If I were to do a survey and ask people the first thing that comes to mind when they hear pin-up…the majority would think of a partially naked centerfold right? Marylyn Monroe, Betty Paige, the "We Can Do It" lady. You'd probably think of the gorgeous women who were known to be taboo in their time and maybe even represent rebellion, feminism, and perhaps even sexual empowerment.
So why the name Painted Pinup?? How can we take those ideals….peoples perception… and focus it into what pin-up represents for our business that is neither rebellious or feminist?
One of my favorite museum exhibits was the WWII fighter plane nose art at the Commemorative Airforce Museum in Midland. It wasn’t the actual painting of the scantily clad ladies on the noses of those planes that intrigued me. If anything the body proportions were off and faces looked pretty bad. I enjoyed reflecting on the young men getting ready for what could be the last flight of their short life. Paintings conjuring up memories of comfort or what they are fighting for back home could have been a simple morale booster. What stirs our hearts more than love and beauty right? Even you stick to a primarily sensual point of view, the symbolism of the power of touch, nurturing, or being known is a powerful, transformative force! I'd like to take it even further than that though.
There were Americans working hard back home to build the very planes they might be painted while caring for their families and communities…keeping our country going. There was an attitude of connection, loyalty, and patriotism. Such a contrast of times being extremely simple while extraordinarily complex!
Which then brings me to the aesthetic captured from the time. It is very contrasting! The black and white checkers, red and turquoise, pink and black, simple and complex…vintage and traditional. Vintage in its essence is dichotomous. Soft and bold, love and war, connection and distance, life and death. It is very striking and nostalgic, conjuring up simple times of friends gathering at a drive in diner, backyard bar-b-q’s, or Sunday dinners.
Painted Pinup brings the new wave of pin-up aesthetic with its bold colors and quirky fashion into the real needs of a nation and community that is growing in division. With bright lipstick, sprayed hair, and colorful outfits we aim to re-instate the healthy touch of connection that nurtures, gives hope, and binds communities, while at the same time being unapologetically entertaining and making people smile.
This......this is our vision.
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