💖 Come on Barbie lets go to Disney | A Disney Barbie Cosplay 💖

Photo taken by RMB Photography

For a long time, I said I was never going to get back into cosplay between community drama, elitism, and the ongoing pressure to have a new costume for every event. I was pretty happy with retiring from the cosplay community in 2018 but in the end of 2024/Beginning of 2025, I found myself feeling inspired again after a visit to the lovely RMB Photography’s Studio with a friend well there I ended up seeing his amazing Barbie Box and I found myself non stop thinking about a cosplay I wanted to put together back in 2017 that would also be just a great outfit to wear on my upcoming Disney World trip. So, Decided to bite the bullet and put together my 1996 Disney Fun Barbie cosplay.

How I put together the costume

My approach to cosplay has always been to attempt to get things as close to accurate as possible, well also making them look goo and match my own body type, skin tone, budget, etc. So I kept this in mind while selecting all my pieces for this costume. The First piece I ended up looking for and being very particular about was my overall shorts, I wanted them to be cut off instead of a rolled up like the doll because I wanted to be able to sit comfortably in them without cutting off any circulation so after researching options from multiple stores like Old Navy, Gap and H&M I ended up deciding on a pair from amazon because not only did they have good reviews they were a similar wash to what I was going for in the denim. 

For the Mickey Patch on the front of the overalls, I was torn between a few patch options I had found via Amazon, Etsy and AliExpress. I ended up going with the AliExpress option because it was within my budget and had the largest patch that would look more accurate to my proportions. When receiving the patch in the mail I was in love with it but well ironing on the patch I realized that the adhesive was not holding as much as I would have liked so I ended up sewing it on using tight form Zig Zag stitch (size .5 length and 4 width) all along the edge of the patch giving it a embroidered on look. For my shirt I ended up finding a shirt in my closet that I had purchased off amazon for another disneybound that ended up working perfectly it was missing the red cuffs on the edge of the shirt but after trying pinning on some similar red fabric to the cuffs of the shirt I decided I liked it better without! 

What I Wore

Photo taken by RMB Photography

Shirt: Amazon

Overalls: Amazon

Mickey Patch: AliExpress

Mickey Bag: AliExpress

Belt: RMB Photography Client Closet

Wig: Amazon

Ears: Disney Store (Similar)

Shoes: RMB Photography Client Closet

My next step in this look was accessories. For Barbie's Mickey Mouse bag I could not find a bag that I liked either the shape was off the fabric was off or the size was not proportionate to what I was looking for so I ended up deciding on a bag that I knew would photograph well and still fit the theme of the costume, I decided on a mickey hand shaped bag that I purchased from Aliexpress not only did it end up fitting the outfit really well but it also just turned out to be a really cute purchase. Leading up to the shoot, I could not decide on Mickey ears, so I ended up pulling multiple Mickey Ear options from my own collection and did not end up deciding on the pair till the actual date of the photo shoot. Myself and Richard (RMB Photography) ended up deciding on a pair of black and white sequin polka dot Minnie Ears with a red sequin bow because they looked best with the wig and overall set we designed.

Photo taken by RMB Photography

Well, putting together this look, I knew one important thing I wanted to do was get the barbie hair just right, with wigs I have experimented with a lot of shades of blonde, from platinum, ashy blonde to honey tones and I knew from those experiences what worked for me and what did not. So I knew I would be stepping away from the platinum barbie blonde that washed me out and made my skin look awful, and instead doing a honey blonde that better complemented me and looked significantly more natural! So I ended up ordering from one of my favourite lace front wig brands on Amazon Angel Lucky. Their lace front wigs are absolutely stunning and are such great quality for the price! Once the wig was out of the bag, all I needed to do was brush it and cut off the lace, and the wig was perfect!  

The Photoshoot

Photo taken by RMB Photography

Once I put together the costume, I booked a photoshoot with RMB Photography so I could actually use the Barbie box prop he had that inspired me in the first place! Along with bringing my costume, I ended up bringing a suitcase full of props from my childhood, Mickey and Minnie Plushies, to Mickey Mouse balloons I found on Amazon. We ended up decorating the outside of the Barbie box with Mickey Balloons and making it look more Disney, and used multiple of my props throughout the shoot to help with posing and working within the confines of the Barbie Box, and to say I squealed well seeing the previews behind the camera was an understatement. I absolutely loved the results of this photoshoot, and I am so grateful to have worked with the amazing RMB Photography to help make my silly little vision of turning myself into my childhood Barbie doll a reality.  

Although I came into this return to cosplay with a lot of hesitation and reluctance, I am so glad I finally took the leap and created a costume I was proud of and in the process took one step closer to healing my relationship with Cosplay. So now that I have come out of cosplay retirement, what costume would you want to see me put together next? Let me know in the comments below or tell me over on Instagram, and who knows, maybe I will make it happen, but until next time, Stay safe friends and be kind to each other- Chloe’s Fandom Life

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