We obviously don't wear costumes like that every day, but it definitely shows the core of our traditions 🩷🩷
My grandparents are from Scotland and gifted the 1991 Scottish Barbie to my aunt when it first came out and she recently passed it down to me :,) one of my favorite dolls I own
The US is not a monolith, there's tons of different regions. I'd never been on a train until 2018 when I went to NYC. Where I'm from you're SOL if you don't have a car. Too far to walk anywhere, buses are very slow, and trains are non existent, so riding a train to work? Pretty cool. I can see how this could be stereotypical and insensitive, especially with like Asian or "oriental" Barbie when cultures are meshed, but traditional dolls is a very cool concept. Most Japanese people don't wear kimonos regularly, if at all it's only for special occasions, but it's still a very cool traditional thing and readily recognized as Japanese.
@@usainenglandmeans sh💩t outta luck. basically means that your situation sucks and you have little to no luck. In certain parts of the USA if you don't have a car, you cannot get things such as groceries, libraries, schools because there isn't enough public transportation like busses or trains.
I miss this line. I had many of these especially the princess of the world ones. They were so pretty. It's a shame that some people had issues with the dress or description. My family is portuguese and I was so happy with the princess of Portugal doll. She was stunning with her black hair and big bushy eyebrows 😂😂😂I was not offended
I love love love the princess collection it’s everything. I don’t see why people call them stereotypical when the dolls actually supposed to show the culture lol. We got really happy that we had a Diwali Barbie this year after such a long time something refreshing I hope they consider bringing these back. I’d love to collect
Mass transit in the US is extremely rare except in very large metropolitan areas. In most parts of the country you must have access to a car to get anywhere, although with Uber and Lyft now, people who can afford them are able to get by without a car.
I would LOVE a Barbie in traditional Welsh dress! I'm part of a traditional Welsh folk dance team so I'm quite regularly in our national costume myself!
As a canadian I'm kind of surprised they didn't put Barbie into some hockey gear, seem like all they could think of was the mounties uniforms. Heck even Barbie in a flanel shirt enjoying some mapple syrup would have been fun to have instead of another barbie in a mountie uniform.
People would have cried that it's offensive or stereotypical. But yeah, I own both of the Canada girls and I love them dearly- the only funny part is that they both got the same costume 😂
Speaking as a Mexican, there's a difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, there's literally a city in Mexico called "Chihuahua" and I know a lot of Latinos that have either Chihuahuas or Old Angry White Dogs, so idk why people were up in arms about it. If anything it shows people's ignorance on cultural backgrounds.
All controversy aside, these are some of THE MOST beautiful dolls Mattel has ever created. I love the simplicity of the very first dolls released in the 1980s, but have an affinity for the dolls from 2006 on up and in particular the 2010-2014 lines. The facial screenings, the costuming, all of it --- so gorgeous!
I gasped so loudly when the Princess Of The Korean Court doll showed up cause I recognized her as the mysterious Barbie doll I got either second hand at some place or was gifted to by one of my aunts. I’m so glad to now know exactly what doll she is. Also she’s in tact minus her shoes having gone missing but that’s fine with me as her dress goes over her feet so you can’t see them anyways.
23:21 The fact that people criticised the Chinese and Mexican ones even though all of them kinda come with ridiculously stereotypical animals, lol. As a side note, I’m Australian and I actually find the koala to be a hilarious addition (super unrealistic - Nobody has one of those as a pet, but still funny)😅
I love this line because I've always had a love for traditional cultural dress. I just recently bought an Indian Barbie and I have two lunar New Year Barbies and I want to collect more.
I actually like the Italian Barbie face mould they used, with the colouring they chose she reminds me of the famous 60s actresses like Sophia Loren and Raquel Welch
Also being from England, 'Royal Barbie' looks more like a winner of a beauty competition such as Miss England, as in the sash. If they wanted her to sort of remind you of Queen Elizabeth II, then she should have had dark hair or they should have put her in a Beefeater or Lifeguard or Kings Guard uniform.
Pageant princess indeed. Though I'd just chalk that up to it being one of the first dolls in the line and they didn't have much idea what they were doing at that point in time. Also confused why there was a Parisian cancan dancer that year too. Why not just have a chic more general doll representing France?
Im puerto rican and I remember the puerto rican barbie doll in every girl toybox so i can tell you they really loved her, even to this day . Matter of fact miss puerto rico from this year miss universe contest wore a dress inspired by that doll im the national costume so yeah we love our puerto rican girl ❤
I honestly loved this line :( I have the princess of Russia and Chinese New Year dolls, and i love them dearly. Yes, expecting a single doll in a specific outfit to outline your entire culture is stupid, but it's a pretty good introduction for little kids to become interested on other cultures and opens the gates for learning. It's a good idea. Speaking as a brazillian girlie, i did roll my eyes a bit when we got samba to represent us, but still happy we managed to make it in. (Even happier we had more opportunities while other countries got nothing). Wish the line would come back... Without animals this time, please ^^; A huge shame myths of the world and weddings of the world never came to be. And i feel you with the villainess faces LOL The main reason i wanted the Portugal princess is because she looked kind of evil (sorry PT people LOL). She's so pretty!!! I love women who look like they'll end me dsadasads
I'm half asian. ( Half blood Filipina) I'm not offended by the way Mattel does Asian dolls. I just see pretty dolls. We do the same crap to "Western" stuff too.
In the US, specifically where i'm from, trains are only really used to transport cargo. So the fact that someone would be able to just casually ride one is kinda cool.
