The popular doll line that turned me off from Barbie for 30 Years | Me in the 80s

[@CreateOneDay]

OMG I saw your hair in your thumbnail and said Yasss! First, I would have never guessed you were a teen in the 80's. You look so young!! I graduated H.S. in 1987, so I'm just a few years older than you. I had "outgrown" Barbies by then but was obsessed with her all through the 1970s and the early 80s. When I see dolls like Quick Curl, the original Malibu Barbie, Ken and PJ, Sun Lovin Barbie and Ken and Beauty Secrets Barbie, it sparks so many great memories for me. But those Barbie & the Rockers dolls fill me with nostalgia as well, even though I never owned them. Just looking at their hair and clothing styles takes me back to the good old days! I was a huge fan of Madonna, Culture Club, Depeche Mode, Prince, the Police, Fleetwood Mac, Night Ranger, Tears for Fears, Bonnie Tyler, Heart, Journey, Rick Astley, Fleetwiod Mac, Hall and Oats, Huey Lewis and the News, the Bangles, Sinaed O'Connor, Banarama, The Go-Gos, Billy Joel, Chicago... The list could go on and on. My personal style was influenced by all of that, and today, I would call it edgy prep (think Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink, or Debbie Gibson meets Madonna). I wore lots of Esprit and Gap paired with edgy and vintage thrift store finds. I thrifted out of necessity before thrifting was cool. I had an asymmetrical long bob and 80's bangs, but not the sky high bangs. I wore fresh-faced makeup and Heaven Scent or Loves Baby Soft perfume most days, but I rocked the dark eyeliner and smoked cloves when my friends and I would go to the 3.2 bar on the weekends. 😂 great video Kada!

[@kadawalden]

I loved literally every sentence of your comment. I can relate to it so much! Your edgy-prep style, a la Molly Ringwald. YES! So glad you mentioned fragrances too. One of my older BFFs in high school worked at a drug store so we got all the best 80s mid-level designer perfumes. Giorgio, Opium, Poison, and Lauren would bring back so many memories if I smelled them right now! 🤩

[@amandanelson3345]

87 graduate also! My answer would be quite similar to yours!

[@BugsySugar]

OMG the very end! LOL!!! 🤣🤣🤣 So true!

[@kadawalden]

Yay, you caught that! 😂

[@thedollsthewitchandthewardrobe]

WHAT? I didn’t realize you were in high school in the 80s! ❤I graduated in 1982 - and I have a photo of me looking very much like Pat Benatar - I’ll post a photo on my community tab. Great video as always!! 😊

[@kadawalden]

You & my Hubs graduated the same year. Wow, I'd love to see your Pat Benatar pic, Kim! 🤩

[@thedollsthewitchandthewardrobe]

@@kadawalden :) Yaaaasss! I just posted it on my community tab. :)

[@wantmoredolls]

Oh Kada! I just love you!❤ Thank you for the nostalgia! I was a teen in the 80’s too. My style was similar to yours except I had the BIG hair! 😂 I owned the Barbie from “Barbie and the Rockers”. I think I still have her, although she’s probably not in the best condition. 😮Thank you for all your WONDERFUL videos! ❤❤

[@kadawalden]

I bet we would've been friends in high school 🥰

[@tinadrew6104]

I was definitely a Duranie in the 80's (loved Duran Duran). I loved to hang with the mods, new wavers and preppies. I think you and I could have had a blast hanging out together back then!!!!

[@kadawalden]

Sister! We definitely would've been pals.😍 Major Duranie here too. I got to meet them (all original 5) in 2005. See the end of this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWXNhoVtatyhrKssi=0pTQYgXPaGedSAo3 ❤

[@tinadrew6104]

@@kadawalden That is so awesome!!!

[@dolltownship247]

I loved Barbie and Rockers growing up. I still have Derek , DeeDee and Dana. Thanks for the flashback. 💗💗💗

[@kadawalden]

That's awesome that you still have your childhood dolls! Love that! 🤩

[@Pentax47]

I love all the little cardboard accessories that came with 80s and early 90s Barbie & friends! I don't keep my dolls in boxes either but I sometimes like to buy them still in box because I want the stinkin cute cardboard cutouts!

