The “Barbie” cast certainly has some imagination, and they’re not alone. A Wilton Manors club has been collecting and dressing up Barbies for decades, and they’re desperate for doll play.
Margot Robbie (as Barbie): “Hi, Barbie.”
Emma Mackey (as Barbie): “Hi, Barbie.”
Issa Rae (as Barbie): “Hi, Barbie.”
Simu Liu (as Ken): “Hi, Barbie.”
Everyone might be hyped to see the “Barbie” movie, but this group is high-key excited.
Constance Ruppender: “I am counting the days. I have a drawer of Barbie shirts, and I’m wearing a Barbie shirt every day until I go to the movies.”
They call themselves the Island City Club in Wilton Manors. They live for playdates.
Constance Ruppender: “We get together once a month, and we play, we bring our dolls. You can be whoever you want to be with Barbie, and we’re all Barbie. Even people who hate Barbie have a Barbie story.”
Collecting is the name of the game. A true Barbie collector geeks out when they hear “Silkstone.”
Constance Ruppender: “When you hold a Silkstone doll in your hand, you can feel the difference in the weight versus the plastic, and they’re dressed with great attention to detail, and the accessories are just phenomenal. I mean, it’s all about the accessories.”
Helen Mirren (as The Narrator): “But the dolls were always and forever baby dolls, until…”
The first Barbie came along in 1959, and it was love at first site for Constance.
Constance Ruppender: “The blonde ponytail Barbie was my first Barbie.”
Now she has…
Constance Ruppender: “I would estimate it somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 or 500 dolls. They’re not all here. It’s an addiction; I don’t know what to tell ya.”
Club member Roger is the creator of the YouTube channel “Desperate Plastic.” He took his doll passion to a whole ‘nother level.
Roger Helt: “It was kind of just to make a spoof of all the shows like ‘Dallas’ and ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Desperate Housewives.'”
The storyline is about two competing families.
Roger Helt: “One of the main characters, she’s pushed off this cliff, and so there’s a mystery about that, about who actually did it and whether she’s actually dead or not. Most of the Barbies, we’ve gone in and changed their faces and added Botox and things for the characters.”
Island City Club is always recruiting members.
FOR MORE INFO:
Island City Barbie Club
Facebook page: facebook.com/people/Island-City-Barbie-Club
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