Billie Girls

Annie acting pin-up

Putting yourself in the shoes of a pin-up girl is not an easy task. Even though Véronique and I had tons of fun, we were far from meeting all of the criteria that are needed to be labeled as a pin-up.

It was in the 30’s and 60’s that the pin-ups had their glory mostly, in the US. They were beauty icons and represented the fantasy of men who used to pin ( hence pin-up ) their pictures on the wall and kept postcards of them in their wallets.

The pin-up also called “cheese cake”, because of the expression “better than a cheese cake”, was an artistic genre that influenced not only a lot of the movie starlets but also the American beauty standards. However, the pin-up was not a real woman! Sometimes it was an illustration, sometimes a drawing or a photo, and in each case the pin-up model was representing an image far from reality.

The renowned illustrator Elvgren (among others) was famous for his Coca Cola ads. He had his own technique of how to illustrate pin-ups and he was also the first one to influence many other artists later on.

Pin-Ups

First, a photo of his muse in a posture that accentuates her proportions and curves was taken.

Then, the artist would paint his muse using a very realistic technique and exaggerating several of her physical aspects.

The Elvgren pin-up must have luxuriant hair, long legs, the face of a 15 year old girl in a 20 years old woman’s body, have a high forehead, a swan neck, eyes well open, small ears, a mischievous nose, generous breasts but not too much, beautiful hands, a tiny waist and an natural grace … A nice a grocery list, enough to depress a high percentage of women at the time! Was this the dawn of retouching?

Finally, the artist’s canvas was reproduced in thousands of copies for the pleasure of all men that devoured these women (that lived only on paper) with their eyes.

Véro acting Pin-Up

During World War II, several starlets were invited to visit the front in order to bring back the moral to the troops. The pin-up, now a warrior, personified the American woman, courageous and confident. Her role changes, so does her outfits. She jumps from ingenious and lightly dressed to a sexy nurse, sometimes showcasing military badges during the war. Also, many army planes were named after women and displayed a pin-up in order to bring comfort to those men on their way to fight.

After the war, Betty Page and Marilyn Monroe made their appearance on the scene. It is also at this point that photo wins over illustration, leaving us with many striking images of the end of the main pin-up era.

REMERCIEMENTS:

BILBOQUET
1311 avenue Bernard, Outremont
T. +1 514.276.0414
Lundi – Dimanche 7h00 à 24h00

Stéphanie Lefebvre
Photographe
T. + 1 514.265.2145
http://stephanielefebvre.blogspot.com

Amélie Bruneau Longpré
Makeup Artist
T. +1 514.606.3326
www.amelieblongpre.blogspot.com

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