Ken Doll Party at Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History in Boynton Beach, Florida for National Barbie Convention



Ken and Barbie made a personal appearance at the Ken is 50 Party hosted at the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History in Boynton Beach, Florida for the attendees of the National Barbie Convention.  Ken and Barbie replica outfits were designed by Christina Rodriguez.



The Ken is 50 Party that was hosted this summer at the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History in Boynton Beach, Florida  commemorated the 50^th anniversary of the Ken doll. The event also celebrated Ken’s most loyal fans from the He’s A Doll Club and the National Barbie Convention that was held in South Florida.

Ken expert and author Jef Beck of Cedars Rapid, Iowa, signed copies of his book I Love Ken: My Life as the Ultimate Boyfriend. The books were provided by Barnes & Noble Booksellers and more than 50 copies were sold.  Guests also met Barbie and Ken live. Ken was dressed in his original red swim trunks and striped red and white shirt outfit; and Barbie wore her iconic black and white striped swimsuit.  These adult-size replicas of the original Ken and Barbie outfits were custom designed exclusively for the event by Christina Rodriguez.  Ken’s and Barbie’s hair and make-up were styled by the new Sephora and the Salon both located inside the recently remodeled JcPenney at the Boynton Beach Mall.

The Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History (MLFH) coordinated a caravan of buses to transport the international Barbie conventioneers to MLFH for the Ken is 50 Party. The event had national and international attendees with more than 70 conventioneers, who are among the most devoted Ken doll enthusiasts. They were visiting from Arizona, Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia, California, Vermont, Illinois, Georgia, Iowa, Tennessee, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and New Jersey as well as the Country of France, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Guests delighted in the all-you-can-eat buffet sponsored by Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, Donnie's Place Southern Restaurant, Le Petit Pain French Bakery, The Village Tavern and PRP Wine International.   Bottled water was donated by the Dollar Store at the Boynton Beach Mall.

Sephora of JcPenney donated the gift bags, and amazing jazz music was performed by Michael Kennedy plus the guests had unlimited access to view exhibits at MLFH and enjoyed a Shopping Night at the Boynton Beach Mall.  Hallmark at the Boynton Beach Mall offered for the event limited edition Ken Doll ornaments.

Teen pageant winners Miss Teen Miramar and Miss Teen Bonaventure volunteered at the event and were gracious hosts as they welcomed and greeted the guests.



MLFH is currently showcasing an anthropological display of more than 100 Barbie dolls, friends, family members, clothes and accessories in the Barbie: History, Fashions & More exhibit celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of the Ken doll.  The doll showcase chronicles the evolution of the Barbie and Ken dolls and their historical impact.  More than twenty collectors from South Florida, New Jersey, New York and Canada have provided dolls.



Author Jef Beck signed copies of I Love Ken: My Life as the Ultimate Boyfriend at the Ken is 50 Party hosted at the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History in Boynton Beach, Florida for the attendees of the National Barbie Convention



Miss Teen Miramar, Florida and Miss Teen Bonaventure, Florida were volunteer greeters at the Ken is 50 Party hosted at the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History in Boynton Beach, Florida for the attendees of the 2011 National Barbie Convention.



The JcPenney Team at the Ken is 50 Party at the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History! L-R: Maryann Galassi of the Salon at JcPenney-Boynton Beach Mall, with Crystal Rosa and Emily Plowman of the Sephora Inside JcPenney at the Boytnon Beach Mall

 All photos by Abbey Portrait Studios

Ken and Barbie with MLFH Executive  Director at the Ken is 50 Party. Photo by Thru The Lens Images

Barbie Conventioneers with Ken and Barbie at the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History for the Ken is 50 Party in Boynton Beach, Florida. Photo by Thru The Lens Images

Click Here for Sun-Sentinel News Story about Ken is 50 Party

The Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History in Boynton Beach, Florida is celebrating 50 years of Ken in its Barbie: History, Fashions & More exhibit.  This exhibit has been modified from its original display that opened in year 2009 for the 50^th birthday of Barbie. The Ken doll and his history are chronologically integrated in the Barbie exhibit.  The exhibit has been curated by Lori J. Durante.

The Barbie exhibit features numerous Ken dolls, his clothes, friends and family members along with more than 100 Barbie dolls, clothes and accessories from more than twenty collectors who are from throughout South Florida and Canada.  The Ken dolls are on exhibit now and will be showcased all year. Also displayed are designs by students from the Fashion Design Academy at Santaluces High School in Lantana, Florida and student works from the Miami International University of Art & Design in Miami, Florida.

The Ken doll was introduced by Mattel on March 11, 1961 as the boyfriend of Barbie, the Teen-Age Fashion Model.  He is two-years younger than his gal-pal Barbie.  Ken Carson was named after the son of the Mattel company co-founders, Ruth & Elliot Handler, who was named Kenneth.  Although the Ken doll was introduced on March 13, 1961 at the New York Toy Fair, Mattel is celebrating the birthday on March 11th.

  

He has been the first and only true love of Barbie.  When Ken arrived 50 years ago, he was featured with flocked (fleeced) blonde or brunette hair, and he wore red cotton swim-trunks, cork sandals and carried a yellow terry-cloth towel.  In 1981, the African American Ken Doll premiered.

For more information, visit http://mlfhmuseum.org/exhibitionschedule/barbiekenexhibit.html

Exhibit location:

Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History 

801 N. Congress Avenue, Suite 483

Boynton Beach Mall (inside Mall in North Wing of Mall)

Boynton Beach, FL  33426

561-243-2662

e-mail: BarbieExhibit@MLFHMUSEUM.org

MLFHMUSEUM.org

Barbie & Ken are registered Trademarks of Mattel.  The MLFH exhibit is not affiliated with Mattel.