Dyed, Colored, and Repainted 35th Anniversary Barbie

A photo of Mattel's 35th Anniversary Barbie, released in 1993 or 1994, was taken before I dyed and colored the doll in 2017.

In the "Dyeing to be Black" 6-part series published in March 2017, I dyed and colored a 35th Anniversary brunette Barbie. The doll's hard plastic torso did not fully absorb the Jacquard iDye Poly brown dye, so I colored the torso with a colored pencil to match the doll's dyed vinyl head and limb color.

This photo illustrates the final result of the 2017 dyeing and coloring project.

Some 9-1/2 years later, after a recent mishap in the doll room caused several wall-stacked boxed dolls (mostly Barbies) to fall, with my dyed 35th Anniversary Barbie being one of the fallen, I discovered that the dyed head and limbs had faded to a much lighter brown, actually beige while the colored torso remained cocoa brown. So, I had to remedy this by painting the torso to match the limbs.

I took this photo in September 2026 after I discovered the doll's dyed head and extremities had faded.

I removed the doll from the box, removed the wrist tag, and took this photo. 

After undressing Barbie, the next three photos were taken:

I pulled her bangs away from her face and wrapped her ponytail into a bun before painting. Rubber bands held the bangs and ponytail in place. 

After rinsing the torso with water to remove as much of the colored pencil as possible, I took this close-up photo and the next full-view photo.

The following two photos were taken after painting Barbie with one layer of Apple Barrel Territorial Beige paint and placing her in an empty coffee mug to air-dry.

The paint closely matches the head and extremities. For full coverage, I applied several more coats.

The following photos were taken after the final coat of paint dried and before I attempted to seal with Mr. Super Clear Matte Finishing Spray. 

Final coat of paint, photo 1

Final coat of paint, photo 2

Sealing:

I could only seal the front of the torso before I ran out of Mr. Super Clear Matte Finishing Spray. After the front dried, the next day I used FolkArt water-based varnish satin finish. I prefer Mr. Super Clear because the finish isn't shiny. The FolkArt product adds a slight sheen.

The following two photos were taken after the sealant dried.

 

I redressed her, took a complexion comparison photo, and returned Barbie to the box as illustrated in the last three photos.

Reattached to the box liner

The 35th Anniversary Barbie's complexion falls between the complexions of redressed Barbie Fashionista 206 and the playline 60th Anniversary Barbie.

And here she is... now a near even color.

Working on this doll off and on, this project took about two weeks to complete. 

__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and may not be used elsewhere without the author's permission.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published. To contact me directly, use the About page link, which is also visible in Web View mode; find and use the email link.

Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum (VBDM) for over 1000 curated installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind Black dolls, and now featuring profiles of Black-doll collectors, artists, and other Black-doll contributors. 

Contact the curator through the VBDM contact page to have your Black-doll collector or artist profile featured on the museum website for up to 30 days.

Elphaba at Shiz University

Elphaba at Shiz University from the musical film Wicked

My last doll purchase for September 2026 was a 12-inch green vinyl portrait doll of Cynthia Erivo's Wicked character, Elphaba. The school uniform drew me in, along with the doll's great price.

Details:

Dark brown/black long microbraids in a half-up, half-down style, with painted-on baby hair, painted green eyes, and green lipstick on closed lips. Elphaba has the usual five points of articulation with extra articulation at the elbows, wrists, and knees and wears a removable Shiz University school uniform.

Elphaba's outfit includes:

• Top: A gray and black button-up flannel cardigan with printed buttons featuring the Shiz University logo, with a light-blue asymmetrical high-collar mock shirt attached.

• Skirt: An asymmetrical, pleated gray skirt.

• Legwear: Black fishnet leggings.

• Footwear: Black boots with molded lace details. 

• Also includes a black faux-leather school bag and two textbooks.

Additional boxed photos:

Elphaba is presented in a Shiz University graphic-lined box. 

Headshots of the film's starring characters (Ariana Grande/Glinda and Cynthia Erivo/Elphaba) are on the lower box front.

The back of the box description reads: Dean of Sorcery Studies at Shiz University, Madame Morrible mentors and enlightens her students, like Elphaba and Glinda, to discover their full potential.
 

Close-up of the back of the box and text

Unboxed photos:

Elphaba captures Cynthia Erivo's likeness superbly.

She wears a school bag across her body and holds two vinyl books wrapped in green vinyl ribbon.

A wrinkle formed on the back of her skirt from its former snug box attachment.

This last photo illustrates her half-up, half-down microbraided hairstyle, which was very well done.

Overall, I like this doll more than I imagined, and I'm glad she found me by way of another collector's photos. 

__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and may not be used elsewhere without the author's permission.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published. To contact me directly, use the About page link, which is also visible in Web View mode; find and use the email link.

Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum (VBDM) for over 1000 curated installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind Black dolls, and now featuring profiles of Black-doll collectors, artists, and other Black-doll contributors. 

Contact the curator through the VBDM contact page to have your Black-doll collector or artist profile featured on the museum website for up to 30 days.

Black Nurse Dolls

Linda Strodtman and Laura Noon's article, "Black Nurse Dolls Part 1," in the Fall 2026 issue of UFDC's Doll News focuses on the historical Black nurse doll and includes three Harriet Tubman dolls from Dee Bee Gee's Virtual Black Doll Museum.

The article includes a photograph of Harriet Tubman's tombstone at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York. The front of the tombstone reads:

To The Memory Of

HARRIET TUBMAN DAVIS

Heroine of the Underground Railroad.

Nurse and Scout in the Civil War:

Born about 1820 in Maryland.

Died March 10, 1913 at Auburn, N.Y.

"Servant of God, Well Done"

Erected by the

Empire State Federation of Womens Clubs

July 5, 1937

The doll pictured in the table of contents represents Mary Eliza Mahoney (1845–1926), the first African American to earn a professional nursing license and graduate from an American nursing school. 

Part 2 of the article will focus on the Black Nurse play doll. __________

All photos and text are copyrighted and may not be used elsewhere without the author's permission.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published. To contact me directly, use the About page link, which is also visible in Web View mode; find and use the email link.

Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum (VBDM) for over 1000 curated installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind Black dolls, and now featuring profiles of Black-doll collectors, artists, and other Black-doll contributors. 

Contact the curator through the VBDM contact page to have your Black-doll collector or artist profile featured on the museum website for up to 30 days.