Charlotte Poole became so obsessed, she dressed herself in figure-hugging corsets, dyed her hair platinum blonde and even enhanced her breasts to a curvy 34F.

The style prompted a string of cruel comments from women who saw her as nothing more than a “brainless bimbo”.

But Miss Poole is living proof that appearances can be very deceptive.

Rather than being the “stupid airhead’”she is often labelled, she has a law degree and masters with distinction.

The 22-year-old, who has spent thousands on her looks over the years, said: “If I’m out with a corset on I will get attention from people saying horrible things to me as you would expect, saying I’m stupid or a slag. But because I know I’m not it makes me laugh.

“People are pretty surprised when they find out that I have a masters degree. I don’t make a point in telling people but if they find out it’s so funny to see their reaction.”

The graduate actually had her breast implants within two weeks of beginning her BA in law and psychology.

She helped pay her way through university by working at Hooters.

Since then she has gone on to attain a masters in fashion marketing, also from Nottingham University, and secure a high-flying job as a social media coordinator for a fashion company.

Miss Poole began modelling herself on Barbie because she was insecure about her own looks.

She went on to dye her hair and now refers to the stylised Barbie alter ego she adopts on nights out as “Charlotte Elizabeth”.

“I loved Barbie dolls and I loved the Barbie look after watching Melinda Messenger and Pamela Anderson on TV,” she said.

“I worried about the way I looked so I started wearing make-up and dressing up. I couldn’t even go to the corner shop without wearing full make-up and it just went on from there.

“Now I just want to look good for me and I love nothing more than big smokey make up when I go out as Charlotte Elizabeth. I also have bright pink lips for the Barbie look or red for a more rock chick look.

“But I do know for the majority of the time it is totally inappropriate to dress that way so I save it only for certain occasions.”

When it comes to studying, however, the serious side of her character comes through.

“When I have exams, Charlotte Elizabeth goes away. There is a time and a place to be glamorous. Education always comes first,’”she said.

“I always make sure I go to job interviews or to work with my hair up with minimal make-up.

“Despite my look I take my work very seriously. I would love to get a nose job, veneers, maybe lip injections – and Botox when I get a few years older. But for now I am trying my best to tone down the Barbie within now I have my new job.”

Miss Poole, from Leicestershire, added:  “I have had girls say that they hate me because of the way I look and call me a slag or stupid or easy, but just because I look this way doesn’t make me an idiot.”

A glance at Miss Poole’s online blog gives a glimpse of her more intellectual side. On it she describes herself as a “feminist, atheist and vegetarian”alongside choice quotations from Charles Darwin and Leo Tolstoy in support of her beliefs.

To her real life “Ken”, boyfriend of four years Samuel Pyle, 23, she never looks better than she does first thing in the morning “fresh faced and with bed hair”.

Mr Pyle said: “Obviously I like the way she looks but we’re together because we are best friends and intellectual equals.”

– Courier Mail