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Monday, April 1, 2013

Barbie of the Month: Growin' Pretty Hair Barbie

This month I thought I’d showcase the #1144 Growin’ Pretty Hair Barbie dolls that are quite popular with collectors. 

Growin’ Pretty Hair Barbie arrived on the market in 1971 and was only available two years.  She came in two blonde versions.  Both had real eyelashes and a retractable pony tail, but with different hairstyles.  The 1971 version parted her hair on the side. The 1972 version pulled her hair back in the front. 

 

Both dolls had completely different style dresses.  The 1971 doll wore a beautiful pink chic satin dress which fell to a “v” shape at the knee.  Her dress also included a built in gold trim belt. She had matching pink shoes.

 

 
 



The 1972  doll wore a trendy peasant style long red print dress with a blue bodice that included a white shoe lace style tie. She had matching blue shoes. 


 
In the box came two additional hair pieces, styling booklet, hair pins, barrette, comb and brush.  The 1971 version had pink ribbons tied to the extra hair pieces and the 1972 version had blue ribbons. 

 
 

The 1972  doll is a much harder Barbie to acquire.  In the first three months of this year, eBay has had only two of these dolls for sale, and of course both sold!  She is extremely hard to find mint in the box.
 





I think the  1971 version of Growin’ Pretty Hair Barbie is the prettier of the two, but  the 1972  Barbie takes me back to the time period when I wore a very similar type of her peasant style dress. And it seems like only yesterday! 

For a little more nostalgia, check out the link below to see the commercial that was aired when she debuted.  I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s so much fun to watch! 
 
 

Happy Hunting!

3 comments:

  1. I have one and I'm curious of the value.

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  2. Hi, These two are my favorite of the early 70s era. But they have the fussiest hair. Do you suggest any products to revive the end curl? They always seem to have some kind of "dippity do" on the ends and once you comb it, it gets a frizz, so I've left them alone and just try to keep it styled the way it is but tidied up a bit in the bun area. Any recommendations? I have one in the blue dress from an ebay purchase but her hair is 'dusty' so it looks dull. The curls are still tight, so I'm pretty afraid to wash it. I thought maybe just gently swooshing her head upside down in some lightly soapy water and then a rinse, then just let her air day. What do you think? I love your page. I'm relatively new at collecting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm glad you are enjoying my page. I can't recommend what to do with her hair as I do not do any restorations. Maybe someone else can reply to you out on this one!

    ReplyDelete

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