For some sugary sweet 1950s diner vibes, pick out a vintage inspired dress. If you don't have one in your own collection, ask around; this '50s style of swing dress has made a massive comeback in recent years, so someone you know is bound to have one. Maybe your mom, aunt, or granny might have one in their attic and you'll get extra style points for wearing an original.
From Veronica Lake and Marilyn Monroe in the 1940’s and 1950’s to Dita von Teese today, pin-up girls have been displayed on walls and billboards for generations and admired by men and women alike. No matter their dress size, pin-up girls wear clothes that accentuate their assets, bring out their sexual appeal, and make them look gorgeous, fun, and elegant at the same time. To start channeling your inner pin-up girl, you must balance style with natural beauty, grace, and confidence.
WOW! This dress is just stunning...we've been looking at this style for a while now and it's exceeded our expectations. The flowing chiffon fabric is gathered between the underbust seam and waist and turns into a full circle shirt over a soft and smooth lining which has a built in bra with removable soft cups. Genius! The shirring in the back panel provides a nice firm fit and I'd recommend a long Hell Bunny petticoat underneath to complete the look.
Started in 1999 by Laura Byrnes, Pinup Girl Clothing is best known for its high quality, vintage inspired, made in the USA fashions. Composed of its house brands Pinup Couture, Deadly Dames, Dixiefried Clothing, and Laura Byrnes California it covers styles from the sweet demure to the vampy vixen and beyond. Embracing body positivity, Pinup Girl Clothing designs dresses in sizes ranging from XS to 4XL. Once you try one of their pieces, you'll know why so many other have fallen in love!
The products I like to use are by White Sands. They have an amazing heat setting pump spray (which we apply to each section before curling with the irons) and aerosol finishing spray (used to set the finished style in place”. Their products are incredible as they can hold curl in even the most fine slippery hair. White Sands products are not sticky, they do not flake, and they can easily be brushed out and restyled with ease. Their price point is on the higher end of the scale, however we all know the rule about cheap vs expensive when it comes to cosmetic products.
Lastly, I smoothed the front with Suavecita Pomade and finished with R+Co’s Outerspace Flexible Hairspray. In short, curl the hair with a small curling iron ans set it using a heat protectant. Tease the front into two sections and mold one side into a victory roll facing forward, and the other side into a barrel role going back. Use a lightweight pomade or wax to smooth and a flexible hairspray to set.
The most important piece of advice for anyone wanting to rock the victory roll is to embrace the backcombing! There needs to be a lot of great backcombing, held with strong hold hairspray. Do this in small sections for the best results, smooth the outside with pomade ,and hide those bobby pins. This means that even girls with thin hair can get involved!
Rago: Before you even buy a vintage dress with a tucked-in waist, you’ll want to check out Rago Shapewear for waist cinchers, high-waisted panties, girdles, and suspenders. The brand’s best product, though, is its longline bra, which creates the kind of cinched waist that helps retro dresses fall more naturally. They come in a huge variety of sizes (up to 7X in some styles) and many different styles.
When it comes to getting a vintage inspired dress and channeling your inner Grease Lightning character, the bigger the poof the better. There’s something so fun and flirty about a high waist thrills skirt, and the spring and summer season are the perfect time for both of those things. The best part? Our High Waist Thrills Skirt even comes with pockets just like the real retro deal. So, our thrills skirt is definitely a must have you’ll want to be twirling in this year.
Swing coats were popular when a lady went out because their fullness helped cover the bulkiness of many dresses. These coats featured fitted shoulders and flared out at the bust line. Most had large buttons all the way down the front. Many had a large belt helping to keep the coat securely closed. Jacques Fath first introduced this coat in the late 1940s, but it grew in popularity during the 1950s as it was easy to hide the baby bump which no self-respecting woman would show. Dior added one to his collection in 1951. You may hope that it rains everyday with this beautiful retro swing coat from Miss Poppy Wear(@misspoppywear).
To get the best results from a set, great tools and products are a must. To create a strong curl, you need a small barrel tong. My favorite is from the Babyliss Pro Dial-a-Heat range. I just don’t think you can beat it. Everyone has their own favorite brushes, but I favor a Denman bristle brush or Spornette Wonder Brush and a comb to create this look.
Pin up hairstyles are very close to the classics – they transform their owner into a reserved and cold person. However, pin up is famous for its brightness that refreshes the look and makes it playful, but just a bit. This is perfect for the ladies who cannot refuse from the spark in the eyes and flirty smiles, which, by the way, were a dangerous weapon of seducing men in the hands of ladies in the 40s. Victory curls were ones of the most famous and coolest hairstyles back than – they are easy to style and look just great at any event. Try the tricks of that time’s women and get a classy pin up hairstyle!
