A Guide to the Best of Southern California : SHOPTALK : Barbie Lives Here

“SOMEDAY, DOLLS will sell for a million dollars, like fine paintings,” says longtime collector Jackie Kaner. But money’s not the point for the doll aficionados who frequent her Jackie’s Dolls of the Valley store. “Most customers ask for specific dolls--the dolls they had as children.” Tucked away in a mini-mall, Jackie’s stocks hundreds of dolls, as well as cribs, carriages, wigs, clothes, accessories and reference books.

The dolls come in two classes: antique and collectible. Collectibles ($5 to $1,000) include countless permutations of Barbie; of the antiques (more than 50 years old), there are the favorite Shirley Temple models ($350 to $2,000) and a solid collection of Bisque dolls.

Jackie’s Dolls of the Valley, 9420 Reseda Blvd., Northridge; (818) 993-6899.