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. This weeks pinup is...
We first stumbled upon Victoria thanks to the explore option on Instagram and we are so glad we did. It was her hauntingly beautiful voice that first caught our eyes and we hit follow straight away. We quickly learned there was do much MORE of her to love. She is unapologetically herself, she strives to spread intersectional feminism like wild fire, educate the masses on the importance of history, promote equal treatment for all regardless of their sexual orientation or race, talk openly about mental health and end the stigma surrounding it, all while blending pinup and butch styles together seamlessly. She is truly an inspiration to us and we are so thankful she let us share her story with you today.
Photo by: Samuel Hartman
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When did you get into the pinup lifestyle?
I used to identify as a butch lesbian and started incorporating a vintage dapper twist to my look in 2014. I loved doing slicked back greaser hair and followed @loverboi_melvin for style inspiration. I've always felt a pull towards femininity but hid that part of myself in order to be "queer enough" to feel accepted in gay communities. In 2016 though I came out as bisexual and finally let my femme flag fly. I bought petticoats and dresses, hair extensions and watched a ton of YouTube videos to learn how to do makeup. It was so freeing for me, and I realized makeup artistry is a true passion of mine. I ended up losing my lesbian community and my partner at the time because of biphobia. I have no regrets though, I've been building a queer community on my own of people who are extremely fluid and understanding and it feels AMAZING. I especially love the solidarity I get from other bi femmes. There's this understanding that we can be (and are) hardcore queer intersectional feminists and what we do with our bodies doesn't negate that.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My biggest style inspiration is Sophia Loren. The word that comes to mind when I think of her is abundance: her hair, her hips, her breasts. I love how mysterious and sensual she seems. In her movies she has this way about her that I adore- beautiful but also dark and complicated. I really connect with that.
How does it feel to be a minority in the community?
Most of my interactions are on Instagram so I feel such a strong sense of community, especially when I post about personal things like being queer, working class poor or struggling with depression and anxiety. There are so many women/genderqueer and trans folx who have first hand experience or just want to show support and reach out. I have a reciprocal relationship with most people I follow where we comment on each other's posts and send a constant vibe of love to each other. I make new friends everyday on there! That's why my Instagram is my happy place, because there's so much love and support especially from other pinups.
Photo by: Samuel Hartman
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We hope you enjoyed this week's edition of "Any one can be a pinup", we felt so honored to be able to share Victoria's story with all of you. She is such a remarkable person who inspires us constantly to be the best version of ourselves regardless of what the world has to say about it. While we aim to share stories from pinups of every walk of life, we are so happy to include Victoria in our special Pride month series. We hope that her story resonates with some of you and show cases the importance of representation.
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"
