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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at NCSU chapter.

When rumblings of a live-action Barbie movie began almost a decade ago, I immediately became excited. I have been and will always be a “pink” girl. Everything I own is pretty much pink and my closet consists of mostly pink clothes, so needless to say Barbie is right up my alley. Rumors began swirling that Margot Robbie would be cast as the iconic blonde doll, but then it was announced that Amy Schumer was cast. But then, after creative differences, Schumer departed the film and the role went to Robbie—who I think is perfectly cast. After years of hearing nothing about the movie, I began to lose hope that the movie was never going to be made. Then, more news was dropped: Greta Gerwig was writing and directing. I absolutely love Gerwig’s work so my excitement grew. Then another period of no news which was snapped with a major casting announcement: Ryan Gosling was going to be Ken. Everything was finally coming together and when set photos hit the internet in June 2022, I knew I would finally get the Barbie movie I always wanted.

There have been hundreds of Barbies released since the first doll came out in 1959. Whether it’s their staple Barbie or Astronaut Barbie, she has had tons of different jobs and has taken so many different forms. So we wanted to recreate some of our favorites as a way to get excited for the movie.

Malibu Barbie

The first Barbie that we knew we had to recreate was the iconic Malibu Barbie. Originally released in 1971, Malibu Barbie is a surfer, beachy, cool girl who hangs out at the beach. Coincidentally, the inspiration for Malibu Barbie was the late actress Sharon Tate, who Robbie portrayed in 2019’s Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood. Taking direct inspiration from set photos, we styled a neon pink pair of biker shorts with a tie dyed bodysuit (created by me), a tie dye visor, and neon green hoop earrings.

Extra Superstar Barbie

Extra Barbie is one of the newest dolls in the franchise with a 2020 release date. She allows young girls to express themselves with the clothing they wear with a range of extravagant outfits and hairstyles. Extra Barbie exudes confidence, which is exactly what we wanted to channel for this look. For our Extra Superstar Barbie inspired look, we went all out with the pink and sequins! We paired a pink sequin top with a metallic pink skirt and a pink fluffy coat to match.

Eighties Barbie

Another iconic look from Barbie would be all of her looks from the eighties–whether they were authentically from the decade or recreations from following years. With big hair and bright eye makeup, the fashion of the eighties was done justice in all of her looks. For our look, we styled big hair with a handmade dress from the eighties (made by my grandmother), with gloves, hair tulle, and over the top jewelry.

Politician Barbie

Whether she’s giving a speech or at an extravagant presidential ball, Politician Barbie is always dressed to the nines. President Barbie has been released by Mattel nearly every election cycle, beginning in 1992, with its most recent 2020 release consisting of an entire female-led campaign team. Her fun yet chic style cements her as a fashion icon in the Barbie universe, as well as an inspiration to young girls. To create a Politician Barbie inspired outfit, we paired a bubblegum pink dress with a pink blazer, with pears and a “Vote For Me For Everything” pin.

Rodeo Barbie

A true cowgirl at heart, Rodeo Barbie was seen on the set of the upcoming Barbie movie, portrayed by Margot Robbie. In an attempt to recreate this iconic look from the set of the film, we styled a matching fringe top and skirt with pink sparkly cowboy boots. We added a bandana around the neck and a pink cowboy hat to better perfect the western look.  

Ken

You can’t have Barbie without her boyfriend Ken! Introduced two years after Barbie in 1961, Ken is always just following behind Barbie. His fashion is not as over-the-top as Barbie’s, but it is always there. We styled a pink polo with khakis and a Hermès scarf as an ascot to emulate Ken’s timeless style perfectly.

Make sure you go and see Barbie only in theaters July 21st. 

Cameron Crews is the president of Her Campus at NC State. She is responsible for publishing all articles, leading meetings, encouraging all staff, and overseeing the entire chapter. This is her third year on Her Campus and her second year as President. Outside of Her Campus, Cameron was the Editor-in-Chief of her high school’s yearbook, which she helped lead to being awarded the best book in the entire state and honored at Columbia University’s scholastic journalism awards. She worked as an intern at Southpark Magazine in Charlotte, NC, where she edited articles, conducted interviews, and assisted the editors. In the Summer of 2023, she attended Regents University in London, England, where she took fashion classes from high players in the fashion industry who have worked with the likes of Andy Warhol, Alexander McQueen, Christian Siriano, and more. She also had the opportunity to interview Brendan Fraser immediately after he won his “Best Actor” Oscar at the 2023 Academy Awards. She is a junior at NC State University majoring in Communications with a minor in Journalism. After graduation, she hopes to move to New York, LA, Paris, or London and work in the fashion industry as either a fashion editor or celebrity stylist. Cameron was born and raised in Charlotte, NC, with her younger brother and dog, George Bailey. She enjoys shopping, watching movies, listening to music, writing, hanging out with friends, and traveling in her free time. She is a huge Taylor Swift and Harry Styles fan and has seen them both in concert multiple times. She is also a huge Timothee Chalamet aficionado and is a huge movie fan–with some of her favorites being Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood, Barbie, Lady Bird, the Breakfast Club, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Ava Stewart

NCSU '25

Ava Stewart is the current Vice President of Her Campus at North Carolina State University. She loves to write about all things pop culture for the site, especially music. She is a true fangirl at heart which is heavily reflected through her writing. In addition to writing and publishing articles, she is in charge of overseeing the entire chapter and ensuring it runs smoothly. This is her third year as a member of Her Campus and second year serving as Vice President. She is currently a junior studying communication media studies, journalism and English at NCSU. In the summer of 2023, she briefly lived in London, England, taking literature and film classes to expand her background in reading and writing. She would love to go back to London after graduation. Ava was raised in Waxhaw, North Carolina, a town just outside of Charlotte. When she’s not writing for Her Campus, Ava loves listening to music, spending time with friends and traveling for concerts. She is a Harry Styles and Taylor Swift superfan and loves to find some way to incorporate the two of them in everything that she does. Her favorite Taylor Swift era is 1989 and she cannot live a day without listening to it.