The Doll Community, Celebrity Barbies and Convention Sales

This transcript was generated from the episode captions and lightly edited for readability. Names and product terms may occasionally be imperfect. Quoted dollar amounts retain the wording of the interview; the currency is not always specified.

0:00Hello dolls and accessories. I'm your host Kelly and this is Barbie Talk. Barbie Talk with Kelly in Pink. Today's guest brings so much positivity and support to the doll community. Vtor loves Barbie, as she's known on Instagram, creates content that's filled with beautiful dolls, incredible fashions, and collector gems. But what stands out the most is how much love she has for the Barbie community. Whether she's spotlighting other creators or cheering on fellow collectors, she's helped make Instagram feel a little more connected. Please welcome Voura. Hi Voura. Welcome to Barbie Talk. Hi Kelly. It's so nice to have you on the show. I'm so excited and a little nervous.

0:47No need to be nervous. You and I have been chatting for months now. I would say like over two months. Yes. and we've been getting to know each other and you're just a sweetheart and I can't wait for everybody to get to know you a little bit. I love your background. Love the sign. Very well done. Thank you so much. My husband helped me fix that sign because it broke and he had to like wire it again [laughter] and fix it. He fixed it just in time for Barbie Talk. So kudos to your husband. [laughter] [gasps] Tell me a little bit about yourself, where you're from, and how your relationship with Barbie started. Okay. Well, I'm actually from Huntington, West Virginia. So, not a lot of people in West Virginia. I've not seen very many on uh you know, on Instagram at all hardly. Um it's a small town, so a lot of people know of it because of the movie We Are Marshall, Marshall University, the plane crash that happened in the 70s. So, yeah, we're a small little town.

1:43And um well, I became I I was obsessed with Barbie even as a child, like two, three years old. So like whenever there was would be a time for the my parents or anyone would ask like what do you want? What would be your gift? Barbie and my mom finally got to the point she was like honey don't you want some kind of other toy? No Barbie. [laughter] So I always knew what it was because of the rectangular shape. So when I would go get the gift, I knew I got a Barbie [laughter] because of the box, the way the box was shaped. So wow. It sounds like your relationship with Barbie started when you were pretty young. Yes. What was your first Barbie? My very first Barbie? Oh, I believe if I'm not mistaken, because I had handme-downs from cousins. So, I was born in the late '7s. It's going to give my age here. [laughter] Um, so we're the Gen X or Exennials, whatever one they want to go with. So, it was a superstar Barbie was my like when I was two or three. Like my first purchased Barbie as a gift was I think the earliest that I could remember probably was I want to say peaches and cream and I know that is a cliche for everyone but it is a very special Barbie for me because my mother made sure I got that because we were raised poor and back then it was hard to get things and

3:04u my cousins always had more Barbies than me. Of course I got their handme-downs. I took them but she made sure she got that Barbie for me. And uh one of my other ones was the PJ Sweet Roses, which I saw you just got. Yes. Is that the one that was in box? No, this I got this from the dollhouse first, Javanni. So, and I did a doll swap. So, this would have technically been my first PJ and then in that mystery box there was a boxed one. So, she's just gorgeous. She's I have two as well. I have one in box and one She's They're right there. I can get them. I see her. I see her. Do you have one of your first dolls there? Do you actually have your original dolls or I have none of my original dolls. So what happened is is that the old place that I lived in it not burned down but kind of collapsed because no one was living in it because we own more than one area of land where I am from and I did not get to get those. And you know what too this I have an interesting story.

4:01So when I was younger I played with Barbie. Now you have to understand I played with Barbie until I was 19 years old. I know that sounds crazy, but growing up back then, it was more acceptable. And even as a teenager, I didn't care if my friends knew, you know, hey, yeah, I'll play with Barbie. I went to my cousin's house. We lived right across from each other. Loved to go and bring our Barbies and play. So, my dad, he worked for Pilgrim Glass, which is handmade glass. He worked for a guy that was from Italy, and he taught him how to hand blown the glass, which is an art. So, um, dad was in a few books and things like that and he was kind of popular and the guy from Italy, uh, which, you know, it's a loss art. Think Mexico and maybe one other place in the United States is the only ones that do it. Anyway, his daughters were kids when they were in the 60s, right? I had a number one. Okay, I had a number one. So, what happened was I had more than one because they were rich. So, they had the playset, they had the Suzie Goose, the whole everything.

5:05All of it. Okay. And I got a dollhouse with it. The dollhouse wasn't a Barbie dollhouse, but it was a dollhouse that someone had made for the Barbies. And my dad put it up in storage. And I have begged him for like the last 5 years, can we go get it? But my mom passed away in January of 2023. And he's still grieving and he's not ready. But I don't even know the condition of what they would even be like. But that is interesting that I did have one. I was about 17, 18 years old and I wasn't playing with the Barbies as much and he was afraid that something would happen to him. He's like, I'm going to put them up and he did. And that is one thing that I really wish that I would have just not let him take them and put them away and I would have just brought them with me. You know what? You didn't know that then, right? Like look, we we reflect on a lot of things in life and there's nothing we can do. I can just imagine when the time comes, when your dad is ready, that's going to be quite the adventure and the treats to see what's there. Even if it's not in great condition, that would be amazing. Well, when you find that, please document it cuz I'm sure everybody would love that. I would love that. I would love that. And I know there's some more Barbies in our other house that I grew up in as well. That was my grandmother's house and they bought it and he's not ready for me to go in there either. There's so much stuff that I had. So, I don't have any of my original. So that's another venture that I went into is wanting to collect and acquire those dolls because it also brought me closer to my mom, you know, but I started in

