Barbie will be 60 next year!

BARBIE is one of the oldest girls’ toy brands in existence and, unlike most toys, only seems to get stronger over time.

Barbie first appeared in 1959 at the New York Toy Fair and has been a major fashion icon ever since.

“Over the past couple of years, the Barbie brand has grown beyond our wildest imagination. “Barbie is still the number one doll brand worldwide, and the number one toy property, with a 99% brand awareness, but since the advent of the digital world, she has become a global fashion celebrity, with over 14.4 million Facebook fans, 4 million active website users, 3.2 million YouTube subscribers, 1.9 million Instagram followers, and 268 000 Twitter followers,” said Lezelle Brits, managing director at Blue Horizon Licensing, the licensing agents for Mattel Incorporated, the company who owns the brand.

Blue Horizon will be adding to the juggernaut that is the Barbie brand this winter with a number of fashion items aimed at girls from 3 to 14 years old.

One is a range of Barbie T-shirts for the older girls that feature cool designs and inspirational messages available at Ackermans for between R59.95 and R79.95.

Complete the look with a Barbie digital watch from Toy Kingdom, Hamley’s, CNA and Toys R Us, and Barbie nail polish and lip gloss from Jet and Jetmart stores, priced at R69.95 and R24.99, respectively.

If you’re an aspiring stylist, check out the Barbie Styling Head, which allows girls to experiment with different hairstyles without risk to their own hair. Available at various toy stores, including Toys R Us, Toy Kingdom and Toyzone, for R599.95.

If the winter blues get kids down, you can now fix it with a little retail therapy and a whole lot of Barbie.