Growing up, Barbie and her pals led us to believe we could travel the world as multi-hyphenate moguls (paleontologist/stewardess/princess was a totally viable career path) with an ever-evolving wardrobe and impeccable makeup. We've since learned to manage expectations. However, Barbie has continued to live out our wildest dreams. These days, she's outgrown your childhood bedroom and is dominating Instagram.
Barbie "joined" Instagram as @barbiestyle on August 27, 2014. A little over a year later, she reached the million-follower mark. She only follows 193 accounts. (How exclusive!) Barbie still embarks on many glamorous adventures — she's attended three global fashion weeks, she's worn a flower crown at Coachella, and attended the Golden Globes — but now has an audience tracking, liking, and validating her every move. The Perfect Doll now has The Perfect Life with The Perfect Instagram Account. And celebrating her many, many followers just reflects how narcissistic people have become thanks to social media.
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What's the secret sauce that makes Barbie's Instagram so enticing? On her feed you'll find flat lays of her outfits, snaps from a weekend SoulCycle ride, and close-up shots of her accessories. Essentially, Barbie's just living that charmed West Coast blogger life. (She even has the don't-you-dare-make-eye-contact-with-the-camera pose down pat.) And as we've seen with many actual bloggers, it's taking her places.
However, she's not just parading around the globe for fashion month. Barbie has been getting down to business at every style capital: penciling in face time with Instagram's Eva Chen in New York, meeting with the Net-a-Porter buying team in London, and guest-editing Vogue Italia in Milan. Meanwhile, we're refreshing out feeds with crippling FOMO. Thanks, Barbie...