If I were Barbie, 11and-a-half-
Princess inches, who has dominated the doll world since 1959, I will focus on the newly established SWAT action character team Get Real Girls.
I won\'t lift the pink suspension bridge and I won\'t throw the Radio away
Control the crocodile into the moat.
Not yet.
But I will look at my bones.
I\'m not saying this lightly.
As author of Forever Barbie: An Unauthorized Biography of a real doll, I know that since 1963, the Princess has systematically wiped out every competitor of her, when Marx toy introduced a shabby fan, Miss Barbie, 17, quickly wiped the nursery floor with her.
There are some legal issues involved, but they are not important in the end.
Miss Seventeen is a loser. -
There is a problem with the skin, and the hair is implanted with coarse hair. a girl who is worthy of the name-
The kids don\'t want her at all.
So when I was asked to evaluate these new pretenders of the Barbie throne, I knew I had to act quickly.
Barbie challengers often don\'t last long.
However, I was caught off guard when I saw the Real Girl.
These dolls are far from those who want to be a burlesque.
Time seems to be right for a toyworld upset.
Last year, one thing happened to Mattel that seemed impossible: Jill Ballard, the company\'s Barbie doll
Pink. suit-wearing (a bubble-gum shade)
A ceo who resigned-
After messing up the company, its stock lost 70% of its value.
If the Barbie series is built from about $0. 25 billion (
When she as a low
Level manager in 1980 s)to $1.
7 billion last year, there may be a reversal of wealth, why it is not worth a closer look at Barbie herself: Barbie and Ballard, and the new, strong, young upstart, the real girl and their creator Jules Chavez.
The Get Real team has six members: Gabi, football player, Corey, surfer, Skylar, snowboarder, Najib, basketball player, Claire, scuba diver and nin a mountaineer
You won\'t find these girls in toeshoes or figure skating.
They are a tough, muscular group, and their swollen bicep and contoured abdomen are also inspired by the American Brandi ChastanS.
The most famous football player ripped off her shirt after last year\'s World Cup victory.
Action character, gijo. (
In fact, if you really rip off a real girl\'s shirt, you\'ll find a small, neatly trimmed sports bra that covers the bare bullets of Barbie --shaped bosoms. )
Chavez is not your doll designer.
As the cousin of the legendary 1960 labor leader Cesar Chavez, she has worked in the field of toy development for 15 years, some of which are spent behind Barbie\'s own manufacturer Mattel\'s purple-red walls
However, there is no trace of fuss on Chavez\'s doll.
Their boxes are blue and orange.
\"When we were working on this project, our invisible name was \'no pin\',\" Chavez told me recently while drinking coffee \'. \".
But the name is not listed.
\"If you call a concept \'non-pink, \'Mattel will show up after your big picture,\" she explains . \".
Mattel will usually chase you anyway.
For example, in the fall of 1985, the Barbie team learned from secret sources that Hasbro plans to release the new rock star fashion doll Jem in the coming February.
\"Within a few minutes,\" a former Mattel executive told me, \"We set up a war committee.
\"In less than an hour, they had a plan: to assemble a rock group for Barbie.
Even though Barbie dolls and rock singers hurt Jim\'s sales, Hasbro dolls were destroyed by themselves.
She is 12 inch tall, dressed in Barbie, and looks like a lovely drag queen.
\"If you\'re going to fight against GM, you \'d better keep the same size,\" explained a dealer of collector merchandise . \".
\"Again, in 1991, Barbie\'s nearest challenger, happy to be me, failed after a promising start.
From \"temptation\" to \"people\" magazine, the reporter praised her so-called \"reality\" ratio ---
Close to the Real Girl 33-24-
33 Barbie (roughly)40-18-22.
But the doll did not live up to its pressure.
Happiness was created by a Midwest mom who lacked experience in the toy industry, with low production costs and poor quality.
This doll is disgusting. -
From the dull wardrobe that it looks like it\'s only made up of the back of the oil cloth, to its sparse hair bundles, scattered so close that the overall effect makes Sen recall.
A hair transplant from William boxmill
It satisfies the desire of two girls for excessthe-
The top prom queen is not their mother who wants a tasteful, realistic example.
Like Barbie, Happy looks like it belongs to the trailer park, but if Barbie is playing a nearby slut, Happy is the careful housewife who let herself leave.
She may be happy to be herself, but it is clear that her standards are very low even for children.
In contrast, the Real Girl is a miniature model that is beautifully designed.
Chavez\'s experience in Mattel tells her that details are important.
Get Real Girls is equipped with a meticulous replica of the sporty style that modern Girls crave-
Exquisite zip backpack, colorful hiking boots, double
Beach slippers.
Even if her girls had to steal from Barbie, Chavez said, they would \"look great in a tight black dress \".
Even though their ball is a bit abrupt
Like joints, I tend to agree (
Even their sneakers
Prepared feet mean they have to pair cocktail dresses with smart flat shoes).
Their hair is also beautiful, shiny and rich.
This is a vital asset because Mattel market research, which is called \"hairplay\", is a huge attraction for girls.
Chavez reminded me: \"Every doll has a hair brush.
\"These dolls express the spirit of their time, which has changed a lot in 40 years since Barbie first shook in a steep high-heeled mule.
Today, the adjective \"ladylike\" has bitten the dust.
Parents encourage their daughters to sweat and purr in sports competitions, and even the exercise muscles that supermodels get during exercise time in the gym.
Chastain is immortal in her sports bra, a role model for girls and recognized by most middle classclass parents.
Even though Mattel has a princess for such a country
Club sports as tennis, the idea of a woman participating in such sports when she created
It\'s incredible to be called extreme sports.
