
If she was nine when she was introduced (and she was), when Barbie was billed as the "Famous Teen-Age Fashion Doll", then Barbie could not realistically be considered a teenager any longer. Teen Skipper's packaging revealed that she is now "16 years old". She no longer looked like a child, but more like a girl on the brink of becoming a woman. Most notable of all, however, was Skipper's new face mold. This was mostly because of her legs, which were now long and lanky. She again had a new body mold and was now almost as tall as her sister Barbie. įinally, in 1997, Teen Skipper was introduced. Later, Skipper had a new head mold with smaller eyes in a Pizza Party line, but with the same body mold. At this stage she appeared to be somewhere between 13 and 15 years old. Her eyes were also enlarged, giving her a cartoon-like look. Her waist was more flexible and her breasts were slightly bigger. Her new body mold was taller and more graceful.

Skipper changed again in 1988 with the release of Teen Fun Skipper. In 1985 Hot Stuff Skipper was released, which had another new head mold that included the addition of dimples and a longer face. She had a new body mold which included small, permanent breasts, and a different head mold that made her look slightly older. She was advertised as "Super Teen Skipper". In 1979 Skipper's entire appearance changed. This concept was later used for Mattel's My Scene brand in 2007 with the "Growing Up Glam" line, which was also controversial. The gimmick of the doll, which led to much controversy in the newspapers, was that if Skipper's arm was rotated, the doll would become an inch taller and small breasts would appear on her rubber torso. Since their introduction in 1964, Skipper dolls have changed drastically. As Barbie's little sister, Skipper was Barbie's first family member sold. Midge's facial appearance was gentler than Barbie's, whereas Skipper was a response to requests for Barbie to have children however, instead of having a married, pregnant Barbie, which would make her too domestic, Barbie would babysit Skipper. Skipper was created, along with Midge, to counteract criticism that claimed Barbie was a sex symbol. She was 9.25 inches in height (compared to Barbie's 11.5 inches) when she was first introduced, and then as newer versions were released, she gradually became taller with a teenage appearance. Since Skipper was introduced, the dimensions of the doll have changed significantly. She is described as a technology lover who likes "being a gadget girl and trying out the hottest techie toys." As of Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, this iteration of Skipper is fourteen years old. Since Skipper was re-released in 2009, she has had a new personality to match her redesigned appearance.

In these novels, she attended Baker Elementary, while the Marvel Comics of the early 1990s had her at Central Junior High School. Skipper's animated appearance from Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures.Īccording to the Random House novels of the 1960s, Skipper is the second child of George and Margaret Roberts of Willows, Wisconsin (their first child being Barbie).
