Thatpinup Of The Month 💁: Summer Wildes

So I'm starting a new series on this blog called "Thatpinup of the month" where I feature a pin-up every month If you'd like to be featured click here or on the "Submit to Thatpinup button" to be featured.

As you all know, I love it whenever I find designers who infused their designs with vintage/pinup style fashion So when I found Summer's store I just had to find out more about it so I decided to talk to the owner of Summer Wildes:

Here's how it went:

I love your pinup name, how did you come up with it?

Wildes is actually my middle name and I think of Summer as being this cheerful, fresh-faced All-American beach girl with a retro flair – very much a pinup!

How and why did you start your online store and what inspired you to Start it?

I created Summer Wildes because I couldn’t find what I was looking for – an attractive, good-fitting, high-quality bra, sexy but not trashy. I took a course in bra development at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, and worked with a specialist consultant figuring out how to construct bras (and swimwear) and source components to my specifications. From the lingerie and bikinis, it made sense to add in other essentials such as tees, lounge pants, leggings, beach cover-up, and sweatshirts, all very much in Summer’s style.

How did you get into the pinup community? And what’s your advice for people who want to as well?

 Having spent 18 years in the magazine advertising world, I came up with the idea to invent a character who would be the face of the brand. I was inspired by images of bathing suit models from the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, and commissioned a famous British pin-up artist to create Summer’s look. For anyone thinking about joining the pinup community, I’d say follow your dreams and go for it.

How do you want women to feel when they wear your products?

First and foremost, women should feel sexy and confident in everything from Summer Wildes. Superior fit, high-quality fabrics and stylish fashion (made in the USA) is the trifecta at Summer Wildes.

What product do you most recommend buying on your store?

Since it all started with the bra, that’s most certainly my favorite item to recommend. But, hey, now it’s summer beach season and a luxurious terry cloth bikini along with the accompanying goodies such as beach cover-up, lounge pants, hoodies and tees are fabulous too.

Any up and coming products we can look forward to?

Soft cups bras are arriving in a few weeks and there is golf/tennis attire on its way too. You can sign up for our newsletter here to get the latest happenings at Summer Wildes.

How to Look Retro 👗 AND Stay Comfortable 💆

By: Adrienne Luther

It’s Sunday morning, last night’s makeup is still caked on your cheeks, you’ve got a splitting headache, and your feet hurt. Fashion is pain, and you’ve got the blisters and bruises to prove it. (The Instagram pic was totally worth it, though!)

Nothing sounds better than staying in your pajamas, but alas, you’ve made brunch plans. Your vintage wear isn't quite hitting the mark when it comes to comfort levels, and you already know Ashley is going to show up hangover-less and glitzy.

If only there was a way you could don something cozy, vintage, and fashionable...

There is! Grab some Advil and a cup of coffee and check out these simple ways to add a hip, retro spin to your comfy clothes.

1) The Go-To: A Sloppy Updo And Scarf
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This look can be a little tricky at first, but for experienced pin-up gals, it can be a great go-to for some easy styling and accessible classiness. If you’re needing some help with the bandana, check out this great tutorial. There are many awesome ways you can tie up your hair with your little scarf, but if you can’t quite get the hang of it, opting for a little neckerchief can also be a solid bet. This look is great for a retro vibe with any outfit.

2) 80’s Style

For this look, break out your slouchiest sweater, leggings, and ballerina slippers (otherwise referred to as flats these days). Bonus points if you have some of your mom’s old stirrup pants. The 80s is your best bet for comfy clothing on the fly – these are the true origins of athleisure thanks to the era’s generous use of polyester and spandex.

3) 60’s Spirit

This outfit is great if you’re feeling like a breezy look on a spring morning. The trick to achieving a 60s essence is accessorizing carefully and owning drapey natural fibers like some light cotton. Donning some inexpensive costume jewelry is an easy way to add to the look. If you’re really shooting for authenticity, stick to neutral colors that occur in nature – browns, tans, and whites are your best bet.

