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 definitely Lea. I set them both back on the shelf. A grown adult buying a Barbie just wasn't something I could justify at the moment. Of course, I didn't know that after a while that really wouldn't matter...

I went back and bought the doll, having done minimal internet research. I didn't really know much about the Lea face mold. Nor did I think the purchase would lead to many others. (I did however, pick up an accessory set with matching items.) All I knew was that: A) I liked the doll B) I wasn't paying too much for it C) I could always sell it on e-bay if I got tired of it. She was my first collector's barbie. 

barbiecollector.com profile of Lea Basics Model 05, Collection 001