In their 1960 s, even the big swing PE teachers rarely engage in more dynamic sports than golf or bowling.
To be sure, Barbie has been given more rough sporting goods, but she is in her 60 s.
The figure of the pinup girl, she looks very funny basketball uniform-
It\'s like she borrowed it to take a picture and can\'t wait to give it back to me.
The Internet may contribute to real girls as TV commercials do for Barbie.
In 1955, Mattel became the first toy company to broadcast commercial advertisements on Children\'s Day, which directly targeted underage audiences.
Before that, children were not considered important consumers, nor did one company make a huge contribution.
Scale tries to shape or take advantage of their buying habits.
Chavez\'s website talks directly with girls.
This is reminiscent of the early Barbie ads in which Barbie was deliberately portrayed in a subversive way that upset parents and happy children during market research
Of course, subversion at that time meant undisguised sex.
Get Real Girls upended in a different way: jocky and up-to-
Dates on music can upset parents.
At the Get Real Girl website, users can choose between \"dance\", \"groove\", \"lounge\" and \"tune\" sounds.
Every music choice has a heavy beat that really annoys me ---
This is a clear sign that children like music.
This is not to say that Barbie does not have her own website. She does.
It\'s just a shocking out of style that\'s not cool and desperate.
For example, by clicking on an icon labeled \"storytelling\", you\'ll be attacked by plain harp music, reminiscent of Walt Disney\'s TV show in the 1950 s.
GetRealGirl though.
The purpose of Com is to sell dolls that do not promote specific products from other manufacturers.
\"I don\'t want to tell the kids that you have to buy the brand to be cool,\" Chavez explained . \".
\"We will not post banner ads on our website. \" (
On the other hand, Chavez does encourage children to get certain accessories even if their manufacturers are not designated.
For example, Corey lamented during her adventure: \"I wish I could have an MP3 player like the sky . \". )
However, the lack of attention to the brand makes Chavez and Ballard in sharp contrast, Ballard cheated
High-end manufacturers like Ferrari authorize Barbie
As a way to teach kids brand recognition, the size version of their product.
Julia Chavez, born in 1962, Chavez shortened her name to Julz, when she applied for a job designing toys that were not specifically for girls after graduating from the California Institute of Arts and Crafts.
As Julia, she was politely refused.
As Julz, she was invited to present her portfolio.
Her gender is very clear: when I met her, she was dressed in a high-collar shirt and leather jacket, stylish, slim and stylish.
Her demeanor, however, is very different from that of Ballard, who grossly overstates her female identity.
Barad was wearing intimidating clothes: When I met her while studying my book, she was wearing more expensive suits than my car.
During the company\'s speech, she often dances, cheerleaders fashion, from product promotion to music-
Shocked by Wall Street.
An industry analyst told the New York Times: \"This can be very infectious in the toy company\'s sales presentation, but you are not used to seeing it in the banker\'s presentation.
\"Chavez has never been a fan of Frough women.
Neither Chavez nor her sisters have Barbie dolls.
It was not until she arrived at Mattel that there was a problem and was told that all new employees would have to accept premium porcelain dolls.
She told them: \"I made it without Barbie, and I\'m not going to start now.
\"When they brought her difficulties, she reluctantly accepted a porcelain Ken.
Chavez\'s father was a farm worker and one of the 10 children she raised was born in Yuma, Araz.
And growing up in Southern California.
Arizona\'s years are tough, largely because of discrimination in Mexico. Americans.
\"Because my father was too dark, we were kicked out of the restaurant,\" she recalls . \".
Chavez built the real girl on her real foundation. life friends --
Olympic cyclists like Stephanie McKnight and former professional surfer Candice Woodward.
She claims that of all her dolls, she has the strongest affinity for Brazilian Gabi
Like her, American football players are hybrid.
I asked Chavez about the details of getting a real girl\'s life: How old are they? Are they still at school? They asked the professional Chavez to pick up a blue and orange package and read the girl\'s biography from behind the box.
Nini plans to study archaeology.
Claire is going to be a vet.
Chavez said slyly: \"But naquia may become pro.
I\'m not sure yet.
\"Where are the tennis players? Venus and Williams inspire the two girls. The problem seems to have touched people\'s nerves.
Chavez said the pair \"reached an agreement with another company.
\"Inspired by her cousin, Chavez is wary of the labor practice of making dolls.
Like Barbie, the Real Girl is made in China.
But before Chavez allowed to start production, she visited the factory to make sure the workers had enough time
On-site living facilities, plenty of rest time. (
If Ballard did anything in this regard, she would not have told me or any other journalist. )
In the past, of course, Barbie sailed on the shoal that crashed Mattel executives.
For example, in 1978, Ruth Handler of Mattel
Considered by many to be the founder of Barbie\'s closest mother, there is no objection to allegations of conspiracy, mail fraud and falsification of information from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
She was sentenced to 41-
Sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of $57,000, the judge subsequently suspended the sentence.
However, he did ask her to invest 500 hours a year in community services over five years and pay $57,000 to fund a convicted occupational \"rehabilitation\" Center for Heavy offenders.
However, Barbie has suffered only temporary setbacks.
No competitor can take advantage of her weaknesses.
About 15 years later, when Barad arrived, Barbie\'s sales hit a record high.
Mattel\'s Teflon elasticity for the past 40 years does not herald the doom of Get Real Girls, despite their hipsters talking and excitement --
A long walk away from perfection.
But it does suggest a different way of interpreting victory.
In order for girls to have a crush on Barbie, they don\'t need to eradicate her.
They just need to hit her a bit and make a few holes in her sales.
Even a small dent will be historic, the first of these.
A quarrel with the girls may shape the character of the Barbie doll. -
After they broke her plastic Chinw.