4) Worn Graphic Tees

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This look is especially easy to pull off – all you need is a worn vintage graphic t-shirt and some comfy pants of your choice. In this case, it’s some good ole jorts (super easy to make, by the way!) Ask your ‘rents if they have some good tees from their youth laying around – you’d be surprised! If you have a shirt that’s not quite cozy enough, there are several ways to wear down the cotton fabric to give it that true “vintage” feel. Pair your look with some adorable little saddle shoes to create a retro look that mix-n-matches vintage fashion (always fun in the 21st century!)

5) Palazzo Pants

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Step aside leggings, these are THE comfy pants. With lots of regal fabric, this bohemian look can be styled however you please. Pair these beauties with a crop-top or a slouchy sweater. Some styles may require hemming, so be wary of length if you snag a pair! These pants are especially great if you’re bloated, too.

So there you have it – fashion doesn’t always have to be painful. Achieving a retro look can be as easy as a headscarf on a Sunday morning, or as involved as a full get-up for a night out on the town!

Meet The Designer Bringing Fifties Style Elegance 👒 Back To The Runway 💃

I love it when I find designers who recreated vintage fashion and add their own little twist to it, so when I came across Luna's designs I just had to know more about them. I mean just look at some of them:

after looking at some of her designs I wanted to find out more about them. So I asked Luna Joachim a designer located in Brookline Massachusetts With a passion for 50s style fashion, various questions about her designs here's how it went:

How did you get into designing clothes?

I got into designing clothes originally by modifying the clothes that I would purchase. But it was not until I opened my boutique that I began designing my own clothes.

How did you come to love 50s style fashion?

I can't pinpoint that moment. I've loved the 1950's for many years. The things that draw me to the'50's are the actual design style of different pieces as well as the dignified way of that era.

Of all the eras to choose from why choose the 50s to recreate?

I love the modesty and yet stylish classic style of the 50's. I also love the accessories of gloves and hats. They are a perfect accent to a beautiful outfit.

What’s your favorite collection so far?

Summer 2016. I love the colors, fabrics, and styles from that collection in particular.

Do you wear your designs yourself?

Yes, I definitely wear my designs. I love the fact that I can find unique pieces in my line.

Any up and coming collections we can look forward to?

I will be showing my fall collection on my show in October. I'm really excited about many of those. I will be doing some new things in that line that I haven't yet tried.

And I'm certain that we are all looking forward to it. I would also like to add that it really makes me happy when I see a person of color making such waves in the industry with retro-inspired designs I really hope that Luna continues to go far in the fashion industry.

Make sure to check out her designs and show her some support!

you can visit her website at L'Accentfashion.com

4 Pin-up Girls Who Had Tragic Deaths 😭

Pin-up girls always have a lot in common, sassy, funny, and sensual personality with a hint of innocents, a body with curves to kill, and impeccable style. But there’s one thing they also have in common that most people overlook. A tragic and horrific death.

Marilyn Monroe

Photo Source: ninjajournalist.com

She is known as the most sought-after pin-up girl in the world to this day. Marilyn Died of a drug overdose in the early August of 1962 in her house in LA. She had killed herself. She had problems with drug and alcohol abuse for many years. She used it to cope with her troubled past. And when her mental illness it didn't mix well needless to say.

Josephine Baker

Photo Source: Getty Images

Known as the first internal black superstar at the time and also as the most famous women in the world at the time (1920s) She still had a VERY hard life. Back then it didn't matter how famous you were if you were black. You were still less-than. It was so bad that she had to move to France and become a French citizen were they treated blacks a little better. And that's when she really became a star. She eventually returned to the US. And Gained popularity there. But she still faced a lot of prejudice which she had a hard time coping with it. But even after all she went through she still truly believed that it wasn't the color of somebody's skin that mattered and that you weren't born with hate, you taught it.

