Playing with dolls is a common childhood experience, especially for girls. From the latter half of the 20th century, dolls began to get more sophisticated and varied, offering children a wide variety of appearances, costumes, accessories and modes of interaction for their play. This Rainbow Princess Barbie doll comes with a “magical comb” that can be loaded with the accompanying colourful butterfly accessories and combed through the Barbie’s or user’s hair. It is an example of the kinds of innovations increasingly seen in toys of the 1990s-2000s to enhance interactivity in creative ways. Additionally, the doll comes with a more elaborate human-sized butterfly hair clip that encourages users to imagine themselves as being akin to the Barbie doll.
