Vintage Barbie ULTRA-RARE SAMPLE Blonde LH American Girl in \"Shimmering Magic\"
![Vintage Barbie ULTRA-RARE SAMPLE Blonde LH American Girl in \](img-large/g/DgUAAOSwVFlT2BwM/s-l1600/Vintage-Barbie-ULTRA-RARE-SAMPLE-Blonde-LH-America.jpg "Vintage Barbie ULTRA-RARE SAMPLE Blonde LH American Girl in \")
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Vintage Barbie ULTRA-RARE SAMPLE Blonde LH American Girl in \"Shimmering Magic\" :
$1966.00
Vintage Barbie ~ Gorgeous Blonde Long-Hair Soft-Color American Girl in Ultra-Rare Mattel SAMPLE Variation of Shimmering Magic (#1664)This is something you don\'t see every day! She is a beautiful Blonde AG in basically a Mattel OOAK--A Sample variation of the fabulous \"Shimmering Magic\" outfit! These dolls are felt to be Samples that were probably carried by Mattel Salesmen to buyers for dept. stores, or possibly used for marketing research to see what variation of an outfit got the best evaluation. Then Mattel would produce the final marketed outfit. There are several excellent articles by Barry Sturgill in Barbie BAzaar from Sept-Nov of 2005 on Mattel Samples. I also have very detailed information on my website for those who would like to read more about these amazingly rare items (probably only a few hundred were made). Please Google \"Barbie, Fashion Icon of the 60\'s\" and go to the list of pages on the right of the home page. Go to \"About the Samples\" page.
This beautiful gal has light honey-blonde hair in a nice long pageboy, still wrapped in cello. She has no haircuts or missing plugs. Her bangs are lovely. She has a gorgeous face, with huge blue eyes and nice brows. She has the soft coloring with pretty coral lips. There is the slightest rub to the black eyelash ridges (no doubt due to a bit of jostling in her storage box over the years) and the teensiest fading to the left upper lip. She has no holes, green ear, nose nip, neck split.
She has a mint AG bend-leg body with tight limbs, no missing digits. Her knees click and hold 3 times. Nail polish is 100% on fingers, none on toes. She has some old tape residue on her feet, as I believe her shoes were taped on at one time. She had rubber bands holding the shoes on when I received her.
Now for the really interesting part. The Shimmering Magic coat has a red chiffon cummerbund wrapped around it, and it is tacked together at the front. The cummerbund has tiny white beads on it that match the hat. The hat is quite amazing in itself! It is a rose-pink rather than the white one with red roses that eventually came with the outfit. (We know Mattel did market a rose pink hat with a red dress--Music Center Matinee, which interestingly is #1663, and Shimmering Magic is #1664!) The hat is of a translucent organdy-type material with embroidered edging and also the same little beads festooning the rim. The organdy fabric for the hat, from what I can tell, is the exact same weave that the \"normal\" white hat was made from. The hat is stitched loosely to her hair. The dress itself is the same as the usual one, and the shoes are the usual red CT pumps. All are in minty condition!
The box is a brown cardboard shipping box marked \"SAMPLE\" in the same block letters all the Samples are marked with.
This doll and outfit is beautiful! A long-hair AG alone plus a Shimmering Magic outfit is worth the price!!
***I have placed a reasonable reserve on this item due to its rarity and value. Please don\'t hesitate to offer, as I have been known to do a second chance offer to the highest buyer, if it is close to the reserve!***All my items are kept in a smoke-free Environment.I have described everything to the best of my ability, but could have missed something. Please ask questions before offerding. I request no returns unless you feel I have grossly misrepresented the item(s).
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Note: International shipping at expense of buyer, USPS Priority International. Please be aware that tracking is not possible with First Class International. I will not ship this item First Class due to this.
Payment is preferred immediately, and due within 3 days of purchasing the item. I reserve the right to relist the item if payment or other arrangements are not made within that time by buyer. THANKS FOR VISITING!
*NOTE: It has come to my attention there appears to be a dot on the tip of her nose. This was just a speck of dust. On Jul-30-14 at 18:26:19 PDT, seller added the following information:
NOTE: I have had questions about the authenticity of the Sample. If you consider offerding, please first read the web page I referred to above. These rare Samples have been questioned as to whether someone could have made them years later, rather than being Mattel. I believe they were done by someone from Mattel (as do a number of dealers/collectors) but there is NO WAY to PROVE it, as there is no one left from Mattel who can document them specifically. The link is not allowed on the listing, but go to Barbie, Fashion Icon of the 60\'s, and then click on \"About the samples\" on the right hand column.
On Jul-30-14 at 18:36:57 PDT, seller added the following information:Forgot to add: The hat is the same as the one in Midi-Marvelous, only pink. While I cannot say it was not done after the fact, the Shimmering Magic and M-M outfits were produced 2 years apart, and Mattel could have had the fabrics and designs on hand for both outfits. As we know, marketing was done in many countries including Japan and Europe. You find many variations of outfits especially in Japan. It is not unreasonable that Mattel may have considered marketing this hat with SM, and then finally changed it to the usual hat. :) Please do not offer unless you are comfortable.
Vintage Barbie ULTRA-RARE SAMPLE Blonde LH American Girl in \"Shimmering Magic\" :
$1966.00