What hasn’t changed? Her status as an American icon. In “Dressing Barbie,” just out in paperback, Spencer, 90, recalls her experience at Mattel working with legendary figures such as Ruth Handler, Barbie’s creator, and Charlotte Johnson, the original Barbie clothing designer. Filled with photos, the book is a treasure trove for the Barbie lovers who seem to be everywhere these days.
In a video interview from her home in Los Angeles, Spencer talked about her hopes and designs for Barbie. Then she headed to — where else? — the National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention in Orlando. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
Q: In the book’s introduction, you talk about your childhood and share that as a teenager, you knew that you wanted to do more than 1950s society was telling girls they could do. How did you tap into that power?
A: I lost both parents before I graduated high school and I was on my own, you might say. When people wanted me to do something I didn’t want to, I kind of revolted. At the same time, I watched my grandmother, who was an expert seamstress, and learned so much.
I went to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and then to jobs in the fashion industry. After five years of experience, the minimum for working at Mattel, I went there.
Q: When you got to Mattel, it was a time of change. Barbie went on to have many careers, and you were there to create the clothes.
A: We made all kinds of clothes for her to actually wear and for the child to play with in various situations. Each fashion had to have play value. The women’s movement came onboard in the ’60s, and there was the Beatles, Elvis. We followed all of it. Then, in 1972, we wanted to test if children would buy fashions geared toward an occupation.
Q: You had a big role in creating her doctor look. How did that come about?
A: I had just had surgery, and all the doctors were men. I thought, why not have Barbie as a doctor. I gave her a combination pack of doctor and surgeon. I think we did blaze a trail with that, and we were all very quietly members of NOW [National Organization for Women]. We didn’t flaunt ourselves or march, but we were. And we found that children absolutely loved the careers.
Q: You also created an accessory that Mattel nixed. It was Barbie-size pills modeled after amphetamines, right?
A: I personally never took drugs! But as I was thinking about the profession, it’s natural that doctors give prescriptions for pills. I found these wonderful little pink pills at a farmers’ market in L.A. They were amphetamines. Of course I didn’t know anything about them. Let me tell you, they took them out. Barbie got a prescription pad instead.
Q: One thing that Barbie did get was your wardrobe.
A: The Wild ’n Wonderful Barbie had my boots, knee-high with all these great straps. It was the ’60s and I wore mine with a long denim skirt because my legs are not as good-looking as Barbie’s. I still have them, but at 90 years old, I can’t walk in them!
Q: Let’s talk about walking. As in, it’s been said many times that Barbie’s proportions on a real woman would prohibit her from being able to walk. How did you feel about that with your background as a designer — and as a woman?
A: When Barbie was designed, Mattel found that to get clothes on that fit like they would on a real person, the designers had to make space to allow for the seams. Barbie is one-sixth the scale of a person with a three-inch waist. It had to be taken down from what they felt would be a “normal” person because when you got a seam at the waistline you ended up with four layers of fabric and she didn’t look right. They had to make the body to wear the clothes that would look right. As the years go by our figures change and Barbie’s too. Hers is becoming more lifelike.
Q: When did you feel that Barbie was becoming a pop culture icon?
A: In 1977, Sibyl DeWein and Joan Ashabraner wrote the first book on the doll, “The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Barbie Dolls and Collectibles.” Everyone involved with the doll started reading it, and through it found a whole group of adults who played with the doll when they were children. The Barbie movement really grew out of the book. People started advertising, “Do you collect Barbie dolls? We want to get in touch with you.” These were ads in newspapers! In 1980, the first Barbie convention was held.
Today, adults collect them, and Mattel designs toys both for the collector and the child. I personally have cabinets of Barbies attached to the wall in my dining room. You never eat alone in my house. You’re always eating with at least 300 Barbies.
Q: What is Barbie’s biggest fashion faux pas? Any style regrets?
A: I would not take anything back, but I remember that around 1980, lingerie started coming back and women were wearing garters again. I had done under fashions very early in my career, so I thought, as long as we have garters, I’ll do some more underwear for Barbie. I showed up at the review and all of a sudden Jack Fox, head of PR at Mattel, came up and said, “You cannot put that in the line, I will not answer to the Reverend Jerry Falwell for that!”
Q: Though your book centers on a plastic doll, it’s full of life. It’s vibrant and your love of your job shines through.
A: I was born during the Depression. I had two dolls growing up because you put food on the table first. I could figure out sticks and stones, and often my dolls were sticks. In my adult life, I had the dolls. And I enjoyed every moment of it.
Karin Tanabe is the author of seven novels, including “A Woman of Intelligence,” “The Gilded Years” and “The Sunset Crowd.”
A Celebration of the Clothes that Made America’s Favorite Doll and the Incredible Woman Behind Them
Harper. 160 pp. Paper, $29.99
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