As Italian I found the Italian Barbie dolls charming The 1980 one is gorgeous and her face resembles Sofia Loren, a popular Italian actress, her costume is a nice reinterpretation of traditional costumes of Sicily She is one of my favorite Barbies and I hope to own her one day The 1993 one has the most accurate traditional costume but I don’t like the face The Princess of the Reinassance is the best one, she is stunning with her historically accurate dress The 2009 doll is my least favorite, the face is gorgeous but her dress is tacky, it doesn’t resemble any Italian costume I wish they would bring back this line with more accurate costumes and now that they put effort into sculpting different faces they could represent the diversity even better
It does make sense that the 1980 English Barbie would be called the Royal Barbie. The upcoming wedding of Charles and Diane was a newsworthy thing back then so calling Barbie "Royal" would sell more units.
I have 12 Barbie from this collection: Ireland Superstar, Princess of Ireland, Russian 2009 (my country), Gemnan Shteffie, 2 Norwegian, Princess of Danish court, France Princess, Iceland, 2 Sweden (Superstar and Mackie mold) and Princess of Rinnesance. All Barbie dolls from this collection is amazing!
I'm russian. And even though yeah, they are a bit stereotypical, i still think they're really cute and i love them. The fur hat version i love more, it's less common as a stereotype. I don't see a problem in that part of dolls of the world collection. I want a japan barbie so bad, i love her kimono so much. I wish they could bring back this line. Also princesses of the world were so great and detailed, i still want a kenyan princess, i remember sticking to my childhood catalogue looking at all the hoops in her neck and her coat and thinking it was the most beautiful and detailed doll i've ever seen.
I think they’re an awesome introduction to different cultures. I’m part Brazilian and bought the carnival doll for my daughter because she’s so happy and beautiful
I dont care if steriotype or not.. they are stunning..it was this doll line that taught me as a child that there are dolls for grown ups and inspired me to collect in a mental note back then..i Remember many esp princesses of the world behind a beautiful glass display at toys'r'us and Myer( Australia).
I love this doll line! It's my absolute favorite! The Icelandic one is wearing one of our national costumes, though it is more commonly black, not blue. I adored this doll as a kid (also the eskimo and mounted ranger ones my mom also owned) I was amazed that Barbie even knew of Iceland at that time. And even if the costume isn't perfectly accurate I have always thought of them as Barbies version of national costumes like her regular clothes aren't like real clothes, there Barbie version of human clothes 😊
Yes, you have to pick a point in time or a specific part of culture to decide on the costume. It's not offensive to anyone who doesn't want to make a big deal out of nothing. Also, the people that have an issue are the ones that choose the moniker of the moment. Eskimo was the proper term at a certain time.
Almost all the controversies about every single one of these dolls was from within the US. Nearly all the countries represented thought it was great that they got dolls designed around their culture. I saw a TikTok where a guy dressed in a stereotypical Mexican outfit with a sombrero and multi colored poncho and when he asked people from the US what they thought, every single person acted like they were offended, but when Mexican people were asked they thought it was great. People in the US are too touchy about cultural appropriation.
These products are for Americans, though. So if Mexican-Americans are writing about how offensive they think the Mexican Barbie Doll is, Mattel has failed their market. And people from Mexico in Mexico are going to of course react differently: they do not face the racism that Mexicans IN America do. It's also such a weird thing to state all the countries thought these Barbies were great when there's no proof of that. Barbie isn't even popular in China or Japan.
@@Nocturne22Agreed. The diaspora experience is different from that in the country of origin, where cultural appropriation and stereotypes are funny "look what those foreigners are doing"/"(country) mentioned let's go!!!" rather than something they have to deal with every day in their actual life.
My spawn was 4 or 5 when Northwest Coast Native American Barbie came out, with the Goddess face mold. She was the most beautiful doll I had ever seen, and I bought her... for myself. I think I let them play with her, but I took the native dress and blanket shawl and kept them safe. I still have her, and Vitamin C, a little-known pop star in the early oughts, also with the Goddess face. I would love to have many of the Princesses with that face!
Wow, I just had a blast from the past! I completely forgot that I owned the Northwest Coast Native American Barbie until you showed her and all the memories came rushing back!
After I stopped, as a child, collecting barbies. I only here and there get the dolls of the world. I love their uniqueness. Now it’s crazy because I’ve been to all their countries! Dreams can come true.😊. Thank you for this video, I definitely will be saving it for reference. My favorite barbie was Italian Barbie, I did not know she was a doll of the world! But she always gets the best dress. 😉 Right now shes in a ball gown, crown and Miss America sash. Lol so beautiful. Cheers! ❤
I'm from Puerto Rico, and I was 11 years old when the Barbie came out. I remember getting it as a present. I know my mom was really excited for us to have some representation and as a kid it felt really cool to have our "own" Barbie even if she's wearing a traditional outfit I have never worn in my life, outside of school plays, and I don't think I personally ever worn one. As an adult I can still appreciate her! I asked my mom after this where's the Barbie and she claims my sister and I cut her hair and painted her and she doesn't think its around anymore. I am disputing these claims btw, I was never one to cut my Barbies hair and I don't remember that at all! 😆
I wanted to update my comment. Apparently based on the interaction I had with my Mom where I asked her where my Barbie was, she ended up purchasing a NIB Puerto Rican Barbie for me! She gave it to me on the 6th as a Three Kings Day gift! A traditional holiday we celebrate here similar to Christmas (it's also my Moms birthday!) My sister said to her that I didn't cut nor painted my Barbie only she did and my mom said jokingly she felt guilty she might've thrown away my perfectly good Barbie away! ❤ Thanks Joey we ended up watching this video and a few others on yours on my mom's birthday and she absolutely loved you!!
Oh how I love this doll line, despite how stereotypical their outfits are. I'm a filipina, and the Philippines Barbie looks ok, but it ranges from different colors and patterns, plus not everyone from the Philippines wear this as we have tribal people too.
