With an African-American First Lady and two daughters, Mattel decided to create an new "authentic" African-American Barbie doll.

The "So In Style" line of Black Barbie dolls have realistic African features, such as fuller lips, a fuller nose and more pronounced cheek bones.

Black Barbie dolls have been both praised and criticized. Some are happy with Mattel's attempt to create a realistic and inspiring black barbie. Others, have felt that Mattel should have gone further in their attempt to make the new African-American Barbie more realistic.

The new Black Barbie dolls may not be mirror-perfect, but they certainly come closer than any previous Black Barbies. Unquestionably, the new African-American Barbie can be seen as a step in the right direction!

The black Barbie was created by Stacey McBride-Irby who is an African-American and veteran Barbie designer. Stacey McBride-Irby was inspired by her six-year-old daughter. She wanted to create dolls that were inspirational and career-minded for young black girls to emulate. In addition, she wanted the young girls to share similar African-American facial features with the dolls. Photo Source: Dolls of Color