Fashion & Style News: Barbie Canoodles with Christian Louboutin

The original fashionista Barbie turned 50 this year and what better way to celebrate fifty years of fabulouslessness than to do it in a pair of Christian Louboutins? The "red-bottoms" as my male friends call them, are the mark of perfection for shoe lovers. Mattel, makers of Barbie partnered with Louboutin to commemorate the doll's birthday in style.

The commemorative project includes a customized Barbie doll and accessories collection by the designer and a diary filled with images of Louboutin and his muse is perhaps the most exciting part of the project. Included in the collection Barbie's pink Christian Louboutin shoe made its debut during her birthday runway show in February during New York Fashion Week.

The three dolls come in Louboutin shoes boxes with four pairs of Barbie-sized Louboutin heels. In December the Louboutin jewel-thief themed Barbie will debut, followed by safari-themed Barbie in February, and a Louboutin designed Barbie for the Cannes Film Festival.

The dolls will be sold through BarbieCollector.com and Net-a-Porter.com, which is Mattel's exclusive partner. Both sites will also offer a Christian Louboutin Barbie shoe collection for $40 a set.

The diary, My Year in Paris With Christian Louboutin is also sold separately for $40. Unfortunately, Ken is missing in action in the photos and Barbie refuses to comment on their personal life.

Italian Vogue's Barbie Issue

Call her Miss Ross (as in Diana)

Il mio bel Barbie nero (My beautiful black Barbie)is fierce! Italian Vogue pays homage to Barbie on her 50th birthday with themed shots of little chocolate Barbies everywhere. As if we needed another reason to hate the girl with the perfect boyfriend (Ken), the hottest ride (a Corvette last time I played with her), and a dream house to die for. Barbie has been a beach girl, a bride, a nurse, a rock n' roll star, and quite frankly a diva. Black Barbie made her debut as "Francie" in 1967 but was reintroduced as "Christie" in 1968 to include more profound African-American features. While many competitors have tried to steal Barbie's shine, they simply can't compare. We celebrate Barbie for giving girls everywhere there first taste of the fabulous life.