In a Barbie world

By Xu Xiaomin (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-10 09:42

Three-year-old Tang Yicheng had just five - her goal was not only to buy more but to be a Barbie herself. Helped by the store assistants, she was dressed, made up and catwalked on a tiny stage, duly obliging with Barbie-style poses for the photographers.

Barbie, real name Barbara Millicent Roberts, has long been much more than a toy. Since she was born in 1959, she has sold 1 billion clothes and accessories.

Her new six-story home at 550 Huaihai Road is the biggest Barbie store in the world. Covering more than 3,500 sq m, it offers a huge array of Barbie dolls and products for both girls and adults. There are more than 40 categories, including dolls, clothes, books, movies, cosmetics and stationery. A rotating staircase from the third to fifth floors gives enthusiasts the chance to gaze at 875 Barbie dolls in pretty pink dresses.

Fashion fans will love the third floor, where the big names are. Patricia Field, the New York stylist from Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada, has a special Barbie line and Japanese fashion brand Sanei provides Barbie designs for adults who still want to dress like a princess.

A highlight on this floor is a special wedding gown designed by Vera Wang. A lucky bride-to-be will have the chance to wear it and win a Barbie doll that looks exactly like her, according to Laura Lai, general manager of Barbie Shanghai.

"I think any woman would feel pleasant here," said Ira Xu, a housewife in her early 30s who strolled around the third floor again and again. She said she liked Barbie the moment she spotted her photo in a magazine 20 years ago. At that time there was nowhere to buy the real deal - Barbie did not arrive on the Chinese mainland until less than 10 years ago. Xu admitted that as a young girl she bought several fake Barbies in street markets. "At that time, fake Barbies were everywhere, for just 5 or 10 yuan ($1.46)," she said. "They were so wonderful with their long golden hair, nice dresses and cute high heels. Barbie's look would be the ideal for most women."

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