6:27COVID because of my froggy stuff and I I was working from home during CO and that's where I started my oh well this is okay to do this, you know, I can do this too. How is it any different, Kelly, than men playing video games? Ours is just 3D, you know. It's not any different. I say that all the time. [laughter] You know, whether you like to collect car figurines or records, like even though it's music, it doesn't matter. It's still a collection of some sort. Now, you've got a lot of dolls behind you. None of them obviously are not your originals. So, it looks like you've repurchased over the years. All of these Barbie and the Rockers, they're original. [clears throat] They were in box. This daughter of this lady, her mother had died and she had died like almost around the same time my mother died. And I found her on eBay and she was just broken. She was broken as well and she was heartbroken about it and she knew what they were worth and I said, you know, can you help me get these? She let me have all of them. Two different boxes because it was a lot of them. Uh because I had other 80s in it, too. And this was back in 2023. I think I only paid $100 for all of it. For all of it, both boxes. These are not repros.

7:40These are from the original. And also where she came out of the box here. I don't know if you can see her um the stuff that she's made of. They're not even really flaking. No, I was gonna say look at her skirt. This is the original skirt. Look at it. That's why I wanted to get closer. Oh, wow. That's in good condition. I just took her right out of the box and I put her on the stand and I've only photographed her a few times because I am worried about the touch. But even but even the curly permed hair looks great. Yeah, touch her. I know a lot of times people um fix them up but I was like I am not touching her hair is perfect like perfect and then this was my favorite was Dana. Dana I always love Dana. She was my favorite because back then they didn't have very much different ethnicities to look at, you know, and so she's original out of the box. Yeah, I do too.

8:30I love her. And her jacket I think fa uh flakes too, but no. Yeah, but look at it. Looking good. Yeah. Like you can kind of see even the shimmer in the jacket still. Yes. And I don't touch them very much. [laughter] I ended up getting Dana later on at the Barbie convention last year. I actually got to meet Beth. And one of my first friends on Instagram was Betty. I know almost every video somebody's mentioned Betty, Desert Barbie girl. I think she was the first cheerleader of our Instagram and she just like took me in and then we just both just started sharing each other's post, supporting each other and we have supported each other ever since. Like there's not a post that we don't try to share for each other. Um and then I met Chrissy from Mountain Barbie Girl and House of Fresh Dolls. It's like my bestie. [laughter] And then so gosh, there's so many. I got to meet Beth at the doll show too. So, um, we were going to do a photo shoot and we didn't have time. So, what there's a funny story about that, too. I'll have to tell you what happened. I didn't get to go to the convention, but I got to go to the doll show to the to the sales room. So, what happened was is I got a email and Betty told me, she told me, she's like, "You got to look at your email. You got to catch your email because you might get in." I really didn't think I was going to get in. I was like, "There's no way. There's like so many people ahead of me, right?" So, I was looking at it and I

9:55I even texted her. And I said, "I got in, but it was February." And I looked at the date wrong and I didn't check it in time or I would have got a ticket and I would have been able to go because, you know, once you get in, you get in for the next coming years. So, it was in Louisville, I think Louisville, Kentucky. And we drove there. It only took like 3 hours cuz that's only about 3 hours from where I live. So, Kentucky is right on the border where I live and Ohio. So, I was able to drive there and I got to meet Betty in person. I got to meet Beth. Oh, and Psycho Dolls. She's a great friend on Instagram. I got to meet her in person. I don't know if you know Raina Barbie. She's the one that does the Barbie like tells everything that's going on. Barbie trend. I got to meet her. There's so many on Instagram that I want to shout out to to say, "Hey, love you guys. They're my pals." you know, because that is one thing that I love to do is to share people's posts because I think that if we don't share their post, you can tell they put in so much work into it. And sometimes it's so artistic and they make their own things and just, you know, or even digitally do it like um Barbie binge, right? I can't believe how she does her pictures. So, I'm like, I got to share this. Other people have to see this. And there are people that are not on your Instagram or don't follow you, but they've seen posts just like she said.

11:12They'll come in my DMs and say, "Oh my gosh, this doll or this. I've been looking for this, too." Same thing. Same thing. So, we're sharing art in a way because doll photography is a form of art. And so, I want to share that with everyone. I want to like be a cheerleader for everyone. I share people's stuff that I've never met. If I like your post and it's a great picture, I'm going to share it. And I've be been able to become friends with people that way. Yeah. Yeah. And you know what I do have to say, that's one of the things I was going to mention is that you're just so supportive of other collectors and other creators. There's a lot of accounts that I now follow that I would have never known about if I didn't see you share. And when I say sharing, you [laughter] are sharing on your stories more than making your own content. So that just goes to show first of all the personality of the character that you are. And you've kind of explained just why it's so important to you, which is just, you know, supporting one another, uh, meeting more people, connecting community. Clearly, that's very important to you. And that's something that stood out to me about your content is you've got your content, but majority of the time you're really spotlighting and celebrating other people's work. And I think you said it beautifully that doll photography is also art, which is a very beautiful way to kind of describe it. What would you say is your favorite doll to shoot? What era do you like to photograph and make content on? So 80s ones are probably my favorite because you know I was born in the late 70s so I do have that 70s dolls that I love too and I love the superstar. She's expensive. I was given

12:38a superstar as a gift. A superstar like she's full like she's almost immaculate. I got I got her as a gift. Like she's expensive. I have I do have her cuz right here I just recently got this little Oh, that's so sweet. It opens up to like a little photo shoot. I can open it up if you want me to. Yes, I'd love to see this. I've never seen this before. I didn't I've never saw it either, but where I was looking for another superstar to see if I could just possibly get one, right? Yeah. Yeah. It's not complete cuz I think it did come with like a few things. You know what? It's hard to find things that are old or complete, but it's almost I mean, piece them piece them together. You know, it's so big. I don't know if you can get it on camera. Oh, I can. Yes. It's just Look at that. That is adorable. And it's like a little photo thing. And then like you turn it certain way, you can do a different picture. Oh, I see. And then you do it this way. It's your closet here.

