Pin up girls have been around for a lot longer than you think. Since as early as the 1890s girls have been drawn, painted and photographed and presented to the world as the ideal of beauty and sexuality. Like fashions in beauty and body shape, the pin up has changed enormously over the last century.(…)
Looking for some hair-style inspiration? I’ve collected some of the most iconic hairstyles here from the 1920s to the 1970s, which one do you fancy trying? I’m taking style inspiration from Faye Dunaway from Bonnie and Clyde today… 1. Veronica Lake: The Peekaboo Fringe 1940s movie star Veronica Lake was famous for her long finger(…)
A vintage sewing pattern from the 1940s, designed with Betty Grable in mind by Hollywood Patterns. I think I prefer the short sleeved version of this dress best. Thanks to Julie Kirby for scanning this and sending it in to me, if you have any vintage photos or magazines I’d love to see them! The(…)
Marilyn Monroe’s measurements There’s a lot of discussion about whether Marilyn Monroe really was a size 16, and whether that was a US size 16 or a UK size 16, so I thought I’d look into it in more depth and see what I could find out. Like most women (with perhaps the exception of(…)
Betty Grable’s legs, who were insured by Lloyds of London for a whopping $1 million. I can’t think of any other actress who was photographed as much just from the waist down! These photos were all from the 1940s, but mostly 1943. Can you see what all the fuss was about? Source and copyright: This(…)
This photo of Betty Grable from 1943 was the most popular pin up photo for American GIs during WWII. You can see the other WWII pin ups here Source and copyright: This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1963 and although there may or(…)
During World War 2 all of the big Hollywood stars posed for pin up photos to raise the morale of the troops. The official US Army magazine was called YANK (is it just me that finds that funny?) Lots of the big silver screen starlets of the time are here: Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Rita(…)