The First Doll
It was something about that face. Those eyes, that look--she just seemed more confident than the others. After all the blonde, pale faces I'd looked at over the years, this was different. Granted, there had been a couple African Americans, a Hispanic but no Asians. Long ago, I'd placed my Barbie dolls in the give-away pile. Yet, I was in the clearance aisle, eyeing Barbies like a little girl. In my hands was the Barbie Basics (Black Label Collection) Lea. She clearly looked like a model with her slender figure, long up-do, strapless "little black dress" and purple eye-shadow. I loved the fashionable aspect of it all. Taking her in, I felt intrigued by an actual Asian Barbie Doll that was also a collector's item/stylish display model. Next to us on the shelf were five or six others, also in "little black dresses". They were also part of the collection, but none quite as lovely. I admired a blonde with a retro bob haircut for a little while. No, it was de