Dressing Barbie

A dazzling celebration of the fashion design that made America’s favorite doll and the incredible woman behind them, timed to the movie release of Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and directed by Greta Gerwig.

If you’ve ever had a Barbie doll, or you know someone who did, chances are that Barbie was dressed in one of the thousands of designs created by Carol Spencer during her unparalleled reign as a Barbie fashion designer spanning more than thirty-five years.

Illustrated with more than 100 full-color photographs, including many never-before-seen images of rare and one-of-a-kind pieces from Spencer’s private archive, Dressing Barbie is a treasure trove of some of the best and most iconic Barbie looks from the early 1960s until the late 1990s. Along with behind-the-scenes stories of how these designs came to be, Spencer reminisces about her thrilling time at Mattel working with legendary figures such as Ruth Handler, Barbie’s creator, and Charlotte Johnson, the original Barbie designer, for a full, inside look into the world of Mattel and life with the beloved doll. Over the course of her career, Spencer won many accolades. She was the first designer to have her signature on the doll, the first to go on a signing tour, the first to design a limited-edition Barbie for collectors, and the designer of the biggest-selling Barbie of all time. Now, she is the first member of the inner circle to reveal the fashion world of the quintessential California girl as never before.

Go behind the seams with the woman who dressed Barbie for over three decades:

• A Fashion Memoir: The personal, behind-the-scenes story of Carol Spencer’s incredible thirty-five-year career as a leading Barbie fashion designer.
• Iconic Barbie Looks: Discover the inspiration and untold stories behind some of the most famous Barbie outfits from the 1960s to the 1990s.
• Collector’s Archive: Explore over 100 full-color fashion photographs, including rare and one-of-a-kind doll designs from Spencer’s private collection.
• Pop Culture History: Get an insider’s look at the world of Mattel, with anecdotes about working with Barbie creator Ruth Handler and designing the best-selling Barbie of all time.