Girls next door

James Smith

November 24, 2008 - 8:01PM

PIN-UP has been something of a dirty word in recent times. The
artistic celebration of the female body made famous by the likes of
Bettie Page and Marilyn Monroe has been usurped by the top-heavy,
bikini-clad women adorning the covers of lads' mags like Zoo and Ralph with little more than Photoshop to preserve their modesty.

But scratch under society's surface and you'll find that the pin-up, in the classic sense, is making a comeback.

Growing
numbers of models and photographers around Melbourne have started
recreating looks associated with the middle of the last century: draped
over hot rods in bright red tops and black leather pants, lounging
seductively with a cigarette holder to their lips, or simply casting a
saucy pout at the camera.

With its roots in the burgeoning Kustom
Kulture (the fashion associated with '50s hot-rodding) and burlesque
scenes, this naughty-but-nice bug is spreading - women of all ages,
shapes and sizes and from all walks of life are, like the stars of that
bygone era, spending three hours with a make-up artist and hair
stylist, then hoisting on a basque and stockings and, well, feeling
fabulous.

Paula Delley, from Caroline Springs, claims to be the
first local photographer to shoot models in this manner and has just
published The Modern Pin-up, a collection of photos featuring mostly Australia women.

'I'd
always loved the ..old school' photos and, when I started out as a
photographer, I discovered there was nobody doing it in Melbourne,' she
said.

'At first I was just shooting friends to get a feel and
used to do the hair and make-up myself, but in the past six months the
amount of work has tripled.

'Initially it was models wanting
shots for their portfolios, but since then we've done women in their
40s with three kids at home and one girl's mum loved it so much she
booked herself in for her 50th birthday - she made a great sailor!'

Delley,
23, took her inspiration from two photographers - Gayla and Viva van
Storey - in the US, where modern pin-up photography is already a huge
industry, thanks to the mainstream attention attracted by burlesque
performers like Dita von Teese.

Gayla, who operates 666photography out of Austin, Texas, told The Age:
'The best part about modern pin-up is it celebrates the female form in
a way that's not particularly racy - with exceptions, of course.

'We
shoot gals of all sizes and make sure our clients know they don't have
to be model thin. We're corn-fed Texas gals with curves and can capture
that because we know how we want to look. We photograph accountants,
business managers, retail gals, who you wouldn't think would be into
pin-up.

'For most of the women, it's empowering. I'd say 95 per
cent of the girls are doing it for themselves: it raises their
self-esteem and makes them feel beautiful.'

Paula's customers
agree. Daisy Quinn, a 38-year-old from Lynbrook, who works in customer
service, said: 'I love the look and wanted to know more about what they
do, how they do it and how to be a bit more of a sex kitten as opposed
to today's unappealing idea of what's sexy, which I find trashy and
cheap.

'I mainly did it for myself, but also for my partner and
to have some gorgeous photos. To have the girls teach you a quick and
easy way to have that sexy look was absolutely fantastic.'

Stacey
Bastin, a 28-year-old chocolate fudge maker from Hobart, did it to feel
'pampered and sexy' after giving birth to her son Archie who, at six
months, is already being dressed in the rockabilly style.

'I'm
into the whole Kustom Kulture scene anyway and when going to gigs,
would dress in the rockabilly style,' she said. 'I wanted to learn more
about traditional '40s and '50s hair and make-up and the end result was
pretty amazing - it's hard to believe they're actually pictures of you.'

Both
attended workshops that Delley runs with two of the most sought-after
models on the Melbourne scene, Sarah Lea Cheesecake and Kelly Ann Doll.
Women are shown how to create the authentic hair and make-up look, then
taught traditional pin-up poses.

Cheesecake, a burlesque
performer, model and former member of the Man's Ruin troupe, whose name
is a nod to the era (a pretty woman might be described as 'better than
cheesecake'), said: 'Things come round in waves and now the scene of
the '40s and '50s is old enough to be cool again. The pin-up girls of
that era were beautiful, curvy, animated and playful, which are missing
in the majority of photography and models today.'

They feature heavily in the pages of sub-culture magazines like Dead Beat and TCB,
however, where models - often proudly displaying their tattoos - are a
far cry from those found in mainstream magazines, although even these
are beginning to co-opt the pin-up look.

Such is its growing popularity in Melbourne that a recent pin-up art exhibition at the Kustom Lane Gallery, in Hawthorn, Bombshell Babes,
featured the works of seven artists - six from Melbourne. One was Paul
Vanzella, a 43-year-old graphic designer who has lived the rockabilly
lifestyle for the past two decades, playing in the Greasy Hawaiians and
keeping a '57 Cadillac in his garage.

'I got into the music, then
the cars, then shooting the girls,' he said. 'The appeal of pin-up is
that there's an underlying erotic theme, but with style.

'The scene's turned around. Fifteen years ago, the girls used to come and watch us, but now they're doing the entertaining.'

At
Route 66, in Prahran, which has been providing retro gear to
Melburnians for 25 years, manager Guy Daley has seen a resurgence in
people into '50s culture, both the clothing and the old warplanes on
which pin-ups featured.

The reasons are obvious, according to
Sarah Lea Cheesecake: 'Everybody likes pretty girls, beautiful pictures
and bygone eras and this is a mixture of those three things, but with a
modern twist.'

Pin-up workshops are being held December 6 and 7. For more information visit www.myspace.com/thepinupworkshopco.

www.pauladelley.com

With the recent release of 'The Modern Pinup' - Art by Paula Delley, Katie Pink is organizing a massive night to launch the book in style!
 
Join us & performances by Imogen Kelly, Sarah Lea Cheesecake, Kelly Ann Doll, Kitty Van Horne (NSW), Vesper White (NSW) and Lauren La Rouge (NSW) with band The Snowdroppers (NSW) and Simoncee as MC for the night!
 
There will be a books & prints for sale on the night, as well as a signing with all the ladies that feature in the book & it wouldn't be a pinup book launch without a PINUP CONTEST! Win cool prizes like a shoot with Paula!!
 
When: Saturday November 15th, 2008
Time: 8:30pm sharp
Where: Bella Union, Level 1, Trades Hall, Cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Calton
 
Pre-order tickets available from Missing Link Records (405 Bourke St, Melbourne) and Faster Pussycat (120 Gertrude St, Fitzroy) as well as myself, Katie Pink & the other Bad Ladies. Tickets for sale on the door too.