Rock On, Rockstar: Too Many Pictures of My Barbie and the Rockstars Costume

No, I’m not going to be Robert Daltrey for Halloween, nor a shaggy sheep like some guessed.  The big, blonde mess of hair would be a misguided role model of my childhood, Barbie… as a Rocker.

I am not a costume in a bag type gal.  So I took care to track down an authentic Barbie & the Rockers outfit, piece by piece. Concerned also with making sure these pieces could live beyond a single use, I will share my Rocker temporary tweaks. Along with these adaptations, I also took some liberties with the classic Rockers outfit, imparting a few subtle changes as Mattel did throughout the years she was sold.

My first thought was to use silver glitter puffy paint to create the characteristic trim to the Rockers boots.  But after finding these pleather boots, I knew they would work well for a ton of other costumes.  So puffy-painting them up would ruin that. I opted for circular, silver stickers so I can easily peel them off afterwards. A note on the pleather boots: I bought them on Amazon for less than $30.

Before & after

My hiking boots in the background.  Part of a different Barbie costume. 

All the sparkle. I want to mention that my tights are similar to Barbie’s original leg wear, before the it was changed to stripes shown in the picture up there.  Onwards to the earrings… the purple bangle… the microphone.  Small details that were necessary as a costume’s accessories seal the visual deal.  I took some liberties with the earring design based on availability.  Most characteristic, the large triangular paper-like pendant.  To recreate, I bought a sheet of silver glittery vinyl, thin enough to cut easily, to be poked it onto to a pair hot pink plastic earrings purchased on eBay.  Make sure to measure your lobe to collar before you cut the vinyl.  Easy peasy.

She;’s got a pretty characteristic headband. I bought a purple mesh fabric that was iridescent too.  (I have a thing for iridescence.  When I was a little girl I thought Crystal Barbie had the most beautiful dress ever. I plan to sew a Crystal Barbie costume one day.)  And I bought a hot pink shaggy fabric. 

It’s Dress Up Day!  The before… with my hot pink manicure. 

Finally, the most important accessory: the make-up.  But I am terrible at applying anything more than very basic make-up.  I also had no desire to purchase make-up of this pinky-purply color palette.  So I booked a Halloween make-up appointment at MAC.  Since I thought about this a little late in the game, I had to trek to White Plains as all NYC-area 90-minute make-up appointments were fully booked.

All done and time to practice Barbie smiles.  

Photoshoot time!  Before you judge the number of pictures below, know that I have wanted to get this costume together since I was a little girl who played with the doll.

Messy storage room

And then I did some ridiculous graphic things, because–again–I am very excited about pulling this costume off accurately! 

At the end of the night, I didn’t want to take my make-up off… just in dread of how many cotton balls I’d need.  Hmm, I had gotten used to my blond hair.  Until I saw my brunette hair.

Crystal Barbie, you’re next!  Happy Halloween weekend!!