Pinup, vintage fashion, vintage home, Jane Austen's Emma, and Miracles from Molecules!
So here’s some fun news! I now have a Retro Lovely Showcase special edition dedicated entirely to my pinup work with great photographers like Marilee Caruso, Miss Missy, Bettina May, and Feathered Flash!
You can purchase a copy here for $25, including shipping, a sticker, and my signature!
I have a couple of shoots coming in the new year and a set featuring my 1780s chemise a la reine that’s on the way, but now it’s time to share my last two pinup publications of 2023: Retro Lovely No. 231 and Godiva No. 61! Marilee Caruso Photography did the photos, hair, and makeup for both shoots!
The Retro Lovely flagship set is another Halloween homage, this time at location in an historic cemetery in Sacramento! This was our third attempt to shoot this set, after tries one and two were postponed due to bad weather. Five months after our first attempt (January), we finally got the weather we needed.
I love the results: black and white, witchy, vintage! The entire outfit is Micheline Pitt, with very cheap (signed!) Manolo Blahnik Camparis I got secondhand.
The Godiva set features Marilee’s boudoir at the studio, freshly-painted green this Summer! I wanted a “New Year’s Eve” afterparty vibe, and Marilee delivered with warm lighting and festive props!
My outfit consisted of lingerie by Dita Von Teese and a Demi Corset, stockings, and garter belt by What Katie Did Demi Corset. The shoes are my trusty Christian Louboutin Piou-pious.
As always, you can order these issues, my 2024 calendars, and any of my recent issues via my Linktree: https://linktr.ee/strangegirl
Last month, Marilee Caruso and I took some Summery outdoor pinup images in the garden in front of Sacramento’s historic Tower Theatre. They turned out just as I’d hoped, and appear in Retro Lovely Number 229! One of the covers for this issue features Suzi Q in a great jukebox-themed pinup set also photographed by Marilee!
Marilee did the fabulous 1940s-inspired makeup and hair, and I’m wearing Vixen by Micheline Pitt (her 1950s Swing Sundress in red vintage roses print – it comes with the scarf!). The bat sunglasses are also by Micheline Pitt, from her La Femme en Noir line. The shoes are by Remix (I think they’re the Veronica style, but I’ve had them for at least 8 years at this point so I can’t be sure).
We were going for mid-century old Hollywood glamour, and this locale provides that vibe.
You can purchase this issue, and all of my issues here, or via the links in my Linktree:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I’m thrilled that one of my “picnic pinup” photos by Marilee Caruso was selected as a cover for the Retro Lovely 20th Century Retrospective – 1950’s special edition! My Summer pinup cover can be found on Volume 1!
There’s also a six-page feature inside with more photos from the set. Just FYI – right now you can get 20% off on this issue and more at Magcloud using code MAG20 through 5/25/2023!
For this shoot, I wore a pretty 1950s Daisy-themed dress by Prettie Lanes (it’s a copy of an original from the fifties) and a Niçois hat from France. The necklace was made for me as a gift from a loved one, and just so happened to match. 😉
To grab a copy of my cover issue (or a poster featuring the cover art), here are the Magcloud links (don’t forget to use code MAG20 through 5/25/2023 to get 20% off):
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!
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!”