Throwback Thursday: Spiegel-Exclusive Shopping Chic Barbie

This one takes me far back in the day to my doll collecting infancy.  In 1996, the year this doll was advertised in Spiegel catalog, Barbie was of very little interest to me.  Give me a baby doll, a doll from the 1950s and prior, or maybe a 1960s mint in box or never removed from box play line doll instead.

But when I saw the limited edition Spiegel Shopping Chic Barbie in one of their catalogs, I had to order.  I loved her elegance and her fashion (not that I would have ever worn something like it, but on her it looked stunning).

Her coordinating animal print faux fur purse matches her tam and the trim of her black satin coat, which is embellished with a rhinestone-studded gold tone belt buckle.  Gold drop earrings accent her shimmery gold dress.  She wears black sheer hose and, because the seal on the box has never been opened, I have never actually seen her shoes or doll stand.

Her properly scaled black poodle is a perfect companion.  Back then, I could just imagine Barbie dressed to the nines taking her trusty companion on a gold tone leash-controlled walk.

I recall an afternoon at my mother's house shortly after I had purchased this doll.  Mama had seen it advertised in a Spiegel catalog and was probably attempting to pick my brain to see if she could buy it for me, provided I liked it and didn't already own it.

Mama:  Do you have this doll (all excited as she flipped to the page in the catalog)?

Me:  Yes, I have it.

Mama:  Aw shucks.  

The inside of Shopping Chic's box reads:

Style to stroll in!
Barbie looks her
fashionable best
in her new outfit!
With head-to-toe
matching accessories,
she and her
pretty poodle
are turning heads
everywhere they go!

Store-exclusive, Spiegel Shopping Chic Barbie-with-the-Asha face has a box year of 1995.  The doll was also available as a blonde.


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