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.
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…
Throughout most of the decade, no woman would be caught outside without a hat on their head giving rise to many popular styles. While it would still be a couple of years before Jacqueline Kennedy would encourage every woman in America to wear a pillbox hat, they were starting to gain in popularity. One of the reasons that women loved them so much was that it was easy to change adornments on the hat to update last year’s outfit. You can do the same today when you get this hat from Polyvore(@polyvore).
After that, I swept the rest of my hair into a bun at the crown of my head. The ponytail comes curled and has little combs in it that can attach to the bun. You pin the combs in and tighten the drawstring on the ponytail. I then wrapped it around to give the illusion of an elastic holding the ponytail together. I pinned the ponytail in place all around the bun, then wrapped a vintage scarf around it and made a bow. I sprayed all over the hairstyle and around my hairline to sweep up any baby hairs, and voila!
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]
Finger waves reached the peak of popularity in 1950s. The women of that time fell in love with tight and thin shiny locks and wistful glances. It was easy to meet a lady in a long black dress; the lady who had dark makeup on her pale face and a mouthpiece in her hand. Such a look was very inspiring for the poets and artists of that time. We can only imagine, how pretty was that mystical darkness that enveloped those beautiful women! However, it is pretty easy to reproduce their looks. Even if you take only their hairstyle, you will be already involved into that 50s fashion! You can take the photos below as a little reference.
Do you or did you used to work in an office environment? Then you're bound to own a pencil skirt. The classic pencil skirt is a key piece to bring to a pinup shoot as it's very usable and can be worn with shirts and cardigans or even just with your favorite bra. It is reminiscent of 1950s wiggle dresses that made the wearer walk with a little wiggle in their step.
Bettie Page was a stunning woman. She looked fabulous wearing an easy pinned up hairstyle – well, then there wasn’t such a definition, women only did their best to move with the times. Bettie did her best to become an example of how sexy a girl can look. She was pretty bold, wearing a perfect hairstyle and nothing more – we mean, she was often spotted almost naked. However, the modern ladies can inherit only the hairstyle from her, adding it to their regular outfits. Here we have some examples of hairstyles that remind us miss Page and her ability to combine a feminine hairstyle with an aggressive hotness.
Throughout most of the decade, no woman would be caught outside without a hat on their head giving rise to many popular styles. While it would still be a couple of years before Jacqueline Kennedy would encourage every woman in America to wear a pillbox hat, they were starting to gain in popularity. One of the reasons that women loved them so much was that it was easy to change adornments on the hat to update last year’s outfit. You can do the same today when you get this hat from Polyvore(@polyvore).
The Poodle Do is the style in this photo. It was recreated by stylist Magic Michael Davids and made famous in the 1940s and 1950s on celebrities such as Lucille Ball and Betty Grable. Those were the decades of ultimate feminine style where ladies would go to the hair salon and get their hair set in curls and dressed out using skilled techniques that have nearly been lost today. The invention of the straightening iron may have contributed to this.
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).
I always turn to false eyelashes for our performances and I also wore them during our photo shoot. Wearing false eyelashes always gives me a huge surge of confidence and I feel almost as if they are my armor; they thicken my lashes and open my eyes to give a truly glamorous vibe reminiscent of legendary Hollywood starlets. Just pair with vintage inspired makeup and you'll soon be channelling Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, or your favorite pinup.
The Poodle Do is the style in this photo. It was recreated by stylist Magic Michael Davids and made famous in the 1940s and 1950s on celebrities such as Lucille Ball and Betty Grable. Those were the decades of ultimate feminine style where ladies would go to the hair salon and get their hair set in curls and dressed out using skilled techniques that have nearly been lost today. The invention of the straightening iron may have contributed to this.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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Pin-up fashion is synonymous to and a combination of Burlesque, Rockabilly and Old Hollywood Glamour in terms of clothes, hair, makeup, shoes and accessories. It's all about being classy yet elegant, flirty without going overboard. It's more on minimalism and simplicity with just a little skin exposure. With a little cleavage men are teased. This style celebrates women, from their curves to their flawless faces. Don't worry if you think you aren't skinny enough to pull off the perfect pin up girl look. The pin-up culture embraces your natural hips and curves.
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.
Pinup fashion models of the 1950s wore many stilettos with a 4 inch heel. In the beginning, the heels on these shoes ended in a metal cap. Many establishments found that they cut into hardwood floors, so they were banned from many office settings. The first stilettos were introduced in 1954 with a very rounded toe. The square-toe version came out three years later. They came in a variety of colors so that a woman could easily coordinate her wardrobe. Almost all options had high arches with a V-shaped cut into the shoe’s sides. Most women going to a formal affair chose a pair of red ones. Compliment your night out on the town with these red stilettos from Pinup Girl Clothing(@pinupgirlclothing).
Vixen by Micheline Pitt: Micheline Pitt’s pinup empire includes Vixen, La Femme Noir, and Bad Girl Denim. The latter is a line of retro-cut jeans and shorts popular among bloggers. La Femme Noir leans goth, with a lot of lace, coffin accessories, and body-hugging, well, everything. But Vixen is the real star here, particularly for its size-inclusive tops and pencil skirts (which come in up to a 4X!). Don’t sleep on the kinky/cute lapel pins and hoop earrings, either.
Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani have been spotted on red carpets events, cameos and recordings in Pin-up make-up and fashion. Some of their music videos have a touch of pin-up styles through the hair, dance styles and costumes. Christina Aguilera starred in the 2010 film Burlesque with Cher. Katy Perry music and music videos are all inspired by pin-up fashion. Dita Von Teese also carries her classic style on and off the stage.
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.
What Katie Did: This is where all your favorite retro Instagrammers are getting their stockings, and most of their lingerie, too. The site has a variety of colors of seamed nylons and more modern seamed pantyhose, plus seam-free nylons and fully fashioned stockings (a knit nylon fit to the specifications of the leg shape of the wearer with little to no stretch).
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A great every day dress for when you still need to look stylish but don't want to be too over the top. This new silhouette from Hell Bunny features a full circle skirt with pockets and well designed bodice featuring cute cut-outs at the collar and on the sleeves. The black binding gives a nice finish. My measurements are: bust 90cms (12DD bra) and waist 69cms and the XS size fit me very well. I did originally try the small but it was a bit roomy. Love the side seam pockets!
That’s where reproduction boutiques come in. Many shops have popped up within the last decade to reproduce items from the post-war time period, some even using original patterns and fabrics. If you’re looking to try out a pillbox hat like Midge Maisel, interested in a classic red lipstick, or thinking of going full pinup, there are lots of options at myriad price points, not to mention styles and sizes for many bodies.