I know that a lot of people only see the stereo types of the dolls, But i think they are all beautiful, It is nice to see what cultural differences people have be it through celebration costumes or their everyday wear of the past, the fabrics used are so beautiful, I have a few dolls of the world which I found discarded at local thrift shops and gave them a home in my doll collection. For people who never travel or attend Folk fests, This is a doll that represented the traditional costumes people would wear. I would love to see a Weddings of the world in traditional wedding gowns of different countries, i think that would have been a beautiful collection to have. Although I know people always want to say negative things about it... It'll probably end in controversy like when Midge married her long time boyfriend and Highschool sweetheart Allen/Alan. Also I am Canadian and I have never Seen a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, granted I live in Manitoba and maybe they just dress up for ceremonies. I feel like none of these are everyday wear and typically not seen when traveling. but what else would you put on a Canadian doll ... jeans and a hoodie, maybe lumberjack Plaid lol. right now I'm wearing black leggings and a red crewneck sweater. I still think they are all beautiful.
Great video! So many new Barbies on my wishlist, especially the historical dressed ones, haha. I grew up having the Norwegian Barbie (obviously), and I think it's very cute and quite "true" to our traditional costumes
My sister has the second Italian one, all the Native American ones from the 1990s, the Chinese one, the Polynesian one, Indian one, Japanese one, and the Mexican one. Our maternal great aunt who traveled with her husband around the world were the ones who gifted her most of them except the Native American ones. They usually gifted them with a book about places. I usually got cassette tapes of artists from the countries or some other cultural items (when the Trolls dolls came out with similar theme I got the Troll dolls as they found out I collected them: I had England, Spain, Germany, Holland; my collection started because my mom worked at a store that started selling the Trolls that had the gems in their belly and I got one for my birthday from a friend and somehow it became a collection with people gifting me them…not unlike how so many collections I had as a kid or teen started). The Native American ones were gifted by our paternal grandmother (who was half Blackfoot and spoke English, Blackfoot, Kiowa, Choctaw, and Chickasaw; our paternal great grandmother was full blood Blackfoot raised on a reservation and spoke English, Blackfoot, Kiowa, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Lakota) who often would explain in more detail the meanings of what the Barbie was wearing. It was mostly because she felt like all of her grandkids weren’t being taught enough about our Native American heritage by their parents (though to be fair to my parents they worked a lot and we were already growing up in a multiracial, multiethnic, multireligious, etc extended family which in the 1980s-1990s was definitely not the norm in the rural area we were growing up so we had A LOT to learn about so many different things that make up our family heritage…heck even now there’s stuff we aren’t sure of because the family history books we and my cousins have/had weren’t complete and just had what previous generations WANTED to be known and passed on so whenever we’re doing genealogy things pop up that we didn’t know about and likely our grandparents and great grandparents didn’t know about either since they referenced their copies of the family history books).
I’m Brazilian and although I’m not super familiar with carnival and the traditional dress from Bahia (one of the Brazilian States), still I think they did a good job representing Brazil. The Bahian is my fav from the Brazilian dolls, cause I don’t like the carnival clothes :P It’s so hard to pick a favorite, but one of my favs is the Princess of South Africa, she’s so pretty ToT
As someone from Switzerland and Chile I'm quite happy with the two chilean Barbies but the swiss one... She could have been better. She could have wear a dress like Heidi cause its cute.
Yes. Riding the train to work is uncommon in the US unless you live in a bigger city. These dolls are fascinating. I didn't know there were so many of these.
Guys, I don’t know why, but he was explaining the Scotland doll. This popped in my head. My cousin can play the bagpipes and he’s not Scottish. He’s Mexican.😂
I love them all and I know Mattel didn't had any bad intentions releasing these stunning dolls but I do wish Mattel gave middle east cultures a chance in the line I personally want to see a Persian and Arab and Turkish fit bc we have some of the prettiest dresses in here tell me about your culture and mostly the ones that Mattel didn't made? bc that would be an honor to be shown in wider media about my culture and not negative things
I loved this line of dolls when I was a child. I was so disappointed when my country finally got a doll and it was a Mountie outfit. Awful. Then another Mountie. Of course, we also got a Tim Horton's Barbie.
It's weird that something like the Amazonia doll was put into production in the 2010s when a simple Google search would have told Mattel "Don't do that, it's going to come off racist". That's on Mattel.
My favorite is Kwanzaa from The Festa Series. The Princess Of World Series is my favorite. Including the Princesses from South Africa, China, Korea, Japan, Greece, Egypt, Mexico (Aztec), England, Danish Court , Russia, Portugal, Italy (Renaissance) and Navajo (USA).
I am Mexican American with paternal grandparents from US South West and annexed in and maternal grandparents from Nayarit and Chihuahua, seeing brown dolls in this line in the 80s was a thrill for me despite the stereotypes; it induced me to start collecting Barbies starting with the first Eskimo Barbie having the Kyra face mold, (would love to have the Carol Spencer doll). I stopped playing with my Barbies when I was 10 but it was due to peer pressure I feel because I never stopped loving this fashion doll. Have plenty brown and black dolls now including the first Italian Barbie and even though her forehead is large I don't think she is unattractive. I thought my Midge Native American was another Kyra face mold, thank you for informing me and Thank you kindly for covering this line.
The Norwegian Barie is is wearing a traditional norwegian folk costume called bunad there are about 450 different bunads in the country. The embroidery and design of a bunad differs from county to county, so you can tell by their bunad where a person comes from, or where they descend from. The bunad is often used in Norway, for weddings, confirmations and on our national day 17th of may. The bunad this barbie is wearing is a made up one though. She has blond hair and blue eyes withsh is what norwegians are known for I guess, and some Norwegian has that. And last week UNESCO, added the bunad to their List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
I think the English horseback riding outfit looks kinda like what 1800s women would wear. I can vaguely remember seeing something similar in the TV show Victoria set in that time.
