Vintage Barbie


This dress reminds me of vintage Barbie. You know the classic Barbie in the striped swimsuit? Yeah that one; of course my proportions are different and my makeup is less fierce. Still a graphic dress like this combined with my pink hair makes me feel like a cartoon character if not a doll. Right before I studied in Japan a friend told me I wanted to go to Japan because I "wanted to look like an anime character" and he wasn't far from the truth. More than fashion magazines or pop groups and actors my early visual influences were definitely anime. I mean I read a lot of books, but they didn't have pictures so when I think about the clothes I aspired to wear or the people I thought were attractive it was usually an anime character. What I didn't know then was some animators were being inspired by runway collections. Naoko Takeuchi the creator of Sailor Moon created different costumes and manga pages inspired by 90s runways and ads. A villain was clad in Christian Lacroix while Sailor Pluto wore Chanel. It's interesting when you re-visit things that made an impression on you as a child and realize how they relate back to what is inspiring you now. I've watched a couple of the Sailor Moon Crystal episodes, but right now I'm more likely to be digging through the latest runway collections on Style.com than reading manga.
P.S. This dress is described as a navy and white on the website, but mine definitely arrived pure black and white.


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