22 Jul Barbie-Inspired Fashion for the Geek Who Hates Pink

I realize that the title of this post is Barbie-inspired fashion for the geek who hates pink. And, I mean, hate is such a strong word; but I have always had strong feelings about the color. Strong as in, I truly dislike the color pink. 

I’m sorry Barbiecore!

But am I?

Of course, this opinion has not and will not make me popular among many of the Barbie-girl circles, but that’s fine. Because I finally realized that I can be a Barbie-girl without all the pink.

I’m getting to the Barbie-Inspired Outfits, just walk with me for a second…

When Barbie was black and white.

I was yesterday-years-old when I learned that the first Barbie wasn’t even pink. Cut me some slack, will you? I didn’t really care much about the history of Barbie until this year (2023). Either way, the first Barbie wore a black and white swimsuit, black heels, and white sunglasses. No pink anywhere. In fact, it wasn’t until the 70’s that Mattel’s marketing department decided to entice the younger girl clique to love Barbie by making use of the color pink. Because that was what the media was telling all little girls to love at the time.

Fun fact: Pink was not originally even a color associated with those who identify as female. In fact, pink was a color assigned to men. Of war. For the blood of their enemies, or something cool like that.

How’s that pink looking for you, now?

Kidding. I’m sorry. 

(Maybe)

Either way, the making of the Barbie movie (2023) ushered in a whole new trend called Barbiecore that includes almost exclusively bright and lively pinks. 

So. Much. Pink. Everywhere (all at once).

Does Barbie-inspired fashion have to be pink?

No. No it does not. So don’t worry if pink is not your thing – this doesn’t disqualify you from being a Barbie girl in your own Barbie world. In fact, I talk about how to be your own Barbie in this post. You can start there for actionable steps to living your best Barbie life.

As a continuation of that post, I thought I would show you examples of some Barbie-inspired fashion from my own closet to serve as inspiration for being you own Barbie. Spoiler alert: I don’t own anything pink – I’m not sure I ever really have – so I wanted to work with what I had in my own closet. I’ll be honest – it’s been a while since I’ve shopped for anything that wasn’t from HerUniverse or Tee Turtle. 

I mean, if it doesn’t have a Star Wars or a nine-tail fox on it, I’m not generally interested. 

Stepping into my closet had me pleasantly surprised, however, to find plenty of black and white stripes among my normie-clothes. I forgot how much I love black and white stripes. I also have quite a bit of purple since it’s my favorite color. So I pulled out various pieces in the brightest purples I could find…

okay, so it’s me so it’s not going to be that bright, calm down

…and started putting four different outfit combinations together.

The outfits below are a nod to the very first Barbie, and they incorporate purple instead of pink. What could be better than that? From there, the fashion challenge was on!

A very Barbie Disclaimer

I want to pause for a short disclaimer:

Besides the fact that I do not consider myself a fashion expert by any stretch of the imagination, I do know a thing or two about dressing to highlight your personality, despite what others may think. This was a long road for me and I want to inspire you to always express your geeky self in whatever you do. When it comes to finding our own personal style, fashion seems to be the hardest to nail down. Don’t worry, I will have a blog series that helps us find and redefine our personal style, and I always say start with what you have.

For this challenge, I did not go out and purchase something new – I committed to finding my own Barbie persona using the clothes I already love and feel good in. Right out of my closet… *** if you don’t have it, don’t go buy it unless it’s just part of your open personal style because pink and Barbiecore will be over in the blink of a trend and we will move on to the next fad.

Many of my clothes are no longer being sold in stores, so I took to Amazon to find the closest matches I could for you, and provided the links below. *All clothing images are clickable Amazon Affiliate links – if you click and purchase using that link, I receive a small stipend and you’ve supported my blog at no additional cost to you.* But you will forever have my gratitude!

Barbie-inspired fashion (that isn’t pink)

Now that we have the disclaimer out of the way, I hope you love the outfit combinations below. But most of all, I hope that they inspire you to come up with your own. Remember, if purple isn’t your color, I hope this gives you some ideas on how you can dress in your favorite or preferred colors while still feeling like a Barbie-girl.

Outfit one.

For this Barbie-inspired fashion ensemble, I chose a purple skater skirt to pair with a black and white striped button-up top. As a die-hard fan of chunky T-straps and Mary Janes, I think it’s perfect with this combo. Some purple nail polish, purple gloss, and eye shadow shades from a Colourpop Troublemaker Palette, and you’ve got yourself a Barbie-worthy date-night outfit!

Outfit two.

I absolutely love this purple hi-low top and save it for special work occasions. When I pair it with some black and white striped leggings and purple combat boots, I feel a bit like a femme-fatale.

Outfit three.

This black and white striped dress from eShakti(.com) is a perfect unassuming midi dress with a slit. Are midi’s still in? I have no idea, but I love wearing this with combat boots or converse. And the wig is just a bonus – you don’t have to have one, of course. And it doesn’t have to be ombre purple.

Outfit four.

Sometimes you just want a tshirt, and Tee Turtle has the best, most comfortable tee’s I’ve worn in… well, ever. In fact, I’ve just about emptied my closet of all other t-shirts and own almost-exclusively only Tee Turtle shirts. I thought this one was appropriate for this particular topic and used the same striped leggings and added some converse for a chill outfit. If I wear this out, I’ll be sure to add a black hoodie or purple long cardigan as my security blanket (not pictured).

Shopping in your closet for Barbie-inspired fashion.

Okay, I’m going to admit this and then I don’t want to talk about it anymore – I had fun shopping in my closet. Putting together different pieces in ways that I haven’t thought of before gave me a bit of a different perspective on what I already own.

You bet this is coming back in another post!

If you decide to try this, be sure to share what you came up with below! If you’re sharing outfits on your social media, give us the link so we can check out how you’re being your own Barbie. Even if you do love pink! 😉

Come on Barbie, let’s go!

(you knew I was going to end on a cheesy note…)

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Some notes on Barbie-inspired fashion

Here are some of my non-Amazon makeup favorites you’ll see in the pictures. I’m neither sponsored nor affiliated with them, but I don’t care. They’re awesome and their products are amazing and I wanted to share what I’m currently loving!

• TeeTurtle shirts can be found on their website. While there are a few on Amazon, I think it’s better to purchase straight from them. Hubs and I have collected over 50+ shirts from TeeTurtle over the years – we love them so much!

 

• Right now, I’m loving Colourpop Eye Shadow Palettes and using them pretty exclusively. When I actually put on eye shadow. I’m neither sponsored nor affiliated with them, but they’re awesome and their makeup is amazing. You should try some!

Colourpop Trouble Maker Shadow Palette

Colourpop Ripple Super Shock Shadow

 

• Here are two of my favorite O.P.I Infinite Shine nail colors of the week:

O.P.I Infinite Shine in Graffiti Sweetie

O.P.I Infinite Shine in Steel Waters Run Deep

• When I wear lipstick, it has to be matte and it has to have staying power. This purple shade from LipBar isn’t my go-to, but it sure is pretty!

LipBar NonStop Liquid Matte in Prima Donna

If you liked what you see and want more information on the individual pieces in each image, I have sourced out similar pieces for you to find on Amazon in a wishlist. Click here to go to the wishlist page for this post. And thanks, again, for visiting and for shopping! 🙂