Valley of the doll: in a gloriously kitschy new picture book, Barbie finally gets the Hollywood glamour treatment she deserves.

Her white cat-eye sunglasses set off her snug Pucci sundress. She pauses next to her convertible, soaking up the SoCal sun as the world-famous Hollywood sign beckons in the background. It is a classic Los Angeles moment, even if the model is just shy of a foot tall. Just in time for her 45th anniversary, Barbie Loves L.A., a charming photo book by costume designer Greg LaVoi, captures the uberdoll and fashionista extraordinaire at all her favorite Los Angeles landmarks. Painstakingly shot by LaVoi as if Barbie were life-size, the tableaux draw almost entirely from his collection of over 100 mint-condition Barbie, Ken, and Midge dolls, countless vintage outfits, and fleet of Barbie dream cars. (There are even a few celebrity cameos.)

LaVoi first decided to put Barbie before the camera after inspiration came during his day job as an Emmy-nominated costume designer (he's currently working on ABC's upcoming drama The D.A.). "We'd be [shooting] at a fabulous location like the Ambassador Hotel," he says, "and I thought, Oh, gosh, it would be great to have a picture of Barbie outside of here!" LaVoi estimates that over the last two years he's taken over 1,000 photographs of Barbie at iconic Los Angeles locales like the Hollywood Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Santa Monica Pier, and Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall. But getting the shot wasn't always so glamorous. "Sometimes I was in the gutter," he laughs. "Literally sitting on an apple box in the gutter with traffic swarming around me."

LaVoi says his obsession with Barbie began when he was 7, an only child living in a tiny Colorado town. "I grew up in a very nonsexist household," says the openly gay LaVoi--who includes in the book a 1962 photo of himself at Christmas with his brand-new Bubble Cut Barbie. "If I wanted a doll, I had a doll. If I wanted a bazooka, I had a bazooka My parents were artists. They loved the fact that [all of us would] fantasize and play with these toys."

As far as which Barbie portraits were the most fun for him as an adult, LaVoi singles out his series of Barbie and Midge parking at the Beverly Bills Hotel. "I think it's incredible only because it says everything about Los Angeles: blue sky, palm trees, bougainvillea, Mercedes-Benz, and fabulous couture."

LaVoi is already planning his next book, Barbie Loves Route 66. He hopes to rent an Aimstream trailer and call it--what else?--the Barbiemobile.

Vary also writes for Entertainment Weekly.