Growth never comes from a place of comfort

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...

Melissa 

We have known Melissa for years thanks to the online pinup community, our mutual love of clothes is what  made us friends, but our passion for woman's rights and minorities everywhere is truly what brought us together. Melissa is a huge inspiration, she is an advocate for self love, body positivity, a champion of woman's rights and a loud and strong voice for minorities everywhere. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in or to voice her opinion regardless of what others might think. She inspires us daily to be true to ourselves and shows that moms really are super heroes, because she's up there with Wonder Woman for us. We are so honored to be able to share her story with all of you today

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When did you first get into the pinup/vintage lifestyle?

I always loved watching old musicals and movies from the Golden Age. The costumes and dresses fascinated me as a kid. I didn’t really start to dress in pinup/vintage style clothing full-time until after I had my daughter and went back to work. I figured out pretty quick the easiest least fuss for me to look put together for my job was to “slap a dress on it”. Plus- around that time I figured I didn’t have to dry clean all of my nicer things like I thought. It was getting prohibitively expensive and the nearest place is like an hour from where I live.

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Who are you biggest style inspirations?

My biggest style inspirations honestly are other women on Instagram. I love seeing other ladies just being their own damn selves and putting their own twists and spins on their outfits. No matter what they may be. They continually inspire me to wear what I want for myself and nobody else. Which feels a bit radical and rebellious because most of us grew up in the time of Cosmo and other media constantly telling us what beauty was. What we should be. Which is laughable because beauty is something we can create ourselves. And people should always be what they wish. Not what others want them to be. Life is far too short to live it to anyone else’s expectations but our own. 

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How does it feel to be  a WOC in the pinup/vintage community?

I’ve never felt nothing but welcomed by others in the pinup community- even as a minority. Maybe I had the good fortune to meet and fall in with kind beautiful hearted women. I know there aren’t a lot of us out there in media being represented- but again- this is why I love IG so much. We create our own. We show everyone that pinup/vintage style is for EVERYONE and every body type if that is what they want to choose for themselves. 

I’ve met some of the most talented, skilled, intelligent, hard working, and successful in their various fields of choice women through the “pinup/vintage community” via Instagram and then the various groups on Facebook as well. These women have inspired me, taught me, and helped me through some dark moments. They’ve helped me to become a better public servant to the people I serve. They’ve made me ugly cry because my heart was so full when they surprised me out of nowhere with a vintage skirt I had wanted for a while after my husband and I tragically lost a friend a few years back when he was on his way to our house for dinner. On my worst toughest days where I see the sheer horribleness of what other humans are capable of...they restore my faith in humanity. They help me hang on to my compassion and empathy. They re-light my spirit so I can keep doing what I do best...which is help people.

  While i’ve never experienced anything but love and acceptance from others in the pinup/vintage community. It is not all sunshine and rainbows, I know and have seen the racist and ignorant comments people make towards people of color especially if they speak out voicing their concerns regarding racism. I do my best to educate and speak out when I can and where I can, I know that there is always room for improvement.

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 We hope you enjoyed this weeks "Any one can be a pinup post"; Melissa has shown us what it means to be a light for others, to share our joy and we hope you enjoyed reading about her. Not only does she have an amazing taste in fashion she is smart, kind and strong all things we strive to be on a daily basis. We are so glad that we were able to share her story with you today. 

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 & Kyra xx 

Aka"thehepburnmovement"