Bougie Barbie Is This Summer's Hottest Design Trend
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The second the world caught a glimpse into the world of the upcoming Barbie film, we all couldn't help but think pink. While the Barbiecore aesthetic has been all the rage over the last year, we're seeing it evolve into a more grown-up, glammed up version you can think of as Barbiecore's even more fabulous big sister. Summer's hottest trend just might be a little something we're calling "Bougie Barbie."
The style is still colorful and playful, but it's the more sophisticated, grown-up version of Barbie's fantasy world. Instead of a bubblegum pink palette, think more along the lines of rose gold or mauve. Just like the doll herself, a real-life Bougie Barbie can be a lawyer, scientist, or CEO—but she's one whose made it a mission to inject fabulousness into her personal style wherever she can.
If that sounds like the kind of Dream Life you want to live in your Dream House (in Malibu or elsewhere), here's how to incorporate a little Bougie Barbie into your life, from your home to your closet to the vacation pics on your Instagram feed.
Bougie Barbie's Dream House
It's whimsical, it's colorful, and it's full of luxe materials, like pink marble or satin, to keep things elevated. "I would define Bougie Barbie style as a childhood fantasy but reincarnated into an adult," says designer Sasha Bikoff, a champion of whimsical interior design. "It's all about Barbie's glossy lifestyle that is this dichotomy of luxury and artificiality, one of those trending design movements that crosses that fine line between classy and tacky, a place I happen to enjoy thoroughly." For an example, check out the "Flight of Fancy" bedroom Bickoff designed for the Kips Bay Show House New York, complete with an inflated clamshell bed covered in iridescent fabric (up top) or the blush-colored Upper East Side apartment she created above.
Bold use of color is key in a Bougie Barbie Dream House. And while regular Barbie's world might be all pink, a Bougie Barbie isn't afraid to shy away from other hues, as in this gorgeous, glossy purple home bar by Toledo Geller.
"To make this monochromatic bar bold but keep it from feeling saccharine, we chose a moody color. Yes, it's essentially a purple, but it's a sophisticated, not too pop-y, purple," says Jessica Geller. "Call it aubergine, bordeaux, or eggplant, but whatever you do, don't call it your little girl’s purple. This is the kind of hue that changes with the day. In the early hours it's softer and slightly more cheerful while in the evening it fully supports the nightclub vibe." In other words, it doesn't scream "Hey Barbie, let's go party!" but it does promise a good time will be had by all.
Bougie Barbie's Dream Closet
Fashion is essential to Barbie's life, and that extends to Bougie Barbie life as well. Since there's a themed Barbie for every career and occasion, Bougie Barbie style can be appropriate in any setting. But there are three musts for a Bougie Barbie wardrobe: femininity, bright colors, and heels. The look is less Elle Woods and more Elle Fanning, here posing for her Insta feed in a Vivetta dress. Though the pink is limited to lace trim, the stunning ensemble is bold, bright, and bodycon. We're obsessing over the monochromatic dress-tights-heel combo.
Or, consider the fun—and shiny!—ensemble worn by Barbie alter ego Margot Robbie to the Chanel show recently. It's beach meets bling—so Bougie Barbie.
Bougie Barbie's Dream Vacation
Ready to travel like Bougie Barbie? Pop the top of your Barbie convertible and head to classic, pretty-in-pink hotels to pepper your Instagram feed with Bougie Barbie vacation pics. The iconic Beverly Hills Hotel, noted for its signature pink hue and banana-leaf wallpaper, is the ultimate Bougie Barbie stay. For a beachy option, Cobblers Cove in Barbados has been delighting guests with its pink decor since 1968. And this summer, timed to the Barbie movie, some resorts are offering special packages designed to appeal to Barbies of both the Bougie and Basic types. At the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Dollhouse Package includes a pink pool towel, Think Pink poolside cocktail, and a pass to see the movie. You can also add on a Dollface pink facial. (Skin care is something a Bougie Barbie takes seriously.) And if you need new suitcases to suit your Bougie Barbie style, opt for rose gold aluminum pieces, like Away's Large: Aluminum Edition, which is spacious enough to fit all your stilettos.
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