Barbie’s official birthday is March 9, 1959, the day she was unveiled to the toy industry during the New York Toy Fair. She first appeared in her iconic black-and-white striped swimsuit, and her first hairstyle was a little ponytail. She was initially marketed as a 'Teenage Fashion Model,' available as a blonde or a brunette. Inspired by the German doll Lilli, she was the first children's doll to have full adult features. Creator Ruth Handler defended her decision: 'If [a young girl] was going to roleplay what she would be like when she was 16 or 17, it was a little stupid to play with a doll with a flat chest. So I gave it beautiful breasts.' Ruth hired Jack Ryan, an engineer who worked on missile systems used by the U.S. military, as the head of R&D at Mattel to bring the first Barbie to life. In 1959, the doll's first year in the market, 300,000 $3 Barbies dolls were sold—a 1959 Barbie in mint condition sold at a 2006 auction for $27,450. Ken joined as her boyfriend in 1961.