Very good overview, thank you! My favourite was also my first collector's doll - the Princess of England. I find she looks very similar to Jane Seymour, so I call her Jane. ☺
Howww funny! This line has been in my subconscious for so many years and very recently like two weeks ago I got really interested in looking closely at all the dolls. Tried to find TH-cam videos on them but none of them were very good in that rhey didn't showcase very many dolls... And of course your channel delivered 😊😊 a great video! Ive been thinking a lot about silkstone too, would love if you made a video on them!
They did have doll stands for the 80s dolls, they were super crappy and only held one ankle. So the doll would kind of lean to the right a little. I'm so glad they started including the straddle stands!!
The Princess of the English Court literally looks like Jane Seymour, the 3rd wife of Henry VIII, who gave him the son he so desired. She sadly died just days after childbirth
🌺 I'm from Puerto Rico the Puerto Rican Barbie dress is a combination of our two heritage cultures African and Spain I would like to see more Puerto Rican Barbies like Taina Barbie and Jibara Barbie we have a lot of culture to make more dolls. 🌺
I wish they bring this line back. I love seeing dolls that represent different countries holidays/traditions. I think a dolls from each US state line would be cool.
I LOVE your idea!!! That would be so cool!
@@megdelaney3677 thanks
Yeah I'd love to see a Russian princess Barbie!
@@thewanderingorphan They got the Princess of Russia in 2002 or 03 from The Dolls Of World: The Princess Series.
@@shalawndillon4525 this is why I love this channel. Always learning new things from fellow Barbie aficionados! ❤️
I think my favorite era of this line was “Princesses of the World,” because it seems like a relatively unproblematic line. It addressed a specific region of the world in a specific time & socioeconomic status, so less chance of stereotyping a whole culture; it just highlighted a very small piece of that culture’s history. It also seemed that more intentionality, thought, and care was put into that line. It would have been cool if that built on it, creating dolls that were based on real-life princesses & told their stories. Elizabeth I, Njinga, or Catherine de Medici for example. However, given the controversy of the line, and the repeated mistakes made, I understand why they’d be hesitant to continue producing dolls for it.
I'm Mexican, and I still don't see a problem with Mexican Barbie.... I mean, all the dolls came with an animal/pet that originated and are commonly populated in their country of origin, and Chihuahuas are well known to have originated in Mexico... also, the dress she wears is a traditional Folklórico dress that looks fine. idk I never got the backlash
Some people just want to make a fuss out of nothing to gain cheap publicity .Pathetic !!
Probably white knights lol
As a Mexican with a chihuahua and that participates in folkloric dancing, I thought she was beautiful
As for the "controversy" regarding the Mexican Barbie...ALL the Barbies came with passports, what was the problem?
I don’t remember there being a controversy for Mexican Barbie’s based on the passport but I do remember one being based on the chihuahua pet
I agree. I had the Argentina Barbie and I remember her coming with a passport. Some people just wanna see things that don't exist.
Fr I think it says more about the people complaining about it being possibly racist than Mattel. Why was their first thought when seeing Mexican Barbie immigration and not the same for the other dolls..? That says more about the people complaining than it does Mattel.
@ I absolutely agree with you! 💯
The controversy was made up by the media when they related that it was ironic that the Mexican Barbie was given a passport considering the migration situation between Mexico and the USA. I don’t remember this controversy was a big issue then. Maybe on these times, specially with the Trump administration on government, it could be more controversial than in 2012. Anyway, the real irony could be to give her a visa.
Puerto Rico only had 1 doll in the late 90's and it was a nationwide festivity. We usually go unnoticed, so having a barbie designed for us was like winning the olimpics. Moms would by her in bulk. We have nothing bad to say about her. She represents the "jibara" yes we have many other things and are not just that but is not like Mattel was gonna do a whole line for us, they had to choose. That doll was such an important thing in our lifes and so iconic that this years Miss Puerto Rico had the Barbie dress as her cutural dress for participating in Miss Universe.
The crazy part is not a lot of Puerto Ricans knew it was a reference to that Barbie
I have her and totally agree! Since we are frequently overlooked in these representations, we have to make sure the we keep an eye out for the few times we are recognized. It is for this reason, that I will never part with my Boricua girl, and I just got my Rita Moreno doll too! She is not only Puerto Rican, but she is from my hometown. :)
As a Mexican and doll collector, I love the “dolls of the world” collection for the beautiful representation of each country. Especially Mexico, they are my favorite dolls from this collection, the Mexico doll from 2012 especially is my favorite and I don't see it offensive since Chihuahuas are part of our culture too.
I think this line should return since it demonstrates the diversity and beauty of each country through a doll and teaches girls the different types of beauty of each country❤
It's always those outside the culture who get offended (virtue signaling).
@@nancyomalley6286 Not me. I'm American. I don't think you can take a concept of a country or people without using some stereotypes. There is an actual city in Mexico called Chihuahua where the breed of dog was first seen! Joey is so woke, he can't see reality.
As the person from Poland, I find polish Barbie really great and matching our culture! We obviously don't wear costumes like that every day, but it definitely shows the core of our traditions 🩷🩷
Omg YES I literally jumped out of my seat when I saw her
My grandparents are from Scotland and gifted the 1991 Scottish Barbie to my aunt when it first came out and she recently passed it down to me :,) one of my favorite dolls I own
The US is not a monolith, there's tons of different regions. I'd never been on a train until 2018 when I went to NYC. Where I'm from you're SOL if you don't have a car. Too far to walk anywhere, buses are very slow, and trains are non existent, so riding a train to work? Pretty cool.
I can see how this could be stereotypical and insensitive, especially with like Asian or "oriental" Barbie when cultures are meshed, but traditional dolls is a very cool concept. Most Japanese people don't wear kimonos regularly, if at all it's only for special occasions, but it's still a very cool traditional thing and readily recognized as Japanese.
Kimonos are really expensive to wear everyday but Japanese Barbie is probably just going somewhere nice.
