Questions, Questions, Questions

  Hello everyone and welcome back! I've decided to do something a little different today and I hope everyone enjoys this new post.

   Throughout my pinup journey I've been asked a lot of questions. Some are so charming and some are so outrageous I can't type them. Still there are three questions that I'm asked by every single person, without fail.


    3. "So what is a pinup?"
          I don't mind being asked what a pinup is. As a matter of fact, I'd rather someone ask than pretend that they know. I've also found that most people already know what a pinup is, they simply need a reminder (as in Rita Hayworth).

    2.  "How much do you get paid?"
           This is a question that I get asked quite often and I'm still a little bewildered by it. Asking a person how much they get paid isn't a question that you're supposed to ask, under any circumstances. But with pinup it's a little different. Right now being a pinup is more like a hobby. It's something that I finance myself and I'll gladly explain that. I can't help the look of awe that is written all over some people's faces when I tell them the truth. And when they ask me why I'm still a pinup I simply say, "Ballet is a passion of mine and I pay to take class, what's the difference?"

Here's the #1 question I get asked as a Modern Day Pinup and here's the look on my face when they ask.....

     1. "Why aren't you a real model?"
           That's like asking a housewife why she doesn't have a real job. Trust, everything that goes into being a pinup is real. Studying poses and having a pose coach is real, purchasing costumes and accessories are real too. I think that some people get confused; they assume that since I'm not on the catwalk with Karlie Kloss being a pinup isn't real modeling. To that I've asked, "So what's a real model?" Pinup is a different genre of modeling with a world all its own.
      If anyone gets asked charming, peculiar questions about their career/hobbies let me know. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for next week's post. Have a good weekend!**
      *The Pinup featured is Fay Wray from the book Va-Va-Voom! Circa 1933

The Modern Day Pinup A Naturel

Hello everyone and welcome back! It’s been far too long since my last post. And what I’m writing to everyone has been contemplated several times in my head and my heart.

To a woman her hair is her crowning glory, an expression of who she is and who she wants to be. So when I decided to go natural I had to ask myself: Do pinups go natural?

I noticed that some Black models wore weaves and wigs and I had a weave for my first pinup photo shoot. I loved my weave and the Veronica Lake waves cascading over my eye. It gave me that ole school Blue Dahlia vibe that made me feel like a Golden Age movie star. But wearing my natural hair brought up a lot of questions. Would stylists want to work with my natural texture? Would they refuse to work with me because of my natural hair? Can I take care of my natural hair?

I took a deep breath and stopped asking questions. I did what every single person does nowadays and went to YouTube and watched some tutorials. Angelique Noire has some wonderful tutorials for pinups with natural hair, one with victory rolls that I tested out. And I realized two very important things about my pinup journey.

I became a Modern Day Pinup because it’s part of who I am. And my natural hair is part of who I am as well; embracing both meant that I was embracing every single detail about myself and who I am naturally.

I also realized that I was holding myself back. I was too afraid to be a pinup because I was going against the grain, I wasn’t claiming who I really was. And when I didn’t want to deal my natural hair because it might be too difficult, I was denying who I really was yet again. I was blind to the fact that I was limiting my options and myself, and sooner or later it was going to catch up to me.

So just like with my makeup I practiced with natural hair pinup styles, bought some snoods and nylon scarves (any excuse to go shopping on Amazon or etsy!). And since I’m wearing my natural hair it's a wise decision to get a weave for photo shoots.

In the end holding yourself back isn’t worth it. No one wants to look back at life with regrets. I know I’ll never forget every photo shoot, every fashion show and every victory roll I’ve ever mastered. And most of all everything that has made me a Modern Day Pinup.

To Each Their Own

       I've noticed a lot of things happening in the world of pinup modeling, some amazing, some shocking. But quite frankly I wasn't surprised.

      After competing in pageants and simply existing in today's society things have shifted. The first pageant I was in was a lot of fun. I got to know some really wonderful girls who are very successful now. The second pageant I was in was a learning experience. I learned that certain people were only out for themselves.

     When I said I wanted to model and empower others I meant it. I have seen some people online writing disparaging comments at published models, telling models they're not pinup, you're not wearing this or that. And that's where my pageant lessons came in.

     Empowerment is not about forcing people to do things your way. It's about encouraging others to define their own goals and reach them. I've looked at the most successful people in business and they never reached their goals by being putting others down. They reached their goals by being molded  and passing their lessons on.

     I've seen so many people afraid to ask business owners how they got started, to just talk and be real. But those are the people you should go to! Just be honest about your intentions and where you're coming from. You have to have enough strength to ask for help, to state who you are and what you want to be.

     When +Cherry Dollface liked a picture I posted to Instagram I was thrilled. I was shocked even, because the cropping turned out terrible! It gave me a surge of confidence to keep going, but with better editing.

     Some might say I'm terribly old fashioned, that no one wants to be Miss Congeniality for a reason. People have said the same thing about people, models and comic book characters. Let them! No one ever told me that Josephine Baker made negative comments towards Marilyn Monroe, that Spider-Man isn't the most Marvel superhero! You can use their negative comments as fuel to be yourself. Make your own rules, just make sure to break those too without harming others.

