Carol Spencer
Carol Spencer | |
---|---|
Born | 1932 (age 91–92)[1] |
Known for | Fashion design for Barbie |
Notable work | Totally Hair Barbie |
Carol Spencer is an American fashion designer. Most of her career from the early 1960s until 1999 was devoted to creating fashion for Barbie.
Early life and education
Spencer was born in 1932; until she was three, when her father died, the family lived in Texas.[1][2] She was raised in Minneapolis; whie she was still in school, her mother also died.[1][3] As a child she made outfits for paper dolls and then, learning from her grandmother, clothing for herself.[1][4]
She attended Washburn High School, graduating in 1950.[4][5] In 1955 she graduated with a bachelor of fine arts, concentrating on fashion design, from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.[1]
Early career
After graduating from college she went to work in New York City for Mademoiselle.[1] She moved back to Minneapolis to design for Wonderalls, a children's clothing manufacturer.[1] She moved to Milwaukee to work designing sportswear.[1]
Barbie career
In 1963 she responded to a blind classified advertisement for a "cost-conscious fashion designer". The employer turned out to be
Spencer also designed some of the dolls themselves, including 1992's Totally Hair Barbie and Barbie's poodle, which Spencer modeled on her own dog.[6] She designed Surgeon Barbie after having a biopsy and noticing all the physicians were men.[3] She based some designs on her own clothing and accessories.
In 2017 she was inducted into the Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment Hall of Fame.[1]
Dressing Barbie
Spencer wrote Dressing Barbie, a 2019 coffee-table retrospective of her work.[1][6][3][2]
Personal life
Spencer was engaged once, prior to attending college.[1]
She retired in 1999.[1]
She lives in Los Angeles.[4]
See also
References
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ a b Nachbar, Madeline (2019-07-15). "The Woman Who Dressed Barbie". Minneapolis St. Paul. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ Washington Post.
- ^ MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ a b Mowbray, Nicole (2023-07-14). "Dressing Barbie: Meet the designer who created a miniature fashion icon". CNN. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ a b c Chow, Vivan; Cortese, Samantha (2023-07-26). "Meet Carol Spencer, the woman behind Barbie's iconic fashion". KTLA. Retrieved 2023-08-06.