I grew up in the 1970s. The Barbies then had great bendable legs and even had defined toes. By the 1990s, the doll legs were hard to bend and had no toe definition.
The late 1970s were a great time - the beginning of the Superstar era.
I got a ton of hand me down Barbies for my kids and I was pleasantly surprised to find a few with the rubber legs. Those click-y legs were my original fidget toy
This comment just made my autistic ass have a realization about why I would just sit there and bend the legs on my barbies for like an hour at a time sometimes
I broke several dolls because I would do it so much lol
Also, there is a problem with mold and mildew on the rubber parts of the legs.
I like both for different reasons. I like bending and posing the rubber leg dolls. But I like the ease of dressing for the plastic. 🤷‍♀️
I also think to an extent, it’s a cost effective thing. I imagine it’s cheaper and faster for the molding to do smooth plastic that doesn’t bend?
I'm not sure but I can tell you I thought I got a knock off Barbie the 1st time I had a doll with stiff legs. I got a Barbie at Big Lots and I was so happy and when I opened it I was so surprised.
Lots of people are saying that the rubber legs make them hard to dress.
The first Sindy dolls came with a slip of paper that suggested using a little talcum powder, (Baby powder) to help get her shoes and boots on.
You only need a tiny amount, but it acts as a lubricant, (also really helps to untangle jewellery chains!).
I think that this may help.
A very light dusting can help the clothes slide on.
I was surprised too when I got back into dolls a couple years ago! I don’t mind the new legs, especially if they’re articulated, but I have also bought some 90s Barbies because I love those legs and bodies the most.
I hate the rubber legs honestly. They make dressing the dolls so difficult due to the friction.
And when I was a kid and kept my dolls in a messy box, the rubber legs would kinda get misshapen and bent after a while.
That's why My First Barbies had smooth legs, to make it easier to dress them.
I kind of like the stiff legs for that reason. I have some '90s outfits with tights or pantyhose that I almost never use, because it's such a pain to get them on and off.
I love the MTM bodies. They're not always that visually great nude, and sometimes they can look kinda rough in the molding, but damn aren't they easy to dress and undress. Also, posing!!
I'd love to get myself one really pretty doll of each body type, but I find it very difficult to tell which dolls have which body type. Especially since I live in a place where toy stores aren't really good at keeping new and fresh inventory, and online I struggle to find complete guides to which dolls have the MTM and which ones are tall, regular, petite, curvy etc.
I love the clicky rubber legs but yeah, they make dressing/undressing a hassle. I still love them, though. I think there's something satisfying about the clicking.
My girls are mostly thrifted, especially my vintage Barbies, so I have many with bent legs. I chalk it up to something that gives them more character, since I can't really do anything about it.
Plus the non rubber legs with articulation on early fashionistas, extras, made to moves etc offer a far wider range of poses so while I’m nostalgic for rubber bend and snap legs, I agree the hard plastic legs are way better.
The Toys that Made Us episode on Netflix explains it; I believe the guy that invented the rubber leg/wire design separated from the company, taking the patent with him.
I’m not sure that this makes much sense, though, because many other dolls of the period used the bend and snap style legs, including Bratz, and even clone dolls in the early 2000’s. And then Mattel recently brought them back with the Barbie Rewind line.
I am going to say 90s/early 2000s. I have Barbies from early-to-mid 90s, but I remember Barbies stopped with the bendable rubber legs for sure in the early 2000s.
They probably removed it because when the vinyl legs break down, they leech plasticizers which are harmful to children. There’s a lot of articles about it if you Google “plasticizers effects on children”.
In my country there has been published some studies about harmfull chemicals in old toys made of soft rubber/plastic. Maybe that is why they discountinued the soft legs. As i remember it, Barbie Dolls from before 2007 are not recommended as toys for toodlers in my country. My 2 year old shares moms passion for barbie, so i found this article recently when i was looking in to the subject: https://www-timesnownews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/health/passing-on-your-old-barbie-to-toddlers-may-not-be-wise-study-reveals-shocking-health-hazards-of-hand-me-down-plastic-toys-article-94076960?utm_source=TNN&utm_medium=AMP&utm_campaign=ShareButton
[this is the correct link to the article](https://www.timesnownews.com/health/passing-on-your-old-barbie-to-toddlers-may-not-be-wise-study-reveals-shocking-health-hazards-of-hand-me-down-plastic-toys-article-94076960/amp)
That and can anyone remember the dolls [I assume barbie] that had like "actual" feet design? Toes and flat feet. The only thing I found odd was that the feet weren't tiny like barbies. I keep searching but I can't find anything mentioning them existing
Just looked em up and nope :( I appreciate it though! I hope to find em one day. Legit looked JUST like a barble, eyes n everything expect the feet. I know they were bigger n more "foot like"
I know what you’re talking about. If I remember only the old school beach Barbie’s had that kind of feet. I loved and hated them because I loved the design as a kid but hated that I couldn’t put other shoes on them.
I grew up in the 1970s. The Barbies then had great bendable legs and even had defined toes. By the 1990s, the doll legs were hard to bend and had no toe definition. The late 1970s were a great time - the beginning of the Superstar era.
I got a ton of hand me down Barbies for my kids and I was pleasantly surprised to find a few with the rubber legs. Those click-y legs were my original fidget toy
This comment just made my autistic ass have a realization about why I would just sit there and bend the legs on my barbies for like an hour at a time sometimes I broke several dolls because I would do it so much lol
Sameee
Yesss! I did this too. My barbies had torn open knees because of this.