13:33Bring that a little closer to the closet. Let's see that one. Oh, wow. Isn't it so cute? And then it does There's a vanity. Yeah, it looks like a little vanity. [laughter] There's more things to it. There's just And it has like little kind of like Pink and Pretty has the I have the rare one where it come with the set. Oh, sweet. So, I have two of her. She's one of my favorites, too, as a kid. Pink and Pretty. Are we talking? Pink and Pretty. Yes. Recently got her this beauty. Did you? Oh, yeah. She's beautiful. And you know, see, look at these. These two are the same year. I can't remember if one's from a different country or not, cuz you know, that does matter, but they're different. So, so I wonder which one you have. So, I want to see your doll. Put it Put it closer so I can see. [gasps and sighs] Okay. So, she probably looks more like this one, maybe.

14:23Is that her? Cuz they're see her hair. Yeah, she's I think she's more like her. Your camera is lighter than mine, but she they look the same. There we go. It's in focus now. So, yeah, I would probably say mine's missing the necklace, but she wasn't complete. But even still, like she's just Then here's the different one. The one that was the rare that came with all the stuff. And she's darker. She is darker. She doesn't look it on camera very much, but she is. And she's different looking. Like the faces on them are different. Hold on. I'm actually starting to think. No, maybe you're wrong. No, maybe you got the m Maybe cuz mine does look like she's got a tan. She doesn't have any earrings though either. Yeah, some of them have a tan. That's the This one too cuz she's more of a peachy color. Mine though. She looks darker on camera, but she's really tan. Like if you looked at her. Would it not say on her back? Yes, it probably should.

15:16It should say it. And I can't see mine. Taiwan. Taiwan. I think one is Taiwan and one is um maybe Malaysia. Maybe or China. I'm I'm pretty sure. But see, she has sunglasses where the other one didn't and has the extra stuff. I might have an extra necklace. If I do, I'll send it your way. Oh. Oh, I know. I have some minis that I need to send you that I was working on. We'll save it for future packages. I'm sure we'll be sending each other some more. Oh, definitely. Definitely, definitely. I love your videos because um especially with um Barbie binge and where you did the live with Beth because it does show what is out there for people cuz even though I'm in the United States and I know you say, "Oh, Canada doesn't get this." Well, we don't have a Savers, our Goodwill does not put dolls out. None of them ever. [clears throat] They put them online. They won't let you have them. So the only place I can get dolls like occasionally I might find them at an antique store if someone hasn't got them which there's not that many collectors here where I live or flea markets stuff like that. So the most of my collection is eBay and which can be very expensive. It can be and like Poshmark and stuff can be expensive too. Sometimes I've been I've bought a few things on Poshmark. Now what's bad though is I like what not but it's like gambling. [laughter] So, I don't allow myself to get I've gotten some pretty good hauls on there. Actually, I was able to get which

16:39I have her right here. Hold on. Let's see. And I didn't have her before cuz I do have Crystal Barbie. But I need a Crystal Barbie. That's what I Do you really? If I ever find one, I'll, you know, I'll send it. I have her shoes in this little pack. And you got her AA. Oh, she's Uhhuh. So, my Crystal Barbie is back here. She's behind. See her right there? Can you see her? I It's okay. We've got the AA. It's okay. She's Do a closeup of this be. I couldn't believe [laughter] I got her. So, I only have like a matter of only one, two, three. I have three AAs. That's all I have cuz they're so expensive. They're hard to get. They They're hard to get. And I got her for only 30 bucks. She's complete. Her necklace is in here. It even comes with the necklace that you have. I remember having it. Let me show you this cuz I had this when I was little. I would wear this necklace. [laughter] I loved this so much when I was little. It just everything looks so nice on the AA skin, you know, like the colors. Beautiful. Beautiful. Yeah. It was a little necklace. I don't know if you can see it. It's a crystal Barbie necklace. I've never seen this before. Yeah. Which I have the one for her, but I think I put her I think I put it up. But I have this one just right here.

17:52Something fell. It's okay. Girl, you're going to have to clean up your room after. I'm sorry. Oh, I will. You said, "Girl, this is what helped me clean my room." It's like an ongoing funny thing on Instagram. I've actually shared many times. Like, I've showed my mess. I've got so many likes cuz people were so like relatable with it. And I have not cleaned my room in so long. I'm glad this helped me to get [laughter] in my room. I'm glad that Barbie talk motivated you to do that. It did motivate me because, you know, I have health issues and that's another reason why I don't post as many. I was posting like three to five times a day. I mean, a week. So now I once, twice, three times a month maybe, you know. So, and how do you find that Barbie helps dealing with some of the health challenges that you have? If I didn't have Barbie, [laughter and clears throat] it's therapeutical for me. For sure. For sure. 1,000%. That's another thing about sharing people's posts, just to see what they have and what they're doing, how their mindset is, their artistic view of a doll. You can have that same doll take the picture and then they do something completely different and you're like, "Wow." It's amazing. So, that's another thing why I tag people. Also was I'm actually been friends with your friend '8s Barbie girl. Love her. She's amazing. I asked her, you know, a couple things that I had an idea on that she had done and I said, "Do you care if I piggyback off you?" And I said, "Of course I will tag you. I'm going to give you credit." So,