“Surely the day will come when color means nothing more than skin tone when religion is seen as uniquely as a way to speak one's soul;

when birth places have the weight of a throw of dice and all men are born free, and when understanding breeds love and brotherhood.”

She died at the age of 62 of a stroke. She had many of them in her lifetime and this one proved to be too much for her body to handle.

Dorothy Dandridge

Photo Source: thoughtco.com

Dorthy died of a drug overdose, her death was ruled an accident but some people don't think it was. Due to the phone call, she had with her ex-sister in law before her death saying things like "Whatever happens, I know you will understand" leaving many to think she killed herself like Marilyn Monroe did. She suffered from depression for many years and many think the stress of her hectic life drove her over the edge.

Jayne Mansfield

Photo source: dawnschickflicks.blogspot.com

Jayne died on June 29th, 1967 She was riding with her lover and 3 of her kids when a car crashed into their tractor-trailer. All everyone died but her three kids which one of them you may recognize from the popular show Law and order SVU Mariska Hargitay. Her death was not in vain. After her death A law was past requiring all semi-trucks to have a "DOT bar" or you may know it better by its nickname "The Mansfield bar" Jayne also with alcohol and drug abuse as well.

5 Things Pin-up Girls Are Tired 💤 Of Hearing 😡

When you think of pin-up girls you think of sassy glamorous bombshells. But they are some people who think otherwise thus comes along some questions that can be a bit annoying here are five things that pin-up girls are tired of hearing.

1) "Do you want to live in a different era?"

Question, Let's say you enjoy a song made in the 1950s Do you now want to go back to the 1950s? Probably not. I love my Wifi and my freedom.

2) "You're degrading yourself"

Dressing how you want and living how you want is not degrading, It's the exact opposite.

3) "You'll never find a date dressed like that."

You mean like this?

3) "You look like an old lady."

I'll take your word for it.

4) "Why can't you dress like a normal person?"

Being "Normal" is overrated.

5) "You're stuck in the past."

I love drag queens, trap music, and video games but somehow because my style is retro I'm "Stuck in the past" okay buddy.

Pin-up Protein: Add A Little Pin-up 👠 To Your Workout 💪

You've heard of products such as "Fit Tea" the product that's supposed to slim your stomach down that's promoted by almost every girl on Instagram. Well, let me introduce Pin-up protien it's a protein powder that focuses on making you stronger, not slimmer. I wanted to know more about it. So I ask the owners and asked them various questions concerning the product. Here's what they had to say:

How and why did you start "Pin-up protein"?

My wife and I were looking to combine our love for fitness and commerce experience into a new project and started focusing on the supplement industry. That quickly led to protein supplements, specifically protein. From the start, we were not thrilled with the "bro-tech" branding of nearly all supplements and knew we wanted to go in another direction. Organically, my wife came up with the imagery of classic and strong, which led to the Rosie The Riveter inspired character as the brand basis. Looking further into the existing available products, we found that the women's protein market was severely underserved compared to the men's options. The women's options that did exist focused on being "skinny" or "thin" which we did not feel were the healthiest images that should be promoted. We wanted to be a brand that focused on making women Strong.

What’s in Pin-up protein? Besides the obvious, Protein.

Our protein only has four ingredients. A full breakdown can be seen here: https://pinupgirlprotein.com/blogs/protein/what-is-in-a-scoop-of-protein

Can men also use pin-up protein?

Men can use our protein as well. The ingredient list really is not particular to women. We had considered adding additional ingredients that benefited women specifically but felt that a pure, high-quality protein is more important. A portion of our sales benefits women's focused charities as well.

What made you choose a pin-up girl for the face of your brand?

As mentioned above, we were looking for a classic, strong image for our brand. I had considered a vintage circus strongman for a male-focused brand. When we decided to focus on women, the brainstorming went to the "bombshell" style girls that would be painted on sides of World War II planes. While certainly sexy, they didn't convey the strength we were looking for which led us to the Rosie the Riveter imagery. We worked with a designer for packaging who selected the illustration and adjusted it for our packaging needs. As good as our protein is, it is our brand character that is really driving awareness. She captured everything we were looking for.

