Barbie Doll Designs, Girls' Fashions and Mattel, Inc., History

The dynamic release of Barbie in 1959 was a boon to a Hawthorne, California company that had languished for years previously. The company was founded by two men from Denver, Colorado. One of the partners left Mattel, Inc., before its 1948 incorporation. This left Eliott and Ruth Handler in charge of what eventually became the world's largest toy manufacturer. My e-book examines how Mattel's founders craftily succeeded in transferring doll clothes to fashions worn by girls 5-12 and older. For example, in Fall 1964, the Syracuse area of New York was among the select cities chosen to display "Barbie's Back to School Fashions". Blouses, slacks, pajamas, etc., were offered in such pastel colors as spruce green, flame red, liberty blue and sierra rust.