The Mojo of Music featuring Ashtyn Barbaree
In the world of music, fashion is more than just a choice of clothing—it's a visual language that speaks to an artist’s identity, mood, and cultural influences. For Ashtyn Barbarbee, a talented singer-songwriter based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, style and music are comfortably linked. From the early days of performing at farmers markets, to then being invariably seen at almost any event singing, Barbarbee has navigated a career in the music industry built on work ethics passed down from her mother. Her sense of style blends practicality with whimsy, creating a look that feels both personal and universally relatable. Informed by her Arkansas roots and love of performance, her mojo offers an insightful look at how clothing can tell a story and serve as a powerful form of self-expression.
In the outskirts of Chicago at the Folk Alliance Region Midwest, I caught up with Barbarbee before her showcase performance to discuss how her sense of style came to fruition. Coincidentally our interview landed on the eve of her new album Sent Through The Ceiling. The album deals with themes of self-discovery, resilience, and the bittersweet narratives of love and loss. In person, Barbarbee is a bubbly stream of positivity and motivation, sharing how she color codes her planner to balance her time between performing, promotion, pursuing grants, and squeezing in more opportunities. The current trip was a prime example as the next morning she would drive 30 minutes to perform on a local morning show to promote her new album.
For Barbarbee, fashion began as an extension of self-expression, influenced by her upbringing in the rural landscape of Fayetteville. Her earliest fashion choices were quirky and playful—mixing practical boots with princess dresses, an emblem of her desire to combine comfort with femininity. Her affection for boots, a constant in her wardrobe, is a reflection of her environment in northeast Arkansas, an area surrounded by trails, dirt, and rocks. This love for sturdy footwear is balanced by a desire for more softer, delicate items to create a dynamic and layered aesthetic.
“For some reason I would be drawn towards pink things and really feminine things. My mom would put me in a black shirt, black pants, boots, and a big bell on my neck, like a Christmas bell. She'd always know where I was. But then I started to choose what to wear. I would mix, match everything and wear the dirty, muddy boots with a princess dress. As an adult, I find myself doing that. I could wear a velvet prom dress with muddy boots to Walmart.”
-Ashtyn Barbaree
Growing up in a vibrant college town with a blend of artsy and blue-collar influences, Barbarbee discloses that a typical Fayetteville look would be a girl in a light princess dress with cowboy boots. The hybrid style merging outdoor functionality with that more romantic, feminine side, is representative of the region’s unique culture - a place where hard work and artistry coexist. Hard work has been instilled with Barbarbee from the start. Her mother’s family is from El Dorado, known as an oil town, where everyone worked very hard to support their families. That ethos is seen by her mother hanging sheet rock, replacing structural beams, and even re-siding the house. Barbaree presumes that it’s part of a southern culture that knows how to pick up a chainsaw and get stuff done.
Barbarbee’s journey as a musician began in high school back in 2011, where she played her first shows at the local farmers market, six hours every Saturday. During this time, her style was still evolving, but one constant was her preference for sundresses paired with boots—a look that has evolved into adulthood. Her graduation pictures were not typical either. She wore a prom dress and worn-in boots. In fact, the boots Barbaree was currently wearing are those boots as they’ve been re-soled 10 times since those high school days.
As she transitioned into a full-time music career, the performance aspect of her life began to influence her style just a bit more. Even in these more curated moments, she has stayed true to her personal aesthetic, opting for outfits that feel authentic rather than following trends. She rejects the idea of succumbing to industry pressures about how female musicians should dress, noting that she’s never been told to conform. Instead making sure that when you step on stage you look clean and that your clothes fit, signifying to the audience that you are taking the opportunity seriously.
“I feel like with a performance, it has to be something that’s a little bit more dramatic. On a normal day it might look like I’m in performance clothes because it’s just the things I like to wear. I was told when I first started playing music, it’s good to be professional and to be distinct, be yourself, and have something that people recognize you for. I actually had to make a rule for the guys in the band that they can’t have more than four pockets on their pants.”
-Ashtyn Barbaree
One of the most striking elements of Barbarbee’s style is the significance of certain pieces she wears repeatedly, creating a sense of continuity and recognition for her fans. Her signature Arkansas quartz earrings, which she’s worn for years, have become a defining accessory. "I’ve worn them so much over the last 15 years that people recognize them as part of me,” she says, emphasizing the power of repetition in building a recognizable look.
Barbarbee also has a deep appreciation for vintage and secondhand clothing, often incorporating items from thrift stores and local artists into her wardrobe. This approach not only reflects her personal style but also speaks to her commitment to sustainability and the value of handmade or repurposed goods. She loves going to thrift shops when traveling, seeking out unique pieces. A lot of her stuff she’s gotten has been from family members as her mother, aunt, cousin, and grandmother all share the same shoe size.
Her last album cover featured a 1940’s wedding dress that she found by asking an artist in town that has a cool personal collection of clothes that she resells. The embroidered top was a perfect representation of connecting the delicate and intricate songwriting and sound from the album to the old soul feel of her voice. This sense of shared history and personal connection through clothing further underscores how fashion serves as a marker of relationships and identity for Barbarbee.