I see you only have two flavors Vanilla and Chocolate are you coming out with any more flavours?

We launched with Vanilla and Chocolate and are seeing near a 50/50 split in orders with a slight edge to Chocolate. We have formulations for other flavors like Ice Cream Sandwich and Cake Batter which taste amazing. We may even do a flavorless for baking, but for now, we are very happy with the existing Vanilla and Chocolate flavors. We may release a ready to drink version of those flavors before expanding the flavor options in the powder.

Are you planning to expand into selling more than just protein products?

We originally envisioned starting with protein and expanding to other products like a Casein, multi-vitamin, etc. under the same branding. We then realized that protein is such an effective and useful supplement and that is where we should focus on educating women on the benefits and expanding our focus there. The only additional option being considered at this time is an ready to drink product which will greatly improve access to our product.

You can learn more about pin-up protein on their website: Pinupgirlprotien.com

4 Pin-up Instagrammers That Will Make You Think You've Traveled 💼 Back In Time 🕑

I started this blog to help women from all walks of life find their inner pinup girl. And when I’m talking to women about pin-up style fashion I find that the main reason why they don’t wear it is that they don’t think they’re good enough. They think they have to look and be a certain way to dress like or be a pinup girl. But it’s not like pinup girls are born with their hair in pin curls and their eyeliner perfectly applied and have never suffered from self-esteem issues. They’re normal everyday women just like me and you. But don't just take my word for it, I asked Four pin-up models questions concerning their experience being pinups, how they started dressing in pinup fashion, and the advice they had for aspiring pinups. So you can see for yourself!

Here's what they had to say:

Scarlett Luxe

“When I was 16 I had no clue of my style or who I was, I tried to follow the styles of the high street and what was in fashion magazines but it never suited my curvy shape and gave me no confidence. In my town, a new boutique opened up called 'Deadly is the Female' specializing in Faux Vintage Fashion. I had a prom dress disaster and on the day of my prom had to find new accessories. I visited 'Deadly is the Female' to buy some shoes and fell in love. Immediately what drew me to the vintage fashion was the glamour! From that day I started exploring vintage fashion via vintage reproduction brands as this was more accessible and affordable. It's only been in the past few years I have started buying true vintage pieces because I have a greater appreciation and care for these incredible pieces.

The girls in the pin-up community have your back no matter what! The pinup community is so caring and supportive, it's just wonderful. I have met so many incredible friends through this community and I've been able to learn so much about vintage style. I also adore that we can totally geek out about vintage fashion, hair styling and more with each other! When a new collection is released I can message friends and they get just as excited as I do about buying new pieces! It's so lovely to have a group of people who understand and share your love and passion.

Find what works for you as an individual and makes you unique. There are so many beautiful girls out there who are great for taking inspiration from, that's why I love Instagram. But what I have learned is what may work for them may not work for me. Don't just copy others, be you! I'd also recommend starting with a capsule collection of pieces that can be interchanged to work with each other such as pencil skirts, blouses, cigarette pants, a little black dress etc. Some good key pieces that can work to create many different looks is a great place to start. ”

Miss Sixties Twist

“ It all started 6 years ago during a time when I had lost confidence in myself and struggled with my appearance. At that time I started to watch Mad Men and I instantly fell in love with the diversity of shapes and characters shown there. I couldn't take my eyes off Joan Holloway, she really caught my attention! My grandma had kept all her belongings (including beautiful Loewe pieces) in her wardrobe and I thought it would be a great opportunity to give them another life and try to channel Joan. And since that day, I've never looked back! My fascination for Rockabilly and Soul music also helped me go for a change.