19:15I haven't done it yet, but she said, "Honey, of course." She's amazing. A lot of people don't do that, though. They just steal your idea. That's happened to me. It's happened to me. So, a couple times and like I'll go and I'll be like that is exactly what I just done. [laughter and gasps] But that's okay. It is nice to have that as you know it's flattering but at the same time if you don't credit someone that you saw the idea from it is an artistic thing. So I try to do that too. So I'd like to be able to shout out to people. Just call me Instagram's biggest cheerleader. That's what I am for everybody. Oh my god. That's the tag I'm going to give you. We got to trademark that. That's exactly what you are. And I [laughter] love that. Yeah. What I really like about you is you have such a bubbly personality. You're very friendly. So, if I had asked you which one of your dolls best describes your personality, like when you look at her, which one would it be? H, you [clears throat] would think it would probably be an 80s doll, but I actually think it might be a '90s doll. I also love '9s. Like I said, I played with Barbies even up till in the '9s. I was in high school. I graduated in 96. I actually have a doll I want to show you as well that she's my last Barbie I ever bought. She's my last part. She's not special. She's so cheap on eBay that she's special to me. And she Oh, she's actually the doll I actually have. She is the one. So, she's the only one I have from my childhood. [gasps] Cool times [ __ ] I love Cool. I didn't get her again.

20:38God, I need Cool Times Mitch. You need her. I love her. No, I got Barbie. Oh my gosh, that Barbie. She does. Isn't she be you would not believe about the story about this too? So I have been looking for her for literally ever since I started collecting again, right? So I'm the kind where, you know, I'm on a budget and I will look and look and look until I get the price I want to pay. I say this all the time on Instagram and it's true. She's like what 50 to 100 or more. So I put in an offer for her for $40 and the girl gave me credit back $23. [laughter] because there was something wrong with the box or something. Let's see the back of the box. So, are you predominantly a box collector or like you're not? You like to get a box and open it though. I opened my dolls. I open them. I mean, I recently just opened Peaches and Cream. I had her in box and I opened her. But it was like a surreal thing for me because, you know, that was one of the most special dolls that my mom had made sure that I had as a child. And then I bought two of the Sweet Roses PJ. So, I have one out of box and one inbox. So, she is one of the ones that is very special to me as well. Girl, you're living the dream. Everyone's dream is to have inbox and out of box, right? But Oh, yeah. I wish I could have an I have some um Niches and Freedom. I found her at a a flea market. She's

22:04not complete, but the other one is. The other one is, of course. But look at her. She's so pretty. I found three more. I put one on a made to move body on the petite. I love the petite bodies because I don't know if you know this, they can fit some Skipper clothes and they can fit Rainbow High clothes. Some of the Rainbow High clothes. Oh. Oh, okay. I didn't know about the Rainbow High. I'm not a Rainbow High collector, but I didn't know that. That makes sense that it would fit Rainbow Skipper. That would So, a lot of people don't like the petite bodies, but I like it for that reason. Especially when you're rebotting like a Skipper face. I do have a favorite Skipper that's probably from the early 2000s. I don't really know when she's from if you want me to show her. Skipper is so I love Skipper. I'll show you her face. Oh my goodness. She's got blonde. Look at the blonde in her hair. Is this a recent purchase? No. I got her at a flea market. Her body was messed up. And see why I like the petite body. Look at the Look. And this outfit is Rainbow High. [gasps] I love those leggings. And the And this came with the outfit. Yeah, cuz it's got the leggings I got off like Timu. [gasps] And it came with the little socks. You see? She's so cute. I found the beret at flea market. I put this whole outfit together. [laughter] But look at her face and her like beautiful like she has the blonde in her hair. She looks almost like late teens, like early adults. Like she's starting to look a little bit more mature. I love the way you

23:26kind of set this up. I like it. I do too. I like her so much. She's one of the first ones that I rebodied. I love doing that, too. So, I actually got that idea too from my Froggy stuff, but also from Barbie Nation. So, and I got into collecting the Fashion Avenue outfits because of him. He had so many. He's always showings, you know, on his videos. And I have a lot of them. [laughter] Okay, so hold on. If you're going to talk Fashion Avenue, Fashion Avenue was my fave as a kid. I bet it was. They were not They weren't even at the time. They were a little bit more expensive. My dad would say, "I'll get you a doll for this price. You just want the clothes? Like, I'll just doll." So, I love Fashion Avenue and I do love watching Barbie Nation stuff. Do you have any fashion avenues there that are your favorite that's on a doll? I really love the fashion avenues that went with Kelly as the little sisters. So, I do have some because my my Barbie and Kelly ones like the Barbie [laughter] actually showed this on my live with Beth and I found it on Facebook Marketplace and I'd never seen Oh, I saw it. Yeah. This We've seen the Barbie and Kelly sets. We've seen the Barbie. We've seen Holiday Sisters. They have the three-pack sets that come with Barbie Skipper and Kelly and Stacy. Even like the holiday one of them. I've never seen a fashion pack like this. I've never My favorite part is the little uh movie popcorn. This is so adorable. Is that actual plastic? It's paper. I think it's paper. It's still so cute. It's just drinks. I

24:50just have never seen a fashion pack. Are you going to open that? One. I'm thinking about it. Oh, and it even comes with Sorry, a popcorn bags for like yourself. Uh-uh. I didn't see that before. Oh my gosh, I love that. Oh, that would be so cute if you opened it and then and then did like a movie scene with it. That would be adorable. So, show me what you've got there. So, this is a Fashion Avenue with the Kelly. Is it like a little ballerina kind of? No, it's just a little pink dress. Little pink dress. This is another uh of course peaches and cream. And she comes with a purse. And Barbie's purse is somewhere. Like I said, the whole unit fell. But the dress is just oh my gosh. And then it matches her [gasps] with her hair, her like strawberry blonde hair. I thought they looked kind of cute together, like it would be her little sister.

