9. In 1959, Barbie Dolls Brought Pinup Style To Little Girls
In the 1920’s, form-fitting bathing suits were considered to be indecent, and even illegal to wear on the beach. Just a few short decades later, Barbie dolls wearing a revealing one-piece bathing suit were being sold to little girls. It’s obvious that the public’s opinion of women’s clothing had changed very quickly in a short amount of time, and it’s mostly thanks to the prevalence of pin-up. But Barbie’s clothes aren’t the only thing that appear to be modeled after this art form. The hairstyle, makeup, and hourglass shape of the original doll all echo pin-up models.
Barbie dolls and illustrations of these pin-up girls are notorious for having unrealistic body proportions, and they sometimes posed in ways that would be physically impossible in reality. Another similarity between pin-up girls and Barbie dolls are the fact that women were depicted in all kinds of careers. They were no longer just a housewife, and the were out in the world dressing up in all kinds of outfits. While it started out as a fantasy, it slowly helped to change public perception that girls can do anything they set their mind to.