You might think of the classic wiggle dress a la Mad Men when it comes to the pin-up look. But these styles can serve you well beyond the confines of your office. Pair that dress with pumps and wear it to a wedding or date night. Or, why not dress it down with adorable flats or Mary Janes and a jean jacket? Wear a button-up blouse with high-waisted jeans for a cute, casual look, or slip on a form-fitting wiggle skirt instead for a drop-dead sexy outfit. You’ll have a blast discovering a wide variety of ways to style these retro-chic designs from Unique Vintage.
Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but retro accessories are a fashion icon's partner in crime. These must have retro fashion accessories are all you need to pull off that 50s glamour that icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor were known for. Wearing you're styling basic jeans and a tea or a fancy ball gown fit for Barbie, Betty Von Chic has the retro accessories you're looking for. Shop today and explore our Instagram for some vintage fashion outfit ideas.
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.
Begin with the fringe area. Create a horizontal parting and brush hair forward. Backcomb the underside interior of the hair. Gather ends and roll under to create your fringe roll. Use a hair donut, padding or gentle backcombing for extra support. Pin under as needed with bobby pins. Smooth the exterior of the fringe with a fine tooth comb and light hairspray.
Another great pencil dress by Chic Star! It's made from poly/elastane stretch but the fabric is lovely and soft and smooth against the skin. The design is simple but smart and the black collar and sleeve trim reminds me of a 50's diner uniform. I love the print which is something a little bit different and the colour is great! Definitely a great dress to wear to work or for an evening out. My measurements are bust 90cms (12DD bra), waist 69cms and hips 93cms and the size 8 is a perfect fit. If you have any questions, please get in touch!
I followed the size chart, and ordered based on my measurements, and I'm a curvy girl. It fit perfectly. I'm 5'1", so it hits me right below the knees. I didn't have any of the fit issues that I've seen in other reviews. You don't really need the petticoat, but it hangs sort of sad if you don't wear one. I put a red ribbon belt on it instead of the black one that came with it. I thought it was cuter.
Pin up is one of the most romantic and cute styles existing in the fashion world and known to us for quite a long time already. The extreme charm, romance, and femininity hidden in this style makes it a great alternative for walks and for hangouts, as well as for romantic dates and many other occasions. So if you like the looks of Marylin Monroe, Betty Grable, and Ingrid Bergman, then the modern pin up style is just what you need to bring in some changes and freshness doing that via modernizing the retro traditions. So this is what we are going to speak about now, introducing the basic things that you need to know about this style also providing you with the necessary fashion tips on how to dress in the modern pin up style correctly!
Pin ups have been making men go crazy and women caring about their look for almost a century now, and the pin up visual appeal is having a great revival moment nowadays. Pin up art and photography was all the rage in the 1940s and the 1950s, so what we look for today when reenacting this style is unavoidably inspired to 40s and 50s fashion. There’s a lot more than fashion to pin up though, and that’s exactly why we still love and get inspired by those gorgeous women. They have left us a legacy that will live on for many years to come. Long live the cheesecake girl! Confidence and attitude. Pin up style is a style that grabs a lot of attention when you go out fully dressed. Self confidence and bags of attitude are often required to rock the look. But getting the look also helps to get the right attitude, so it’s a process you can go through step by step. Start by adding pin up accessories to your everyday look, so you can get yourself comfortable with the style first. People around you will get more and more comfortable with it too and no one will be surprised when you come into the room in a polka dot red dress with a huge victory roll on your head. Petticoat. This is a trick a few women know nowadays. No one uses petticoats anymore, because they’re not needed with modern clothes. But a petticoat is something that can’t be missing from your 50s wardrobe. You need one under every dress and skirt you’ll get, aside from pencil dresses and skirts of course. Swing dresses, circle skirts, vintage dresses in general need a petticoat underneath. Get one in white and one in black to start with, you can experiment new colours when you will be more at ease in pin up clothes. Hair. Put a little extra attention to your hair and it will make a huge difference to your outfit. Learn a trick or two on how