Levine thinks Barbie unfairly gets a bad rap. A doll is just a doll; it all depends on what you do with her.
Bradley Justice, a member of the club and owner of the Swell Doll Shop in Chapel Hill, said he thinks Barbie dolls have endured because they have changed through the decades, allowing children to see parts of their own culture in the dolls.
“For me, it’s that she’s always reflected the times,” he said.
Theresa Castro, a member of the club, was a 5-year-old when she received her first Barbie in 1965. Her doll was a model from two years earlier that took time to reach her home in Alaska.
Castro didn’t know quite what to make of the package that had showed up on her doorstep, but she quickly grew to love Barbies, particularly because the dolls offered a window into fashion. She learned to sew so she could make them clothes and is grateful they offered her a chance to be creative.
Erica Pettruci, 9, and Ashton Lawley, 9, both were impressed by the range of Barbies they saw on display at the show.
“I think it’s really amazing because you can see today and what your parents had,” Petrucci said.