Dreamhouse Living Tour: The Barbie truck is coming to New Jersey
Your Instagram feed may no longer be swathed in pink, but Barbie movie mania is still rolling on.
“Barbie is really misunderstood, but the movie humanized Barbie and helped her become more relatable and tapped people into their inner Barbie joy,” said Urania Chien, co-owner of the Barbie Truck, which is coming to New Jersey soon. “I’m in my 40s, and I felt too old for Barbie. But the movie showed that no one is too old for Barbie. You’re not too old for anything that brings you joy.”
The Barbie Truck will take its third tour to New Jersey when the truck stops at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus at the main entrance near Capital Grille and Pinstripes on Saturday, Sept. 30; the Menlo Park Mall in Edison by the grassy lot near Macy’s on Saturday, Oct. 7; and the Cherry Hill Mall near the food court entrance on Saturday, Oct. 14. It will then continue its pastel journey through the U.S.
The truck will be parked at each location from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. selling exclusive merchandise ranging from $12 to $75, such as lavender denim jackets, plush blankets, baseball caps, necklaces, glass mugs, coasters, thermal bottles and more. Only credit cards will be accepted. Each person who buys over $40 in merchandise will receive a free magnet.
The Dreamhouse Living Tour is in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Barbie Dreamhouse. The truck, which launched in 2019, previously was 1990s throwback-themed and Malibu Barbie-themed.
“This year, many of our Barbie Truck items are homewares or things that people can use everyday,” said Chien, who also owns the Hello Kitty truck. “It’s like having a piece of the Dreamhouse in your house.”
When the Barbie Dreamhouse debuted in 1962, women could not open their own bank accounts and only 0.1% of women were independent homeowners.
“It was so aspirational for people,” said Chien, who, as a child, remembers many parents saving up to purchase a Dreamhouse for their daughters. “Now, we want to build our own Dreamhouses. It doesn’t have to be pink, but whatever your version of the Dreamhouse is, that’s really powerful for people.”
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Some of the truck’s most popular items this season, Chien said, are the plush blanket and the coasters, which fans discovered are the perfect size to be Barbie’s rug inside the Dreamhouse.
You should expect to wait one or two hours in line, Chien said. But the good news, she added, is that you'll be able to meet plenty of Barbie fans and collectors.
“The merch is cool and people love that they can take a piece of Barbie home with them,” Chien said. “But I think people come for the personal connections that they make with other people.”
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Go: Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus at the main entrance near Capital Grille and Pinstripes, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30; the Menlo Park Mall in Edison by the grassy lot near Macy’s, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7; and the Cherry Hill Mall near the food court entrance, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14. shop.mattel.com/pages/barbie-truck-tour.
Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com
Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. You can also follow her on Instagram at @seejennaeat and on Twitter at @JIntersimone.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Barbie truck is coming to New Jersey, stopping in Paramus, Edison
