David Parise was inspired by the vintage Barbie clothes of the 60’s that he came across in a Miami Beach store almost a decade ago. The detail and quality of the clothes adorning those plastic limbs really struck a chord in the ex- NYC garment industry worker. He took that inspiration, added his love of photography and threw in the equally vintage backdrop of Miami’s South Beach to create humorous, whimsical, sometimes raunchy photos of vintage barbies. In his photographs, Barbie’s might be posed on the beach, in front of your favorite South Florida hot spot, lounging in their perfectly mid-century living room or maybe picnicing over the Grand Canyon.

Parise began taking the photos in 2009 and selling them in the famed Miami Antique and Collectible Market, then eventually expanded to galleries as far and wide as NY and LA.  I guarantee his work will make you do a double-take and will most likely inspire a smile.  But if you’re looking for a deeper meaning in this art, don’t search too far. Parise admits as much on his website, “My art is fun, with no serious statement, it might make you smile, sometimes laugh and hopefully hits a nostalgic chord in you.”  Done, done and done!

You can buy Parise’s prints here find him on Instagram @vintagebarbieandken or if you’re in NYC anytime soon, find him in SOHO (124 Prince Street to be exact) Thursday – Sunday’s.