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...
SAI
Sai and I(Paola) met thanks to the wonderful buzzfeed article we were both featured in. We were amazed to have been featured next to such lovely women, and to be able to represent as fellow WOC. I knew as soon as I saw her in the article I had to befriend her and invite her to be a part of this series. I couldn't believe it when she actually followed me and agreed. It may have been our love of vintage and vintage inspired fashion that brought us together,but it was her undeniable charisma and amazing persona that truly struck a chord with me. Nothing is more inspiring than seeing fellow WOC take the world by storm and Sai is no exception. She is kind, outspoken about her beliefs, and proud of who she is. She fights for awareness of POC in the pinup community everyday and welcomes everyone with open arms. I can't wait to share her story with all of you today!
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Photo by: Celeste Giulliano
When did you get into the pinup/vintage life style?
While I wish that I could say that exposure to classic Hollywood movies at a young age drew me into the pinup/vintage life, it really all started with a haircut in 2011. For most of my life, I had long hair. I had contemplated a drastic haircut (as most women with long hair fantasize) and it took me a year to finally do it after numerous “are you sure?” from my stylist. She had warned me that I would need to spend extra time to care for my hair each morning, and I was finally ready to make that commitment.
Having long hair afforded me the opportunity to lazily tie my hair in a ponytail or leave it down. Having short hair did not, without proper styling. I began research on what I could do with my new haircut and loved the pincurled styles that women did back then. I was never the most fashionable in school and this inevitably led me to find clothes to go with my freshly styled hair. That’s when I saw my closet slowly transform from jeans and sneakers to dresses and heels.
It took some time to get used to the attention I received with my look (and still find it hard from time to time), but it felt naturally a part of me. It definitely gave me the confidence I did not have growing up. Styling my hair never felt like a chore and picking out something to wear came easy. The path after that seemingly took a life of its own.
Middle photo by: donrelio
Who is your biggest style inspiration?
The biggest style inspiration to me are the women who aren’t afraid to take a style and make it their own, challenging the norms and thinking outside of the box. Those images stick out and are ingrained in my mind than 10 people who are wearing the same outfit. Fashion has crossed so many boundaries that the possibilities are endless. That in turn becomes inspiration for my own style. I don’t like the purist idea that if I’m going to dress like I’m in the 40s that everything on my body has to be from the 40s. The world is too big for that! As an example, I really like bow ties. Who’s to tell me that I can’t wear a men’s accessory with my clothes?
Photo by : Donrelio
How does it feel to be a WOC in the pinup/vintage community?
It has been nothing but very positive for me so far. I live in Philadelphia where it’s very diverse, progressive, and many people are very open minded. However, finding other WOC in this community in Philly was very difficult for me. Just even a pinup/vintage community in general was hard for me. I knew no one else with similar interests and was often alone in that venture. To be honest, I was comfortable being in my world with it. I was sure of it existing in my hometown, but how do I break the ice, especially being a minority in this subculture. It wasn’t until I was encouraged by my peers and coworkers to increase my online presence that I began to meet other women with similar interests. That’s when I saw how many other WOC in this community like me are out there.
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We hope you enjoyed this week's edition of "Any one can be a pinup", we feel honored to be sharing Sai's story with all of you today. We encourage you to follow her along her adventures and befriend her because you won't regret it. She is a force to be reckoned with and inspires us everyday to use our platform to evoke change and bravery in others. Its easy to pretend to be something you're not, but it takes true courage to be yourself.
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.
Paola & Kyra xx
Aka"thehepburnmovement"
Aka"thehepburnmovement"
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