Miss Australia Pin Up Runner Up - Who is this Gal?

I was looking at the Miss Pin-Up Australia page on Facebook last night and just got so enamored by some photo's that Schatzi Sunshine had posted on the Miss Australia Pin-Up finals. The gal in the very center of the lineup is wearing a 1940s two piece green and black polka dot swimsuit that I sent to Australia last year as part of a lot of vintage swimwear. It's so nice to see my vintage swimwear pieces (well OK, technically no longer mine) doing so well. What I want to know is, Who is this gal? Can anyone help me figure this out? She sure looks adorable!

Entries for Miss Pin-Up Australia 2012 will be open in March of 2011! Congratulations to all the contestants and winner of the 2010 event.

The First Strapless Bra - Adhesive Bras Employ no Wires or Straps

Photographs from a May 16, 1949 Life article that heralded the invention of a strapless bra that represented the ultimate in minimalist construction, simply two cloth cups. Charles Langs, the inventor, spent four years developing 'Poses' to alleviate the strap shifting problem while tanning. While he originally planned to turn out 200,000 per year, the design did not enjoy much success.

Poses make their first appearance at New York's Jones Beach as sunsuit tops.

Langs, thought up the idea for 'Poses' after watching his wife shift the straps of conventional bathing suits while trying to get an even tan. He asked a chemist friend Dr. Charles Walton, to develop an adhesive which would be removable without leaving a gummy residue. The Langs experimented 4 years before they felt "poses" were ready for the world.

Photographs by Nina Leen.

Viva Las Vegas 14 Vintage Swimsuit Competition

Attention all vintage fashion fanatics Shine up your vintage beach-side best and get ready for the mother of all swimsuit competitions. Come out to the VLV 14 pool party Vintage Swimsuit Competition, hosted by Vegas’ Pocket Pinup: Lisa Luxe.

Guys and dolls alike are encouraged to enter: the only requirement is that your suit MUST BE VINTAGE, no modern/repro suits will be allowed in the competition. Contestants will be judged on their suit alone, not by how well you can dance or how you answer silly pageant questions.
It’s all about the fashion! So bust out your most fabulous Rose Marie Reid gold lame number or your wool Jantzen briefs and get ready to show them off! The competition starts on Sunday, April 24th, 4pm at the Orleans Pool.

Prizes include:
A location photoshoot by the spectacularly talented Painted Pinups
A $50 gift card from Cats Like Us
A Playsuit from Vintage Suits By Mary
An amazing piece of artwork by the one and only Bigtoe
Cash prize (amount to be announced later)

More info on Viva Las Vegas can be found here. And you all must know where you can get your vintage swimsuit right?

Faux Wrap Diaper Style 2 Piece High Waist Swimsuit

Isn't this two piece lurex swimsuit a beauty? Metallic knit, high waist, ruched diaper style wrap bottoms and a single shoulder strap? This piece recently sold on that big old auction site. I would have loved to have handled this piece, to see the construction details. It's definitely modeled on the two piece swimwear styles of the 1940s, see the Catalina ad I have posted for comparison. The seller had nice pics, but I would have loved to know more. Was there a label, which manufacturer put out this piece? It was listed a metallic knit Lurex fabric. Lurex is a tarnish proof metallic fiber that was invented in the 1940s and trademarked by Dow Badische Co.





The seller listed this as 1950s and had a winning bid of $350. Love it, wish your were mine!

California's Adopt-A-Beach Program

Many states have an Adopt-A-Beach program. Here in California we have one put on by the California Coastal Commission Public Education Program on how to Adopt-A Beach. Perfect for groups or to use in a educational setting and involving the students. More information can be found here. Such an important way to get involved in helping to keep our earth and beaches clean.

California Coast Contest for Kids

"Otter Portrait"
Brittani Diehl
12th Grade, Hollister

I'm all about supporting children and the arts when ever and where ever I am. I have volunteered in this area of interest for quite some time now. Today I ran across something that is good for everyone. Good for the kids, good for you and I, and good for the state of California. The California Coastal Commission currently has a contest going on their web page. The Coastal Art & Poetry Contest is open until Jan 31, 2011 and has multiple prizes available.

