'Barbie Man' Stanley Colorite Owns 3,000 Barbie & Ken Dolls (PICTURES)

'It’s Like A Drug Habit, I Just Can’t Quit': Male Cleaning Boss Who Has Collected 3,000 Barbies

A 41-year-old Florida man has revealed he spends £20,000 a year working on his Barbie doll collection.

Stanley Colorite has 2,000 Barbies and 1,000 Ken figures, with some of the prized dolls worth up to £650 each.

His seven-bedroom home has become a museum to the popular girl's toy, taking up four rooms - including the bathroom.

Scroll down for a gallery of Colorite's Ken and Barbie dolls

Stanley Colorite spends £20,000 a year on maintaining his Barbie doll collection

Colorite also owns 3,000 Barbie outfits, including one by fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, as well as an airplane, motorcycle, limousine and camper van for the dolls.

The incredible collection includes everything from Barbie mouthwash and plasters to a Dream House, with working shower and lift, thought to be worth £660.

Colorite, who runs his own cleaning business, said: "I started with just one doll and my collection has grown and grown.

"Barbie isn't just a toy for children, she's for adult collectors too. I can't stop collecting - it's like a drug habit, I just can't quit."

Colorite, who also designs his own Barbies for charity, bought his first Barbie, a 'Happy Holidays' doll, in 1997.

Now he buys up to 20 a month from toy shops, jumble sales and eBay.

He said: "I remember seeing her and thinking she was beautiful. I bought her straight away and it's just gone from there.

"If I see a Barbie or anything with the Barbie name on it I have to buy it. I've got everything from the toothpaste to a watch with her face on it.

"My favourite Barbie is a 1992 doll, she is worth $975. The oldest Barbie I have is from 1962 and I bought her at a second-hand sale for six dollars."

Colorite with boyfriend Dennis Schlicker at their home in Hudson, Florida

Colorite lives with his boyfriend, Dennis Schlicker, 61, who collects Ken dolls and now has every version made in America.

Since meeting 13 years ago, the couple has visited Barbie conventions together in the U.S and they enjoy making jewellery for the dolls as well as curling their hair in their spare time.

Schlicker said: "When I first met Stanley he only had 150 dolls. They were all in their cases on the walls and it had to be the most I'd ever seen in one place before.

"Then I started collecting Kens and helping Stanley with his collection and it's just got bigger and bigger."

Colorite added: "People walk in to my museum and their jaws just drop to the ground, they just don't know what to say."

"The Barbies take up four rooms of the house but I won't stop collecting until I run out of rooms.

"I'll glue them to the ceiling or make chandeliers out of them if I have to - but I wouldn't move home.

"I don't need a mansion for my museum. My house is my mansion, it's my own Barbie Dream House."

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