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)
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.
Voodoo Vixen: While the brand has the same themes as many of these other shops (swing dresses for everyone!), Voodoo Vixen has two unique angles. It does collaborations with popular retro bloggers — like this winter’s collection with Chicago Chic — and it creates its own vintage-inspired prints in house (this nautical dress is everything), which means you can’t get some of these looks anywhere else.
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.
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.
Read my article Sammy Davis, for complete details, but no fashion designer had more influence on the 1950s fashion than Christian Dior. His influence can be seen in the A-line dress that he introduced in the spring of 1955. Until that point, women had worn fashions with tightly nipped-in waist and broad shoulders. The A-line was seen as radical because of its narrow shoulders, elongated waistline and trumpet-like flared hemline. Take a look at this vintage A-line dress from Rose Wholesale (@rosewholesale_official) to create this look for yourself.
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]
If you believe that clothing should be both ravishing and romantically reminiscent, filled with classic lines and gorgeous vintage prints, look no further than Unique Vintage. Our robust catalog of includes pin-up dresses of the 1950s, the flapper dresses of the 1920s, and all of your favorite trends from eras when fashion was known for its ladylike flair. Go back to the days when getting ready each morning was a game of dress-up, as you fill your wardrobe with sweet and sexy vintage dresses from Unique Vintage.
• A fluffy skirt: This is one of the primary details for visually widening the hips, which is quite important for this style (Learn: How to Wear a Fluffy Skirt). Still, if you already have wide hips then you’d better opt for pencil skirts with high-waisted accents and different tight-fitting shapes, which will accentuate the pluses of your body nicely.
Another very popular style was the shirtwaist dress. Originally, introduced by Christian Dior in 1947, this style of dress was particularly popular with teenagers. It is set apart by its sloped shoulders which were a drastic change from the boxy shoulders just a few years before. This dress also has a raised bust line. The real change, however, came with a very narrow waist starting with a padded hipline and flowing away to a skirt with lots of fabric that was often pleated ending just below mid-calf. Wear this casual dress on your next shopping trip by getting this one from EricDress (@ericdress.com).

The classic style of the pin-up originates back from the 1940s. Due to the shortages of materials during WWII, this period of makeup is considered the "natural beauty" look.[20] The US was immersed in war-time economy, which put distribution restrictions on consumer goods.[21] General rationing was supported; women applied mild amounts of products. Despite the rations, "Women were encouraged to keep buying lipstick and to send letters to the front covered in 'lipstick kisses' to boost the morale of the soldiers."


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.
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