Ultimate blonde ambition

I never played with Barbie, at least not in the conventional way. Growing up as the tomboy of my two other sisters, I would decapitate my sister's Barbie's or throw them in the toilet, explaining to my horrified sisters' that “they just wanted to take a swim”. I never understood the joy of playing with dolls and much preferred playing in the park and mud; dolls were stupid.

Millions of little girls clearly do not share the same opinion as my six-year-old self as the average American girl has nine Barbie's; she is inarguably more than just a doll, Barbie is an icon.

On March 16, Barbie turned 50. The celebrations and fashion collaborations for this event were endless, and Barbie even had her own fashion show this season that was presented at Mercedes — Benz Fashion Week in New York. Designers such as Calvin Klein, Vera Wang, Betsey Johnson, Donna Karan, Diane Von Furstenberg and Anna Sui among more than 50 others created garments inspired by and fit for the doll.

Models sported teased hair, chewed bubble gum and make-up was fun and pink. This is not the first time designers have created collections for Barbie: Christian Dior, Oscar de la Renta and Yves Saint Laurent have all made clothes for the doll, although they were made for Barbie and meant to be collectables.

Karl Lagerfeld got the honours of creating Barbie's personal collection for her 50th birthday and the collection will be on display at the super chic store Collette in Paris. True to his style, Lagerfeld chose to dress Barbie in stylish and classy pieces like white button down shirts, dark denim skinny jeans, leather jackets and ball gowns that make me wish I was 11 inches tall so I could wear them, too.

Even Ken stepped up to the plate for the big event and a new doll styled as model Baptiste Giabiconi strikes a pose with the birthday girl. During the collection's display, Collette also installed a “Barbie Room” that featured Jeremy Scott's collection of Barbie inspired gear as well as accessories and exclusive Barbie products.

The fashion industry isn't the only one in a frenzy over Barbie; MP3 players, make-up, jewelry, stationary, nail polish, sunglasses and many other Barbie-themed products were created to help celebrate the doll's successful career thus far.

Despite her huge accomplishments, Barbie has had quite a controversial life. Bashed by many for having such an unrealistic figure and promoting poor self-image on the young girls who play with her, Barbie has also been labeled as the ultimate “dumb blonde” who only cares for material articles. However, Barbie also has some positive influences. Barbie has had every career imaginable; she has been a nurse, an army officer and commander, a dentist, an Olympic figure skater, a fashion designer, a McDonald's cashier, a world peace ambassador and a NASCAR driver among many, many other diverse and colourful careers.

Perhaps this allows the girls who play with Barbie to dream big and feel that they can become successful in their future chosen careers, as well. Most importantly, no matter how you look at it, Barbie is just a doll. If girls enjoy playing dress up with Barbie, it is encouraging creativity and imagination, and that is what childhood should be all about.