Collectif Clothing: Collectif focuses on 1950s glamour with four distinct brands. Playful tropical prints, gingham dresses, and kitschy circle skirts make up Collectif Mainline. If you want a more subdued look but still prefer colors and patterns, like this fan-favorite pencil dress, you’d enjoy the Vintage line. Lulu Hun is the shoe collection, comprised of very rockabilly flats, sandals, and heels. And Bright and Beautiful is the latest line, with ’70s-inspired caftans, mini dresses, and accessories. All styles are designed in-house.
Pinup Girl Clothing: Leaning a little more mainstream and rockabilly, Pinup Girl has an enormous fanbase that spans a variety of subcultures and demographics, from hardcore pinup enthusiasts to true vintage hounds to Disney fanatics. The shop always features some kind of sale and carries collections inspired by everyone from Audrey Hepburn to Dita Von Teese that go up to a size 4X.

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!
Begin with the fringe area. Create a horizontal parting and brush hair forward. Backcomb the base of the section. Sweep hair back and away from face to create a soft 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.
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. 
Dressing in vintage style clothing for a themed event or personal fashion is our passion. We turned a hobby into this website to make it easy to find vintage inspired clothing for women and men online spanning 1900-1960s. Our fashion history blog helps you create the look from decades past using vintage, vintage inspired and thrifty clothing, Need help? Ask us anytime.
While nylon was first invented in 1935, the use of this fabric finally made its way to swimsuits in the 1950s. Most were made with sweetheart necklines. Many featured bold patterns with florals being especially popular. Women who did not feel like they were full enough, had many choices in swimwear with padded cups. Those who did not have quite the perfect beach body found choices with ruching either down the sides or in the front. Most swimsuits had a little skirt in the front or all the way around. The hottest stars were often seen in strapless suits before the decade was over. Dress the part at the next 50s pool party with this little black number from Top Vintage.

Rock a retro look with a side of sexy when you wear pin-up clothing from Unique Vintage. We’re all about that sassy style that shows off your curves while turning heads. If you fancy yourself a fabulous fashionista, then it’s time to stock your closet with pin-up appeal. Whether it’s a rockabilly swing dress or a pair of fun sailor shorts, you’ll look oh-so-sexy when you step out in an outfit from our curated collection.
Pin up hairstyles can work for those with very short hair too. It’s just a matter of how you style it. She has used the length of her hair to the maximum advantage by sweeping the bangs to the side and backcombing the crown section. You can copy this cute hairstyle if you wear a pixie. Add in a polka dot bow and you’ll get proper short pin up hair.
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
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.
Begin with the fringe area. Create a horizontal parting from the crown area down to the ears. Gather hair from the fringe and sides to create a ponytail at the crown. 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.
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.
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]
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.
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.
Welcome to the home of Retro Glam, the sister company to our brick and mortar store Rowena! After serving the local Edmonton community on Whyte Ave since 1998, in 2012 we took to serving the world with the start of our website! We pride ourselves on being inclusive and having outfitted guys, gals, and visitors to our fair city (and around the world!) with our eclectic mix of rock’ clothing, footwear, and accessories. Embracing the many sides of the modern pinup we carry clothes that show case the old school glamour of bygone eras specializing in pinup clothing, 40s, 50s, vintage reproduction dresses, etc all the way to punk and goth inspired goods! Whether you are looking for the perfect dress to have all eyes on you, skirts and pants, tops, or fabulous swimwear to soak up the sun in - we have something for everyone! You are sure to find us there there supporting the local scene, Be it car shows, concerts, or tattoo conventions (either working, or just having fun!).
To hit the jackpot of vintage style, locate that crumpled up underskirt that you were forced to wear once underneath a hideous bridesmaid dress when you were a teenager, but couldn't bear to part with for sentimental reasons. Maybe you were a dancer or have some dancer/actor friends who are bound to have an underskirt in every color of the rainbow from their various performances. If you manage to get ahold of one, it really does make a swing dress sing.
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.
×