Here at the thehepburnmovement, I strive to show the diversity of pinup/vintage culture every chance I get, to show that ANYONE and everyone can be a pinup/vintage lover 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 I aim to show that with every post. I 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 week's vintage lover is...
Christina is a lovely kindred spirit I met thanks to the online vintage community. She is one of the kindest, supportive, endearing, persistent and wonderful people I've ever known. Even though we've never met in real life it feels as if we have been friends forever. She is an advocate for more representation for People of color & minorities everywhere in both the Disney & vintage community. She even created her own pinup group with some friends called the Boise belles to show more diversity and representation in her local community. I am honored to share her story with all of you today.
Q: When did you get into the vintage lifestyle?
A: I have admired vintage fashion all my life but never thought I could dress that way every single day. My vintage journey started slowly my Junior year of high school. It was prom time and I wanted to have a dress that would stand out but wanted to make sure 5 other girls did not have the same Jessica McClintock dress that night. My mom suggested that I wear her prom dress and I thought it was the perfect idea. Luckily for me, my Grandma has been an amazing dressmaker her whole life and made my mom's prom dress and she was excited to see her work "live on" by having me wear the dress to my prom. Needless to say with my mom's late 1960's empire waist white satin gown and my mom's elbow length gloves I really was helping it live on. I felt so special all night with positive compliments from my peers. Being timeless and classic will always stand the test of time. I can say while everyone else cringes looking back at their prom pictures, I love the fact that I have no regrets and love how I looked and felt that night. Ever since then, I started to explore dressing more vintage just for special occasions but then the thought hit me, "Why only then? Why wouldn't I want to feel that way everyday and not just once in a while?" After that light bulb went off almost 5 years ago, dressing vintage became part of my daily routine. Now, I don't wear elbow length gloves everyday, I still save those for special occasions. I do however use everyday as an excuse to dress up,because when I look my best I feel my best.
Q: Who is your biggest style inspiration?
A: My list of style inspiration is huge! I'll do my best to narrow it down through the highlights of my vintage journey. Since I spent every weekend as a child with my Grandma, we would watch a ton of Disney live action movies, the original Mickey Mouse Club and musicals. The movie "The Parent Trap" was my first look into vintage style that I can remember. I was obsessed with Maureen O'Hara's outfits for the last half of the movie. If I could track down her white dress with blue flowers and green belt, I would buy it in a heartbeat! The Mickey Mouse Club may sound kind of funny at first but for me watching clips of them in their everyday clothes and not in their Mouseketeer costume showed how refined and polished they were as teenagers. Think about that...teenagers! This showed me that dressing nice is a lifestyle for all ages. Musicals like Westside Story and Grease constantly played on repeat my whole life and shaped my fashion sense. Circle skirts, beautiful embellished cardigans and tailored dresses won my heart. Just recently, I discovered the classics Ziegfeld Follies, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Cover Girl. Talk about swooning over EVERY...SINGLE...OUTFIT!!! If these films don't make you a vintage lover, I don't know what will. My mind was blown and it is my goal to Dapper Bound Hedy Lamar's famous celestial gown and headpiece. Lastly, adding to my list of style inspirations, are these lovely ladies. The queen, Dita Von Teese. Her glamorous life of mixing vintage with today's high end designers and ALWAYS looking impeccable, have been the foundation of my quest to do the same thing in my life.
Q: How does it feel to be a minority in the vintage community?
A: Since I was born and raised in the Bay Area (Northern California) I grew up in one of the biggest melting pots with all sorts of people of different backgrounds. Being a third generation Mexican American, I have two thoughts about being a minority in the vintage community that I go back and forward with. In a good way, I forget that I am a minority for the fact that every time I met someone in the vintage/pinup community, race is the last thing to be on our minds. I just see them as a beautiful human being that has a kick ass outfit on or I'm drawn to their amazing vibe, style and charm. Fortunately, I've never had anyone in this community made me feel different because of the color of my skin. We get so hung up chatting about sewing hacks or the best place to buy vintage or how to achieve the perfect victory roll that race has never come up. My other thought is, when stepping back and looking at companys' websites or promos and the type of models they use, that's when I start to realize a lack of diversity. Sometimes it gets to the point of pure excitement if I see someone "like me" as a model of one of my favorite stores or is featured on a company's Instagram page. I feel a small internal win in my heart that we are being seen and included. As cheesy as it sounds, I wish that all companies would advertise more like the old 1980s United Colors of Benetton ads. It was so refreshing to always see someone like me on their posters. One example of this has been the Dapper Day logo they use for their events at the Disney Parks and the Expo. I absolutely love their logo and it gives me hope that more and more inclusion is happening not only in our community but someday world wide.
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I hope you enjoyed this week's edition of "Anyone can be a pinup". Christina is such a kind,charismatic and passionate soul. She is striving to make a difference locally through her love of vintage and style. I am so happy that I was able to share her story with you today.
If you have any comments, questions or even suggestions on who you'd like to see me feature next, feel free to comment below and I'll do my 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 xx aka "thehepburnmovement"
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