Fashion Dolls 101

Easter Parade © 1999 by Kathryn E. Darden "No wonder they call it the windy city," she said to herself as she hurried down the busy Chicago street, clutching her fashionable straw hat.  Trimmed with exquisite colorful flowers, ribbons and tulle, Gene more aptly referred to it  as her Easter bonnet having worn it two weeks earlier. Two weeks earlier she was home for Easter with her family. After a delicious breakfast she helped prepare with her mother, Gene went with her parents to the small church they had attended since she was a baby for the Easter service, wearing the same ensemble she now wore. Gene Marshall, already a legend at this fairly early stage of her career, loved Easter and spring. She loved decorating colorful eggs with her mother to put in a basket with coy blossoms peeping out from amid the eggs. She loved the attending the special Easter service with her family, dressing up in her "Sunday best," wearing hats trimmed with flowers. A

Gene Goes to Pittsburgh  Gene in the limelight at the 1999 Barbie© doll convention in Pittsburgh © 1999 by Kathryn E. Darden      The National Barbie convention was held August 4-7, 1999 at the Hilton and Towers Hotel in beautiful Pittsburgh, Pa,  organized by the Western PA Doll Club. With the theme ìWe Can Do Anything, Right Barbie?î this yearís convention paid homage to one of Pittsburgh's own, the famous female reporter of the late 1800's/early 1900's, Nellie Bly. The Hilton was full of glamor and glitz with two sales floors full of dolls and a lobby with other items: Hallmark ornaments, posters, Millers and Barbie Bazaar magazines, and other additional booths. Barbie was the uncontested 11 1/2 inch queen of the hour... but a surprising number of booths featured a strong Gene contingent.      Many Barbie dealers have already added Gene in as a sideline, and a growing number of booths had regular line Genes in prominent display alongside her smaller vinyl cousin.