to quickly style your hair in victory rolls, or how to wear a bandana in your hair. Buy a ton of fake colourful flowers and adorn your hair with them, matching each flower to your outfit. You will go from plain to classy with just a little touch. Bow Pencil Skirt – Big Dot Long Dress – Antique Dream Bandana Makeup. What it’s true for hair is also true for makeup. You don’t have to spend three hours in front of a mirror to get a perfect pin up look. Applying a pin up makeup requires the same time as a normal makeup, with a couple of tips and tricks. You only need a bit of foundation, blush, black eyeliner and a red lipstick and you’re ready to go, it’s no hard at all. Follow our tips on how to get the perfect winged eye look, you can thank us later! Focus on the Waist. Your aim is to create an alluring hourglass silhouette. If you have a look at 40s and 50s photographs you’ll see that the focus is always on the (rather tiny if compared to the rest) waist. Whether it’s a pencil skirt with a shirt tucked in or a swing dress with a waist belt, the shape it’s always a hourglass shape. The style of dresses and accessories will help you get the hourglass silhouette, but try and pay a little extra attention to achieve it. The 50s effect will get across immediately. What do you think it takes to be a pin up? Did you like our tips? Leave a comment below and let us know. Photo credits: Pinterest.com
Using a little light back-combing along the way if you need to, and spraying some hairspray along the way will help, guide the hair so that it starts to curl around, using your fingers to help guide the strands in place. When in position, hold with bobby pins, and if you have blonde hair, use blonde pins to ensure they’re not too visible. Black pins look very obvious sometimes and can spoil the look. Spray with hairspray, pin the remainder of the hair up, and add a scarf for a real pinup touch.
The clients you would most likely come across for this style are vintage enthusiasts, pin up pageant girls and burlesque artists, as well as people going to costume parties. There are also always drag queens and the secret “I Love Lucy”-obsessed people from that era who are holding onto nostalgia. Either way, this style is great fun to create and will come in handy when you least expect it, or when you want to embrace your inner silver screen goddess.
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.
Many brides chose wedding dresses made with a sweetheart neckline after watching Elizabeth Taylor in Father of the Bride. Ballerina-length dresses were a popular choice for both the bride and her party. Brides who chose to go with a longer dress usually loved lacy tiers and flouncy frills. Grace Kelly’s marriage in 1956 set the tone for many brides throughout the last half of the decade. Kate Middleton went retro when she wore an almost exact copy of Grace Kelly’s wedding gown. Look spectacular on your wedding day by wearing this dress from David’s Bridal (@davidsbridal).
Honestly, this look can work for anyone! Since I used a “fauxnytail”, the look will work for anyone who has long enough hair in the front for a roll (about chin-length at least) because it needs to be able to be pulled up into some sort of bun. It really should work with any face shape and be flattering because the placement of the ponytail adds volume which is complimentary to most faces.
Capris also came into popularity during the 1950s as everyone wanted to look like Audrey Hepburn in her latest hits. This style of pant was actually introduced by Sonja de Lennart in 1948. Many women wanted to pretend they had Italian roots by wearing black capris with a red and white knit shirt. Others chose to wear blue capris with the same shirt to pretend that they were European. Alternatively, many paired capris with a white ruffled shirt creating a Spanish look, especially when wearing a bolero jacket. Recreate your own Audrey Hepburn look by getting these capris from ModCloth (@modcloth).
A simple pin-up hairstyle has always been neat and sexy, from pin curls, victory rolls, bangs and more. All you need is a large barrel curling iron, a good ol’ hairspray, some bobby pins… and more and more hairspray to hold your curls together. You can also use Pin-up hair accessories like headbands, bandanas, flower pins and hats as accents and to show emphasis on your neat and intact hairstyle.
Another great pencil dress by Chic Star! It's made from poly/elastane stretch but the fabric is lovely and soft and smooth against the skin. The design is simple but smart and the black collar and sleeve trim reminds me of a 50's diner uniform. I love the print which is something a little bit different and the colour is great! Definitely a great dress to wear to work or for an evening out. My measurements are bust 90cms (12DD bra), waist 69cms and hips 93cms and the size 8 is a perfect fit. If you have any questions, please get in touch!
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!
