Barbie of the Month: Beautiful Blues Gift Set

In 1967 the very rare and lovely #3033 Beautiful Blues set was released exclusively by Sears.

This magnificent set came with a twist ‘n turn Barbie doll that had long hair, with a portion pulled on up on top of her head and tied with a pretty orange hair ribbon.  She had real eye-lashes, and wore a two piece vinyl orange swim-suit with a one-piece fish-net swim-suit over it. 

The one significant difference between this doll and all the other twist ‘n turn dolls that were released in 1967 was the striking powder blue eye shadow that Barbie wore in the Beautiful Blues Set. But, if you look closely at the picture in the Sears catalog, you will notice that the doll pictured does not show her blue eye-shadow at all, which of course was an error in printing.

Barbie with blue eye-shadow

Sear Catalog

Barbie was available in all the same traditional hair colors as the original twist ‘n turn Barbie doll; sun kissed (light blonde), summer sand (ash blond), chocolate bon bon (dark brown), and go go co co (light brown).

The set came with the doll and a stunning ensemble.  The collection featured a blue sparkle one shoulder cocktail dress accented with a white satin bow with white satin trim, along with a beautiful matching blue satin coat trimmed with white fur.  Completing the set were matching blue closed toe heels, and a blue clutch purse.  There was a plastic ‘X’ stand and little blue hanger included as well.

Originally this amazing 7-piece set sold for $5.97, but currently this highly sought after set on the secondary market commands hundreds of dollars to purchase.

Happy Hunting!

Barbie of the Month: Twist 'N Turn Trade-In Barbie

In 1967 the ever so popular #1162 Twist ’n Turn Trade-In Barbie was one of Mattel’s most successful Barbie Doll promotions of all time!   

#1162 Barbie

 

Barbie underwent a total make-over for this rollout.  She had a brand new head mold, her waist could twist and turn, she had long rooted eyelashes, and beautiful long uneven cut hair with a few side pieces that were pulled to the top of her head to form a tiny ponytail. She also had a softer pink skin tone to her body.

 

Here's my #1162 TNT Trade-In Barbie Doll
with her box that has the gold sticker that reads
"Special Introductory Price"





Mattel’s ad campaign was very effective, which was mostly due to the television ad that starred Maureen McCormick, who later played Marsha Brady on the Brady Bunch television show (1969-1974). In just the first month (May 1967), there were 1,250,000 dolls that were traded-in during the promotion.  All the old dolls that Mattel received were given to charity.  It makes you wonder how many number 1 and 2 ponytail dolls were in the bunch!

 



1967 Television Ad

 

 



Magazine Ad from Family Circle Magazine (1967)

 

 

To acquire this new mod Barbie doll, all you had to do was take your old Barbie doll, in any condition, to a participating toy store along with $1.50 (which was half the price of a new doll at the time).  In exchange, you would be handed the new mod Twist ‘n Turn Barbie doll in the hair color of your choice; Sun Kissed (light blonde), Summer Sand (ash blond), Chocolate Bon Bon (dark brown) or Go Go Co Co (Light Brown).  Even though these dolls had cool names for their hair colors, the boxes were marked with the actual humdrum hair color name.

 

The mark on her bottom reads: ‘©1966 Mattel, Inc./U.S. Patented/U.S. Pat Pend. Made in Japan’.  It’s important to note that some of the dolls have “Made in Japan” all on one line.

 



Here's another one of my pretty Trade-In Dolls

 

Barbie came wearing a salmon two-piece swim suit made of a vinyl type material with a one-piece swimsuit, which was white cloth netting trimmed in salmon that went over the top. She wore a matching salmon colored hair ribbon in her hair.  On her wrist was the official Barbie wrist tag.  A paper fashion booklet titled “The World of Barbie Fashions” was included as well.  She was packaged in a sealed plastic bag and she and all of the items listed came inside the official Trade-In box. The #1162 and the #1160 model dolls are identical, except for their box, and the #1162 trade-in doll did not come with the X stand that can be flipped over and used as a chair.



Notice the hair color on the end flap of the box

Today, there is some controversy around some of the rare, unusual hair colors that can be found on these dolls, such as titian, eggplant, champagne, and platinum.  Some of the dolls with these uncommon hair colors have simply changed over time from their original color which was caused by oxidization.  But I believe Mattel added some to the mix, either as a prototype, or just for fun!





 This TNT has the Platinum/Silver Hair Color

 

This was and still is one of my favorite Barbie dolls of all time.  Being one of the lucky girls who traded in one of my old dolls for the pretty new and up-to-date mod Barbie is reminiscent of my childhood, and is a very special memory for me.

Happy Hunting!



Beautiful Blues

1967 was probably my favorite year for Barbie because the Twist n’ Turn Barbie (#1160) with beautiful long straight hair and long rooted eyelashes was released, as well as the trade-in promotional doll (#1162), which I purchased.  They were both the same doll, but with different packaging.  This same year Sears released the exclusive and very rare gift set #3303, Beautiful Blues Set.  This magnificent ensemble came with a blue sparkle one shoulder dress accented with a white satin bow and white satin trim, matching blue satin coat with white fur trim, blue heels, and a blue clutch purse.  But this elegant set wasn’t complete without a Twist n’ Turn (#1160) Barbie Doll.  This doll had one stunning feature which the other dolls on the market didn’t have. She wore blue eyeliner!   This week one of those special girls showed up at auction (without the outfit).  She sold for a cool $530.99.

The Twist n' Turn Barbie, so amazing!

One of my favorite Barbie’s of all time is the TNT Barbie from 1967.  She was hip back then, and still looks amazing by today standards.  I spent endless hours playing with my chocolate bon bon beauty.  Mine was the trade-in version.  You know, the one with the one piece sexy fishnet swimsuit over the orange vinyl bikini!  Lose the fishnet suit and that girl would still get looks from the boys on the beach today.  Her long uneven hair is right in style with today’s fashionistas.  It’s so great when you witness rare beauties like the girl pictured here who received a big price on the secondary market.  A few weeks ago this 1967 blonde bombshell sold for $611.00.  And why the big price tag you ask?  It’s all about her hair.  Perfect Platinum! You see it from time to time, but not always in this fine of condition with an immaculate high color face.

 

I loved her wardrobe.  She’s a little like us today; tall boots, short funky dresses, and metallic whatever!  We have to have it!  Gold and silver metallic purses, belts and shoes, as well as dresses, tops and even pants are some of the must haves.  We all know Barbie has always made a fashion statement but this girl could appear today and would still be one!