“My first memory of a 501 jean was the cooler, older teenagers wearing them and having the high-waisted-slash-slouchy look. I was like, ‘Oh my god, I want a real pair of jeans!’” Since then, Barbie Ferreira has not only gotten her hands on a pair of 501®s, she also has become one of the coolest of the cool kids with her authentic and inclusive approach to life, art, beauty, and style. It’s an approach that inspires women all over the world to love and embrace themselves for who they are. And, more often than not, it’s done in a great piece of vintage Levi’s® denim.
“Me and vintage denim go back,” says Barbie. “We have a kind of on and off relationship.” It’s a relationship that is often filled with vintage men’s 501®s, which Barbie likes to wear either tailored or with a belt to get that, what she likes to call “slouchy look.” Whether she’s in a particular denim-focused phase or not, she says that she is always looking for that perfect pair of vintage 501®s.
Of course, her love for denim doesn’t stop at just jeans. Barbie also happens to be a big proponent of the classic double denim “Canadian Tuxedo.” It’s a stylistic hallmark that she first explored back in her high school days when she regularly paired Levi’s® 501®s with an oversized Levi’s® Trucker jacket, and then capped it all off with a denim backpack and a denim hat. “I don’t know why,” she says about her head-to-toe denim look. “I think it was just really cozy. My style was always kind of more casual and more street wear. So that was just my go-to.”
These days, while Barbie still often opts for the Canadian Tuxedo, her main approach to style is to simply dress the way she’s feeling. Sometimes that means denim, sometimes it’s a monochromatic outfit, and sometimes, certainly during the pandemic, it’s a great pair of sweats. However she puts her look together, though, the constant is a style that is always authentic, and always true to herself.
We caught up with Barbie on the set of our 501® Originals Campaign shoot, see what she has to say.