These types of retro swimsuit bottoms leave much more to the imagination than those itsy bitsy thong bikinis that seem to be “the thing” in this modern-day world, making them mysterious and sexy. And as the saying goes, less is not always more and our high waist retro bottoms are the perfect example of just that. Cinched at the waist before extending slightly above, these retro bikini bottoms will give you a perfect silhouette and all the comfort and coverage you desire.
Pick an era, any era! Vintage dresses have always been a ModCloth styling staple - in fact, it was a love of throwback fashion that gave us a presence on the internet in the first place. While moving forward in the fashion world is important, we take our retro roots around here pretty seriously, as evidenced by our incredible selection of unique vintage dresses. Should you find yourself a fan of 1930s dresses, a devotee of mod shift frocks from the '60s, or an enthusiast of edgy 1980s style, you're guaranteed to discover a nostalgic look that caters to your timeless tastes!
• Dresses: This is the thing that ladies following the pin up style just can’t do without! The most diverse silhouettes are all in for this range from A-lines to body-flattering tight options. The accent on the waist is the most important detail here. You may also create some contrasts with colors using monochrome dresses and matching them with accessories like when matching a tight fitting black dress with a red floral accessory.
For the makeup, I put a warm eyeshadow color like a brown in my crease with cream colored shadow on the lid to make my eyes pop without stealing the show. I used a brown liquid liner for my cat eye. Black looks harsh on me, so I prefer the softness of a dark brown. A structured brow is important for pin up looks, so I used the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow pomade. Blush is important for pin up looks to make you look lively. I also softened the look by going with a nude/pink lip rather than the typical bright red.
Started in 1999 by Laura Byrnes, Pinup Girl Clothing is best known for its high quality, vintage inspired, made in the USA fashions. Composed of its house brands Pinup Couture, Deadly Dames, Dixiefried Clothing, and Laura Byrnes California it covers styles from the sweet demure to the vampy vixen and beyond. Embracing body positivity, Pinup Girl Clothing designs dresses in sizes ranging from XS to 4XL. Once you try one of their pieces, you'll know why so many other have fallen in love!
Orchard Corset: If you’re looking to try out corsets, this is the best place to start. The website has such a wealth of information on how to find the best one for you, how to wear it when you’re just starting out, and where to go from there. Choose from a ton of options, from waist cinchers to full overbust corsets, and designs and shapes for just about everyone.
When it comes to getting a vintage inspired dress and channeling your inner Grease Lightning character, the bigger the poof the better. There’s something so fun and flirty about a high waist thrills skirt, and the spring and summer season are the perfect time for both of those things. The best part? Our High Waist Thrills Skirt even comes with pockets just like the real retro deal. So, our thrills skirt is definitely a must have you’ll want to be twirling in this year.
Vintage 1940s and 1950s pin up girl costumes are sexy, flattering and vintage chic! The vintage pin up outfit took center stage in the 1940s as men went off to war. Tighter dresses, shorter skirts, revealing tops were all part of the fanciful look of the pin up girl. The 40s pin up girl fashion inspired a wave of form-fitting women’s dresses in the 1950s as well as fluffy swing dresses. Pin up girl costumes come in classic retro colors navy blue, red, black, green or white. Blue and white pinup sailor dresses and military green dresses echo the wartime while polka dots, rockabilly plaid and florals flashback to the fifties.
Women usually chose a pair of cigarette pants with side or back zippers. These pants were cut full through the hips tapering to slim- fitting legs. Most cigarette pants ended just above the ankle allowing women to show off their stylish footwear. They had a high waist usually accentuated with a 3 inch waistband. Some women broke up the wide waistband with a thin leather belt. Early on, these pants were mostly black, but by the end of the decade women were expressing their own unique style by wearing stripes, leopard prints, checks and polka dots. Consider adding a pair to your wardrobe by getting these from Unique Vintage (@uniquevintage)
Rockabilly is a modern-day recreation of the pin-up look that is a music style and often associated with the burlesque. In addition to having things in common with pin-up style, rockabilly also favors cherries, animal print, roses, and sugar skull patterns for clothes and purses. Sparrows, bows, roses, stars, sugar skulls, casino- and nautical-themed accessories are also popular.
These ten items are the pinup basics that will build a fabulous foundation for your new wardrobe. I’ve tried to find affordable options for each item. Money can be tight when you’re buying yourself a whole new wardrobe! And when you’re a fledgling pinup, you may not want to blow £100 on a dress. Well, you’ll probably want to but may not be able to justify it! Now, enough of this chatting, it’s smudging my lipstick. Let’s go shopping! Here’s what you’ll need…