What’s SOL? Please enlighten me. Also, I moved to attend university in NYC in 1989. My decision was partly based on the fact that I can’t drive!
@@usainenglandmeans sh💩t outta luck. basically means that your situation sucks and you have little to no luck. In certain parts of the USA if you don't have a car, you cannot get things such as groceries, libraries, schools because there isn't enough public transportation like busses or trains.
I miss this line. I had many of these especially the princess of the world ones. They were so pretty. It's a shame that some people had issues with the dress or description. My family is portuguese and I was so happy with the princess of Portugal doll. She was stunning with her black hair and big bushy eyebrows 😂😂😂I was not offended
I love love love the princess collection it’s everything. I don’t see why people call them stereotypical when the dolls actually supposed to show the culture lol. We got really happy that we had a Diwali Barbie this year after such a long time something refreshing I hope they consider bringing these back. I’d love to collect
Mass transit in the US is extremely rare except in very large metropolitan areas. In most parts of the country you must have access to a car to get anywhere, although with Uber and Lyft now, people who can afford them are able to get by without a car.
I remember being disappointed but not surprised that the UK + Ireland ones were split into England, Scotland, and Ireland, but Wales was left out.
I would LOVE a Barbie in traditional Welsh dress! I'm part of a traditional Welsh folk dance team so I'm quite regularly in our national costume myself!
I know nothing about wales but apparently I have Welsh ancestry
Wow the Princess line were all bangers as far as looks! They all looked totally gorgeous!!
As a canadian I'm kind of surprised they didn't put Barbie into some hockey gear, seem like all they could think of was the mounties uniforms. Heck even Barbie in a flanel shirt enjoying some mapple syrup would have been fun to have instead of another barbie in a mountie uniform.
People would have cried that it's offensive or stereotypical. But yeah, I own both of the Canada girls and I love them dearly- the only funny part is that they both got the same costume 😂
They have to hone in on something. They also didn't do canoeing or dog sledding.
I love the dolls of the world line! It’s my favorite line to collect
Speaking as a Mexican, there's a difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, there's literally a city in Mexico called "Chihuahua" and I know a lot of Latinos that have either Chihuahuas or Old Angry White Dogs, so idk why people were up in arms about it. If anything it shows people's ignorance on cultural backgrounds.
All controversy aside, these are some of THE MOST beautiful dolls Mattel has ever created. I love the simplicity of the very first dolls released in the 1980s, but have an affinity for the dolls from 2006 on up and in particular the 2010-2014 lines. The facial screenings, the costuming, all of it --- so gorgeous!
I gasped so loudly when the Princess Of The Korean Court doll showed up cause I recognized her as the mysterious Barbie doll I got either second hand at some place or was gifted to by one of my aunts. I’m so glad to now know exactly what doll she is. Also she’s in tact minus her shoes having gone missing but that’s fine with me as her dress goes over her feet so you can’t see them anyways.
23:21 The fact that people criticised the Chinese and Mexican ones even though all of them kinda come with ridiculously stereotypical animals, lol. As a side note, I’m Australian and I actually find the koala to be a hilarious addition (super unrealistic - Nobody has one of those as a pet, but still funny)😅
I just love random Australian TH-cam videos where they find Koala Bears and feed them….
Yeah, I think chihuahua is one of the few that could actually be a pet.
I think it’s funny that whenever they do an Australian doll she looks like she works at a zoo. Why? I couldn’t tell you.
I'm Brazilian, and I really like our Dolls of the World and Festivals of the World representatives
that japan ken looks so cool, I so need him in my collection.
I love this line because I've always had a love for traditional cultural dress. I just recently bought an Indian Barbie and I have two lunar New Year Barbies and I want to collect more.
I was very happy to see a Polish Barbie.
And she is really beautiful
11mins in and nigeria ate everyone up! also the reissue of parisian barbie is so pretty
I loved the ethnic Barbies! I want more!
I actually like the Italian Barbie face mould they used, with the colouring they chose she reminds me of the famous 60s actresses like Sophia Loren and Raquel Welch
Also being from England, 'Royal Barbie' looks more like a winner of a beauty competition such as Miss England, as in the sash. If they wanted her to sort of remind you of Queen Elizabeth II, then she should have had dark hair or they should have put her in a Beefeater or Lifeguard or Kings Guard uniform.
There's a much better England doll from later in this line where the doll wears a Victorian riding outfit!
@@Nocturne22 I saw that. I think they could have done better lol.
Pageant princess indeed. Though I'd just chalk that up to it being one of the first dolls in the line and they didn't have much idea what they were doing at that point in time. Also confused why there was a Parisian cancan dancer that year too. Why not just have a chic more general doll representing France?
They could have just copied Princess Diana' s style. Or Duchess Fergie.
@@9Tailsfan Diana would have been ideal.
Oktoberfest Barbie looks like a blond version of Sandra Bullock's character in "Miss Congeniality" when she was doing her musical glasses performance
Im puerto rican and I remember the puerto rican barbie doll in every girl toybox so i can tell you they really loved her, even to this day . Matter of fact miss puerto rico from this year miss universe contest wore a dress inspired by that doll im the national costume so yeah we love our puerto rican girl ❤
I think it was a wonderful introduction to the world and culture to children. I appreciate the effort from Mattel.
I honestly loved this line :( I have the princess of Russia and Chinese New Year dolls, and i love them dearly. Yes, expecting a single doll in a specific outfit to outline your entire culture is stupid, but it's a pretty good introduction for little kids to become interested on other cultures and opens the gates for learning. It's a good idea. Speaking as a brazillian girlie, i did roll my eyes a bit when we got samba to represent us, but still happy we managed to make it in. (Even happier we had more opportunities while other countries got nothing). Wish the line would come back... Without animals this time, please ^^;
A huge shame myths of the world and weddings of the world never came to be.
