Break the Bank

Every Christmas I make a point of getting my girlfriend's daughter a collectors edition Barbie of some sort.  Last year was Pirate Barbie (modeled on the Jack Sparrow character from Pirates of the Caribbean) and the year before was Fay Wray Barbie complete with giant King Kong paw.  This however, was the bank-breaker....a 50th Anniversary Golden Legacy Barbie designed by Bob Mackie.  I won't tell you how much scratch I threw down for it , but thus far everyone's reaction (due to the price tag and the doll itself) has pretty much been the same: "Holy Shit!"

Make all the arguments you want about Barbie being a bad influence on young girls, with her "perfect" body, excessive chest size, and a dress size in the negative number range, but at least she doesn't (or rather, Mattel doesn't) go out of her way to exude an air of rebellion....unlike those idiotic, whoreish, and (overly) anatomically incorrect Bratz dolls.  Then there's those American Girls dolls...pseudo-christian conservatism wrapped up in an expressionless, wannbe vintage porcelain doll lookalike package that is devoid of any and all emotion and personality.  Might as well call them Lobotomy Girls.

Photo by Phillipthe2 using Canon A2000IS 10.0MP