Vintage Pin-ups: a thing of the past? New guest blog by Penny Dreadful!

I'm excited to introduce a guest blog this week from modern-day pin-up girl Penny Dreadful, who kindly agreed to share her perspective on retro glamour modelling with us. If you are a photographer in the North of England who could use a curvaceous 5'10 model who self-styles, you can browse her full portfolio and make bookings >here<.

For the rest of us, I'm happy to share Penny's feelings on what the true essence of pin-up really is. Let us know your responses in the Facebook comments, and let me know whether you would be interested in seeing more guest blogs from carefully selected relevant industry figures in the future!

© Gavin Prest

Penny: When one mentions Pin-up photography or Pin-up modelling, people automatically think of 1930s-1950s styled shoots. This era has become synonymous with the idea of Pin-up because of Bettie Page, whose photos had a resurgence of popularity from the 1980s, and artists such as George Petty, but the first Pin-Up calendars actually go as far back as 1889. Really, “Pin-up” is a concept that emerged alongside suffrage.

Penny wearing Shhh! Couture.
Hair & makeup by Louise Shepherd.
© Gary Clutterbuck

From the advertising of Brown & Bigelow, the Gibson Girls, Vargas and Elvgren, all the way through to artists like Olivia de Berardinis and Dita Von Teese, the fascination with the Pin-up has always been strong. Feisty and fearless, she has always been a joy to behold, a symbol of both women’s independence, and their right to be sexy for themselves.

So, what approach to take when attempting to photograph Pin-up images yourself? First off, if you are attempting to recreate a Pin-up style from a specific era, research, research, research! For photographers – there can be different lighting techniques that were popular in each era, for example “Hollywood lighting”, and for models – there are lots of different poses to look for and attempt, some of which may require a little practice! Not to mention wardrobe – there has been a resurgence of vintage clothing, which can be helpful for stylists, and also no shortage of online tutorials for hairstyling and makeup from those specific eras.

Photography still holds with the ideal of independent, strong women, looking and feeling fierce, happy with themselves and their bodies. Who wouldn’t want to photograph a modern day Pin-up? Pick up any magazine on the stands today, and you will find pages brimming with examples- the only things that have changed are the fashions on display. It is not the mood that has shifted, only the trimmings.

The Pin-up is here to stay.

© Keith Snell

Penny Dreadful has been a model and artist for 13 years. If you would like to see more of her work, head over to
www.dreadfullycreative.com.

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STOLEN LATEX! Please like and share.

Following on from yesterday's blog, that hundreds of people have liked, shared and messaged me about, here is a list of photographs of the stolen latex couture.

My car was broken into sometime during the afternoon of Tuesday 4 August in the SiP car park on Richard III Road in Leicester, along with several other cars, the police now tell me. I was on my way homewards after two weeks of touring, so I had almost everything I own in the car, and almost everything I own was stolen, including all my latex. They smashed their way in through the driver's window, I'm guessing to steal the satnav, and ended up stealing everything from the boot as well. They've pretty much taken everything I have, including everything I need to earn a living.

Losing latex really stings, not only because it's expensive, but because each piece is handmade to fit. Hours and hours of time, expertise and creativity go into each one. Each unique piece has its own story and becomes more and more a part of you the longer you own it.

To make it far worse, four of the outfits weren't even mine- I was borrowing them from Pandora Deluxe to shoot them for her while I was on tour. They were worth £800 all together and I'm so sorry they never made it home :'(

If you see any of this stuff anywhere, e.g. for sale on eBay or in Facebook groups, please call Leicestershire police on 101, citing crime reference # 15000073696, and email me on contact@anitadebauch.com.



STOLEN:

• FOUR unique Pandora Deluxe latex outfits: a black and white checker-board appliqué lingerie and stockings set, a dusky pink skater dress, a light blue and navy blue 60s-style bikini, and a red mini dress with leopard print trim on the cups
• Black Murray & Vern latex catsuit
• Black gloss PVC underbust tightlacing corset by Heavenly Corsets
• Union Jack latex overbust corset by Cathouse Clothing
• White and black latex two-piece by Shh! Couture
• Black latex two-piece with metallic purple frilly trim

1. PANDORA DELUXE black and white checker-board appliqué lingerie and footless stockings set. It is labelled Pandora Deluxe inside. There is only one of these sets in the world, so if you see it- it's the stolen one!
   
   
   
   
   
2. PANDORA DELUXE dusky pink skater dress. It has adjustable black straps, a zip up the back, and is labelled Pandora Deluxe inside.
   
   
   
   
   
3. PANDORA DELUXE light blue and navy blue 60s-style bikini (big pants!) with small gold buckles, labelled Pandora Deluxe inside.
   
