The Creature From the Black Lagoon does pinup in Retro Lovely Bathing Beauties Number 4

Earlier this year, I shot some fun, Summery pinup images with my friend and fave photographer Marilee Caruso and our good buddy the Gill Man of Creature From the Black Lagoon film fame. I wore a pretty gold lamé repro of the famous “Swoon” suit style of the 1940s by Vintage Suits by Mary and posed in a pond set carefully designed by Marilee.

Catherine Morland and Gilman in Retro Lovely Bathing Beauties number 4
Catherine Morland and Gilman in Retro Lovely Bathing Beauties number 4.

The photos ended up being playful and funny, as we very quickly moved away from me playing terrorized victim to the creature himself turning tail and running away. I’m guessing it was my big net and massive Dooneese Maharelle energy that scared him off? The world may never know.

Catherine Morland and Gilman in Retro Lovely Bathing Beauties number 4
Catherine Morland and Gilman in Retro Lovely Bathing Beauties number 4.

Anyway, a fun way to bridge the gap between hot Summer days by the lagoon and Halloween.

There are six images in all, each published in Volume 4 of this year’s Bathing Beauties special edition by Retro Lovely. To purchase this or any of my publications, including my 2024 pinup calendar by Retro Lovely, see my LinkTree.

Hearst Castle-inspired pinup in June Bombshell!

The June issue of Bombshell magazine is out! My Hearst Castle-inspired set by Marilee Caruso (who also did the makeup and hair) is in Book 1, including the inside cover facing the table of contents. If you want to grab this – or any – Magcloud publication on sale, there’s a discount code right now: MAG25.

Catherine Morland in Bombshell magazine
Hearst Castle library-inspired image by Marilee Caruso. I’m wearing the Gene dress by Trashy Diva.

Since I am a huge fan of William Randolph Hearst’s La Cuesta Encantata estate (“the enchanted hill,” now a California State Park located near San Simeon, CA), I wanted to incorporate a sliver of the atmosphere there. Virtually all aspects of the architecture and decoration were overseen by architect and Berkeley grad (Go Bears!) Julia Morgan over nearly three decades, and it remains one of her most impressive projects.

Hearst Castle library photographed by me
Hearst Castle library photographed by me. Note the Greek pottery atop the bookcases.

Since we couldn’t shoot at the actual house, we adapted Marilee’s “study” setup to double as W.R.’s library. The original room  is very Spanish Baroque in ways that only a wealthy media mogul who collected lots of European antiques can replicate, but we did our best. I added a reproduction Greek vase (dude collected tons of art, including a huge ancient pottery collection from Greek antiquity which he highlighted in his library) and my “Citizen Kane” snowglobe to the studio set.

Marilee put images from my Film Noir shoot on the late 1940s tv console to add another layer of meaning, as both Hearst and Marion Davies (his girlfriend and major silent era and golden age of Hollywood star) were involved in the early American film industry. Given the tv cabinet and the more mid-century look of the studio set, we couldn’t do 1920s or 30s. And since the house was closed during World War II and  Mr. Hearst and Davies left the house in 1947 due to the former’s ill health, we figured a small evening party in 1946 or 1947 “coulda happened” like this.

You can find this and all my issues via my Linktree.

The Brides of Dracula suck the life out of Retro Lovely’s Halloween in April special edition!

I love the 1992 Dracula adaptation with Winona Ryder and Gary Oldman. While watching the film in a Carson City theater auditorium last year (Fathom Events hosted a set of 30th anniversary showings back in October), I was struck by the idea of doing a pinup shoot featuring the count’s three hot vampire brides. Fast-forward to the end of April, and my dream was not only reality, it’s on the cover of Retro Lovely‘s “Halloween in April” special edition, Volume 1!

Brides of Dracula Retro Lovely Halloween in April Cover
Brides of Dracula on Retro Lovely’s Halloween in April Cover.

My friends Miss Melody Noir and Lena Von Noir kindly agreed to be my sister brides for the shoot, and Marilee Caruso – my favorite photographer! – signed on to do makeup, hair, and (of course) take the pictures.

More after the jump… Continue reading “The Brides of Dracula suck the life out of Retro Lovely’s Halloween in April special edition!”

Retro Lovely Bond Girls pinup: I cosplay Plenty O’Toole from Diamonds Are Forever

It’s not a secret that I’m into “Bond Girls,” so when I saw it was a theme for one of this year’s Retro Lovely special editions, I immediately knew I had to submit something. I chose one of my favorite James Bond film girls to emulate: Plenty O’Toole from 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, played by the gorgeous Lana Wood.

