Before there was Fashion Fever there was Fashion Avenue. I have quite a few of these outfits but when the Fashion Fever bodies were introduced I found that they didn’t fit those dolls very well. However, I was very pleased to discover that apart from the shoes they fit the Model Muse girls nicely. Today I thought that I’d show you a few of them on both older twist and turn bodied dolls and Model Muses.
Today’s models are from the “Old School Chums” group.
- Bonnie – twist and turn waist Barbie from the late 1980s or early 1990s. She is wearing a Monique wig to give her a different look.
- Anna -“Barbie for President” 2008
- Midge-Aviator Barbie 2001, I don’t have to tell you as she is a frequent model and story character.
- Avis -Denim Basics Barbie #03
- Kate -Black Basics Barbie #01
Fashion Avenue outfits were made from 1995 to 2004 and most years they were divided into categories such as Trend, Blues, Charm etc. I have included these names in the descriptions. All the outfits were numbered but some also had names. A great resource for identifying Fashion Avenue outfits is this one which I use a lot.
http://www.fashionave.info/index.html
First up is Bonnie who is wearing appropriately an outfit from the Fashion Avenue Australian Collection. This was a set of four different fashions that were released initially in 1999 and again in 2001. I have all four so I’ll show the others another day.
Bonnie likes to keep things simple so she likes the denim skirt, grey top and red hoodie. The denim bag is handy for shopping with her friends. This outfit came with white sneakers which I’ve always found hard to keep on Barbie’s feet so I substituted grey pumps which I happen to think look better with this outfit. Bonnie is quite pleased with all the attention she got during this shoot as she expected the Model Muse girls to get all the limelight.
Anna is next. Her outfit is called Daisy Cafe and is from the 2000 Charm Collection. In her bag Anna has some matching sunglasses. The pearls are of course her own.
Midge wears Boutique Collection 20576 from 1998. I can’t find the bag that should go with this outfit and I think the shoes were different. She has generic mauve shoes from the same era. My favourite part of this outfit is the over shirt with its stand up collar and tiny print letters. So nice that it doesn’t say “Barbie”.
Avis wears Fashion Avenue Blues Collection no. B7046 from 2002. Surprisingly she can get the correct shoes on although they are not a great fit. There should be a small plastic bag in a fuchsia or dark red colour but Avis is notorious for losing things. She’s always leaving her jackets behind when she goes out. I don’t think this outfit would suit everyone but she really pulls it off. I can’t imagine it on Midge for example.
Kate is last with a simple dress in a style that I’ve noticed seems to have become fashionable again. It is Fashion Avenue 20568 from 1998. What I like best about this outfit is the colour. I’m sure its one of the nicest shades of blue used for a Barbie outfit. The matching bag can be worn as a backpack. Kate can’t wear the shoes but I’ve included a picture of how they look for those who like complete sets.
Fashion Avenue 20568 from 1998
I hope that you have enjoyed a Saturday stroll down Fashion Avenue with me. I’ll try to show you some more very soon.
Dolls, Dolls, Dolls 
It’s so refreshing to look through your fashions. 🙂
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I have really missed having all of my Barbies and their clothes at home the past year so I’ve been having a lot of fun playing with them again.
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I’m glad they’ve come home. I’m having fun playing with them too (by seeing what you’re doing with them). 🙂
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Fashion Avenue had such great quality. I really miss this Line and the Fashion Fever clothes, sigh. You chose the perfect models for the fashions.
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Thanks Andrea. I really miss the quality fashions that Mattel used to make. It seems to me that they don’t even issue separate clothing very often or maybe it just doesn’t make it’s way down here. At one time there were far more clothes than dolls being issued.
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That is so true. Funny thing is, one of the bigger supermarkets is actually having a few clothing sets in the Barbie shelf, the toy stores don’t. So weird. It really is a pity, that they don’t focus more on a decent fashion line for the dolls anymore. To me the abundance of beautiful fashions got me hooked on Barbies as a kid. No wonder girls get bored with them so early nowadays, a fashion doll without a wide range of fashions.
I’d bet if they would return back to the roots, a couple of dolls in bathing suits or a basic dress and a variety of clothing for all occasions, the girls would be much more interested.
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I think it would be worth a try. Like you it was the fashions that got me in to a large extent. I can remember poring over the little booklets that you would get with a new Barbie or Sindy and making a wish list of the outfits I would like to have.
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So did I, I had a blast with those booklets. They were clever marketing as well. Show the girls what is available and in later booklets let them see how the clothes look on the doll. I loved those booklets so much, that I did hang on to them and kept them to this day.
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I still have one for Barbie and one for Sindy complete with my pencil marks next to favourites. One of the reasons I have so many Sindy’s is because I wanted to collect the outfits and needed Sindy’s to wear them. 🙂
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[…] my intention to do the same with the Fashion Avenue outfits as well. In fact I did do one post, “A Stroll Down Fashion Avenue” a long time ago but I didn’t do any more as I had decided to concentrate on Fashion […]
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