25:40But I always played with Kelly as the daughter. [laughter] Yes. Yes, I always did. So, let me put that down. And then this one is one of This one's probably my second favorite one. And it comes with a little purse for Kelly, too. So cute. God, [snorts] these Fashion Avenues, they just don't make them like that. They don't. Mattel, bring back Fashion Avenue. Like that's what I was going to say. So everybody, you know, I I was thinking because we we had to vote and I I voted for the pink and pretty. Is that what how it's called? I forget. But you know what? I think I want some '9s reproduction. I want some '90s reproduction. And if they could bring back the fashion avenue as a reproduction. Are you hearing us, Mattel? Yeah, I'll lay some money down for that. I'm loving I also do love the modern day fashion, but I also do miss a little bit of that Barbie core 90s. Even if it's like a ridiculous pink gown or like a pink blazer, anything like that, that's Barbie. Like it can be a little ridiculous. It doesn't have to be modern and realistic. I kind of miss it. Doesn't We want that. We We want that. The stuff that's on the back of these boxes. Sorry. I'm going to try to Oh, I want to see that. I didn't see that earlier. This is on the back. Even like this little outfit here. Oh, so cute. Even if some of them I have some of those Fashion Avenue outfits.

26:53Not all of them, but some of them. And you know what? Some of them are just you can't find them anymore. You can't. And there's some that's just so outrageous. This one's expensive now. I think I did put her in panty hose. But here is I do have this one. Thank god. Do you really? Oh my gosh. How cute. And she comes I love these. I used to wear these little socks when I was little. Yeah. The little lace at the bottom. Look how cute it matches. She has a purse that matches. Is that Is that Little Debbie? I think she is. I got her at Goodwill, not Goodwill, flea market. Isn't she cute like this? She's cute. I just think she has a cute face because of the brown hair, the little the little '9s bangs, you know? Look at this. This is something that I don't think I would wear. It's very share from like Clueless or something. I so would wear that. If I was back to my size, I would wear that. [laughter] Oh goodness. But it's very I feel like that's perfect for Barbie. It is perfect for Barbie. So, you wanted the one that that I think maybe is more my personality. So, there's probably two. One, my other side that you guys probably don't even know. And then this one I love vintage. I am like 50s. I love 50s. I love not the rights people had. Okay. [laughter] But I love the decor, the simpler times, then, you know, the music, the shoes. I used to wear these kind

28:14of shoes. [gasps] I forget. They're called saddle shoes. I think I I wore these in the 80s and 90s. I would wear this. I really would. [laughter] She's one of them. But another one also same personality, but I love this doll. I would love to see this as a reproduction. She's the Oh my gosh, I can't remember her name. It's something lace. Denim and lace. Look at her hat. It's one of those like what is that show? Um Blossom. Blossom. I read your mind there. Yes, you did. Yes, you did. It's very Blossom. It is. And for people who are watching that don't know what Blossom is, just Google it. You got to Google it. Blossom was the show. It'll show our age. It'll show our age. But that's [laughter] I'm just I thought that was cool that you know her. But it actually comes with these leggings. I remember wearing leggings like this that cut off at the bottom too in the '9s. So, she's like my aesthetic, you know, cuz I love roses and I love, you know, lace. But my other side, my 90s side for when I was in high school and it took forever for me to get this doll. Okay, so first inbox. Aaliyah, were you a big Aaliyah fan? Oh my gosh, huge. I still have my Aaliyah one ina million CD.

29:28It's in my new car. I made sure that I got a CD player in my car in my newer car. I made sure I have that CD still. I still have it. I have a few other CDs of hers. So for years, my kids knew the songs because remember you couldn't get the songs. They weren't released. [snorts] So my kids knew who Aaliyah was. They knew her song. But I have her I put her on a made to move body in a fashion avenue. In a fashion avenue. So the fashion avenue comes with a little purse little thingy. This suits her. I thought so. I mean she was always edgy. She wore more of kind of guy baggy clothes, but I think that she was getting in her female side when before she passed away. Yeah. So, I think she would have definitely probably tried out some fashions. She was very young, so I guess she was mature. She was only 25 or something when she passed away. I cried when she passed away. I [laughter] can imagine. And I have um a doll here. This was my first re-root. I did it myself. So, I got this doll that I fashion. [laughter] [gasps] I love this. Isn't it not the cutest? The umbrella. Does that umbrella actually open? I've always wanted to open it. Oh, let's try it. Let's see. Because I didn't know if it opened and I didn't want to like break it cuz that would be like really cute cuz they've never had like umbrella that's like a Barbie scale. I think the other one over here I have another Fashion Avenue if you want me to show you. It does open. This one