And i feel you with the villainess faces LOL The main reason i wanted the Portugal princess is because she looked kind of evil (sorry PT people LOL). She's so pretty!!! I love women who look like they'll end me dsadasads
I'm half asian. ( Half blood Filipina) I'm not offended by the way Mattel does Asian dolls. I just see pretty dolls.
We do the same crap to "Western" stuff too.
I'm from Chile and I didn't know there was a Chilean barbie! It's nice to see a part of your culture represented in barbies
As another Chilean, my favorite is the 1998 Chilean Barbie (the 2012 one is also cute)
WAKE UP YALL JOEY JUST UPLOADED
Actually the older ones did come with stands. But they only clamped around her leg so they aren't sturdy.
Yes, one of mine fell down the other day when the neighbors were moving something in the next apartment. They're fine usually, though.
In the US, specifically where i'm from, trains are only really used to transport cargo. So the fact that someone would be able to just casually ride one is kinda cool.
I guess you never lived on Long Island, a part of New York. The Long Island Railroad (LIRR) is a major mode of commuting for Long Island residents
@@nancyomalley6286 nope! Would love to visit though. I’m SC native. We usually use private vehicles
As Italian I found the Italian Barbie dolls charming
The 1980 one is gorgeous and her face resembles Sofia Loren, a popular Italian actress, her costume is a nice reinterpretation of traditional costumes of Sicily
She is one of my favorite Barbies and I hope to own her one day
The 1993 one has the most accurate traditional costume but I don’t like the face
The Princess of the Reinassance is the best one, she is stunning with her historically accurate dress
The 2009 doll is my least favorite, the face is gorgeous but her dress is tacky, it doesn’t resemble any Italian costume
I wish they would bring back this line with more accurate costumes and now that they put effort into sculpting different faces they could represent the diversity even better
Could you do a video on the Legends of Ireland collection?? They are extremely rare and so beautifully made!!
It does make sense that the 1980 English Barbie would be called the Royal Barbie. The upcoming wedding of Charles and Diane was a newsworthy thing back then so calling Barbie "Royal" would sell more units.
I have the Chilean, Norwegian and Polish Barbies. They're so pretty! :D
I'm Canadian and have both RCMP (Canada dotw) barbies. I adore them ❤❤❤
Nice to see them all as I only collect 1960's Vintage Barbies. Thanks.
I’m Filipino from Philippines 🇵🇭 The Native American 🇺🇸 🪶 Barbie is the prettiest release on 1994-1995 the first one in her pink dress
I have 12 Barbie from this collection: Ireland Superstar, Princess of Ireland, Russian 2009 (my country), Gemnan Shteffie, 2 Norwegian, Princess of Danish court, France Princess, Iceland, 2 Sweden (Superstar and Mackie mold) and Princess of Rinnesance.
All Barbie dolls from this collection is amazing!
I'm russian. And even though yeah, they are a bit stereotypical, i still think they're really cute and i love them. The fur hat version i love more, it's less common as a stereotype. I don't see a problem in that part of dolls of the world collection. I want a japan barbie so bad, i love her kimono so much. I wish they could bring back this line. Also princesses of the world were so great and detailed, i still want a kenyan princess, i remember sticking to my childhood catalogue looking at all the hoops in her neck and her coat and thinking it was the most beautiful and detailed doll i've ever seen.
I think they’re an awesome introduction to different cultures. I’m part Brazilian and bought the carnival doll for my daughter because she’s so happy and beautiful
I dont care if steriotype or not.. they are stunning..it was this doll line that taught me as a child that there are dolls for grown ups and inspired me to collect in a mental note back then..i Remember many esp princesses of the world behind a beautiful glass display at toys'r'us and Myer( Australia).
I love this doll line! It's my absolute favorite! The Icelandic one is wearing one of our national costumes, though it is more commonly black, not blue. I adored this doll as a kid (also the eskimo and mounted ranger ones my mom also owned) I was amazed that Barbie even knew of Iceland at that time. And even if the costume isn't perfectly accurate I have always thought of them as Barbies version of national costumes like her regular clothes aren't like real clothes, there Barbie version of human clothes 😊
Yes, you have to pick a point in time or a specific part of culture to decide on the costume. It's not offensive to anyone who doesn't want to make a big deal out of nothing. Also, the people that have an issue are the ones that choose the moniker of the moment. Eskimo was the proper term at a certain time.
I'm Puerto Rican, didn't knew about this doll😱🥳
She is quite $$$ too cause I believe she was a limited edition.
When I was a kid, I collected happy meal Barbie’s. The Around the World line from 95 was my fav set.
Almost all the controversies about every single one of these dolls was from within the US. Nearly all the countries represented thought it was great that they got dolls designed around their culture. I saw a TikTok where a guy dressed in a stereotypical Mexican outfit with a sombrero and multi colored poncho and when he asked people from the US what they thought, every single person acted like they were offended, but when Mexican people were asked they thought it was great. People in the US are too touchy about cultural appropriation.
I agree. As long as you are being respectful most people enjoy sharing their cultures.
When WB announced that they were going to retire Speedy Gonzales, they received a lot of backlash from the Latin citizens.
These products are for Americans, though. So if Mexican-Americans are writing about how offensive they think the Mexican Barbie Doll is, Mattel has failed their market. And people from Mexico in Mexico are going to of course react differently: they do not face the racism that Mexicans IN America do.
It's also such a weird thing to state all the countries thought these Barbies were great when there's no proof of that. Barbie isn't even popular in China or Japan.
@@Nocturne22Agreed. The diaspora experience is different from that in the country of origin, where cultural appropriation and stereotypes are funny "look what those foreigners are doing"/"(country) mentioned let's go!!!" rather than something they have to deal with every day in their actual life.
What racism am I supposed to be getting child?
