In addition came the cost for clothes, often manufactured from precious materials,
like silk or brocade and tailored very expensively (lined and equipped with functional
buttons or zippers). Thus only the upper and middle class people could afford to
buy such toys, consequently the style of the doll oriented itself to the women of such
classes. From the mid sixties the actual fashion trend had been determined by
British designers, whose targets were particularly the younger and the lower classes
as potential buyers. This trend to bargain clothing continued also into the seventies,
when generally the consumers were urged to resist the high price exclusives. Mattel
followed these trends and manufactured Barbies clothes now mostly from synthetic
fabrics. Further the exclusive fashions for the elegant ladies disapperared and gave
way to more playful and brighter colored clothing which reflected the taste of the
masses. Also the doll itself followed this trend: with full waving blonde hair, wide
smiles, luscious neckline and very short mini skirts she now corresponded to the
general beauty ideal of the lower. She no longer visited only vernissages, golf
tournaments or tennis courts, but she dedicated her interests to more popular sports
like rollerskating or bowling and she visited pop concerts.

All this contributed to make the sales figures soar skyhigh.