30:48I don't think it does. It just has lace over it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. But I re-root. She was my first r-root. I made it long. I just, you know, I like it. And I kind of I don't know. I didn't know how to do the thatching, so I just did the middle part and gave her like a whoop bang there on the side. Nice. I think you did a great job for And this hair, I think, kind of looks like the cuz she's a superstar, of course, right? From early '8s doll. I don't really know which Barbie she is. She might be a pink and pretty. We need 80s Barbie girl on here. She can identify lick. She's amazing at that. Yeah. I wonder if she could tell us if we Yeah. So, [clears throat] Nancy, leave a comment. Let us know what Let us know. I just love the raincoat and the hat that matches the umbrella. So cute. So so 90s. And then I have my mini hair. Oo, let's see. I went to the I went to the doll convention, of course. [gasps] And a few of them, the people that I met, you know, some of them I didn't really know from Instagram, but they like they don't look like you. And I had the hardest time trying to find one that looks like me. And then on Instagram, I shared a post of my face. And then um I shared another doll later on. and they said, "You look more like this doll." So, this is my mini me and I'm going to show you the doll they say on Instagram looks more like me. And you know what? I need help. Let's help Va. I'm always out here sharing everybody stuff and helping

32:08everyone. Help me find a mini me for me. You know, I don't know what [laughter] looks like me, but this is the closest that I can, you know, I think that looks like you. But they said that this doll actually looked more I mean I don't think my mini looks 100% like me. It's the closest you can find. Right. Right. I saw your mini me. Yeah. It's the closest you can find. They said this doll which she's the Snow White. Yeah. I can I can kind of see if we could just merge these. [laughter] Okay. So let's let's have a vote. So guys, let us know. Do you guys think the one on the left or the one on the right looks more like Victoria? The snow white and the light baby blue or the dark blue dress? So leave a comment below and let her know because she needs help. We got to get her a proper mini me, right? So, if this one does, I'm going to get another one and put her on a me to move body, I think, because I do have big lips and she has real voluupuous lips lips. But then I do have kind of like almond shaped eyes. I do. Yeah. So, that's why this one. And I think does this Snow White have brown eyes? I think she does, but I can't tell cuz I do have brown eyes. They're not dark dark, but they're pretty dark. So, yeah. I [laughter] don't know. We'll see. Let us know, guys. Let us know which one. If Mattel walked into your room today, and I know you talked earlier about we need to do some '90s repro, which doll or dolls would you say they should repro? And

33:30if you have any, please show them. I think the '9s. I think we've gotten a lot of, you know, all the other vintage eras ones. Do you really know of one that they have done? They need to get the '9s out for us. They have totally hair. Yes. Yes. Yes. So, she's only one I can think of. Yeah. because she was the bestselling doll, but like she was somebody in Oh, I I don't want to not quote this properly. Somebody in one of the episodes said like, "If we were to do a repro on like a jewel hair mermaid, but instead of it being the gold or the blue or the purple, why don't we bring a Christy and she's wearing like a silver?" Like, let's change it up. Let's bring something new, a spin on kind of like what they did with Day to Night. Well, I do have a big collection of celebrity Barbies, too. So, here's Elvis. Wasn't he handsome? So happy [laughter] with that little curl in the front. That little piece. Look. And it come with this little cutout. And I put it on them. You know what? Look at the detailing on his suit. There's like very nice. Wow. It's like a paisley design or something. Yeah. It's kind of like a a fake silk material. I love it. He's very nice. And he even has the ring. A It's [laughter] a big ring. Yeah. He's It looks like he's wearing cowboy boots. And then here she is in her dress. She is one of the prettiest Barbies like in the face cuz I always thought Priscilla was very beautiful. Um, but [clears throat] here she is. She definitely is very Oh, wow. And that long black hair. Wow. Her makeup was very heavy, but

34:56that was the style then. Like she had like heavy eyeshadow on, but that Yes. He also wanted her to dress like that and change her hair. And but look at her dress though. It the train goes like this. It's really, really long. You know what? The box doesn't do the dress any justice cuz you don't It doesn't It's a It needs steamed. I need to steam it, but it's beautiful. She has such prettiest face. I want to show it one more time. Yeah. Come closer. Right there. Hold it. Steady. Look. Oh, wow. The camera just focused on it. Look at her face. And like that the eye shadow, the eyeliner, her lipstick. She had the dark lip liner and then her lips were lighter. They did a really, really good job on her face. They did. And she kind of looks like that. Yes, you definitely. [clears throat] And she's so pretty. I think Elvis looks like Elvis, too. Yes, I have a lot of Elvises. I My favorite one is the Hawaiian from that movie Blue Hawaii. Blue Hawaii is my favorite Elvis movie. [laughter] That's a good one. That is a good one. So, this is Rock Hudson and Dors Day. Oh, let's see. And Rock Hudson, he was a handsome feller. [laughter] But Oo, stunning. handsome man. Really, really well made, too, Mattel. They did so good on these celebrity dolls. I am excited to get to see what the new Marilyn will be. Mhm. That's right. The

36:20new Marilyn is coming out. But look at this Doris. She really kind of does look like her. And this is from Pillow [snorts] Talk, which is my favorite Doris Day movie. Look at those drop earrings. Yes, she's stunning. Like for real. She even has the hair up. Let's look at this. Yes. And this dress. Let's see this dress. Let's bring her up a little. Very gorgeous. I mean, and it's so well made. Like it's it's like thick. It's so pretty. Even her shoes have the little [gasps] like looks like the from that time, the ' 60s. Oh, she's just gorgeous. Now, I have a few of the Grease dolls. So, my husband fixed this to put a battery in it to make it do the sound, but it don't do it now again. So, I think because one of the batteries was an older one, but it would sing the song, but here's French. Know that these the music, it plays the song. It does. You know what? This pink I know it's from Greece, but it's very Barbieesque because it is.

