How to Learn About Pin-Up Girls or Models

World War II introduced American culture to the calendar pin-up girls with their pointy brassieres and come-on smiles. Our love affair with these stylized beauties is still alive six decades later. The contemporary bedfellows of pin-up models today are tattoos and rockabilly music. Deepen your pin-up knowledge by following these simple steps.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Research pin-up art. Pin-up art are the illustrations that inspired the creation of the pin-up photographic images. The most famous pin-up art adorned the airplanes and ships of World War II. Numerous books are available. One in particular worth checking out is “Jeeper Creepers! A Gallery of American Pin-up Art” by Louis K. Meisel.

2. Find a World War II pin-up superstar. Rita Hayworth made her career on the popularity of her pin-ups. Many of our service men swooned over this hottie. Playboy released a documentary on Hayworth in 2004 titled “Playboy Presents Rita.” Her classic silver screen film as leading lady role is “Gilda.” This film is thought to be one of cinemas all-time greats. “Rita Hayworth: A Photographic Retrospective” by Caren Roberts-Frenzel is an excellent visual aid.

3. Resource Bunny Yeager. Bunny Yeager is an infamous photographer who made a career creating pin-ups. A former model, Yeager was a fox in her own right. Nevertheless, she has published two books that need to be in your library. “Pin-Up Girls of the 1950s” and “Pin-Up Girls of the 1960s” (A Schiffer Book publication) is available on Amazon. Yeager took the famous Bettie Page cheetah girl photos.

4. Absorb Bettie Page. Bettie Page is a modern pin-up icon. Although she was photographed during the golden decades of pin-up, her popularity didn’t escalate until the 1990s. Now, she refuses to be seen in public. Page wants to be remembered in her prime. Nevertheless, the official Bettie Page website teaches you everything you need to know about her. Also, this website has a great online store.

5. Get contemporary with Bernie Dexter. Bernie Dexter is a new millennium Bettie Paige. The resemblance is uncanny. A visit to her MySpace page provides a great resource of her images. A search through her MySpace friends familiarizes you with all that is the modern pin-up culture. She also has a web page.

Resources

• Bettie Page Official Website
• Bernie Dexter Offficial Website

[Tali99]

on 4/30/2008 Don't mean to self-promote (well, maybe a little ;) ), but my blog is all about pinups!
http://www.thepinupblog.com/