Carol Spencer was the unsung hero behind Barbie’s most iconic fashion designs from 1963 until her retirement in 1998. Recently, thanks to the success of her new book, “Dressing Barbie,” the 86-year-old designer is finally getting her due recognition. We went to Carol’s home, where she has a giant collection of Barbie dolls and memorabilia, to interview her about life, fashion, and what it was like to dress the most famous “woman” in the world. Will include archival footage about Barbie to fill out the piece visually.
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How This Woman Designed Barbie's Most Iconic Outfits For 35 Years
- Well, I graduated from
high school in 1950. And at that time, there
were basically five jobs for women: nurse, teacher, secretary, clerk, wife, and mother. And then lo and behold,
Mattel Incorporated started putting ads in the paper that they needed a designer
for the Barbie doll, and I knew that that was where
I wanted to be for my career. I'm Carol Spencer, and I
became a Barbie designer in 1963 when I was only 18, no. Narrator: At 86 years young, Carol Spencer is now retired, but she
still
holds the record as Barbie's longest-running
stylist to date. Over the years, she pulled
inspiration from pop culture, music, and street fashion
in order to stay relevant, constantly reinventing her
own personal design style in order to align Barbie
with the changing times. - When I started, we
did not have computers. We had no technology. It was hands-on. It was different than it is today. The design process
started with the designer. Narrator: Today, Carol spends her time meeting other Barbie
lovers at
conventions around the world and adding to her already
impressive personal collection. - Well, here in my dining
room, you're never alone because you always have Barbie. I would say, in the house, on display, I have someplace close to 500 dolls. That is a whole group of Malibu
dolls from different years. This is the first Ken doll that I actually designed
the basic costume for. And this is another Ken,
and he's got wild pants because that was the time period that we had things like tha
t. And, you know, it was a lot of fun. Because we thought of
her as a real person, we looked everywhere. We were aware of everything
that was going on. If I wanted high fashion, I
could just go a few blocks to Beverly Hills, walk down Rodeo Drive, and I had inspiration. If I wanted to see tourists, I could still go to Rodeo Drive because I can see what
the people were wearing. That's one thing that I learned after I graduated from high school, that there's a whole world out there that you can fi
nd if you look for it. I could give you stories
on most all of them. This goes into '70s. This is later '70s and
into the '80s up here. We were wearing patchwork
prints and long dresses, and that was influenced
mostly by the music scene. That's called Wild Bunch. She has boots with cutouts. And I bought some wonderful white boots that were all cut out and laced up, and I used to wear those, and so I sort of took from some of the
things I would buy and like that were mod and put them on Barbie. N
arrator: With a college
degree in fine arts, Carol was also inspired by the early fashion houses of Europe, and her ability to drape high-end fabrics made her especially skilled at
Barbie's haute couture looks. - When I designed this doll, I wanted to have something that
was over-the-top for Barbie, and, of course, I chose red hair because red hair is a favorite of mine. My grandmother had red hair. Red hair ran in my family. I did not have red hair. Although today sometimes
my hair looks red, b
ut that's the bottle job. That is Golden Jubilee Barbie. That was designed for
her 35th anniversary. It's probably the most expensive doll made up to its time. So you'll see a beading design nobody else can create because that's how I did it
with my fine-arts background. And that was the whole
object was to give the child something to play with and to dream with. Where the child, through play, could project into
whatever was on her mind because that's what kids do. At least they did with Barbie.
Barbie has become really
my best friend, confidante, and my appetite for
adventure never stopped. I've been all over the world, and many parts of it with Barbie. I became an expatriate
for two years with Barbie. I mean, I have had adventures you wouldn't believe with Barbie.
Comments
I love her story! what an inspiration 👏💕
Dang, she has worked hard to make a ton of girls happy
I wish we could have some really over the top fashion Barbies again (that aren't the $100 & over collector Barbies)
I find it so cute that she wore pink for the interview.
As a tomboy, I never had an interest in Barbie growing up and I was scornful of girls that did. But, now I can sew. Seeing this fantastic collection which chronicles decades of women's fashion means I shall by buying my very first Barbie in my fifties and making her some clothes! Inspirational.
Carol is my hero, and possibly the second most important woman in Barbie's life (first being Ruth Handler of course). But it's Carol who gave Barbie her most iconic looks that made our childhood dreams. It's so heart warming to see she still genuinely loves Barbie, I can't wait to get her new book Dressing Barbie. I love you, Mrs. Spencer!
In my hometown there was a nice elderly lady with a barbie doll store she worked in, she made dresses for them and sold them, a lot of them vintage barbies as well. I lived for that store as a kid and I admired all that she did. I've moved since then by a good ten years and I heard of some grave news that a few years ago she was murdered during a robbery of the store. It was a nice town and then years pass and it's one of the most crime prominent cities in America. What kind of monsters would do such a thing?
wow, she really made my childhood a blast. thanks ma’am
I meet Carol at a Barbie Show in Seattle. She autographed my Doll that she designed. What I loved about her is she took the time to comb and style my dolls hair. She took her time with every person. A very lovely lady!
Even her current outfit is up to date. Dang it.
the fact that she traveled out into the real world to find her inspiration… i wish more designers were like her. the trendy breaking news kinda fashion is already out there, you just have to go find it.
Can we just admire how beautiful the dolls outfits look 🤩
It's because of this woman that I was enamored by Barbie. I didn't care about what Barbie did or what body she had. I didn't look up to a doll as a role model. It's her clothes that made me want to get a doll. It's the lavish dresses, the glamour, the sophistication, and the fun of it. Barbie's outfits made me want to wear them too. I would always imagine myself one day wearing a Barbie inspired dress. Thank you so much Carol Spencer! I loved your designs. I still do.
I love how she says numbers like 1968 as Nineteen Hundred and Sixty Eight. I also adore her story and creations.
I love that at 18 years old in 1950 she knew she wanted something more for her career than what women were being limited to and her dream became real! She seems like the sweetest happiest lady! She look great at 86 too!
People say Barbie is misogynistic, but look at all these women behind the concept and look of Barbie.
We need people like her back in the Barbie community. She has such a creative and flamboyant mind that came up with all of the wardrobe my Barbie dolls had. If only we took the time to create things rather than rush perfection.
Carol Spencer has single handedly influenced fashion for us all. These Barbie outfits are so intricate and she has such an eye for so many styles. She’s incredible
It’s like a beautiful way of almost having a visual representation of History through fashion at those certain time periods
IMAGINE the looks she would create on today’s dolls!! 🥺😱🥴😭❤️ Mattel should offer her a chance to release a special line of designed dolls! Kinda like BMR1959