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SILKSTONE BARBIE DOLL
by: Roselyn Gadia-Smitley
(Text and photo are copyrighted materials; otherwise, credit of other works are noted.)
Photo1
Photo2
Photo1: Silkstone Barbie: "A Model's Life" (2003).
Photo 2: Silkstone Barbie: "A Model's Life" (2003), sold as a gift set in "Lingerie Model Collection". The gift set includes clothing ensemble , portfolio, briefcase, and fashion accessories.
Photo1 & 2 Credits: ebay.com.
The Silkstone Barbie doll was introduced to the U.S. market in 2000. This is a hard plastic vinyl doll that simulates porcelain dolls. The Silkstone Barbie doll is intended for the collector's market. She is sold in two series: (1) Lingerie Model Barbie collection and (2) Fashion Model Barbie collection. Her face sculpt is molded after the Ponytail Barbie of 1959.
Silkstone Barbie is taller than the Ponytail Barbie as her high-heeled feet are at a higher arch than the later. Her face mold is also wider at the temple. Her arms and legs are sculpted much better than the Ponytail Barbie. She has a twist waist. The Ponytail Barbie does not have a twist waist feature. The Silkstone's arms and legs are permanently posed and are not flexible.
When comparing the body size of Silkstone Barbie vs. the Ponytail Barbie (Classic Body Sculpt), Silkstone Barbie has a smaller dimension. Depending on the style of a dress, strapless dresses (intended for the classic Barbie) will be loose on the Silkstone Barbie. If it has straps at the shoulders or dress with armholes, it can fit the Silkstone Barbie, but would be loose at the waistline. It has the same result with the dress fit of the new "belly-button" play line Barbie doll. The new play line Barbie doll has a wider torso when compared to the Silkstone Barbie.
Photo3: Ponytail Barbie (1964) and Silkstone Barbie (2003): "A Model's Life"
Photo3: Ponytail Barbie and Silkstone Barbie. Photo 3 illustrates the visual differences of the classic "Ponytail Barbie" and "Silkstone Barbie". Photo and custom dresses by Roselyn Gadia-Smitley.
In price comparison to the current 2013 play line Barbie, a bathing suit edition of the play line costs at $6.97 at Wal-Mart Superstores and a dressed edition can cost from $19.97 - $34.97. A single street wear dress in a bubble pack costs $3.97. Shoes (2 pairs & 2 handbags) costs at $5.47 in a bubble pack. Silkstone Barbie dolls are not available in our department stores nor superstores in the town where I live in the U.S. To purchase a Silkstone Barbie, one has to go through the internet. The 2013 Silkstone release at www.barbiecollector.com costs $50.00 (at its most affordable price) plus shipping. This is the well-dressed Silkstone: Barbie Luncheon Ensemble. The Barbie Luncheon Ensemble is part of the Barbie Fashion Model Collection series. The release date of the Barbie Luncheon Ensemble was February 14, 2013. A more higher end merchandise are sold at www.marlbe.com such as the Silkstone Barbie called Joyeux FAO Exclusive (redhead) at $699.99 plus shipping.
Collecting the Silkstone Barbie doll is indeed at the high end of Barbie collecting. She is definitely of the highest quality among the Barbie categories at this time. Happy Collecting!
For additional information, click at these links:
COLLECTING FASHION DOLLS TO RESTORE (Homepage)
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