   
   
   
   
4. PANDORA DELUXE red mini dress with leopard print trim on the cups. It has fancy straps over the chest, a zip up the back, and is labelled Pandora Deluxe inside.
   
   
   
   
   
5. MURRAY & VERN full-length black latex catsuit, size small. It is labelled Murray & Vern on the inside back of the collar. It has a single zip.
   
   
   
   
   
6. HEAVENLY CORSETS black gloss PVC underbust tightlacing corset- i.e. with very high quality steel boning. It has a steel busk front and black lacing on the back, and a hot pink Heavenly Corsets label inside. As far as I know, there is only one of these in existence as I had it custom made, so if you see it, it's almost certainly the one that got stolen. I think it closes at 20".
   
   
   
   
   
7. SHHH! COUTURE "white" (cream) latex Stormtrooper-inspired two-piece with black geometric pattern. The top has a black zip up the back. This was custom made for me when I won a competition.
   
   
   
   
   
8. CATHOUSE CLOTHING Union Jack latex overbust corset. It has a steel busk at the front and white laces and a modesty panel at the back. I think there is a Cathouse Clothing label inside, but I can't really remember :(
   
   
   
   
   
9. "White" (cream) fully fashioned seamed latex stockings. They are imperfects (an experiment on behalf of the designer). Size small.
   
   
   
   
   
10. Black latex two piece with metallic purple trim. This was a gift and I don't actually know who the designer was. It's quite thick, tough, good quality latex, and quite big in the chest for me.
    
    
    
    
    

What can you do to help

I don't want or expect handouts, but some mutually beneficial options for helping out are:

• Please like and share this blog on Facebook and Twitter and +1 it on Google (there are little buttons to easily do this at the bottom of this blog entry) and if you are subscribed to my blog, please forward this email onto your contacts in case any of them spots anything online! Pandora Deluxe has successfully caught thieves and got stolen items back in the past using this method, so fingers crossed it will work this time and we'll get at least something back.
• If you are looking for beautiful quality, comfortable latex couture, now is the time to order from Pandora- please bear in mind that Pandora Deluxe is available to take your order 24/7 here.
• If you are interested in either becoming a latex model or improving your current modelling career without an agency, now would be a great time to order a copy of The "Ugly" Girl's Guide to Modelling. I'd be happy to sign it if we ever meet!

Thank you so much again to everyone who has helped and been in touch. I honestly can't thank you enough. I hate feeling dependent and can't wait to be back on my feet and self-sufficient again, working my butt off like I usually do!

Lots of love to you all,

Anita x

Photographer Showcase: Latex shoot with Lem Cheng Hai at DStudioLab, Singapore

I've been shooting with Lem in Singapore every year since 2011. In fact, I think I had my very first shoot in Singapore in his studio, DStudioLab, which is still my favourite in the area.

On my last trip, Lem set up this cool industrial metal stairway/ fire escape in front of the huge shutter door normally used for letting in vehicles for car shoots, for me to play on, which was mucho fun in 8" spike heels :o

 Latex by Shhh! Latex Couture

I think the next two are my favourites- wearing my long black Lady Lucie Latex leggings and extra high platforms up there really got me channelling some sort of sexy, sensual spider creature..! And although I love a bold lipstick red, I do like this industrial-looking metal structure in black and white- it makes it feel less cheery and more gritty and urban to me.

I hope to return to Southeast Asia again in November- if you are a photographer based in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Japan, or even Australia, please email me to register your interest today on contact@anitadebauch.com, and I will let you know when I am taking bookings :)

If you're a photographer based in England and would like to shoot some edgy, industrial, fetish-y, steampunk, alternative fashion-inspired images with me this month, you might be interested in these two fun package deals I've set up this month, one studio-based with optional hair and makeup artist, and one location, with just me ;)

• 2 hour Urban Camden Fashion Tour with me in London on Wednesday 21 or Friday 30 January, 2 changes in 4 locations plus organic cappuccino, £100 all-in!

• 3 hour studio shoot in Hitchin, Hertfordshire on Saturday 24 January, 10.10am - 1.10pm, complete with themed sets. £150 all-inclusive of me + studio and sets, or £168.75 for me + studio and sets + hair and makeup artist!

My good friend Roswell Ivory will also be in London on 30 January, if anyone would like to book us together while we're both in the same town (we're off to a party in the evening!). She has a real-life alternative fashion look that perfectly fits in with Camden's vibe. We used to do shopping and lunch there quite regularly when I lived in North London :) Her portfolio is here.

Email me on contact@anitadebauch.com with any questions or booking enquiries. Many thanks :)