It all started when Ruth Handler noticed her daughter Barbara playing with paper dolls and imagining them in grown up roles. At the time, the dolls in the market were all baby dolls and the need for a doll role-model that would inspire little girls to think how they wanted to be when they grew up emerged. Ruth Handler took her idea to the executives at the Mattel Company who at the beginning refused to produce this female adult doll thinking that it would be a very expensive product with little market appeal. After a trip to Europe and a model doll ready to its wardrobe, Mattel Company decided to debuted Barbie in 1959.

Today, Barbie Millicent Roberts, famously known as Barbie, has come a long way from that fashion doll who debuted in 1959. She has sisters, a boyfriend, has had more than 80 careers and represents nearly 100 different nationalities. However, collectors prize the original Barbie and her 50s wardrobe above all else. Barbie and her clothing are one of the most popular collectibles in the world today, and a mint-condition original Barbie can sell as high as $10,000. Isn't time you checked the attic or the basement for your old Barbie treasures? They could be more valuable than you think, and even if they are not, they will bring back lots of memories!