The fact they mention trains and busses on the german Barbie is such a joke cause the trains are mostly late here XD
Yes, riding the train to work is not a regular thing in a lot of the U.S.
My spawn was 4 or 5 when Northwest Coast Native American Barbie came out, with the Goddess face mold. She was the most beautiful doll I had ever seen, and I bought her... for myself. I think I let them play with her, but I took the native dress and blanket shawl and kept them safe. I still have her, and Vitamin C, a little-known pop star in the early oughts, also with the Goddess face. I would love to have many of the Princesses with that face!
Wow, I just had a blast from the past! I completely forgot that I owned the Northwest Coast Native American Barbie until you showed her and all the memories came rushing back!
After I stopped, as a child, collecting barbies. I only here and there get the dolls of the world. I love their uniqueness. Now it’s crazy because I’ve been to all their countries! Dreams can come true.😊. Thank you for this video, I definitely will be saving it for reference. My favorite barbie was Italian Barbie, I did not know she was a doll of the world! But she always gets the best dress. 😉 Right now shes in a ball gown, crown and Miss America sash. Lol so beautiful. Cheers! ❤
Weddings of the world Barbies would've slayed so hard, I hope they do the idea as a collection one day
I'm from Puerto Rico, and I was 11 years old when the Barbie came out. I remember getting it as a present. I know my mom was really excited for us to have some representation and as a kid it felt really cool to have our "own" Barbie even if she's wearing a traditional outfit I have never worn in my life, outside of school plays, and I don't think I personally ever worn one.
As an adult I can still appreciate her! I asked my mom after this where's the Barbie and she claims my sister and I cut her hair and painted her and she doesn't think its around anymore. I am disputing these claims btw, I was never one to cut my Barbies hair and I don't remember that at all! 😆
I wanted to update my comment. Apparently based on the interaction I had with my Mom where I asked her where my Barbie was, she ended up purchasing a NIB Puerto Rican Barbie for me! She gave it to me on the 6th as a Three Kings Day gift! A traditional holiday we celebrate here similar to Christmas (it's also my Moms birthday!)
My sister said to her that I didn't cut nor painted my Barbie only she did and my mom said jokingly she felt guilty she might've thrown away my perfectly good Barbie away! ❤ Thanks Joey we ended up watching this video and a few others on yours on my mom's birthday and she absolutely loved you!!
I 💗the World Princesses line! I have most of those!
Oh how I love this doll line, despite how stereotypical their outfits are.
I'm a filipina, and the Philippines Barbie looks ok, but it ranges from different colors and patterns, plus not everyone from the Philippines wear this as we have tribal people too.
I love the detachable head idea 😆 yknow the musical Six? If they ever get a barbie tie-in, they better bring back those early fashionista bodies.
I know that a lot of people only see the stereo types of the dolls, But i think they are all beautiful, It is nice to see what cultural differences people have be it through celebration costumes or their everyday wear of the past, the fabrics used are so beautiful, I have a few dolls of the world which I found discarded at local thrift shops and gave them a home in my doll collection. For people who never travel or attend Folk fests, This is a doll that represented the traditional costumes people would wear. I would love to see a Weddings of the world in traditional wedding gowns of different countries, i think that would have been a beautiful collection to have. Although I know people always want to say negative things about it... It'll probably end in controversy like when Midge married her long time boyfriend and Highschool sweetheart Allen/Alan. Also I am Canadian and I have never Seen a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, granted I live in Manitoba and maybe they just dress up for ceremonies. I feel like none of these are everyday wear and typically not seen when traveling. but what else would you put on a Canadian doll ... jeans and a hoodie, maybe lumberjack Plaid lol. right now I'm wearing black leggings and a red crewneck sweater. I still think they are all beautiful.
Great video! So many new Barbies on my wishlist, especially the historical dressed ones, haha. I grew up having the Norwegian Barbie (obviously), and I think it's very cute and quite "true" to our traditional costumes
I have a few of the Princess dolls of the world in boxes.
My sister has the second Italian one, all the Native American ones from the 1990s, the Chinese one, the Polynesian one, Indian one, Japanese one, and the Mexican one. Our maternal great aunt who traveled with her husband around the world were the ones who gifted her most of them except the Native American ones. They usually gifted them with a book about places. I usually got cassette tapes of artists from the countries or some other cultural items (when the Trolls dolls came out with similar theme I got the Troll dolls as they found out I collected them: I had England, Spain, Germany, Holland; my collection started because my mom worked at a store that started selling the Trolls that had the gems in their belly and I got one for my birthday from a friend and somehow it became a collection with people gifting me them…not unlike how so many collections I had as a kid or teen started). The Native American ones were gifted by our paternal grandmother (who was half Blackfoot and spoke English, Blackfoot, Kiowa, Choctaw, and Chickasaw; our paternal great grandmother was full blood Blackfoot raised on a reservation and spoke English, Blackfoot, Kiowa, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Lakota) who often would explain in more detail the meanings of what the Barbie was wearing. It was mostly because she felt like all of her grandkids weren’t being taught enough about our Native American heritage by their parents (though to be fair to my parents they worked a lot and we were already growing up in a multiracial, multiethnic, multireligious, etc extended family which in the 1980s-1990s was definitely not the norm in the rural area we were growing up so we had A LOT to learn about so many different things that make up our family heritage…heck even now there’s stuff we aren’t sure of because the family history books we and my cousins have/had weren’t complete and just had what previous generations WANTED to be known and passed on so whenever we’re doing genealogy things pop up that we didn’t know about and likely our grandparents and great grandparents didn’t know about either since they referenced their copies of the family history books).
I’m Brazilian and although I’m not super familiar with carnival and the traditional dress from Bahia (one of the Brazilian States), still I think they did a good job representing Brazil. The Bahian is my fav from the Brazilian dolls, cause I don’t like the carnival clothes :P
It’s so hard to pick a favorite, but one of my favs is the Princess of South Africa, she’s so pretty ToT
As someone from Switzerland and Chile I'm quite happy with the two chilean Barbies but the swiss one... She could have been better. She could have wear a dress like Heidi cause its cute.
