Become the image of your own imagination

We here at the thehepburnmovement strive to show the diversity of pinup/vintage culture every chance we get, to show that ANYONE and everyone can be a pinup regardless of your age, sexual orientation or race. That despite the lack of representation in the media, we exist and are here to inspire others to step out into the spotlight. People from all kinds of nationalities and identities make up this community and we aim to show that with every post. We want to highlight the wide variety of pinup/vintage loving people because they come from all walks of life, and deserve to be seen. There is no specific criteria to be a part of this community or even embody the pinup lifestyle, in fact any one can be a pinup isn't just the name of our series but our motto as well. There are no barriers or obstacles to becoming one, besides the ones you have set yourself because regardless of where you come from or who you are we welcome you with open arms. Dana is one of the incredible people who shows with her fabulous fashionable flair, who stays undeniably true to herself that "pinup" isn't a small narrow little box, instead it is full of endless opportunities and combinations. Once you read her story we're sure you'll agree that "any one can be a pinup".

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DANA

Dana is an absolute sweetheart the true pastel pinup princess of our day and age, we mean that with every fiber of our beings no one compares to her. We met Dana much like many of our pinup friends due to our shared interest in beautiful clothes( its always the clothes that brings us together my friends), however its her infectious kind heartedness,her love for twin peaks,brand new and all things kitschy and cute that truly made us click. The more we got to know Dana,the more wonderful we realized she was, she's a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and a very active feminist who strives to break down stereotypes and stigmas. She refuses to let the world stick her in a box because of her femme looks and truly embodies the saying "Any one can be a pinup". We are delighted to share this sweet gals story with you and hope that you enjoy getting to know her as much as we have.

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When did you get into the pinup lifestyle?

I have a been a long admirer of pinup for years but didn't have the confidence to start wearing or buying it until 2014. I have always been a fan of dresses (I don't like pants, they're too restricting, but I'm slowly coming around to them) and every summer I would tell myself I would buy enough dresses to have one to wear every day in summer. But that was really difficult because there really wasn't any modern store that catered to plus sizes that looked good on me and I hated how short the items I found in malls were. Somewhere along my searches I found pinup and it was all uphill (or downhill for my credit card) from there. I had a lot of learning curves because I hadn't yet found the online pin up community so I was ordering wrong sizes and poorly made dresses and then I found all these girls that dressed like me and I learned how to take measurements and read a size chart and find more brands! I'm still learning every day but I've really grown a lot thanks to the online pinup community. Oh and I'm happy to say I've surpassed my goal of having enough dresses to wear one every day.

Who is your biggest style inspiration?

Honestly, I find the most inspirations from drag queens. Violet Chachki is my absolute favorite, she's literally like the Dita Von Teese of the drag community. Actually she's on tour with Dita now! I've always loved drag and looked to it as style inspiration because it's this crazy hyper feminine persona that just really speaks to me. I want to be as femme as I can possibly be, basically. The more extreme it is, the more I love it. I love Violet specifically because she just oozes glamour. From hair to corsets to fetish shoes to vintage outfits and her burlesque acts. You can tell she really has an appreciation for the vintage style and really owns her craft, it's amazing.

How does it feel to be a minority in the pinup community?

As a lesbian, I never really felt that I didn't belong in the pinup community, but I have had my fair share of situations that made me feel uncomfortable. I've always been told that I'm "too pretty/girly/feminine to be gay" and I've seen some girls use gay slurs that I find really offensive. It's made me rethink my relationships with these people in the community. While I am by no means closeted or quiet about my sexuality, I feel that sometimes people forget that there are gay and queer pinup's in the community. It's almost like they think it's unusual, which maybe ties into the thinking that someone can't possibly be gay if they dress as feminine as us pin ups do, but I'm not sure. Sometimes the community just seems very heteronormative. I've also found in a lot of group discussions/threads that there are a lot of conservatives who still hold a lot of old school ideas and aren't open to learning about the lgbtq+ community which does make me sad. I feel safe in the pinup community and I've made a lot of friends here but it scares me to know that there's also a lot of people in the community that are okay with me not having equal rights or marriage equality and think I'm "sinning". Sometimes it makes me think twice about posting personal information and honestly I wish that wasn't the case. I hope one day everyone becomes more accepting of people different than them but until then all I can do is keep educating, advocating and standing up for the people in the lgbtq+ community.

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We hope you enjoyed this weeks edition of "Any one can be a pinup", we were incredibly honored to be able to share Dana's story with you. Dana's story is a bit different than the others featured in the series so far and thats what makes us love it, despite its difference it has one important thing in common with the rest. We are all pinups regardless of our age,sexual orientation,ethnicity or gender. "Pin up" does not have one typical look or even person because anyone can be a pinup and we strive to show that with every edition of this wonderful series. 

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If you have any comments,questions or even suggestions on who you'd like to see us feature next, feel free to comment below and we'll do  our  best to reply in a timely manner.

As always thanks for reading, may your days be filled with pretty dresses, dapper clothes & a lot of happiness. 

Paola & Kirsten xx 

Aka "thehepburnmovement"