Catherine Morland cosplays as Bond Girl Plenty O’Toole.

Marilee Caruso did the pretty hair and makeup and took the photos for our six-page feature. I didn’t think I’d be able to pull off an early-1970s look, but Marilee made it work and I ended up loving the results. She also shot Missy Maybe’s lovely cover set for the same issue!

Catherine Morland cosplays as Bond Girl Plenty O’Toole.

More after the jump…

Continue reading “Retro Lovely Bond Girls pinup: I cosplay Plenty O’Toole from Diamonds Are Forever”

Blade Runner cosplay meets published pinup

I love Blade Runner. It’s my favorite neo-noir film, and one of the rare novel adaptations that’s at least as good as the original source material. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I recently cosplayed my favorite replicant character from the movie, Rachael, for a photoshoot with Marilee Caruso.

Catherine Morland cosplays Rachael, Sean Young's replicant character in Blade Runner
Catherine Morland cosplays Rachael, Sean Young’s replicant character in Blade Runner.

Marilee did the 1940s-inspired “Rachael” hair (yes, there are rolls present) and makeup, and we used her classic “film noir” set, brand-new lamps, and some neon-red lighting to get a 1980s-does-1940s-gritty-mystery look. I’m wearing the Mariette Jacket by Pinup Girl Clothing with the Bad Girl Pencil Skirt in faux leather from the Vixen by Micheline Pitt line and Re-Mix reproduction Babydoll pumps.

Catherine Morland Blade Runner Cosplay in Retro Lovely Masquerade
Blade Runner Cosplay in Retro Lovely Masquerade No. 28, photographed by Marilee caruso. There are four more images from this set published in the issue.

The fruits of our labor are published in Retro Lovely’s Masquerade No. 28. You can find this issue – and all of my other recent pinup publications – here, via my Linktree.

Northanger Abbey Cosplay Pinup: Catherine Morland does…Catherine Morland

Hurray, another nifty Retro Lovely cover photographed by Marilee Caruso Photography (who also did the makeup and hair)! This time, it’s in Retro Lovely’s cosplay title, Masquerade No. 26!

You can grab a copy of the magazine or a cover poster via Magcloud, and use code BF25 to get a discount (on these or any Magcloud publication) through 11/28/2022 (the actual discount varies by publisher and issue, btw). Note that I don’t make any money off of purchases direct from Magcloud, just the Tiki issue and posters (I have one mag copy left and a handful of posters if you want to help feed my pinup addiction. I mean, support me as I pursue this noble hobby! Ha!).

This one’s kinda meta, because my nom-de-pinup is Catherine Morland and I’m actually portraying Jane Austen’s heroine from Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland, in the photo set. As she’s into gothic romances and horrid novels of all kinds, we have Catherine reading novels by candlelight in a spooky forestscape of her imagination. Eat your heart out, Emily St. Aubert!

Retro Lovely Masquerade Catherine Morland Cover
I cosplay as Northanger Abbey’s Catherine Morland…my pinup namesake!

More after the jump…

Continue reading “Northanger Abbey Cosplay Pinup: Catherine Morland does…Catherine Morland”

I finally saw the new Emma – my initial thoughts, and…it’s coming to DVD & Blu-Ray on May 19! Order now!

So I finally got around to seeing the new Emma, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, and it was pretty good. You can stream it now, or pre-order it on Blu-Ray or DVD, both of which will drop on May 19:

So what did I think, exactly? Read on to find out…

Continue reading “I finally saw the new Emma – my initial thoughts, and…it’s coming to DVD & Blu-Ray on May 19! Order now!”

Emma’s gonna be available on demand starting FRIDAY!

Hey guys! Hope you’re all practicing social distancing and keeping safe. My school’s gone online-only, and so I’ll be teaching from home until Summer. That’ll give me time to, you know, maybe blog more.

The silver lining: the latest Emma adaptation is going to be available on demand starting THIS FRIDAY! Great news! Stay tuned!

Emma on demand
Emma to be on demand starting soon!

 

The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Emma Woodhouse and is directed by Autumn de Wilde. Other stars include Johnny Flynn as Mr. Knightley, Bill Nighy as Mr. Woodhouse, Mia Goth as Harriet, Miranda Hart as Miss Bates, Josh O’Connor as Mr. Elton, and Callum Turner as Frank Churchill. The screenplay is by Eleanor Catton.

Follow the production here:

My Emma Adaptation Pages coverage: