BARBIE

Remember “After Five”? “Solo in the Spotlight”? Classic Barbie fashions, and they weren—t created in a fashion vacuum. This new book shows how Barbie’s outfits over the decades have emulated those designed by real designers and worn by real women. See Barbie’s —Plantation Belle” outfit juxtaposed with a photograph of Grace Kelly in High Society, or her Givenchy- style bubble dress next to the real thing photographed on a fashion model in Venice. “Red Flare” drew on Balenciaga’s styles for Jacqueline Kennedy, the A-line dresses and pillbox hats that distinguished her wardrobe. —Barbie’s huge wardrobe never shied away from questionable taste if that was the style of the day,— writes Tosa, an international doll expert who teaches at the Venice Academy of the Arts. —On the contrary, the Mattel clothing designers shamelessly hedge their bets on the public reactions to fashion trends.— For fashion mavents and Barbie fans alike, a nostalgic trip down memory lane. (First printing of 250,000; Literary Guild selection; $100,000 ad/promo)