Dolls I want but don't need: Barbie's upper tiers

If you've read this blog enuff then you likely know that not all Barbie dolls are the same.  There's your playline dolls, toys meant for kids and kids at heart, and then there's your collector dolls, items meant for the pleasure of teens and adults.  Today is for the collector dolls, the ones that have set my heart a-flame-a at various times in my life.

MASQUERADE GALA ILLUSION BARBIE
DESIGNER:  Robert Best
YEAR OF RELEASE:  1998

No, still no owner pics yet.  If I don't hear from the doctor by closing time on my birthday, her post is going up.

WATER RHAPSODY BARBIE
DESIGNER:  Not listed
YEAR OF RELEASE:  1998

Water Rhapsody was a dream come true for my ten-year-old self.  She was dressed in blue velvet with pearls, and she had the Mackie head, which for me was perfection.  I wonder what her shoes look like?  I wonder that for just about all of the dolls in this post, as most of 'em are wearing long dresses that conceal their shoes.

THE FABERGE TRIO
From left, these are Imperial Elegance, Imperial Splendor, and Imperial Grace.
DESIGNER:  Robert Best
YEARS OF RELEASE:  1997, 2000, and 2001

I credit these three with inspiring my love for the Faberge eggs, as all three of them are based on one or more of the bejeweled Easter eggs.  Splendor is based on the Imperial Spring Flowers Egg, which doesn't appear on Mieks's list and may not be a true Faberge egg.  Grace and Elegance appear to be based on the eggs in general, and all three carry egg-shaped handbags that have little Swarovski crystals concealed inside.  This too is a nod towards the Faberge eggs, many of which have smaller trinkets concealed within.  These girls are porcelain, by the way, just like Charleston and Tango are from yesterday.

MILLENNIUM BRIDE BARBIE
DESIGNER:  Guess who?  Robert Best!
YEAR OF RELEASE:  1999

This one is my favorite example of dolly hubris, as when she was available she cost over a thousand bucks, and it was predicted that only a fraction of collectors would get their hands on her.  Now it's possible to get her, in-box with her papers, for between one and two hundred dollars.  That's still more than I want to pay for a Barbie, but it isn't a grand and some change like the original catalog wanted.  Millennium Bride is a feast for the eyes though, with all that sparkle and beading.

MAIKO BARBIE
DESIGNER:  Katiana Jimenez
YEAR OF RELEASE:  Late 2005

It's hard to see in a low-res stock image, but this Barbie is a knockout.  Memoirs of a Geisha was a thing right around this time, and I...I had never even heard of geisha, so I was intrigued.  I ended up learning a lot about the history of geisha and oiran, and about what they're like now.  Geisha no longer have to auction off their virginity, for example, and modern-day geisha often have a lot of trouble with foreign tourists wanting pictures.  Seriously, the harassment got so bad in parts of Kyoto that authorities had to put up signs warning visitors to leave any geisha they saw alone.  Geisha are humans too, after all!  They're pretty, but they're humans.  Anyway, this Barbie is one that I had a hard time not begging Mama for, as she was expensive and we had bigger fish to fry in 2005.  But she's still a favorite, with her pretty face and all those details in that outfit

TARINA TARANTINO BARBIE
DESIGNERS:  Bill Greening and Tarina Tarantino

YEAR OF RELEASE:  2008

C'mon, y'all knew there'd be a Steffie in the mix!  That, plus the doll's pink hair and cute green dress, were what sold this one for me.  I didn't know until last Friday that Tarina Tarantino has pink hair herself, LOL!  I also liked the innocence of this one, compared to the other dolls in the catalog with their saucy expressions and somewhat vampy clothes.

ELTON JOHN BARBIE
DESIGNER:  Caroline DeMersseman; Sir Elton John also contributed 

YEAR OF RELEASE:  2020

As with Tarina Tarantino this one is kinda predictable, as I'm an avowed Elton John fan.  I thought I read somewhere that Sir Elt liked dolls, but that may have been my sixteen-year-old self stepping out of the past and hoping that she and her idol had something in common.  My sixteen-year-old self wore platform shoes like Elton John did, even though she was already five-foot-eight, LOL.  My sister and I agree that those shoes may be part of the reason why I'm crippled now.  Anyway, I love just about everything about this doll, though I kinda wish she had red hair and brown eyes, like Elton himself does.  Oh well, she's BARBIE, and Barbie is almost always a blue-eyed blonde.  I freaking love this doll.

TOKIDOKI BARBIE

DESIGNER:  Simone Legno
YEAR OF RELEASE:  2011

2011 was already crazy enuff without Barbie making a stir, but she managed to do it anyway with that full sleeve tattoo.  I thought she was cute, particularly with her pink bob.  It isn't every day that Barbie has short hair, and it looks particularly becoming on the Steffie head.  Since Tokidoki and Tarina Tarantino are both Steffie heads with pink hair I pretend that they're sisters, the stereotypical punk/girly pair.

PERUVIAN BARBIE, SECOND EDITION
DESIGNER:  Not listed

YEAR OF RELEASE:  1998-1999

There really wasn't a loser in the Dolls of the World bunch, but of them all the second edition of Peruvian Barbie has always been my favorite.  She pairs the Kira head with a lovely outfit, and I've always been a fan of the combo.

PINK IN PANTONE BARBIE
DESIGNER:  Linda Kyaw

YEAR OF RELEASE:  2011

Oh, I loved how clever this one was!  I always loved those little paint swatch cards, but it never occurred to me that they could be used as an inspiration for a dress, let alone be part of the dress.  Since this doll is on the Model Muse body the asymmetrical dress looks particularly flattering.  I just like this doll...except for the bow on her chest.  I'd have put that in her hair, LOL.  But I adored the originality of this one.  She's wearing her signature pink, but in a whole new way.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS BARBIE
DESIGNER:  Javier Meabe

YEAR OF RELEASE:  2019

I'm so glad Mattel has made this a yearly thing!  This year's Ken is to die for.  But so far my favorite one has been the debut doll, from 2019.  She's about as Day of the Dead as they come, with nothing Barbie-fied or anything.  Oh, and she's got a gorgeous face.  The others are pretty awesome too, though.

Oh sure, I could probably add some more, but I think thirteen is a good place to stop.  These are the ones that immediately came to mind anyway, so they're the most memorable.

Love,
RagingMoon1987