Today on Deep Glamour: my thoughts on Barbie. I’m going to be a regular contributor on Virginia Postrel‘s wonderful blog on glamour, taking occasional departures from the world of joy to think about more adult aesthetics.

My focus in the post is on Barbie’s lost glamour, but at heart Barbie is a joyful topic for me. Part of it is the nostalgia for childhood, part the delight of imaginative, open-ended play, and part the delicious appeal of Barbie’s indulgent, over-the-top, feminine world. For a true girly-girl, Barbie’s ability to do this is unmatched, and probably has something to do with her continuing ability to bring joy to generation after generation of young girls.