Barbie’s Day at the Salon

You gotta love someone willing to go to these lengths just to give a member of her team a warm fuzzy.

[Check out the photo gallery!]

“Barbie Goes Red”
By Kelli Finglass (Director, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
DallasCowboysCheerleaders.com
May 30, 2013

Every now and then I get a wacky idea that is next to impossible to execute, but I will fixate until the mission is accomplished.

Each year at auditions, I select a few Director’s Choice Awards for outstanding solos performed by the candidates. The prize? My pride and joy in my journey as DCC director – the coveted DCC Barbie.

The DCC Barbie represents determination to me because, beginning in 1992, I wrote letters and made phone calls to Mattel with the hope of partnering on a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Barbie. I have all the copies of my letters and the “Thanks, but no thanks” responses I received back from Mattel in my file of “determination.”

Long story short, in 2006 I received a phone call from Robert Best, who was a designer for the Barbie Collectible Division. Robert also was the lead designer for the annual Holiday Barbie! He was based in Hollywood, had been a judge on Project Runway and was a fan of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team on CMT. He continued the call by asking if I would ever consider lending the DCC image to a Collectible Barbie. He mentioned he was originally from Dallas and he loved the DCC uniform and how it could translate on Barbie.

I squealed, laughed at the fact that I had been writing my annual letter to Mattel each year, never took no for an answer, and the final ask came from Mattel to me by a lovely designer who was a Dallas native!

With impressive attention to detail in designing Barbie’s makeup, uniform and boots, every detail was articulate, right down to the crystal earrings she wore. In 2007, Barbie hit the market and sold out in just three days.

Told you so!

We released a blonde, brunette and an African-American Barbie as part of the collection, and you can now only find them on EBay and similar websites.

Fast forward to the present, and I am awarding Emma Mary, a third-year DCC veteran, the artistic excellence award for her outstanding solo at Final Auditions.

Challenge: Emma has red hair and we didn’t make a redheaded Barbie, a mistake I admit now.

Blonde barbie safe in her box Because I’m a visual perfectionist, and can be “over the top” on gift giving, I was bound and determined to transform one of my treasured Barbies (that we keep locked in a closet) into a vibrant REDHEAD. I mentioned it to my staff in a team meeting, and they all rolled their eyes with one of those “you gotta be kidding” moments. (This motivates me even more, by the way.)

So, my own hair color appointment was the next week at Premier Atelier, and I thought I’d take Barbie along for the ride, and see … just see … if the experts at the Salon could help me achieve my vision of “Making Barbie Red.” My concern was Barbie’s hair was synthetic, and we’d probably wind up with “Bald Barbie” instead of a vibrant redhead like Emma.

Barbie got a consultation and giggles from the pros at Premier Atelier, and it was decided that instead of doing permanent color and foils, Barbie would get a spray on color by the fashionable Bumble and Bumble product line.

After a painful attempt at getting Barbie out of her Collector’s Edition Box without damaging the packaging, we then had to get her “unwired” from the box. We almost made the fatal decision of pulling her head off for the procedure.

Jonny and Lindsay began the process of coloring Barbie as I looked on. I was getting my red refreshed, too! When the initial color was done, Lindsay did some touch-up red to Barbie’s roots and then laid her down to process. Barbie looked as if she was in post-surgery on a steel table as she was wrapped in a towel while her hair was “processing.”

Barbie checks out her new look

At the conclusion, the Barbie was a vibrant redhead and sat in the salon chair admiring her now look! We all giggled with pride and anticipation of how shocked Emma would be to not only win the Barbie, but also be the ONLY person in the world to have an Official Custom Redhead Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Barbie!

Emma and her BarbieI felt the joy of Christmas when I presented Emma her Director’s Choice Barbie, and the DCC in the room squealed when we revealed the one and only “Emma Barbie.”

In total, I awarded nine Director’s Choice Awards from this season’s Final Auditions: Jacie Scott, Olivia Rene, Carisa Rose, Hannah Alexandra, Mackenzie Lee, Mia Greenhouse, Jennifer Alexis, Ashley Marie, and Emma Mary. A fun time for all!