Wednesday Celebrity: Pin Ups

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The pin-up girl has been part of popular culture for almost a century. Loosely defined, it could mean almost any model or actress whose photos are mass-produced. More specifically (at least in my mind), it refers to a specific era (the 1940s and 50s) when drawings or paintings of pin-up girls were quite popular. Sometimes these pictures involved a particular model (Bettie Page would probably be the first to come to mind) but often times the models could be anonymous.

As time went by the pin-up girl morphed more into swimsuit model or eventually even Playboy centerfold. More skin may have been showing, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Pin-up art had more to do with what was on than what was off. Often times the art involved flashes of lingerie or stockings, but more left to the imagination than to the eye. Fortunately, pin-up art has come full circle in recent years thanks to pin-up models such as Dita and Bernie Dexter.

Dita Von Teese

Bernie Dexter

As a result of these modern day pin-up models, more actresses and models are getting involved in the genre. Here are some looks at current-day celebrities in their attempts to capture this timeless look.

Thanks to Vanity Fair, who is responsible for several of the photos below.