Holiday Barbie 1993 - Whole Lotta Curtains Goin' On

Once again, Barbie returns to a color scheme she’s seen before in 1993:


Holiday exclusive Barbie from 1993


It’s a bit more successful this year however. The addition of gold to the red scheme almost makes it so we can overlook the big crazy poinsettias on her shoulders. The skirt may still look like a cupcake wrapper, but the drop waist is definitely a move in the right direction. We’ll just pretend like the little flower adornment on her head doesn’t look suspiciously like 1992’s scrunchy disaster. Or that the bodice once again looks like a bit of a bedazzling nightmare. Look, she clearly spent all her time tying color-appropriate bows on her velvet-lined staircase and picking out the perfect drop earrings! Give the girl a break, OK?

But the best part of 1993 is that we start to really delve into the Holiday Side-Hustle as Barbie capitalizes on the popularity of exclusives under any winter-themed moniker Mattel can come up with.


First there is Winter Royale Barbie:




Where Barbie tries to pass herself off as ‘Natasha, Ze Russian Spy’ while also hoping to hide by appearing as the drapes. You may think I’m making that claim simply because of her waist cord that is clearly meant to tie back long swatches of fabric. But actually the print itself also felt like something I’ve seen before.




On curtains. 

There’s also this version, which is like Miss Winter Royale but more boring:




At least she tries to detract from the fact that it's just a red repeat with a Rosetta Stone lesson on the box.

Another collectible seasonal doll shows up this year entitled Golden Winter:


Golden Winter Barbie from 1993

So much to say about this girl! First of all, while I like the pattern and execution better on Miss Golden Winter here, we haven't seen this many dresses made out of upholstery since the Von Trapp children needed play clothes. Nothing wrong with that shiny gold jacket. Assuming she was coordinating it for her date with MC Hammer doll:



And the fur trim is so out of control it even made it onto her hair scrunchy! Barbie better hope she doesn't run into any PETA protesters along the way unless she's hoping to re-enact the scene of Carrie at the prom...



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