A Barbie truck — yes, as in the plastic doll — will be rolling through Pentagon City next month.
On Saturday, May 7, the “Barbie Truck Totally Throwback Malibu Tour” is planning on setting up shop at Westpost (formerly Pentagon Row) in the courtyard near DSW shoe store. The truck will be selling “retro-inspired” Barbie merchandise — like Barbie logo embroidered denim jackets and Malibu Barbie necklaces — from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Merchandise prices range from $12 to $75.
The vibe is apparently “70s beach,” according to the press release.
The truck’s stop in Arlington is part of its “U.S. tour to celebrate the 50th Anniversary and iconic heritage of the original California girl, Malibu Barbie.” The tour started in Los Angeles back in 2019.
The Malibu Barbie’s 50th anniversary actually was last year, since it debuted in 1971. The original Barbie made its first appearance on toy shelves in 1959.
In recent years, Barbie dolls have been met with some criticism for encouraging materialism and promoting unrealistic body proportions. In 2016, Mattel, the company behind Barbie, introduced several different, more realistic body types for the line.
Pentagon City isn’t the only local stop that the Barbie Truck is making. This Saturday, April 16, the Malibu Barbie tour is hitting the sands of Tysons Corner Center. It will be in Bethesda on Saturday, April 30, and in Columbia, Maryland on Saturday, May 14.