A great every day dress with an adorable space themed print. This new silhouette from Hell Bunny features a full circle skirt with pockets and well designed bodice featuring cute cut-outs at the neckline and on the sleeves. 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! 
Lipstick "turned into a symbol of resilient femininity in the face of danger"[25] and was seen as a way to boost morale during the war. The shape of the lip was also iconic of the 1940s. The lips were painted on to look plumper, a broad outline of the lip was added for roundness. This fuller look is known as the "Hunter's Bow", invented by Max Factor.[26] The pin curl is a staple of the pin-up style, "women utilized pin curls for their main hair curling technique".[27] Originating in the 1920s from the "water-waving technique", the hair style of the 1940s consisted of a fuller, gentle curl. The drying technique consists of curling a damp piece of hair, from the end to the root and pin in place. Once the curl is dry, it is brushed through to create the desired soft curl, with a voluminous silhouette.[27] Victory rolls are also a distinctive hairstyle of the pin-up. The Victory roll is curled inward and swept off the face and pinned into place on the top of the head. Soft curls, achieved through the pin curl technique, finish off the look of pin-up.[28] As a makeup style, the classic pin-up underwent a revival in modern fashion. The red lip and winged eyeliner made a re-emergence in 2010, with singer, Katy Perry being the most accessible example of modern pin-up makeup. There is a lack of representation in the media of women of color as pin-up models, even though they were influential to the construction of the style and were just as glamorous.[29] As a makeup style, it is simple and sleek makeup, that is noticeable and glamorous.
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?
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.
To get pin curls: dab gel onto the root of a small section of damp hair, then twirl that section of hair around your finger until you get to your scalp. (You can twirl in whatever direction you’d like the curls to flow.) Slide your finger out of the curl and pin the curl to your head. Repeat for your entire head of hair, allow hair to dry, then remove pins, and voila![1]
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.
For something more form-fitting and with a bit more retro sex appeal to give you a bold boost of confidence, our 1950s dresses are just the thing. These slim-fitting frocks create a svelte hourglass shape, with tucked waists, long, slim skirts and plunging necklines that show just the right amount of skin. These pinup dresses flaunt your assets while still keeping you classily covered up. Browse Unique Vintage’s 1950s pin up dresses from top vintage-inspired brands and you’re sure to find something with the perfect blend of modern style and retro charm.
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."
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.

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]
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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.
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.
To get pin curls: dab gel onto the root of a small section of damp hair, then twirl that section of hair around your finger until you get to your scalp. (You can twirl in whatever direction you’d like the curls to flow.) Slide your finger out of the curl and pin the curl to your head. Repeat for your entire head of hair, allow hair to dry, then remove pins, and voila![1]

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.
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
Next, brush hair smooth in the back area. Backcomb the interior for extra volume and keep the surface smooth. Create soft curls with a medium barrel iron. Curl hair from the mid-length through to ends in a horizontal fashion. Set curls using pin curl clips until all hair is curled. Allow hair to cool, then release curls and allow to fall softly. Backcomb gently for a soft, voluminous finish.
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]
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.
For running errands around town, most women had a pair of baby dolls. These shoes had very round toes resembling shoes that were popular for baby dolls of that decade. Most had an ornament or cute decoration on the top of them. They were much more comfortable to wear than a pair of tall heals when a woman planned to spend many hours on her feet. Yet, they were definitely not the military style boots that were popular in the 1940s. Add a pair of comfortable baby doll shoes to your collection by getting this one from Blue Velvet Vintage (@vintagebluevelvet).
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Trashy Diva: The bright patterns and colors on Trashy Diva’s in-house line of dresses are really special, and the brand also carries a small collection of accessories and jewelry, as well as children’s versions of the adult-sized dresses. The clothing cuts are some of the most accurate when it comes to replicating the styles of the ’40s through ’60s, and despite the shop name, the stuff is totally appropriate for work, too.


The term pin-up may refer to drawings, paintings, and other illustrations as well as photographs (see the list of pin-up artists). The term was first attested to in English in 1941;[2] however, the practice is documented back at least to the 1890s. Pin-up images could be cut out of magazines or newspapers, or on a postcard or lithograph. Such pictures often appear on walls, desks, or calendars. Posters of pin-ups were mass-produced, and became popular from the mid-20th century.

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.
The dress is lovely and it fits perfectly. The packaging was presentable. I am 5'3" @ 143 lbs and I purchased the white polka-dot dress (medium). The quality of the dress is ok, however, it is a bit transparent. I may have to get a lining inside it in the future, but for now, I will have to just wear things underneath in order to not expose my underwear. Ok, so the night before the function I tried ironing it. I had to iron multiple times due to the fact I had no spray starch. On the day when I got ready the dress fit snug to my body just the way I wanted, however on arriving the event my dress was a bit roomy. I think mayb a small would have been a better pick for me as the material stretches. However I love it all the same. The ... full review

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.

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.
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