37:22Is she I had to have her. I loved Beauty School Dropout. Oh, I love this really pretty doll and the suit and the the blazer with the pink colored shirt and the different tones of pink. I love it. Yeah, I do too. She's so pretty. She really does speak to me. I don't know if they ever made this, but maybe we can look it up and you can help me. I used to love Leverne and Shirley growing up, the old episodes. I would love a Lever and Shirley Barbie. So, you just you just reminded me of my dad because he love and Shirley. I just love I watched the old episodes with my mom. So, if they do not have a Barbie that are Leverne and Shirley, Mattel, if you're listening, please make [laughter] Lever and Shirley. That would be awesome. And here is the one where she's um the dad Sandy or whatever you call it. [laughter] And she has eyelashes. Look how pretty she is. I love this one because she's got the leather jacket and like the very tight outfit. Yeah. Now, I don't have her original shoes because I actually found her at the flea market just like this. But that's okay. Black shoes, it's fine. Like she's almost complete. Yeah. I think I only gave $10 for her and she's kind of expensive. Yeah, I know. That's a great price. Rest in peace, Olivia Newton John.

38:30Beautiful, right? I know, right? She It's so sad that she is gone. And then I have this one where she's You know what? I I can see why you like this one and why I'm a little attracted to this cuz it reminds you. It's the 50s poodle skirt with the paddle shoes again. So sweet. Now these shoes I think she came with just kids looking type shoes. But I found these extra ones and I was like, it just looks like it goes with it. Cuz like I said, I found her at the same time and I only gave like 10 bucks for her. And then my newest one. And they look like they took her out of the box and just sold her. But I got her for like less than that's like including shipping. Like 20 bucks. She's so cute. She is. She still had the plastic tags on her. This podcast is great, but it's also a problem because I'm starting to see some dolls that I'm like, [laughter] these are I mean, look at their face. I mean, it's just so pretty. Yeah. I did the same thing with your unboxing. You have some girls of mine that I want. So I'm like, oh, I'm so jello.

39:29But I'm happy. I I That's one thing I do love is when you see somebody get their grill or get a box of loves, all the dolls that's in there and you're and like a lot of people get so jealous. They really do. I'm just like it was really hard to film that because it was like the emotion. I was like I had to keep I can tell I almost cried when you almost cried, Kelly. You just need to let it out, girl. I I did. Sometimes we need to cry. I did on my own time, but I was like, "Okay, cut." Like I can't like this is just I know you've had some girlselie. I'm actually gonna probably watch it again because there's some that I forgot to put on my list that you have that you bought here. Like this one right here. Fabulous fur. There's a friend. It's Chrissy. She has been looking for that jacket. So, [laughter] I had fabulous fur Barbie. I don't know where I came across her. Maybe a flea market, a doll show, but it was just the doll and the blue jumpsuit.

40:16That's it. So, I was on the hunt for the belt and the jacket. And everyone's like, "Good luck. That jacket is so hard to find." And that is so amazing. It's sad that her sister had passed away because I had got a big lot of dolls too that had some grills of mine in it for she only sold them $20 a box and her mother had died and it was another another lady [clears throat] and she was in our my local area. So when we get those dolls that they had loved and cherished and collected, we are spreading the Barbie love and the essence and we're continuing on a path that can die if we don't continue this. It's going to die off. Yeah. Everything that you do is literally because you like to make other people feel good and share in your joy as well. So it makes me literally happy.

41:03It really does. I love to see someone else happy and just to show support because that means a lot, especially when you're new on Instagram. It can be really, really hard to get those likes, to get those followers. And I've had people thank me like, "Thank you so much for sharing this. I just got a bunch of new followers." And you know, I have a really good um amount of little people. You know how you can have like a little click of people in your little uh Instagram group? I am very blessed to have that. But I also have some mini side of like the mini side, the miniatures. Like I have some people on that side that I follow like um Marsha Minis. Then I have on the 80s side, I have Sherry's Retro Shop and Patricia Collects. She was one of my first friends on Instagram and really showed a lot of love and shares my post all the time and support and just like those are the people you want to get with. Those are the people you want to stay friends with and you know eventually one day you might get to meet them. Like I got to meet Betty and Beth and I would love to meet Chrissy one day. So [gasps] it's just, you know, it is like she said on her episode, it is about community. I think that is a big part especially for our generation. We want that community because that's where we came from. We came from having that community, you know, and it's very important. 100%. Did you end up getting into that doll show? You were saying you drove the

42:243 hours. So I did and you had to pay like a little fee when you go into the doll room, the doll sale room. And I think they only do it on Saturday. So I think it was only on that Saturday. I think we stayed Friday night. I got up really early. I was nervous wreck. I was just so nervous. And I was excited to just so overly excited. And where I saved money not having to pay for the actual convention. [laughter] I spent a little bit extra than I should have on the dolls, but I came home with a pretty good haul. And do you have anything there you can show that you got? So this is an actual purchase you made at convention. Yes. And fantastic. got a signing from Carol Spencer. So, I got to meet her. So, this doll is my only third AA, which is one of my favorite Barbies, too. I I have the original as well. This doll is my most played with doll of my childhood. Great shape Barbie was the one I took her outside. We did everything together. [laughter] I was just going to show you that I actually have her now. I wanted the African-American and it just so happened it was one of the dolls in Teresa's delivery. One of the I was going to say I saw that in the video like you made out. I was like ser seriously cheering for you and I saw your eyes tear up.