20:14 I had the Festivals of the World Chinese New Year Barbie doll! 😁 ✨
And I loved her! 😍
Me too. I got her. Along with Cinco De Mayo, Kwanzaa and Carnival ( Samba)
Yes. Riding the train to work is uncommon in the US unless you live in a bigger city. These dolls are fascinating. I didn't know there were so many of these.
Guys, I don’t know why, but he was explaining the Scotland doll. This popped in my head. My cousin can play the bagpipes and he’s not Scottish. He’s Mexican.😂
Love the horseriding outfit. A takeoff on it more than what would actually be worn.
I never knew about this dolls. But I know that if I had, I would had adored the beautiful dresses!
I love them all and I know Mattel didn't had any bad intentions releasing these stunning dolls but I do wish Mattel gave middle east cultures a chance in the line I personally want to see a Persian and Arab and Turkish fit bc we have some of the prettiest dresses in here tell me about your culture and mostly the ones that Mattel didn't made? bc that would be an honor to be shown in wider media about my culture and not negative things
I agree that era 1998 is the best part
This is my way of traveling the world
I loved this line of dolls when I was a child. I was so disappointed when my country finally got a doll and it was a Mountie outfit. Awful. Then another Mountie. Of course, we also got a Tim Horton's Barbie.
There was a Northwest Coast Native American Barbie in this line that's STUNNING, though.
You can never please everyone, but honestly, some of the complaints are a bit too much. People are forgetting how to have fun and move on.
It's weird that something like the Amazonia doll was put into production in the 2010s when a simple Google search would have told Mattel "Don't do that, it's going to come off racist". That's on Mattel.
Absolutely. Everyone is too soft and too woke.
I’m surprised they didn’t give the French Barbie a poodle
mattel need to make this line again. either give me countries that have never been done before or a weddings arounds the world twist.
As a person from Puerto Rico I loved the Puerto Rico Barbie. Miss Puerto Rico 2024 made her dress inspired by Barbie Puerto Rico.
mariachi fit 🖤 and the black suit chile 🔥
My mom got all of 2002 & 2003s dolls for us.including the last Japanese one. I LOVED this line as a kid❤️
My favorite is Kwanzaa from The Festa Series. The Princess Of World Series is my favorite. Including the Princesses from South Africa, China, Korea, Japan, Greece, Egypt, Mexico (Aztec), England, Danish Court , Russia, Portugal, Italy (Renaissance) and Navajo (USA).
I am Mexican American with paternal grandparents from US South West and annexed in and maternal grandparents from Nayarit and Chihuahua, seeing brown dolls in this line in the 80s was a thrill for me despite the stereotypes; it induced me to start collecting Barbies starting with the first Eskimo Barbie having the Kyra face mold, (would love to have the Carol Spencer doll). I stopped playing with my Barbies when I was 10 but it was due to peer pressure I feel because I never stopped loving this fashion doll.
Have plenty brown and black dolls now including the first Italian Barbie and even though her forehead is large I don't think she is unattractive. I thought my Midge Native American was another Kyra face mold, thank you for informing me and Thank you kindly for covering this line.
I'm kinda sad they never made a belgian doll bc it's not like we don't have traditional clothing
The box was from the 80”s slang has changed since then maybe “cheerio” was popular
The Norwegian Barie is is wearing a traditional norwegian folk costume called bunad there are about 450 different bunads in the country. The embroidery and design of a bunad differs from county to county, so you can tell by their bunad where a person comes from, or where they descend from. The bunad is often used in Norway, for weddings, confirmations and on our national day 17th of may. The bunad this barbie is wearing is a made up one though. She has blond hair and blue eyes withsh is what norwegians are known for I guess, and some Norwegian has that. And last week UNESCO, added the bunad to their List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Just popping in to say I love your channel!
I own a few of the dolls of world princess part of line from when I was kid, I always wanted the french court one, shes so pretty
Goddamm it. I have MORE dolls to add to my wishlist now. Thanks Joey 🤣
Great video as always
From Nigeria here 🤚🏾! I have the Nigerian Barbie and she’s super cute! No issues with her lol
I think the English horseback riding outfit looks kinda like what 1800s women would wear. I can vaguely remember seeing something similar in the TV show Victoria set in that time.
Very good overview, thank you! My favourite was also my first collector's doll - the Princess of England. I find she looks very similar to Jane Seymour, so I call her Jane. ☺
I Iove that England doesn't have a national dress so they just made the OG doll the Queen. I think a beefeater outfit would have been cuter
Howww funny! This line has been in my subconscious for so many years and very recently like two weeks ago I got really interested in looking closely at all the dolls. Tried to find TH-cam videos on them but none of them were very good in that rhey didn't showcase very many dolls... And of course your channel delivered 😊😊 a great video! Ive been thinking a lot about silkstone too, would love if you made a video on them!
Hi Joey i own the Dolls Of The World Japan Barbie she is beautiful
They did have doll stands for the 80s dolls, they were super crappy and only held one ankle. So the doll would kind of lean to the right a little. I'm so glad they started including the straddle stands!!
The Princess of the English Court literally looks like Jane Seymour, the 3rd wife of Henry VIII, who gave him the son he so desired. She sadly died just days after childbirth
I pictured the actress for a second when I was just on the name.
People are so totchie! There dolls, I just can't believe how people complain about dolls!
I'm with you!!
🌺 I'm from Puerto Rico the Puerto Rican Barbie dress is a combination of our two heritage cultures African and Spain I would like to see more Puerto Rican Barbies like Taina Barbie and Jibara Barbie we have a lot of culture to make more dolls. 🌺