Other pin-ups were artwork depicting idealized versions of what some thought a particularly beautiful or attractive woman should look like. An early example of the latter type was the Gibson Girl, a representation of the New Woman drawn by Charles Dana Gibson. "Because the New Woman was symbolic of her new ideas about her sex, it was inevitable that she would also come to symbolize new ideas about sexuality."[9] Unlike the photographed actresses and dancers generations earlier, fantasy gave artists the freedom to draw women in many different ways.[10] The 1932 Esquire "men's" magazine featured many drawings and "girlie" cartoons but was most famous for its Vargas girls. Prior to World War II they were praised for their beauty and less focus was on their sexuality. However, during the war, the drawings transformed into women playing dress-up in military drag and drawn in seductive manners, like that of a child playing with a doll.[11] The Vargas girls became so popular that from 1942–46, owing to a high volume of military demand, "9 million copies of the magazine-without adverts and free of charge was sent to American troops stationed overseas and in domestic bases."[12] The Vargas Girls were adapted as nose art on many World War II bomber and fighter aircraft; Generally, they were considered inspiring, and not seen negatively, or as prostitutes, but mostly as inspiring female patriots that were helpful for good luck.[13]
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 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.
Dresses are the main staple of pin up clothing. Wether they are tube dresses, swing dresses, polka dotted, florals, stripes, halter dresses, the possibilities are endless. You could literally spend all summer in pin up dresses and never grow tired of them. If you don’t like wearing cute dresses, fear not! There are plenty of choices on the dark side, too, and they fit perfectly suited for pinup style. Think about the sailor inspired style: navy blue with white and red details? Yes, please! Seafoam Dream Green Dress
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.
I think this is a great look for a beginner or someone with an advanced skill set. The best advice I can give when it comes to creating rolls is, when you think you’ve teased it enough, tease it a little more. I find that most people are afraid to tease their hair. With vintage styling, I find teasing key. I recommend using a texturizing power like Puff.Me at the roots then teasing with a “C”-shaped motion. Lightly brush out the surface and use a pomade or wax to smooth flyaways.
The dress is absolutely gorgeous. I recieved the dress a day earlier than scheduled , it came in a neatly wrapped package. I am 5ft (60 inches) and I weigh about 146 ibs. I ordered the dress in a small. The small is a bit snug but it's tight in all the right places. I do believe a medium would have worked too. The zipper was a bit difficult to zip not sure if that was because the dress was too tight or because of the design . The dress is not see through as it has a polka dot lining on the inside . There is a very classy slit at the back of the dress and it hits me about two finger breaths above my knees. Over all I would buy from this seller again.
The best part? The different types of vintage hair accessories are endless. Everything from hair clips with rhinestones and precious gems, to hair bandanas with geometric shapes, delicate floral designs, butterflies and more were all hits of this era. So, incorporate some retro hair accessories into your next fancy hairstyle or even your every day look to get that 50's glamour appeal you're after.
So you booked a pinup photo shoot and now you're panicking about what to wear? Don't worry your pretty head; you may find a collection of pinup shoot clothing already within the walls of your wardrobe or beauty items hiding in your makeup bag. Perhaps you have a favorite iconic pinup girl or Hollywood starlet who you'd just love to channel, or maybe you want a reminder for when you're older of how chic you were as a young woman. Whatever the reason, pinup shoots are totally fun, instill body confidence, and remind you how awesome you are! What's not to love about that?
There is truly no right or wrong look for anyone, let’s just get that out there first. If you like it, wear it. Plain and simple. That being said, clothing styles are tailored to certain body shapes so there are some that are naturally a better fit than others. We have taken a look at the various cuts and styles of the vintage eras and come up with a fool-proof way to reach your perfect pin-up persona.
A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as popular culture. Pin-ups are intended for informal display, i.e. meant to be "pinned-up" on a wall. Pin-up models may be glamour models, fashion models, or actors. These pictures are also sometimes known as cheesecake photos.[a] Cheesecake was an American slang word, that was considered a publicly acceptable term for seminude women because pin-up was considered taboo in the early twentieth century.[1]
Pin up hairstyles have never really gone out of style. Though the pin up era most recognizably took place in the ’40s and ’50s, the style dates all the way back to the 1890s, a time known for its gaiety, and includes the signature styles of the 1920s and the 1950s as well. The point is, there’s a look for every length, style, cut, and color of hair. If you want to update your look by giving it a retro twist, tempt yourself with some hair envy.
