I wasn't collecting dolls back in 1996 but if I had been I'm sure I would have been thrilled to see this wonderful new series of fashions and doll gift sets on store shelves. They were nicely boxed, reminiscent of vintage 1960's Barbie fashions, and included detailed fashions and accessories. They are definitely a cut above the carded fashions, and even the Fashion Avenues, which would have been seen in the "pink aisle" around the same time. Many collectors refer to them as the BMR fashions for short (not to be confused with the more recent BMR1959 collection of dolls).1996 BMR Collection, Picnic Perfect, stock #16077- Barbie is all ready for a picnic in the park in this lovely fashion. A little gingham overshirt, a top and skirt in an amazing perfect-scale white corduroy, a broad-brimmed hat and red pumps were the main fashion pieces. The accessories included a cheerful tote big enough to carry the red waffle-weave picnic blanket, 2 gingham napkins, as well as 2 plates + 2 place settings + 2 glasses!
To show the top better:
For modesty's sake, this set did also include a simple pair of cotton shorts since the skirt was meant to be worn partially open:
A better pic of the sunny hat:
The picnic accessories:
The napkins and the picnic blanket close-up:
At least one fashion piece in each BMR fashion had a special "Barbie Millicent Roberts" tag:
From ebay, a couple of pics to show the special packaging with the gold foil rectangle in the lower right corner identifying it as a BMR series fashion.
The back of the box:
1996 BMR Collection, Date at Eight, stock #16078- Not all BMR items were available in stores. Several of them were exclusive to The Official Barbie Collector's Club. I'm not quite sure how one signed up since this would have been early years for anything online. Perhaps there were flyers in stores and in doll magazines? Then one would fill out a form and send in a check to Barbie Collectibles? Anyhoo, on to the fashion. You can't go wrong with an "LBD" (little black dress) in real velvet! A sheer black overshirt, an embellished scarf, patterned thigh-high hose, black pumps and a contrasting pink purse completed the ensemble. Also included were a small gold compact with a tiny pink powder puff, and a paper magazine cover.
Taking away some of the busy accessories to show the gorgeous dress by itself:
There's a lot of pieces that sort of run together with this fashion so here is a quick pic of the overshirt, scarf, hose & purse:
The smaller accessories:
I believe Date at Eight came in the inaugural kit for the first year of the Barbie Collector's Club. Here is a link to an Etsy listing (not mine) that shows how the kit would have arrived in it's own box. The boxed Date fashion is on the right side and there is a binder on the left side (large vintage Barbie head) meant to hold future Collector's Club newsletters, a small gold pin, a membership card and some other paperwork.
1996 Barbie Collector's Club kit example
Next week we'll look at the two other BMR fashions offered in 1996.