 

A Modern Day Pinup's Dilemma

            As I flipped through the February issue of Allure an article immediately caught my eye. Makeup artist Jillian Dempsey wrote a feature called 3 Boring Makeup Ruts--- and How to Get Out of Them. It was truly ironic that I was reading this; I’m currently swearing off matte lipstick because my lips are so over that trend. So the light bulb went on in my head:

            Can pinups get caught in a makeup rut?

            A big part of a pinup is her makeup. The standards of a pinup’s makeup are winged black liner, dramatic, filled in brows and red lipstick. So can a pinup change her makeup look and still be considered a pinup?

            I decided to test this theory out, engage in some fun and save time on my makeup routine. Since there are so many different liners out there, I created cat eyes with very vivid colors. I experimented with brown liquid liner too. I lightly filled in my brows (if at all) and chose creamy lipsticks and glosses. I also put the lip liner back in my makeup bag. And I used only powder foundation instead of liquid and powder foundation.

            So I learned how to get myself out a makeup rut and still be a pinup. I learned that less is more; people complemented me on the vivid color eyeliner more than anyone did when I used only black.

            It’s true that you get noticed when you go against the grain. I could always be a Classic Pinup at photo shoots and be a Modern Day Pinup in my spare time. It’s perfectly normal to misbehave. After all the pinup/burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese said, ‘“People who follow all the rules and chase every trend tend to get forgotten- they look great, but they’re not as memorable.”’

Finding My Inner Sweater Girl

  I've been writing for decades now, everyday since I learned to write my own name. I even thought of pursuing my MFA in Creative Writing. At one university I was asked, "What genre of fiction do you write, Sara?"

  Throughout my career as an English major I encountered several authors. James Baldwin was known for examining differences between race, class and sex. Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner were known for writing Southern Gothic shorty stories; F. Scott Fitzgerald is known for writing The Great American Novel.

  But as a writer I didn't know where I fit in. I would usually write from first or third person point of view. I even dabbled with the omniscient perspective to challenge myself. I realized that I loved to write but I wasn't at home being a writer. I wasn't completely Sara. Still, there has been one place where I had everything figured out and I knew exactly who I was.

  Ever since I had my first photo shoot I felt at ease. I had studied poses, other famous pinups and everything clicked. The first photographer I ever worked with said I was so photogenic, she didn't want to stop taking pictures of me. The second photographer said I made his job easy, it was a pleasure to work with me.

 I love writing and reading literature, a big part of me always will. I love sharing my voice through my own eyes. It works out best when I'm in front of the camera, letting a photographer capture my story. I love the glitz, the glam, the girdles, the makeup and the pin curls that are in my hair right now! Writing is what I love, but a pinup is who I am.

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The Modern Day Pinup and The Art of Discretion

One thing that has definitely changed from the 1940s and 50s is communication. Right now there's not only the telephone, there's texting and social media. But my question is how would a pinup girl handle all this and still be discreet?

Back in the day women left a lot more to the imagination. Look at Rita Hayworth in the film noir Gilda. All she did was remove one glove and men swooned. In today's society some women aren't removing one glove. At times nothing is left to the imagination; you know where certain people are at any given moment.

So, what's a Modern Day Pinup to do?

I decided to reveal what I wanted to, nothing more and nothing less. There's no law that says I have to post my whereabouts everyday. That's under my creative control! Since The Golden Age women have gained more control over their lives and their choices. If I want to reveal that I have a photo shoot, great. If I decide not to post the pictures from that photo shoot, that's wonderful too.

Everything isn't for everyone to see. There are certain things that I would only let a few people see, not 800 of my closest friends. And since we're in this age of oversharing that might make me part of the minority (yet again), but it's perfectly natural to be yourself.

That's my favorite part of being a pinup. There's a certain way a pinup carries herself, a certain style of clothing she wears. There's art in her makeup and a come hither look in her eyes. A pinup has a look of innocence and is very wily all at the same. Just don't expect her to tell you what she has in store for you.

And in the beginning, there was a Pin Up....

            After years of watching Golden Age movies, I still couldn’t define what a pin up girl was on my own. But as of today, that was about to change.

            According to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, a pin up girl is defined as “a woman whose glamorous qualities make her a suitable subject of a photograph for pinning up on an admirer’s wall” (894). The phrase pin up girl was coined in 1941 and in 2015 isn’t an everyday term.

            Because a pin up girl can be anyone! We are all glamorous in our own way; we all have unique qualities that people admire. Right now we admire ourselves and take our own pictures.  Some pin ups are single, have full time jobs and families.

            Pop culture has changed and pin ups have changed too. I’ve always believed that as women we should love ourselves exactly as we are and find a way, everyday, to highlight our unique features. Still, there are questions that remain unanswered.

            What traditions should pin ups embrace from The Golden Age? What traditions should Modern Day Pin Ups leave behind? That’s what we’re here to discover. And these are the Confessions of a Modern Day Pin Up.