Doo doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo doo…..  "You're travelling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination.  That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Twilight Zone!"   Remember that wonderful old show?

Well folks, here we are at 1966, the Twilight Zone of Barbie ® doll!  What a year! The year that now appears on the rear-end or backs of nearly every new Barbie ® doll that is made.  And this is can be very confusing to the novice or non-collector of Vintage Barbie ® doll.  So how can we really tell if our Barbie ® doll is actually from the 1960s?  One of the easiest ways to identify a true 1960's Barbie ® doll is by looking, yes, you guessed it, at her rear-end.  Of course we already know that the date may not tell us the truth.  So, the best way to tell is by looking for the place that Barbie ® doll was made.  In this instance you want to see the name of Japan on the rear end of your girl!  The early Barbie ® dolls were "made in Japan" and this is one of the best ways to identify a true 1960s doll.  But this is where the confusion starts, because there were some 1970s Barbie ® dolls that were also "made in Japan".   Hoo boy!  Are you still following me?  Good!

Another way to identify a 1960s doll is by looking at her lashes.  To be a genuine old doll they may have either one of two styles of eyelashes.  The first and earliest was a black ridge over her eye that stood out away from her eye much like the visor of a hat.  Very strange, but effective and to a collector, a beautiful sight!  The next style of lash was actual rooted hairs above the eye line, Barbie ® doll with real eyelashes!

Here's one:

 

Ready to be more confused?  This was the 1967 new Twist N Turn Barbie ® doll!  She is marked copyright 1966-Mattel, Inc.-U.S. Patented-U.S. Pat. Pend-Made in-Japan.  

Here's another twist, the 1967 and 1969 Standard Barbie ® doll did not have the lash ridge or the rooted lashes!  And her tush was marked Midge T.M-copyright 1962-Barbie ® -copyright 1958-by-Mattel, Inc-Patented.

So now you are even more confused?  Well, then, let's just note some things that will tell you how a doll is not from the 1960s.

 

 

Your doll is not from the 1960s if:

 

1. She has "Malaysia, Philippines, China, Indonesia" on her rear or back.
2. She has arms bent at the elbow.
3. She has a big plastic ring in her finger or a hole in her fingers for the ring.
4. If she's carrying a boom box, roller blades, microwave oven or any other device that did not exist in the 1960s!
5. She has white panties molded on her.
6. She has white stockings painted on her.
7. She's smiling and her pretty white teeth are showing.
8. She has hair down to her feet!

 

And now, you are ready to leave the 1966 Twilight Zone!  You may still be a little confused about some of the markings, but at least you are armed with a bit of knowledge that will help you identify your dolls.  Good luck and happy Barbie ® doll hunting!

 

Barbie® is a registered trademark of Mattel,Inc. The Little Doll/Karen Morley are in NO WAY affiliated/connected with Mattel and/or it's associates.