[@kadawalden]

Haha! Yes! The attention to detail back then! 🤩I'm impressed by the quality of their clothes too.

[@Stardustceiling]

What a fun video Kada. I was out of my youthful Barbie years by the time these came out. I don't even remember Barbie and the Rockers, or their inspiration/competition Jem and the Holograms (Hasbro) back in that time period. I was too busy dolling myself up, going dancing and dating. And when I started collecting, when I got bit by the Barbie bug a couple of decades ago. I thought these dolls were kind of hideous, and so were the original Jem and the Hologram dolls.😆They didn't change, but my nostalgia for that time period deepened and I came to really like them all for that reason. They have some great instruments sets, and a stage play-set that looks fantastic with the dolls. And in my opinion, the BEST most bitchin Barbie car ever, the Ultra Vette. These all were made during the still quality years of the 80's. In 2017 Mattel put out a new line of basically Fashionistas with some vaguely 80's inspired clothes. I bought the first one in a wave of nostalgia, and then skipped the rest. And a stage set that looks so lame and small, when compared to the original, it just wasn't worth buying, (talk about "shrinkflation.") I looked at what it cost and decided to just buy the original used on eBay. LOL I've heard this year we're supposed to get an anniversary doll from the BatR line. But only one, when it's a group! Weird. I'm just happy to have the originals. Just for fun look up their music on YT and listen to the songs "Dressing Up" and "Born With a Mic in My Hand." If those don't get stuck in your head after that, and you find yourself singing them, I'd be surprised. 🎶😊

[@kadawalden]

Haha! I love that you can relate! That Ulta Vette, oh my wow! Talk about 80s! Thanks for the fun message!

[@BugsySugar]

Kada I completely loved seeing the pics of you in the 80's!! You definitely looked so cool for school ha!! I loved the Rockers so I happy you gave them another chance!! Fun video as always, I love your channel 💗💗💗

[@kadawalden]

Hee hee, thank you, Bugsy 🥰

[@joelast645]

@@kadawalden you still look young...I still watch the Barbie and the Rockers movie on youtube

[@kadawalden]

@@joelast645 Aw, thank you! I'll have to look for the movies on KZbin 😀

[@joelast645]

@@kadawalden welcome

[@melissakimball3375]

Yay! You've got Derek! Its the hair and jacket!! Considering I was four in 1986 , I was into colorful dolls obviously ... Lol I remember my mom buying me only Derek from wave one and Dana and Rocker Ken from wave two... And one JEM doll with the Twilight in Paris fashion pack! (I really wanted Kimber because of her cool color hair!) Musically , The B-52s are one of my fave bands and over time I've learned to appreciate alot of 1980s music.... And music from many decades before....😊 One of my favorite eras of Barbie is the Mod Era and I like alot of the music from the 60s and 70s as well.... Funnily enough, my love of The Flintstones lead me to one day meeting the members of said favorite band... Who would've thought! After meeting The B-52s, my mom and I made over Barbies and Kens into the band members, including their bassist at the time, Tracy Wormworth ( of The Waitresses & Rosie O'Donnell band) Wish I still had pics of them... I know we used a vintage Ken from the early 60s for Fred Schneider.... Funny how different interests and hobbies somehow interconnect with each other? Possibly thinking too hard on the subject? (My mom loves collecting Ken dolls mostly so I can see why she got me Derek! And Rocker Ken!)