Amazing and challenging as well. I had never felt so empowered before and proud of what I've become. At school, I used to be the weirdo and tall girl who would often get told she was fat and ugly. But not anymore. The pin-up community has helped me embrace my beauty and, most important, meet other women with the same interests as me. I'd also like to add that I've learned a lot in the past years and I owe it to the pinup community. Sometimes I wish I had discovered the scene in my teens!

Both my family and friends supported my change. They've always been very supportive and, although sometimes they seem to not understand my way of life, they don't judge me by my looks. But with general public it's the opposite: people stare at me and even think they have the right to comment on my outfit/appearance. At first, it did affect me but now I just laugh at them or ignore their comments.

Find your own style and embrace it. It's also important to start step by step because changes take time. We've all been there. Try adding a vintage twist to your outfits and gradually changing your style to your liking.”

Kirstie My Dear

“I started slowly transitioning into dressing in retro style around 4.5 years ago. When I was in high school I had a school uniform and didn't really get an opportunity to express myself through my clothes, but I always admired the silhouettes of the 40s, 50s and 60s. When I was in undergrad, I got to explore with my style a little more, but I was still held back by societal pressures about current trends, even though I hated how things fit on me! I grew up having a mom who always dressed in skirts and dressing and I came to associate that ultra feminine look as synonymous with being a powerful woman. So once I became more confident, I let my personality shine through my clothes.

I am currently the only pin-up in my area, at least that I know of. But my experience in the pinup community online has largely been wonderful. In more recent years I've started to notice some bullying and harassment, but for the most part, I would say it's been quite pleasant. There's a lot of lovely women out there that I wouldn't have otherwise had the opportunity to meet, and that has been so rewarding!

My whole family is super supportive and happy with it, especially my mom. She loves the style and wishes she had worn it when she was my age (even though I tell her she can wear it at any age)! My friends are so used to it now that they don't even notice it, which is pretty cool. As for the general public - the reactions are mixed. I live in a pretty conservative city so I get openly gawked at in public, especially when shooting blog photos. But I haven't really gotten openly nasty comments, other than the time a guy on a bike spat at me and my sister, calling us ugly. One thing I've noticed is I don't get harassed by men on the street as much when I'm in full pinup - I think it confuses or intimates them. So that feels pretty powerful.

My biggest piece of advice would be for girls to not be afraid to slowly transition, or only dress in pinup when they feel like it! I slowly transitioned over the course of a year until I was fully confident. These days I only get to pinup on weekends, but I still consider myself a true pinup girl. Pinup has done oodles for my confidence, which I've been able to apply in other areas of my life. I want aspiring pinup girls to know how freeing it can be to dress how you want, regardless of what people think!”

Cassandra Briskman

“I've always had a fascination with the 40s/50s and always took Halloween as an opportunity to live my best pinup life. About a year or so ago I discovered a beautiful lady @lonicatherine on Instagram. Loni dresses in pinup without an occasion. She seemed so happy and confident and it was so inspiring! I used Dapper Day events at Disneyland to slowly develop my own confidence to dress in pinup without an occasion, and now I try to do it at least every weekend!

I am actually a very introverted person. I don't have many close friends, but most of the close friends I do have actually came from the pinup community. I've met some of the most wonderful inspiring and empowering women online who I am so lucky to call my friends. I think it takes a lot of confidence to walk around in public dressed in pinup, and it took some real getting used to for me. Because people aren't used to others dressing that way, they tend to stare. Getting so much attention in public was very intimidating at first, but eventually, it really helped my self-confidence. I learned to not worry about what other people are thinking and to just focus on how good I feel in my clothes.

My advice to be yourself and not compare yourself to others. No amount of pinup is too small or too over the top. There's no need to compare yourself to other pinups because everyone's beautiful in their own way.

(Oh and my second piece of advice is learning how to properly do your hair takes forever. I've been doing it for a year and now I feel like I've finally got it! Don't get frustrated! Just keep doing it and practicing.) ”

How did you get into the pinup lifestyle? use the hashtag #findyourinnerpinupgirl or click here to submit it to Thatpinup!

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