Original Barbie Styles

Barbie

• Barbie was the first in the lineup to be released. She was first revealed at the New York Toy Show in 1959. She had been modeled after a German doll called Lilli, and was created by the newly founded Mattel toy company. The company's name was a combination of the two founders' first names: Mattson and Elliot. The toy company had until then been making doll furniture made of wood.

Ken

• Ken, Barbie's boyfriend,was released two years later in 1961. Originally dressed in just swimming trunks and sandals, he has, like Barbie, evolved over the years to include many outfits as well as other alterations to his original design. Between the years 1963 and 1965 several styles of Ken doll sold with a variety of different outfits.

Midge

• Freckle-faced Midge, marketed as Barbie's best friend, was released two years after Ken in 1963. In keeping with the original beachwear theme that Barbie herself started, Midge's original doll was released wearing a two-piece swimsuit. In her early years the doll had small variations in appearance. Some models, for example, showed her teeth through her smile and others had a different hair length. Midge was discontinued in 1966 but reintroduced to the Barbie line in 1988.

Allan

• Allan was introduced one year after Midge in 1964. Allan was released as Ken's best friend and later as Midge's husband, making them the first, and only as of 2011, married couple in the official Barbie lineup. He was also the first Barbie doll to be released with a last name: Sherwood. In later years his name was respelled "Alan." Allan was discontinued in 1965 and was brought back in the 1990s.