Whether you played dress-up with her, or hacked off all of her hair and scribbled on her face, the iconic Barbie has a special place in the toy chest of any child. And today, she turns 56 years old—or young. This doll is no slouch, either: In all her immaculately attired years, the sheeny Mattel mannequin has had quite the career path, ranging from doctor and yoga instructor to more ambiguous turns as a movie star and as a business executive; she’s even done a stint as a NASCAR driver. To match that ever-changing lifestyle, Barbie’s worn a rather transformative wardrobe in her five-plus decades. One minute she was en route to the beach in a sixties-esque striped one-piece and bouffant-style bangs; and then, three ageless decades later, the nineties found her in a state of high-octane luxe, headed to meet Ken in a silhouette-skimming red dress complete with a fur capelet and pin-straight hair.
Regardless of her ensemble, the immortalized plaything s wardrobe suited her evolving role and embodied the fashion of the era. Sure, she may be made of plastic, but Barbie s closet has always been very much alive. Here, see eight of her classic looks that you can shop and wear—you don t even need to live in a Dream House to get them.