So you booked a pinup photo shoot and now you're panicking about what to wear? Don't worry your pretty head; you may find a collection of pinup shoot clothing already within the walls of your wardrobe or beauty items hiding in your makeup bag. Perhaps you have a favorite iconic pinup girl or Hollywood starlet who you'd just love to channel, or maybe you want a reminder for when you're older of how chic you were as a young woman. Whatever the reason, pinup shoots are totally fun, instill body confidence, and remind you how awesome you are! What's not to love about that?
Begin with the fringe area. Create a horizontal parting from the crown and brush hair forward. Backcomb the surface of the hair. Gather ends straight up, smooth the underside so you have a smooth surface as you roll hair from the ends down toward the head to create your fringe roll. Use a hair donut, padding or gentle backcombing for extra support. Pin as needed with bobby pins. Smooth the exterior of the fringe with a fine tooth comb and light hairspray.
Although ballet flats had been around for centuries, they had gone out of vogue until Rose Repetto reintroduced them in her 1947 collection. After Audrey Hepburn declared ballet flats her favorite shoe, many teenagers wore them as often as they did their saddle shoes. While some had a very small ½ inch heel, most had no heel at all making them easy to wear to the sock hop. Black ballet flats became all the rage, but other colors were popular as well. Some had small ornamentation on top, however, most were just plain. The trend was firmly established when icon Brigitte Bardot began wearing them. Follow this trend with these classical ballet flats by Remix Vintage Shoes(@remixvintageshoes).
The best part? The different types of vintage hair accessories are endless. Everything from hair clips with rhinestones and precious gems, to hair bandanas with geometric shapes, delicate floral designs, butterflies and more were all hits of this era. So, incorporate some retro hair accessories into your next fancy hairstyle or even your every day look to get that 50's glamour appeal you're after.
The clients you would most likely come across for this style are vintage enthusiasts, pin up pageant girls and burlesque artists, as well as people going to costume parties. There are also always drag queens and the secret “I Love Lucy”-obsessed people from that era who are holding onto nostalgia. Either way, this style is great fun to create and will come in handy when you least expect it, or when you want to embrace your inner silver screen goddess.
The majority of pin up hairstyles were quite difficult to make. The girls of that time repeated their hair routines hundreds of times to memorize each step and their sequences. Today you do not need to reinvent the wheel and can just follow the tutorials! There are plenty of them on the Internet, and girls from all over the world use them successfully, and look wonderful on any event that they decided to visit, wearing a pinning up hairstyle. Pin up is one of the most interesting and unique styles to be used for events like weddings, parties with friends, dates, etc. Even an ordinary day will get a fresh coat of paint, if you will take on a bright red scarf with polka dot, so be brave and paint your life with pin up!
While women still wore their big Victorian pieces in the first part of the 1950s, soon jewelry trends became smaller and more refined. Every girl wore a brooch on her shoulder with many wearing more than one at the same time. In the first part of the 1950s, gold- colored jewelry was found many places especially in big bold bracelets. In the later half of the decade, however, copper and plastic started to reign. Modernization allowed pieces to be made in mass quantities bringing down prices considerably. Many women brought jewelry in sets. Add these fashion pieces from Sweet and Spark to your jewelry box.
The pin-up modeling subculture has produced magazines and forums dedicated to its community. Delicious Dolls,[35] a magazine that began in 2011 and has both a print and digital version, was described in 2015 as "the most-liked" pin-up magazine in the world. One of the magazine's mission statements is "to promote and showcase retro and modern pin-up girls". The magazine supports pin-up-related events throughout the United States and allows anyone to be featured in the magazine as long as they have worked with an approved photographer. Within this subculture there are opportunities to perform in pin-up contests, including one which takes place during the Viva Las Vegas rockabilly festival.[36] The goal of the contest is "not one that is based solely on popularity or cosmetic appeal, but one that includes inner beauty as well". Women of "all shapes and sizes" are encouraged to participate, and winners are judged on their biographies, pastimes, and work they do outside of the pin-up hobby. They do not perform, but rather are judged on their authenticity, originality, overall styling presentation, crowd appeal, and stage presence.
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.