43:40I was like I had to stop recording a few times. Yeah. I said to myself if she cries I'm losing it. But great chip is actually one of my It wasn't my first. It was my sister's first. But because my sister kind of got asked me she's seven years older than I am. So she was like I don't care about this. So, I got her and I played with her and I lost her and I probably got thrown out. So, this is actually one that Nancy 80s Barbie girl. She gave this to me because she had a few extras and she knew that this was one of the first dolls I played with. So, she's very genuine, too. And she just has a big heart. You can tell. And she's so creative with all her 80s stuff. She's one of the ones that I think I go to for inspiration. I would say I would definitely You got to have her on the show. Don't you think? I've been wanting you to get her. I think I think you should. Nancy, if you're watching, please don't. We I would love to watch that. I will totally geek out over it.

44:31So, this is the Carol Spencer, of course, the box that I got. The reason I got her pretty cheap, but there's the There's Carol Spencer signature. What did she say? Barbie love. Barbie love. Isn't that funny? Because I go by with Ftora Love and I call my Instagram people that watch me Barbie loves. My Barbie loves. Four. Four loves. Barbie loves. Yeah. So sweet. Oh, Carol Spencer. And then she signed it again. I just noticed that. I didn't know she signed it right there, too. Signed it on the box, too. Poor thing. She was a sweetheart. She really She's such a sweetheart. I love that. She was. So, before we end the show, do you have anything there that's maybe like one of your grails or one of a kind or something you've always wanted to show us? Yes. Now, I found this off of Kada. She has an Instagram now, but she had a YouTube and she first got the doll. And I was like, "This is me in a doll. Like, this is me in a high-end doll, right? And she's a Silk Stone." And she, if you look her up, she is expensive. I put her on payments. I finally got her paid off. She was close to $400. I know people might judge, but I had her on payments. Okay, no judgment here on Barbie Talk or anything Kelly in Pink. There's no judgment. So, good. This is the first doll I ever spent that much money on. I'm sure there's lots of people, Victoria, who spent that or more. So,

45:53you're good. Look at Look at her. Oh my goodness. And [gasps] I don't know if you know, but I love pink roses. Like the light pink roses is my thing. And shabby chic is my thing. And she is just I mean she is made so amazing. I have a um thing on her face. Yeah, I don't blame you. Keep it. [laughter] Don't blame you. A lot of my silk stones I kept it too. And the hair on the face I kept it as well. Right. Now, I did take her out of the box. She's really easy to put back in there, but I do have her displayed right now, but when it gets to the fall and winter, I'm putting her up because she's white. Yeah. And I'm afraid of dust and things. But look at the inside of her coat. Look at this. It matches the dress. Oh, the detail and the gloves and the pearls. And then she has a purse. And the purse. My goodness. What shoes is she wearing? Like the regular like Yeah. Like this. But they're still so stunning. Sure reminds me of like something Dors Day would wear. Yes.

46:51And it's that era again, Vtora. It's that sort of like 50s60s inspired kind of vintage look. Oh my goodness. When you pull the jacket down, you know, the pencil the pencil type skirt. Mad men type of dress like, you know what I'm saying? Mad men 100%. I love her. She's just like I had to have her. I bought her for myself and I was I'm glad I did. I'm keeping the veil over her face. I'm just so afraid of getting her dirty. Thank you so much for showing that Grail of yours. She's absolutely stunning. Thank you for welcoming us into your home, into your Barbie space, which I know you worked really hard to get it all cleaned up for the episode. And you know what? I'm glad because I'm sure you can enjoy it now a little bit. It's a It was a bit of a I can I actually I want to thank you for that because I have been dreading it and now I can come in here now and I have a plan to to really make it even better. But I have a question for you, Kelly. So, I have been thinking about this. We've been talking and stuff and I'm just so interested in your collection as well and just like what made you love Barbie? So, I want to ask you, can we come back and I interview you? I don't know. What do we think? Maybe we should have some people comment and let us know like, do you want Victoria loves Barbie to interview Kelly in Pink? I think we need that. Yes, I think we need

48:12that. [laughter] Please vote everyone because I would definitely love and I noticed some of your interviews, you definitely you have so much to say. You're very knowledgeable and you're becoming um an expert yourself with all the different people you've got to talk to. So, you have some things probably that's edited out that we don't know. So, I want to know. That's very kind of you to say. I love this podcast. It's been so much fun. And the reason I did it was because I did want to get to know people that like I follow on Instagram and we talk, but we never really have that sort of personal seeing each other. You know, you're kind of missing that element. I'm learning a lot, but I want my viewers to learn a lot, too. Thank you so much again for letting us into your home and into your beautiful space. Keep doing what you're doing. You're so positive. You're constantly uplifting fellow collectors and creators and it's just so warming to see that type of kindness and you really do bring I feel like you bring that sort of doll community much closer.

49:06So, thank you so much for being on the show. Thank you so much, Kelly. It was so much fun. Hopefully we'll see you in the near future. Yes, definitely. Hopefully, right? Bye. It's amazing how one doll can remind us that collecting [music] isn't just about dolls. It's about the people behind them, too. Make sure to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell if you love all things Barbie. And if you enjoyed this episode, click here to see one of my other episodes. Thanks for watching.