Ruth, whose own daughter was called Barbara invented this famous doll in the year 1959. Barbie was made known to the rest of the world in New York City at the American Toy Fair. Initially, Barbie was intended to be a doll for teenage fashion. A wave of controversy has stemmed from Barbie’s figure when there was a realization that her measurements would never be found on a real person. The doll’s measurements are 36-18-38. Barbie first got bendable legs in the year 1965. Ken doll on the other hand was named after Ruth Handler’s son.
Prior to Barbie’s invention Ruth and Elliot Handler had their own company together with Harold Matson named Mattel which was a fusion of their names. Initially, in 1945, the company was dealing with the building and selling of picture frames. Elliot then branched to making dollhouse furniture from the pieces of the picture frames. After sometime, Ruth noticed that her children often played with paper dolls that looked grown up instead of playing with the usual baby dolls. She then came up with Barbie and thought that there was market for such dolls. After the invention, she redesigned a doll when she came from Europe and that is how Barbie came to be.