If there’s one modern thing to love, it’s all the vintage style inspirations you can find on social media. Whenever you’re in doubt about what to wear or whether your ensemble is 50’s fashion icon worthy, just click online and view our vintage style outfit ideas. Looking for more inspiration? Scroll your way over to these modern day retro fashion icons and see what type of vintage fashion they’re rocking.
Using spray and a bristle brush, comb the underneath of the hair upwards in sections and pin it tightly up into the base of the top section. Grab small sections on top of the head, teasing the base and creating barrel curls by wrapping the hair around your fingers. Secure each curl with bobby pins. Refine the style by dressing each curl out so they work in harmony with each other. It is important to make sure the style is symmetrical unless you purposely want a feature piece framing one side of the face. Once you are happy, fix the style with strong hold hairspray.
Pin ups have been making men go crazy and women caring about their look for almost a century now, and the pin up visual appeal is having a great revival moment nowadays. Pin up art and photography was all the rage in the 1940s and the 1950s, so what we look for today when reenacting this style is unavoidably inspired to 40s and 50s fashion. There’s a lot more than fashion to pin up though, and that’s exactly why we still love and get inspired by those gorgeous women. They have left us a legacy that will live on for many years to come. Long live the cheesecake girl! Confidence and attitude. Pin up style is a style that grabs a lot of attention when you go out fully dressed. Self confidence and bags of attitude are often required to rock the look. But getting the look also helps to get the right attitude, so it’s a process you can go through step by step. Start by adding pin up accessories to your everyday look, so you can get yourself comfortable with the style first. People around you will get more and more comfortable with it too and no one will be surprised when you come into the room in a polka dot red dress with a huge victory roll on your head. Petticoat. This is a trick a few women know nowadays. No one uses petticoats anymore, because they’re not needed with modern clothes. But a petticoat is something that can’t be missing from your 50s wardrobe. You need one under every dress and skirt you’ll get, aside from pencil dresses and skirts of course. Swing dresses, circle skirts, vintage dresses in general need a petticoat underneath. Get one in white and one in black to start with, you can experiment new colours when you will be more at ease in pin up clothes. Hair. Put a little extra attention to your hair and it will make a huge difference to your outfit. Learn a trick or two on how to quickly style your hair in victory rolls, or how to wear a bandana in your hair. Buy a ton of fake colourful flowers and adorn your hair with them, matching each flower to your outfit. You will go from plain to classy with just a little touch. Bow Pencil Skirt – Big Dot Long Dress – Antique Dream Bandana Makeup. What it’s true for hair is also true for makeup. You don’t have to spend three hours in front of a mirror to get a perfect pin up look. Applying a pin up makeup requires the same time as a normal makeup, with a couple of tips and tricks. You only need a bit of foundation, blush, black eyeliner and a red lipstick and you’re ready to go, it’s no hard at all. Follow our tips on how to get the perfect winged eye look, you can thank us later! Focus on the Waist. Your aim is to create an alluring hourglass silhouette. If you have a look at 40s and 50s photographs you’ll see that the focus is always on the (rather tiny if compared to the rest) waist. Whether it’s a pencil skirt with a shirt tucked in or a swing dress with a waist belt, the shape it’s always a hourglass shape. The style of dresses and accessories will help you get the hourglass silhouette, but try and pay a little extra attention to achieve it. The 50s effect will get across immediately. What do you think it takes to be a pin up? Did you like our tips? Leave a comment below and let us know. Photo credits: Pinterest.com
1950s pin-up queens also made micro bangs a popular girl-next-door style. But this look can still be worn today for a mod and trendy edge. While these bangs are nothing short of chic, it’s important to keep in mind that baby bangs require constant care (via trims) and styling. However, accessories can definitely dress up your bangs easily, so be sure to add in a bright colored bandana to show off your eccentric style.
I think this is my favourite Chic Star pencil dress so far! It's made from poly/elastane stretch fabric in a gorgeous midnight blue. The fabric is lovely and soft and smooth against the skin. My favourite feature apart from the lace is the ruched bust. Definitely a great dress to wear to work or for an evening out. My measurements are bust 90cms (12DD bra), waist 69cms and hips 93cms and the size 8 is a perfect fit. If you have any questions, please get in touch!
