Embracing Pin Up and The Winner Is.......

Much happier once I embraced my
inner pinup girl style

Over the years I have worn a lot of different styles of clothing. I have chatted about style here before, my explorations from everything such as last years sporty chic look to the 1920's/30's style that I embraced during what I call our "apartment years". No matter what styles I have tried my fashion heart has always truly been drawn towards the 1950's through very early 1960's. Even as a teen I was known for wearing circle skirts from time to time, shopping at vintage and resale stores buying vintage hats, purses and jewelry... I truly loved coloring outside the lines and being my own person style wise; there was not a lot of young girls in the 1980's dressing in the same style, even with such bands as The Stray Cats being very popular and promoting rockabilly style. 

 In my young married years I did my best to keep up my style, but eventually I faltered and fell into "mommy wear", I did eventually find my way back in my late 30's and hit the ground running style wise and it felt as if I was finally in my own skin style wise as well as just in general... I happily walked around looking like a 50's housewife or a rockabilly gal day in and day out. Was actually known for my style in my smaller Central Coast California town among the locals. Then we moved, several states away, into what seemed a different world, I saw no one else dressing like me, there was not too many places for me to continue to shop for my clothing and well life in general was not the same and my emotional state went through a lot of turmoil and style was the last thing on my mind. When we eventually moved back to California, I once again did my best to incorporate the style into my wardrobe, but for a lot of various reasons... let's just put the two labels of life and health on the reasons, I did not jump full throttle into it...very soon after at any rate is when we lost our home, landed in an apartment and I dabbled into the 20's and 30's, which I enjoyed and did have a great deal of fun with... have always loved those eras as well... and I was greatly influenced by a lovely bunch of ladies I "met" on Twitter.

 If you follow my blog regularly and/or have been on my FB page for the past 5 years, you have been witness to the style and life changes. If you are new to both and quite a few of you are, well  that is my history in a very small nutshell version. So what has spurred me to once again embrace my inner pin up and my 1950's housewife style and life? I think a lot of it is already realizing that I am indeed a retro housewife in a modern world, being that I am a stay a home wife, and my life consists mostly of cooking and cleaning, and in a way still being a Mom raising her girls even tho they are grown women.  Part of it may have been seeing some of the other bloggers I follow showing modern versions of vintage style skirts, which lead me to do research on available and affordable clothing, and then following more and more modern pin up ladies on Instagram. I think part of it might have been also been not feeling good in the clothing I had been wearing and going through the search for my style and what it would be now and not being happy with what I was finding and wearing and some of it finally, might just simply be tired of not feeling like anything at all in my life and searching for an identity again. 

I recently did a guest post about being empowered by re-embracing my inner pinup girl over on Miss Amy May's wonderful pinup style blog... you can read it HERE  , and in writing that blog post it made me curious about why other women, especially women in their 40's like myself choose to dress in the style and embrace their inner pinup, since for the most part the style is dominated by women in their 20's and early 30's. I turned to a wonderful group on FB called "Show me How You Pin Up", most of the members are from Australia, New Zealand, and the UK in general, where there is a pretty big movement and support for those that embrace and dress in the pinup/retro/rockabilly and vintage style...but still I thought, just like myself, being a woman in her 40's it can not be easy to start dressing this way and embracing it. I interviewed the group members and gained permission to use their quotes and stories. I thought it might help you, my readers along with the guest post I wrote tell why I have once again jumped into this world with both feet...

 Mandy wrote.... I have just turned 40, and here in South Africa there are very few gals who dress and fully live the lifestyle every day at all, but I do and love it. I love the fact that that I can express who I am. Being older I feel a lot more confidant than I did say, in my 20's. I have bright coloured hair, tattoos and I dress like I have just stepped out of the 50's! I don't notice the stares (most of the time!), and am more than happy to chat to anybody that approaches me. I feel that living this lifestyle keeps you looking young. I met a fellow rockabilly lady in her early 50's recently who looked amazing! we both guessed each others ages at being 10 years younger which just goes to show!

 Deborah who lives in Sydney Australia, and is originally from New Zealand writes...  I'm 45 and I started buying pinup/rockabilly clothes 10 months ago after getting sick. ( she has MS)
I finally found like I've found "me". For a start I've got an hourglass figure so most clothes never fitted me! Like Mandy said, I'm a lot more confident now, although I was always an extrovert I cared too much about what people thought of me. In saying that most comments have been positive and most people say I don't look my age either.