[@kadawalden]

I love that you & your mom share the love of dolls and music! You met the B-52s? How cool! I saw them in concert here, such a fun danceable band! 'Cosmic Thing' was the soundtrack to my senior year of high school 🤩

[@melissakimball3375]

​​@@kadawalden Yes in 2007 at Asser-Levy Park in Brooklyn NY! ( I'm from North Carolina btw) I have pictures on my Instagram some where. Back in the Myspace days, I had wallpapers generated from those basic HTML generators of the band on my page and well , one of the band members took notice. They wanted me to do one for their page... I was a novice to computer stuff but I did it! To thank me, I was sent a copy of the now out of print and VERY pricey book, The B-52's Universe.... Autographed by.... Kate Pierson!! One of my very prized possessions and is a cool story to tell, even though at the time , people thought I was being cat fished... HA!😅 I got into their music at 12, starting with The Flintstones soundtrack, then Good Stuff, Cosmic Thing and then the one with that bright yellow cover! I now have most of their albums on vinyl and all on CD. Btw, Kate and Cindy Wilson have some cool solo stuff out that's worth listening to,. There are videos on here of various songs.... Round and round the hobbies go, intersecting with one another like I said before 😊

[@kadawalden]

@@melissakimball3375 Wow, that's such a cool story, and what a wonderful memory and claim-to-fame for you!

[@barbienamibia]

Yay 🎉you got Derek you know how he made me feel 😏 definitely rocked the neon especially the different rolled up socks 😝😂🤣

[@kadawalden]

Those socks open up the imagination for sure! 😉💛

[@mybarbiecreations]

They were so cute ...love your hair in this style Kada ❤

[@kadawalden]

Aw thank you !🤗🥰

[@DebsDollRoom]

Loved this video! I was a teenager in the 70's. I would say my style was mostly influenced by Susan Dey and Cher (in the case of Cher ,more clothes😊). I really wanted to look like Angela Cartwright. I am going to look for some Rockers now

[@kadawalden]

I love that! Cher is a style icon!

[@CeeBeesBuzz]

Rumor has it the reproductions of these dolls are coming out in 2026. I’d love to see them come back sooner! 💖

[@kadawalden]

I'd love to see all of them in repro! I know they made a repro of Barbie a while back 😍

[@mariareyes-tq8mr]

Omg! Kada!! Tus fotos son geniales!! En los 80 yo estaba en el colegio.😂 Fui chica de instituto en los 90 y me gustaba ir cómoda...básicamente me ponía vaqueros, botas de estilo militar (normalmente granates) y jerseys y camisetas anchas (heredadas de mis hermanos mayores). En la universidad sí que fui más atrevida: pantalones rajados, camisetas de grupos heavy metal...uñas negras, esas cosas😂😂. Gracias por compartir tu experiencia ochentera y tu colección Barbie!! I love it❤

[@kadawalden]

I love your style! 🤩😍

[@mariareyes-tq8mr]

@kadawalden 🤣🤣🤣thanks!!

[@MomLuvs2Collect]

Fun vid 👍! Oh my I hated all my school years & I quit as soon as I was legally able to at 16 👍 But I was a total geek so my style was more Little House On the Prairie than anything else 😂

[@kadawalden]

I loved Little House on the Prairie 🥰😄

[@QueenAusetHeru]

Omgoddess ❤ you're taking me back!!! 😊

[@kadawalden]

Right?!

[@SuzanneMartin-e4g]

SWEET photo booth pics!!! I have tons of those from the 80s!! Being a Durannie definitely influenced my Jr. High fashion. I had an awesome tuxedo (with 2 jackets) I got at a garage sale (I went to tons of garage sales) and several neckties! As we recently discussed, I don’t know why I wanted the Derek doll. In my memory it was because of my boyfriend of the same name but I’m now pretty sure I got the doll before I met him! I hope I still have that doll in my storage space.

[@kadawalden]

Duran was high fashion whether it was masculine or feminine, so no wonder we wanted to dress like them! 🤩😍 And yes, those black & white photo booths took fantastic photos, didn't they? It's also amazing that you still have your childhood Derek! Wow!

[@firesatmidnight]

Hey, Kada! Awesome video!! I used to see those Barbie and the Rockers commercials on tv all the time. haha Their clothes are pretty funny. lol I don't think I ever saw anyone dressed like that in person in the 80's!! When I was in high school, it was the grunge era, so you can imagine all the plaid. I even had an oversized lumberjack shirt over my Danzig shirts. I know, too cool. 🤣😆

[@kadawalden]

Hi!!! Been missing your content! Heh, glad you can relate to this. Grunge fashion was a baggy mess, but I loved it too. I still don't leave the house without my Docs.

[@siwarvidsson9705]

Yes ❤I have always love them❤❤❤❤❤

[@kadawalden]

I love that! 🤩💜

[@johannapichardo2586]

Yas 👏🏼 Kada! I have Barbie and the Rockers wave 1 &. 2 as a second hand doll collector. However. FUN FACTS: my first Barbie was DANA 🤩 I am so glad that you decided to collect dolls after all those years.🎉🤪🔥💕

[@kadawalden]

What a great first Barbie to have! 🤩❤️

[@judyp.6753]

You totally scored with these originals!!! I was in college so didn’t know these existed at the time, but I was hitting the clubs hard and these were definitely the fashion! 😂 Lots of Aqua Net in my apartment, car, purse! Me in high school? If you’ve seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and who hasn’t, I was totally Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character!😂

[@kadawalden]

Ha! I love that! The 80s did everything big 🤩

[@OtheringHeights]

okay that love and rockets shirt though 💕

[@kadawalden]

Yes!! You get me 😍

[@myloveylove123]

Wow, you look amazing for your age. I’ve always thought that you look really great. Your skin is beautiful. I was 10 years old when Barbie and the rockers came out and it’s one of my favorite Barbies lines. Love your video. I’m so glad you were able to get them. I have a few of my collection as well.

[@kadawalden]

Aw thank you so much! Love that you've loved Barbie & the Rockers from childhood 😍

[@MomLuvs2Collect]

BTW, great find from your hubby 👏! I stopped playing with Barbies in 1984 when I was 14 because I felt like I was now too old for dolls 😞 So I never did get into the Rockers. I started to like Barbies again when they started coming out with the holiday dolls but didn't buy any then 🤔 I began collecting them pretty recently like 2022 🤓 Before then I only bought one here or there like the new Fashionistas 😃

[@kadawalden]

I love how it didn't take hardly any pushing at all to get us back into Barbie! The love was always right there, waiting to return 🥰

[@geekyvixen]

I loved Barbie and the Rockers when I was a kid, but I was eight when they came out. I remember my mom bought me Barbie and Diva because she accidentally broke my Sun Gold Malibu Barbie. I felt like that was a pretty good deal. I have since added Derek to my collection, but I really want Dana and Dee Dee. I think my favorite part, other than the clothes, is the fact that they all come with Rockers t-shirts. My friend has the Rockers stage, and I really want to do a photo shoot with the Rockers on stage and other dolls in the merch in the audience. As far as my high school style, I was obsessed with Lisa Loeb and the show My So-Called Life, so I wore a lot of floral skirts, slip dresses, and cardigans. I really wanted to lean into the more grunge style with flannels and Doc Martens like some of my friends, but I was afraid I wasn't cool enough. I'm glad a lot of that has kinda come back into style, because I still want to dress like it's the mid-90s.

[@kadawalden]

That stage is amazing! I love the 90s grunge style. I had basic Docs back then but my feet looked twice as big wearing them, lol. They're much better now, I don't leave the house without my Chesneys 🤩

[@MariaTorres-gn6hn]

I love so much this video, thank you Kada 😊❤

[@kadawalden]

Yay, I'm so glad you do! 😀💓

[@jackiecook8753]

I graduated high school in 88 😊

[@theresasmith6327]

I have all the 2nd version of the Rockers. They're my favorite dolls. ❤

[@kadawalden]

I'd love to see that Ken IRL

[@janetsplanet2947]

I love Barbie and the rockers and the 80s glam rock that they bring to the table!!🟡🟣🔵🟢🔴 I was in 11th grade when they were rocking it. At that time I was in pursuit of a real life Daryl Hall.😂 I do have to say that I represented Madonna in high school. Loved her!!!

[@kadawalden]

Madonna is a fashion icon, the perfect (and funnest!) style to play with back then 🤍🖤

[@charityhull1527]

I think a lot of people retired from Barbie when they start high school. I returned in my twenties when I started thrifting as a hobby and had access to both my own money and vehicle. I like the Rockers now, but they wouldn't have appeared on my wish list when they came out due to their heavy make-up look. I was in my Princess Ballgown phase, like Jewel Secrets Barbie.

