Pinup, vintage fashion, vintage home, Jane Austen's Emma, and Miracles from Molecules!
Outfits of the Day, Week, or whatever determined time period.
Two more pinup publications this year, both with photography, makeup and hair by Marilee Caruso! My Rick’s Dessert Diner images are in the super-duper Social Pin Issue 72 (and on the back cover!) and my Lucy Westenra (of the Coppola Bram Stoker’s Dracula adaptation fame) pics are in Volume 1 of Retro Lovely‘s new Vampyre special edition!
More after the jump…
I have two new pinup publications with some great new collaborators: Liz of Bombshell Pinup Photography and Sam of Beauty by Samantha White! Our images are featured in six-page spreads in both Retro Lovely No. 237 and Bombshell‘s February Valentine’s issue! And, we got a cover!
The first set was a lovely Gil Elvgren-inspired Valentine’s Day collection of images featuring a beautiful vintage satin comforter set acquired by Liz. I brought some cool fake roses, my vintage See’s Candy Valentine heart boxes, and a goodly chunk of my lingerie wardrobe, and here’s the result:
Sam’s makeup was amazing, Liz’s hairstyling was sublime, and my Bettie Page lingerie, What Katie Did Demi corset, vintage jewelry, trusty dusty Manolo Blahnik Sedarabys, and Catherine D’Lish lilac Cassandra robe did their jobs!
The second look was very bondage-y, inspired by our Pinup Queen, Bettie Mae Page. I brought my hand-tooled leather collar and black lingerie, and borrowed Liz’s PVC corset, shoes, and props. Sam gave me a bold red lip and Liz gave me Bettie waves. And we were off!
More pics from our two-look shoot after the jump…
Continue reading “New pinup with Bombshell PinUp Photography!”
So here’s some fun news! I now have a Retro Lovely Showcase special edition dedicated entirely to my pinup work with great photographers like Marilee Caruso, Miss Missy, Bettina May, and Feathered Flash!
You can purchase a copy here for $25, including shipping, a sticker, and my signature!
I have a couple of shoots coming in the new year and a set featuring my 1780s chemise a la reine that’s on the way, but now it’s time to share my last two pinup publications of 2023: Retro Lovely No. 231 and Godiva No. 61! Marilee Caruso Photography did the photos, hair, and makeup for both shoots!
The Retro Lovely flagship set is another Halloween homage, this time at location in an historic cemetery in Sacramento! This was our third attempt to shoot this set, after tries one and two were postponed due to bad weather. Five months after our first attempt (January), we finally got the weather we needed.
I love the results: black and white, witchy, vintage! The entire outfit is Micheline Pitt, with very cheap (signed!) Manolo Blahnik Camparis I got secondhand.
The Godiva set features Marilee’s boudoir at the studio, freshly-painted green this Summer! I wanted a “New Year’s Eve” afterparty vibe, and Marilee delivered with warm lighting and festive props!
My outfit consisted of lingerie by Dita Von Teese and a Demi Corset, stockings, and garter belt by What Katie Did Demi Corset. The shoes are my trusty Christian Louboutin Piou-pious.
As always, you can order these issues, my 2024 calendars, and any of my recent issues via my Linktree: https://linktr.ee/strangegirl
Last month, Marilee Caruso and I took some Summery outdoor pinup images in the garden in front of Sacramento’s historic Tower Theatre. They turned out just as I’d hoped, and appear in Retro Lovely Number 229! One of the covers for this issue features Suzi Q in a great jukebox-themed pinup set also photographed by Marilee!
Marilee did the fabulous 1940s-inspired makeup and hair, and I’m wearing Vixen by Micheline Pitt (her 1950s Swing Sundress in red vintage roses print – it comes with the scarf!). The bat sunglasses are also by Micheline Pitt, from her La Femme en Noir line. The shoes are by Remix (I think they’re the Veronica style, but I’ve had them for at least 8 years at this point so I can’t be sure).
We were going for mid-century old Hollywood glamour, and this locale provides that vibe.
You can purchase this issue, and all of my issues here, or via the links in my Linktree:
Earlier this year, I shot some fun, Summery pinup images with my friend and fave photographer Marilee Caruso and our good buddy the Gill Man of Creature From the Black Lagoon film fame. I wore a pretty gold lamé repro of the famous “Swoon” suit style of the 1940s by Vintage Suits by Mary and posed in a pond set carefully designed by Marilee.
The photos ended up being playful and funny, as we very quickly moved away from me playing terrorized victim to the creature himself turning tail and running away. I’m guessing it was my big net and massive Dooneese Maharelle energy that scared him off? The world may never know.
Anyway, a fun way to bridge the gap between hot Summer days by the lagoon and Halloween.
There are six images in all, each published in Volume 4 of this year’s Bathing Beauties special edition by Retro Lovely. To purchase this or any of my publications, including my 2024 pinup calendar by Retro Lovely, see my LinkTree.
The June issue of Bombshell magazine is out! My Hearst Castle-inspired set by Marilee Caruso (who also did the makeup and hair) is in Book 1, including the inside cover facing the table of contents. If you want to grab this – or any – Magcloud publication on sale, there’s a discount code right now: MAG25.
Since I am a huge fan of William Randolph Hearst’s La Cuesta Encantata estate (“the enchanted hill,” now a California State Park located near San Simeon, CA), I wanted to incorporate a sliver of the atmosphere there. Virtually all aspects of the architecture and decoration were overseen by architect and Berkeley grad (Go Bears!) Julia Morgan over nearly three decades, and it remains one of her most impressive projects.
Since we couldn’t shoot at the actual house, we adapted Marilee’s “study” setup to double as W.R.’s library. The original room is very Spanish Baroque in ways that only a wealthy media mogul who collected lots of European antiques can replicate, but we did our best. I added a reproduction Greek vase (dude collected tons of art, including a huge ancient pottery collection from Greek antiquity which he highlighted in his library) and my “Citizen Kane” snowglobe to the studio set.
Marilee put images from my Film Noir shoot on the late 1940s tv console to add another layer of meaning, as both Hearst and Marion Davies (his girlfriend and major silent era and golden age of Hollywood star) were involved in the early American film industry. Given the tv cabinet and the more mid-century look of the studio set, we couldn’t do 1920s or 30s. And since the house was closed during World War II and Mr. Hearst and Davies left the house in 1947 due to the former’s ill health, we figured a small evening party in 1946 or 1947 “coulda happened” like this.
You can find this and all my issues via my Linktree.