'By encouraging youth to reflect on the beauty and spirit of California's beaches and ocean, we hope to inspire a greater sense of stewardship for these natural places. A population that cares about the coast is more likely to work to conserve and protect it. '

The contest is open to all California residents in kindergarten through 12^th grades. There are five categories for awards in both art and poetry. You can read all about it, find out more info, access the entry form available, etc. here. To help here's some inspiration:

• Have you ever been to a California beach?
• What do you do at the beach?
• What do you see at the beach?
• What animals live on the coast or in the ocean off California?
• How are people connected to the ocean?
• What colors can you see at the beach?
• What sounds do you hear at the beach?
• What textures do you feel at the beach?
• Why do you love the beach or the ocean?
• What things may harm the California coast?
• What does the ocean make you think of?
• How does the ocean make you feel?
• How can we protect the ocean?
• Do you have a memory of being at the coast that was special/powerful/sad/comforting/mundane…?
• What would California/your life/your community be like without the ocean?
• What is California/your life/your community like because of the ocean?

So parents and educators, I encourage you to work with your children and students and have them get creative while learning a bit about the California coastline. A great idea, support the arts and our children!

For a look at the 2010 Coastal Art and Poetry Contest Winners go here.

Corset Maker Pearl Cinches Dita Von Teese

With Dita Von Teese

Christina Hendricks in Playboy

Did you see this? Playboy twittered this photo from the July 1999 issue asking for the name of the swimsuit clad beauty on the right. None other than Mad Mens own Christina Hendricks in a little silver bikini. Yowza Christina! You go girl!

1950s Claire McCardell Beach Ensemble

Oh my, oh my, OH MY! I absolutely love Claire McCardell. I am still swooning over this pattern from So Vintage Patterns. Vintage 50s McCalls 4494, beach ensemble consisting of separates including shorts, halter top, skirt and jacket. And it's factory folded. WANT!

Ohh what fabric would I choose? I'd love to make the playsuit. Maybe some lightweight linen or cotton. Perfect for summer. Then make a matching jacket. On yes.

1912 British Olympics Freestyle Swimming

Poitrait of the British Olympics 1912 womens 4 x 100 meter freestyle swimming team in Stokholm Sweden. The British team won the gold in this event. What is interesting to note is the use of swimming undergarments. And do you think that is the coach in the middle?

1940s Swimwear Newsreel

Note how the naval is always covered in the 1940s. Enjoy!

1950 Cole of California Sequined Swimsuit

Woah Nellie. This image is from 1950. Talk about glam! Sequins in the pool no less. In todays dollar that Cole of California suit would be valued at $1450.00. Need to get me one of these!

Scarlett and the Scarlett Letters

Happy New Year everyone! I am hopeful that you had a safe and exuberant new year and took some time to rest. That's what I did. It felt good to take a break. But now we're back and are looking forward to a kicka** 2011.

Over the holidays I got caught up with my reading, including some of my favorite blogs. One such wonderful blog is called Chronically Vintage written by Jessica. Jessica posted a most amazing shot of Scarlett Johansson taken by Craig McDean and asked if anyone knew what swimsuit Scarlett was wearing in this shot:

So I did some sleuthing and found out the shot was taken for the April 2007 issue of US Vogue and the spread is called 'Scarlett Letters'. Fantastico no? But it's not a swimsuit at all, its a Dolce & Gabanna sea green metallic bustier with a built in bra.

There are quite a few other shots from this spread, all of which I love.

And this one above features Scarlett wearing a Roberto Cavalli corset top and bikini bottoms. The image below has Scarlet modeling a Chanel oyster scuba jacket with sequined microshorts and crystal wedges.




It's an interesting concept and it does blur the lines a bit of what is considered lingerie and what is swimwear. I'm not sure I'd swim in any of these, but I do adore the shots and the illusions. It brings me back to my love of vintage swimwear and lingerie and how they were constructed to show off a woman's best assets and to hide her flaws.