Life in plastic is fantastic, especially for ever-independent Barbara Millicent Roberts — better known as Barbie — cozied up in her iconic Dreamhouse.
Barbie hit toy store shelves in 1959, with the first Dreamhouse following three years later for $8. (The price tag was slightly higher west of the Rocky Mountains, according to an old ad.)
The new book "Barbie Dreamhouse: An Architectural Survey" takes a look at Barbie's history through the architecture and interiors of her consistently updated bachelorette pad.
In the decades since her debut, Barbie's been criticized for perpetuating impossible beauty standards and gender stereotypes, but her oft-evolving home has always been surprisingly modern, the book argues. Its design centers the idea that single women can truly have it all, and live a robust and enriching life outside of the confines of domesticity.
When the Barbie Dreamhouse debuted, it was a vision of a bachelorette pad for a woman unmoored from the expectations of her day. In 1962, women were not yet allowed to have their own bank accounts, so they were not often purchasing their own homes.
"But here is Barbie, owning her own Dreamhouse," Kim Culmone, Mattel's senior vice president of design, said in the book.
The coffee-table tome — published in December 2022 by Mattel in collaboration with design magazine Pin-Up, and edited by the magazine's Felix Burrichter and Whitney Mallett — makes the case that Barbie's house has always reflected cultural trends of the time.
Take the 1979 Dreamhouse's turn towards environmentalism, featuring its flower-filled window boxes, skylights, and a natural color palette. Or the addition of a Barbie wheelchair-accessible layout and recycling bins in later versions of the Dreamhouse.
The book is full of fascinating tidbits about and observations of the pint-sized abode, and points to the many design influences and intersections that would pique the interest of any true architecture, interior design, or Barbie buff.
We've extracted nine of the most noteworthy details.