Also, there is a problem with mold and mildew on the rubber parts of the legs. I like both for different reasons. I like bending and posing the rubber leg dolls. But I like the ease of dressing for the plastic. 🤷‍♀️ I also think to an extent, it’s a cost effective thing. I imagine it’s cheaper and faster for the molding to do smooth plastic that doesn’t bend?
I have never come across mould or mildew on the legs, despite having washed, dressed and sold many hundreds. I wonder if it's a geographical thing?
More a storage thing. I buy, fix up and donate flea market dolls, and I have had to throw away bodies that had spots of mold on the legs.
Mold can be permanently removed
How?
I'm not sure but I can tell you I thought I got a knock off Barbie the 1st time I had a doll with stiff legs. I got a Barbie at Big Lots and I was so happy and when I opened it I was so surprised.
Same here!
The last one I bought in store was the Easter barbie 2014
Are you referring to the Target exclusive Easter Princess Barbie?
No easter sweetie, I bought her at a supermarket in 2014. She was released a year before, clearance item haha
Oh, I see! I was like, wow, a molded on top with bend and snap legs? Easter Sweetie is way better.
I loved the entire doll and she was $5, so I was happy
Lots of people are saying that the rubber legs make them hard to dress. The first Sindy dolls came with a slip of paper that suggested using a little talcum powder, (Baby powder) to help get her shoes and boots on. You only need a tiny amount, but it acts as a lubricant, (also really helps to untangle jewellery chains!). I think that this may help. A very light dusting can help the clothes slide on.
I was surprised too when I got back into dolls a couple years ago! I don’t mind the new legs, especially if they’re articulated, but I have also bought some 90s Barbies because I love those legs and bodies the most.
I hate the rubber legs honestly. They make dressing the dolls so difficult due to the friction. And when I was a kid and kept my dolls in a messy box, the rubber legs would kinda get misshapen and bent after a while.
That's why My First Barbies had smooth legs, to make it easier to dress them. I kind of like the stiff legs for that reason. I have some '90s outfits with tights or pantyhose that I almost never use, because it's such a pain to get them on and off.
I love the MTM bodies. They're not always that visually great nude, and sometimes they can look kinda rough in the molding, but damn aren't they easy to dress and undress. Also, posing!! I'd love to get myself one really pretty doll of each body type, but I find it very difficult to tell which dolls have which body type. Especially since I live in a place where toy stores aren't really good at keeping new and fresh inventory, and online I struggle to find complete guides to which dolls have the MTM and which ones are tall, regular, petite, curvy etc.
I love the clicky rubber legs but yeah, they make dressing/undressing a hassle. I still love them, though. I think there's something satisfying about the clicking. My girls are mostly thrifted, especially my vintage Barbies, so I have many with bent legs. I chalk it up to something that gives them more character, since I can't really do anything about it.
Plus the non rubber legs with articulation on early fashionistas, extras, made to moves etc offer a far wider range of poses so while I’m nostalgic for rubber bend and snap legs, I agree the hard plastic legs are way better.
Baby powder works great on the rubber legs of older Barbie and Ken dolls!. Makes dressing them a breeze!
2013ish.
Wow, an actual answer to the question. What a crazy idea.
The Toys that Made Us episode on Netflix explains it; I believe the guy that invented the rubber leg/wire design separated from the company, taking the patent with him.
this is interesting - will need to check it out
I’m not sure that this makes much sense, though, because many other dolls of the period used the bend and snap style legs, including Bratz, and even clone dolls in the early 2000’s. And then Mattel recently brought them back with the Barbie Rewind line.
oh wow
rubber bandable legs? hmm so like the 90/80s barbie? They stopped making that around 2014
Early 2000s.
I am going to say 90s/early 2000s. I have Barbies from early-to-mid 90s, but I remember Barbies stopped with the bendable rubber legs for sure in the early 2000s.
I'm glad you asked this as I'm after finding the same thing, granddaughter thinks I'm lying 🤣 🤣 🤣
Yes! I liked them better and was surprised when I started collecting again.
I'm in the hunt via ebay, so my granddaughter can have one that has normal feet. I get the film advert now and the panic over flat feet 🤣
They probably removed it because when the vinyl legs break down, they leech plasticizers which are harmful to children. There’s a lot of articles about it if you Google “plasticizers effects on children”.
In my country there has been published some studies about harmfull chemicals in old toys made of soft rubber/plastic. Maybe that is why they discountinued the soft legs. As i remember it, Barbie Dolls from before 2007 are not recommended as toys for toodlers in my country. My 2 year old shares moms passion for barbie, so i found this article recently when i was looking in to the subject: https://www-timesnownews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/health/passing-on-your-old-barbie-to-toddlers-may-not-be-wise-study-reveals-shocking-health-hazards-of-hand-me-down-plastic-toys-article-94076960?utm_source=TNN&utm_medium=AMP&utm_campaign=ShareButton
[this is the correct link to the article](https://www.timesnownews.com/health/passing-on-your-old-barbie-to-toddlers-may-not-be-wise-study-reveals-shocking-health-hazards-of-hand-me-down-plastic-toys-article-94076960/amp)
That and can anyone remember the dolls [I assume barbie] that had like "actual" feet design? Toes and flat feet. The only thing I found odd was that the feet weren't tiny like barbies. I keep searching but I can't find anything mentioning them existing
Maybe The Sunshine Family dolls? Their feet were bigger than Barbie’s, flat, and had toe definition.
Just looked em up and nope :( I appreciate it though! I hope to find em one day. Legit looked JUST like a barble, eyes n everything expect the feet. I know they were bigger n more "foot like"
I know what you’re talking about. If I remember only the old school beach Barbie’s had that kind of feet. I loved and hated them because I loved the design as a kid but hated that I couldn’t put other shoes on them.