Cowboy Ken, who is a style icon for guys, has always fought against this truth. Men have had a hard time with dress over the past 100 years. Menswear designers often bring back the same basic shapes in dull colours, while female designers are always coming up with new trends and looks in new colour palettes and styles.
Since his first appearance in a ken cowboy outfit as Barbie’s boyfriend in 1961, when he wore red swim trunks and slides that matched, he’s shown that men’s fashion can be just as fun and creative as women’s.
Cowboy Ken
It’s not like Cowboy Ken has had much of an effect on the fashion tastes of real guys. The doll was always meant for little girls, after all. But as ideas about men and women change, Mattel is selling its dolls in a more inclusive way by including boys in its ads. With Greta Gerwig’s new Barbie movie added to the mix, Ken is finally about to get his chance.
The actor who plays the part, Ryan Gosling, looks great in his cowboy ken outfit. He shows off his great arms by wearing bowling shirts with fun, bright prints and denim jackets with the sleeves cut off. For one scene, he wears a fur coat over a leather fringe vest and a horse necklace and black bandana on his head. Don’t get it wrong, though—the man also knows how to dress down. With a black T-shirt, pants, and loafers, he can pull off a James Dean look when the mood is more low-key.
Cowboy Ken’s looks seem to be making a difference off camera too. While promoting their movies, Gosling and his male co-stars have been seen in fun prints and pastel-colored suits. This season, menswear designers are also going for big, bright looks.
If you’ve ever wanted to try something new with your everyday style, now is the time. Check out this step-by-step guide to fashion that looks like Ken.
Pick a Decade
For more than 60 years, Cowboy Ken has been a design icon. But in that time, his style has changed to keep up with what’s new in clothing. In fact, Mattel has had a team of designers whose sole job is to make tiny versions of looks seen on the catwalk for Ken toys. The costume makers for the new Barbie movie seem to have drawn ideas from all of Ken’s old clothes. This is good news because it means you can now choose from many of Ken’s looks to find the one that fits your style and attitude the best.
Ken looked like a movie star in the 1960s. With a red sweater over a white T-shirt, he could sometimes pull off the cute high school boyfriend look. But when he went to Europe with Barbie, he wore a cute carry-on bag, black and white shoes, and a green sports jacket.
In the 1980s, both Ken and Barbie were big into working out. To show it, they wore neon spandex and bright tracksuits.
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