Starting A Pin Up Wardrobe On A Budget

Having your own retro wardrobe can be a great asset when you're out there looking for pin up modeling gigs. Some photographers might not supply wardrobe for shoots and others, who may not do pin up on a regular basis, may need a model who can fend for themselves in that department.

So how to start building a retro/pin up wardrobe without breaking the bank?

One place to start is the Salvation Army and other thrift stores. In the New York area they've been picked clean of real vintage for years, however, depending on where you live, you may still get lucky. But you don't just have to troll for vintage at the Sal. It can be a great place to pick up basics like a black pencil skirt, black shoes, sweaters, shorts, cute capris...The list is endless, you just have to keep a sharp eye out for the gems among the dross. Look for simple, clean lines. For example, you want skirts, capris and shorts to be very simple, without say, cargo pockets or ornamental zippers. The more classic looking (meaning even though it is modern it could be from any era) the better. Also, stay alert for anything that could be used as a prop since people donate some of the strangest things to their local thrift stores!

With Halloween coming up, don't underestimate the potential of costume and party shops! Of course they have the seasonal witch, devil and black cat, but don't pass up the opportunity to pick up a sexy nurse uniform, sailor girl, soldier, hula girl, harem girl or even a Daisy Duke costume! Most costumes are less than $50 each and the opportunity is there to pick up items half price after the holiday. These shops can also be great sources for props; cigarette holders, hand cuffs, brooms, bunny ears (think Easter), etc.

How about lingerie? While there are some fabulous repro lingerie lines out there like What Katie Did and Secrets In Lace you can also find great buys from old stand bys like Frederick's of Hollywood. 'Ornamental' corsets (meaning the kind you don't want to use to tight lace your waist in by four inches) are a fraction the cost of the real thing and they have great sales in which to pick up odds and ends like garter belts and cute sets (like this one for example).

Do a Google search for "Shirley of Hollywood" (maybe she was Fred's cousin ;-)), and see what comes up. They make very reasonably priced pieces and have great ruffly boy shorts! (Unfortunately they also make some incredibly tawdry stuff as well, but to each his own I suppose).

With just a little creativity and resourcefulness it can be easy to get your wardrobe collection started or put together a look for a shoot without having to go into debt!

Workshop Pics and Our Lovely Graduates!

August Hair Workshop Special

On August 23, 2009, Pin Up Finishing School™ will be offering a Pin Up Hair Demo Workshop. It will take place from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm at Otto's Shrunken Head on 14th Street between Avenues A & B.

The 2 1/2 - 3 hour workshop will include demonstrations of some popular pin up hair styles, pin curl and fingerwaving techniques. We'll also create simple hair flower accessories and make our own rats which are useful for Victory Rolls and other 1940's hair styles!

And now for a limited time if you sign up with a friend you will both receive 10% off the fee of any of the full Pin Up Workshops scheduled between now and the end of 2009!

* * You must both sign up at the same time in order to receive this offer. Just put the name of the other person in the comments section of the sign up form!

Offer good until August 8, 2009

Sign up at http://www.pinupfinishingschool.com/

Upcoming 2009 Workshops

August 23 - Hair Workshop

September 27 - Pin Up Workshop
October 25 - Pin Up Workshop
November 15 - Hair Workshop

November 22 - Pin Up Workshop

You can sign up for any of the above at http://www.pinupfinishingschool.com. Just specify the date you are registering for in the comments section of the Pay Pal form.

Pin Up Beauty Tip Of The Day - The Beauty Accessory EVERY Glamour Girl Needs

So what is it? What is the one beauty accessory every Glamour Girl needs? It is a particular mascara, foundation, powder? Nope, none of the above. It's a Sephora Beauty Insider Card!

I can almost hear you saying, "But Rocket, it's just another marketing loyalty card like the one I get from the drugstore and the supermarket." Ok, maybe it is, but do you get free, high-end beauty stuff from the drugstore or the supermarket? Chances are, no.

Besides the fact that Sephora is the Holy Grail of cosmetic stores did I mention YOU GET FREE STUFF? Where else would you be allowed to run around and play with awesome department store cosmetic brands like Too Faced, Smashbox and Benefit without the hard sell, someone hovering over you every minute and having to request what you want from behind the counter as if you were a child having to be doled out your daily cookie?

And for every dollar you spend, you get a point. When your account reaches 100 points you're eligible for premium samples and gifts. So far I've gotten a really nice foldable Sephora shopper, a full sized Urban Decay liquid eyeliner and Philsophy Purity Made Simple facial cleanser, among other things.

In addition, you get special offers on products that are only for Sephora Beauty Insiders. You can earn points for in-store AND online purchases!

If you are a make-up addict like I am, then why not be earning points towards free stuff while you're chucking your disposable income at Sephora in the pursuit of the mascara that won't wind up half way down your face or the perfect eyeliner brush?

Sign up online at Sephora.com!

Pin Up Beauty Tip Of The Day - Eyebrows

Make sure that your eyebrows are perfectly plucked or waxed, and groomed The inner corners of your brows should be the thickest point, thinning out towards the tips. Before you are finished with your makeup, you can color your brows in thoroughly with an eyebrow pencil to add drama to the look.

Why Pin Up?

Why Pin Up?

I’ve always been what you would call a “girly girl.” At the age of 14 when I was the proud owner of SEVEN pairs of shoes, my mother declared I had a shoe fetish. Little did the poor woman know that seven was going to be laughable within a few short years.

My clothes currently take up three closets and numerous storage bins in my home. The best way to store shoes is a continually evolving process. I own five sets of hot rollers and at least ½ a dozen curling irons much to my husband’s constant bemusement and I have more make up than I could possibly wear in seven lifetimes!

For years I had a secret pin up girl inside me.

Part of it was the whole attraction that the slightly naughty girls from the 50’s were the ones that looked sexier and seemed more appealing than your Gidgets or teenagers in circle skirts. What fun is it to be a teenager in a circle skirt when it involves only Coca-Cola, curfews and boys who would probably wind up as insurance salesmen?

No, the real fun was in being a naughty girl like Jayne, Mamie or Miss Adelaide.

I would watch the latter do the “Take Back Your Mink” striptease in Guys & Dolls religiously and fantasize about doing that one day myself.

And pin ups! Pin ups are the vision of sassy, sexy, slightly risqué mid-century perfection. Pin up girls always looked beautiful and irresistible and every man wanted one.

It all started with a burlesque class given by the Red Hots Burlesque when they were based out of New York. I learned the basics and then got up there and took it all off! It was fun and the gals involved in burlesque in New York are very welcoming and supportive. But it seemed once I’d done it and got it out of my system I was sort of over it.

Pin up, on the other hand, is just something for which my passion grows!

Somehow I managed to get on the My Space friends list of Philadelphia area pin up photographer, Bombshell Mandy. Some pin up photographers, Mandy being one of them, offer discounted, “group shoot” days; hair, make up, photo shoot, edited pictures and a print or three all for an amazingly wonderful price!

I took the plunge and got hooked up for Halloween 2007. If you take a look at those pics today, all the gorgeousness you see in it is all Mandy’s doing! It was my first time and you can tell! I look as grim as the reaper, but fortunately it managed to come out as sultry!

I’ve created Pin Up Finishing School so that I can share what I’ve learned in the past 18 months with other girls who want to pose as pin ups. Get your feet wet in a secure & supportive environment! Break the ice and you’ll be much more at ease during your first full shoot!