[@kadawalden]

Agreed. I'm just impressed that you picked it back up in your 20s! It took me way too long

[@charityhull1527]

@kadawalden I was single throughout my 20s and I didn't drink or go clubbing. Making friends is hard. I'm a book a holic, but I had to get out of the apartment. I went thrifting and wandered around my favorite stores. Luckily there was plenty of antique malls and flea markets to wander around. I could afford thrifted Barbies with the occasional treat of a brand new Barbie at Toys R Us without breaking the bank.

[@0becomingX]

Best line of Barbie hands down 😊

[@kadawalden]

It's definitely fun! 🧡💛

[@FerylMusic]

Derek is so handsome!!!

[@kadawalden]

He's one of a kind!

[@jackiecook8753]

I had my own style in HS...but nothing way out there. T shirt & concert T-shirts. I was heavy metal chick. 😂

[@kadawalden]

Love that!

[@Restless318]

1980s Childhood and of Jem love your look

[@kadawalden]

Love that you can relate😀

[@Girl2TheCity]

I have three Barbie and The Rockers much later because I loved 🥰 Jem and the Holograms and as a kid I got to see my cousin movie 🍿 of Barbie and the Rockers.

[@kadawalden]

That's awesome!

[@samanthacalciano8211]

I had that Barbie but later version of Derek in gold leather jacket. Had the Diva but she was in green spandex star leggings. I had Ken in the long silver coat but Derek was my favorite I think because he looked like Tom Cruise. lmao

[@kadawalden]

Oh wow he DOES look like Tom Cruise! 😄

[@melp.6562]

Same here! I loved (and still loved) The Cure and I did lost interest in Barbie…

[@kadawalden]

You get it! 😍👏

[@jackiecook8753]

I was more like Barbie & the Rockers in Junior high. Dressed more Madonna. Then high school, like I said earlier, was darker clothes, and just liked heavy metal, but didn't dress too much like it. Than after high school, I embraced my feminine side again. More colors, skirts, etc. But we're talking 89, into 90s.

[@kadawalden]

Madonna influenced my style in junior high too. Sooo much lace 😄

[@Vanessa-nh5es]

🤗♥️🎈🔥🧜🏻‍♀️♥️🔥♥️

[@smize4652]

They are cute.

[@jackiecook8753]

Omg, forgot about Vixen...😂

[@kadawalden]

They sound like the soundtrack of every 80s coming-of-age movie 😄

[@lourdesgarcia1093]

Empecé la preparatoria (high school) en 1987, aún muy interesada en Barbie sin embargo la linea de The rockers me pareció un poco ridícula en aquel tiempo 😅. Mi interés en Barbie era mal visto a mi alrededor así que traté de no hablar mucho de eso sin embargo seguía teniendo mis sesiones de juego y mis escapadas a la jugueteria para ver las novedades. Adoro el estilo que adoptaste en tu adolescencia, creo que conservas mucho de esa escencia.

[@kadawalden]

It's cool that you secretly kept an eye on the Barbie world even when you weren't "supposed" to like them. And yes, I've been missing the style of my youth, it's fun to revisit it. 🥰

[@08andylee]

Awh Kada, Barbie and Rockers were just ripping of Jem and the Holograms plus the Misfits. Hasbro and Mattel wars.

[@kadawalden]

I heard! El escandalo! 😄

[@adam4180west]

Loved Barbie and the Rockers and Derek was the STAR when he came out my Nieces loved him (so did I ) he had his own look the hair and face sculpt the only sill thing was hids neck joint .... Dream Date came out in 1982 Derek in 1986 so why did they not give Derek a swivel head ?? silly move . If he is re released hope he has a fully pose able head

[@kadawalden]

I’m certainly hearing about the love for Derek! How fun! 🤩

[@huntertomlin3523]

Derek looks Latino to me

[@kadawalden]

He does! His skin tone is definitely browner