Tara added....So glad there are some ladies my age here! I have always been into vintage/retro but only started changing my style about two years ago. I had only worked in fashion too, and had to wear the labels we made so my wardrobe was 99% new. After stacking on some weight I also found its the most flattering way to dress. I'm a sucker for a pretty dress, twin sets and ballet flats.

Dee states... I'm over 40, been embracing my style for 4 years now and don't give a hoot what anyone else thinks. I love me and that's all that counts 

Mellanie  also from Sydney ...I'm 44 and I don't care what anyone thinks! I can pinup if I want too - I still wear crazy colour combos and have a love for kitsch patterns! Screw 'growing up'! That's for the prematurely old! My desire for style is only just starting to exceed my need for a typical soccer mum outfit. If I feel beautiful on the outside it makes me more beautiful on the inside too! There's a huge positive difference between elegant pinup style and tacky, 'slutty' wear (pls excuse the 'French')

Michaela adds.... Meh. I don't care. It took me all my 48 years to feel comfortable and confident to look this way, I'm not gonna make anyone make me stop now. Anyway, I look way cooler than those muggles! And so do you! Be strong and wear the heck out of that style. So I don't take kindly to people saying..why do you dress so different, aren't you getting on a bit to have weird hair tattoos and piercings? Grrrrr.

Sadie from the UK truly mirrors my life and thoughts ....I've always been interested in old movie stars and fashion right from a little girl. I wore '50s style as a teenager and when I first met my husband but over the years looking after kids etc I didn't wear retro very often but still kept my passion for all things glamorous. When I turned 40 (I'm 45 now) and started an early menopause along with PCOS I decided to treat everyday like a 'do-over' day. Everyday I work with what I've got now - I never worry about being younger, thinner etc., I make the best of whatever I've got to work with on any given day. My style icons range from Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield through to Joan Collins and Honor Blackman (as they are now) and never think about my age. If you are confident and love yourself for who you are and not for what you think people expect you to be, I believe that is the best beauty tool a person can have. 

Cathy put it simply....I'm over 40, been embracing my style for 4 years now and don't give a hoot what anyone else thinks. I love me and that's all that counts 

And this from Adena on the Sunshine Coast Queensland, not a woman over 40, but loved and appreciated what she had to say ..... I'm only 17 but I'd like to say I love when you ladies dress pin up, that's the art of it, anyone can rock it. Any size, any age you wear it with confidence and you own it... don't let others tell you you can wear something you love x you ladies are an inspiration 

I hope that you did not miss seeing a bunch of photos.. I simply was moved to share my thoughts today and those of my fellow women of a certain age embracing their inner pin ups in an outward way. Some it is through just their clothing, others here, like Sadie it is throughout her house! No matter what the level of dedication, I think the fact that we are ignoring societies rules for how we are supposed to dress, and live once we enter our 40's and beyond is a wonderful example to women that are not there yet, that maybe have their own style, but are questioning or feel pressured in magazines or from style tv shows or even peers and family to conform.  I also think that it is a grand example to women of an older generation that has felt she has lost herself, not just style wise, or again feels pressure to dress a certain way based on their age and what is shoved at them as style they are supposed to wear that they can break free, break the rules. That being said, on a side note about style/clothing, I still think regardless, you should dress for your body shape, coloring etc, as it will just make what you are wearing, no matter what it is to look better on you. In this age of such blogs as Advanced Style, which has now spread to a book and documentary, people like Dita Von Tease who in her 40's is still rocking the vintage/pinup style, both showing that age is just a number, and that there is power and empowerment in embracing yourself.   

And now to the winner of the Jillicious Charms necklace.....

Yep... I do things the old fashioned way....

CONGRATS!!! Jilly from the FB fan page
and regular visitor here to the blog is
the winner! I will be in touch!

I am sure Jilly will just adore this cute necklace!

You can still get a 15% discount , just go to the original post, and look for the code at the end of the blog post.  Click HERE

ALSO be sure you take time to learn about Mint Valley scarves on my post HERE 

and...
I also hope you will check out the guest post that I did over on Miss Amy May's wonderful blog...
HERE

I want to thank all of you for following my blog, those that have been with me from the beginning, those of you who have joined me along the way and those of you who are newly acquainted with me. I love and appreciate you all, even if e never converse via comments or other social media, the fact that you take time out of your life to read what I have to say, to stick with me and follow me down all the various rabbit trails that I go following and even if you have come and gone and come back again. You are all so very special to me and my daily life... a true light among dark times and a rainbow when those times are clear.