Sometimes the perk of having the same clothing size as your mother pays off. When she was driving to Nashville a couple weeks ago, she was on the phone with her mother, who was roasting vegetables. She urged her mother to hop on a $40 flight immediately without packing anything. Barbaree shared that she had enough clothes, shoes, and hair accessories for both of them. Her mother left the vegetables on the counter, took the flight, and spent the week in Nashville being her wingwoman for Americana Fest. This sense of shared history and personal connection through clothing further underscores how fashion serves as a marker of relationships and identity for Barbarbee.
On the cusp of her performance at FARM, Barbaree first spotlights the bandana that she’s wearing. Given to her by a friend, she’s worn it and washed it a million times, leaving it very soft. Barbaree adores flowers so the floral pink with a hint of pink in it is one of her favorite accessories.
As previously mentioned, her boots have been re-soled 10 times and remain the most comfortable piece of footwear she owns. She continues to take them to the shoe cobbler to extend the life of them. She attests that as long as you get the bottom replaced before you bust through them completely, a good pair of boots will last forever. The boots are from Bedstu and were originally brown before she dyed them black. She can safely vouch that these boots have been worn for more than half of the shows she’s ever done.
She’s worn the ring since high school, which was a gift from her mother. The silver ring has a little flower on it. Barbaree has worn bracelets and necklaces in the past, but often gets caught in the strings of her guitar and the movement of them while playing is offputting.
The purple velvet dress was another gift recently on her 28th birthday. Her mother had her blind ‘try it on’. The first feeling when seeing it on her was nostalgic. She remembers having a purple velvet dress as a kid. So the dress has a little throwback vibe to it, but the cut is more mature. Barbaree admits that she always wears tights, seeing them as another element to the outfit. The cream fishnet tights are one in a variety of colors that she owns.
Finishing out the outfit is a small sliver of mojo peeking over the top of her boots. Found on clearance at Free People, the fringe ruffles caught her eye. That small little detail to the outfit adds a ton into the texture of the full look. It feels like a clever little callback to the 1940’s wedding dress worn on her first album, but now it’s finding a new place in an evolved look for the newest album.
“As a kid I always thought Fiona Apple looked so cool. In her music videos she had this really edgy, grittiness, moody and dark look, but emotionally it was beautiful. Everything she did was distinct and eye-catching.”
-Ashtyn Barbaree
Barbarbee’s fashion sense has been shaped by the music icons she admired growing up. Artists like Fiona Apple and Björk, with their distinctive and often boundary-pushing fashion choices, inspired Barbarbee to embrace a style that is both eclectic and unapologetically individual. Barbaree carries the same mojo that Apple has with the ability to combine vulnerability with strength through her visuals. Barbarbee doesn’t always consciously emulate these artists’ looks, but their influence has seeped into her understanding of how fashion can enhance a musical persona.
It's not just famous musicians who inspire her style. Friends and fellow artists also play a key role in shaping her wardrobe. Her friend and hairstylist Lauren Treat have an arrangement based on their appreciation of each other's style in that they borrow clothes from each other. This constant mix-and-match keeps Barbaree inspired to always try new pairings out. There’s a photographer out of Little Rock named Stephanie Parsley that consistently influences Barbaree with her creative pairing of her outfits. Finally, her high school friend Dina is always sharing variations and ways to upgrade an outfit, like tucking in a shirt into a skirt, layering necklaces, or taking a vintage ring to use with bandanas in place of an actual knot.
Sent Through The Ceiling delivers with plenty of mojo in the 10 songs. “Along For the Ride” opens the album and deals with the tragic loss of her first love in a car accident. The strength and courage to cull back those memories, writing them into a song, shows the power of storytelling. While “Copenhagen” leans into the moment of falling in love again. Barbaree’s voice is reminiscent of a fairy tale—light, airy, whispery, and ethereal. The new album showcases the richness and evolution of her songwriting. It dives into heavier themes while keeping with a slickness in production.
Despite the allure of bigger music hubs like Nashville or Los Angeles, Barbarbee has remained grounded in Arkansas, a place she feels is integral to her identity as an artist. While she acknowledges that being based in Arkansas presents logistical challenges, particularly when it comes to traveling, she values the quiet, natural beauty of the area and the strong sense of community it provides. “I love being able to jump into a beautiful clean river with great water quality. The trees, the animals—it’s magical,” she says, reinforcing how her surroundings continue to inform her art, both musically and stylistically.
Barbarbee’s style, much like her music, is a blend of influences, practicalities, and emotional resonance. From the boots she’s worn for years to the vintage pieces she finds on her travels, her wardrobe tells a story of a woman who values comfort, creativity, and individuality. Whether she’s performing on stage or strolling through a local thrift shop, her fashion is a reflection of her journey—a unique fusion of grit and glamour, grounded in her roots but always evolving. In this way, Ashtyn Barbarbee exemplifies the intersection of fashion and music: a space where both serve as tools for storytelling, self-expression, and connection with others.
“One thing that I feel goes along with how I dress and how I perform is that what I’m doing does not fit in a very specific box. I’m pulling from a lot of different genres and don’t fit into a traditional lane. When someone looks at me, they can see a mix of classic, old school country, but with a modern twist to it.”
Check out the links below for ways to follow Ashtyn Barbaree and all the things we discussed above.
Ashtyn Barbaree Website - Instagram - YouTube - Spotify - Bedstu Boots - Stephanie Parsley - Fiona Apple’s Mojo
