Real life Barbie who dresses all in pink is worried look will scare off her Ken - but a colour expert disagrees

In just a few days, the long anticipated Barbie film will be released in the cinemas and hundreds of thousands of people across the UK, and millions of people around the world, are expected to visit their local cinema to watch it.

One of those people will be 18-year-old Katie Loveday, who is a self-proclaimed real life Barbie. The business owner, from Sleaford, Lincolnshire, says she models everything - from her clothes to her car to her home - on the iconic doll. As a result, everything in her life is Barbie’s favourite colour - pink.

Loveday says she has dressed head-to-toe in pink for as long as she can remember and is the proud owner of a huge collection of Barbie dolls. In fact, she estimates that she has around 100 dolls that are either Barbie or Bratz, another popular doll which was released in 2001 and subsequently became the subject of a film - the aptly named ‘Bratz: The Movie’ which was released in 2007.

She says: “Since I can remember, I’ve always had loads of Barbies. I always got them as presents for birthdays - and Bratz dolls too. I had all the limited edition dolls - like the Dream Wedding Barbie and the one which came with the pink car. I dressed them up in all pink. Mum noticed my obsession and would always buy me pink clothes, as she loves it, too.”

Loveday’s mum is Alison, aged 55, Alison, 55, who also loves the specific shade of baby pink and has included lots of pink decor in her home. “My mum is very bling and sparkly. She has a baby pink style, whereas I love all shades of pink. We’re a very fashion oriented family,” adds Loveday.

But, despite her love of the colour, Loveday hasn’t always felt she could wear it as much as she liked. When she attended secondary school at the age of 12 she said she felt the need to wear different colours to fit in with her classmates and avoid standing out from the crowd.

“I wanted to copy everyone else a bit - my style became very basic and very plain. I was wearing plain white t-shirts, white shoes and skinny jeans all the time. I felt very insecure in those outfits - and I couldn’t understand why.

"Once I’d finished school and become a more independent person, I realised I didn’t actually look good in any of those clothes, I was just wearing what I thought other people wanted me to wear.”

In 2020, Loveday felt confident enough to return to wearing the colour she had adored since childhood once more - and then, she says, her preference became an addiction. Now, she spends “a good chunk" of her monthly income on pink clothes and refuses to wear anything that isn’t a shade of the colour.

“If I’m out shopping my eyes just naturally draw to pink things - there’s no point trying to wear anything else. I shop online for new bits every single day. I have alerts on so many of my apps and have even managed to adjust it so it’s only pink clothing. Then, when I’ve worn the outfits a few times, I usually just sell them on second hand clothing app Depop and buy more”.

But, despite re-discovering her unique style, Loveday worries her look will cause complications for her in her quest to find her very own Ken.

“I just expect people I’m dating to walk into my room and think the all pink is too much. I worry most people also want a partner who dresses more chill - while I base my entire look on the Barbies of my childhood.”

It seems Loveday’s concerns may not be completely unfounded as the colour pink is viewed as a typically feminine colour. Lindsay Edwards, a personal stylist and colour analyst, told NationalWorld that pink is a colour with many psychological connotations and for many it symbolises love, kindness, compassion and femininity. However, the perception of pink as a ‘girly’ colour may be changing, as she adds: “whilst pink is certainly not worn equally by men and women just yet, it is gradually shifting its socially imposed restrictions and becoming viewed as ‘just another colour’ that’s accessible to all”. 

For now, however, Loveday, who runs her own clothing business, is looking forward to being able to see her idol on the big screen. She says: “I’m not even a film person, but I’m so excited for Barbie to come out. Childhood me would go absolutely crazy seeing her style represented on screen. I just know when I watch it, I’ll be like ‘I need that outfit’. I’m already trying to find a dupe for her pink shoes."