This 57-Year Old Malaysian Has an Impressive Collection of Over 1,000 Barbie Dolls

Do you know Barbie? Of course you do, in fact, we’re pretty sure we all know one or two in real life. Jokes aside, Barbie is set for world (doll) domination. She’s basically there for you since your childhood, accompanying you through every playtime date and will always be around for many decades (or centuries) to come. Barbie has gracefully transcended over the years, being a timeless fashion icon and often included in pop culture.

Earlier this year, Mattel announced that they have expanded their range of dolls by introducing three new body types – tall, curvy, and petite with seven new skin tones, 22 new eye colours and 24 new hairstyles. This diversified range of dolls received praises from fans around the world as it helps promote a positive body image and diversified beauty standards for young girls. Avid collectors around the world cheer in joy following this announcement as it could only mean one thing – expanding their growing doll collection.

Image: Barbie

Speaking of doll collections, this German lady reigns supreme as she literally dominated the world with her 15,000 (and counting) doll collection. She’s even the current record holder for the Largest Barbie Doll Collection as certified by the Guinness World Records.

Some people might think that collecting dolls on a big scale is just downright creepy or a waste of money but lo and behold, it’s actually a very lucrative hobby. Some dolls could fetch up to thousands of dollars in an auction depending on its rarity and condition. For example, this Barbie doll has been dubbed as the most expensive doll ever sold in an auction according to a Mattel rep. The price tag? A whopping USD $302,500 (RM1,216,186.13). We guess it’s safe to say that in case of a financial emergency, you might wanna check your old Barbie doll collection. Who knows if you have a RM10,000 doll lying around the house.

The million ringgit Barbie (Image: Barbie)

In Malaysia, we have our very own Queen of Barbie dolls. Meet Elizabeth Chrisotom, a passionate doll collector who has over 1,000 dolls to date which she herself admittedly has lost count of. She also claims to hold the record for the Largest Doll Collector in Malaysia which was certified by the Malaysian Book of Records. She began collecting dolls at the tender age of seven, when she received her first doll as a gift. The rest was history.

On how much she spends on her dolls...

"A lot of people ask me the value of my dolls. But to me, if I want to put a value on them it’s like me asking a mother or father if they have a value on their kids. So to me, my dolls are my kids. I don’t like putting a value on them, to me, they are priceless. It’s my passion; I don’t want to put a price on it."

Although she refuses to disclose how much she spends on her dolls which she emphasized were priceless, she did dish out to us on the most expensive doll she has ever purchased. She paid around RM5,000 – RM6,000 for a doll but ironically, it wasn’t a Barbie doll. Elizabeth takes pride in her collection and has kindly loaned 89 of her dolls for a special exhibition coming this June.

Image: Barbie

Barbie: World of Endless Possibilities will showcase over 200 dolls happening from the 6th until 12th of June 2016 at Sunway Pyramid. This free exhibition is open to public and has a number of interesting activities lined up for visitors such as cupcake decorating and designing new outfits for Barbie. The theme of this exhibition is #YouCanBeAnything which aims to deliver a message to young girls that they can be anything they want just like Barbie. Barbie has held over 180 careers for the past 56 years. That’s one impressive, long resume, Barbz.

Don’t forget to visit the exhibition to see our very own Malaysian Barbie dolls on display. Lookin’ fly in those Kebayas, ladies!