Tulsa Has a Vintage Barbie Museum!
Last Friday, I went to Tulsa’s new Vintage Barbie Museum. This seasonal pop-up will be open at least through January 31 in the Tulsa Arts District. It’s located between Chimera and the Tulsa Violin Shop on North Main St. If you’re into Barbie, fashion and history, make plans to visit this holiday season. Plus, there’s free admission!
Collector/curator JD spoke to me about the history of the dolls, which range from the very first Barbie produced in 1959 to dolls from the 1980s. He said that they may add some dolls from the 1990s in the future because a lot of visitors have childhood memories with those dolls. I did recognize one of the 1980s ones, though! I think she may have been well loved by the time we got her, but I definitely remembered her shiny dress and boa.
The first Barbie, produced in 1959
I had this one!
It was so interesting to see how the faces and fashions of Barbie have changed over the decades. And would make for some fun conversations with your kids. Maybe make it a generational outing, bringing a grandparent along with you, to see what they remember, too. Even just talking about what outfits you’d like to wear (or not) could be entertaining!
Margot Robbie wore a recreation of this black dress on a red carpet when promoting the Barbie movie
Some of Barbie’s earliest careers
When I visited, the museum was still somewhat of a work in progress. There’s a large display area where they’re planning to add a holiday Barbie display. And they were thinking about adding a projector that could play vintage Barbie commercials! So we’ll try to go back in a couple of weeks to see how everything is coming along. But even when we visited, there was a lot to see and learn.
On our tour, JD talked about the individual designers who came up with Barbie’s clothes; the introduction of the first Black Barbie in 1980 (apparently there’s a good Netflix documentary about this); how Ken’s design changed following the Vietnam war, etc. Truly, if you have a question about anything in the Barbieverse, he’s a great source of information.
Left – the first Black Barbie
Ken through the years
Sadly, we just recently threw out my childhood Barbies when we discovered that the plastic bin they were in was full of black mold. JD looked slightly horrified and said they probably could have been saved, and that they’re thinking about doing some doll restoration workshops. So keep an eye out for info about that!
Billie Eilish wore a recreation of the pink and green outfit for Barbie movie promotions
I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the Vintage Barbie Museum! It’s currently part of the Downtown Days of Wonder holiday pop-up shops. They’ve also had exhibitions at the Sherwin Miller Museum, however, and helped put together special Barbie-themed events.
Hours and Grand Opening Event
Hours as of this writing are: Wednesday, 12-6 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. But follow @vintagebarbiemuseum on Instagram for updates.
They’ll hold a special Grand Opening event during December’s First Friday, 6-9 p.m. on Dec. 6.
