In the world of online niche shopping, Pinup Girl Clothing has made a name for itself as the leader in retro and rockabilly fashion. Founded in 1996 by Laura Byrnes, Pinup Girl Clothing has gone from a one woman operation run out of a third bedroom to become the leading online destination for retro and rockabilly clothing.
Laura, a swing dancer, collector of Vargas Pinup Girl illustrations, lounge lizard, frequenter of underground Los Angeles bars, and prolific photographer of the LA music and retro scene, got fed up with the constrictive nature of the magazine photography world (her old-school punk rock attitude and general disrespect for authority certanly didn’t help either) and decided to pursue her lifelong interest in pinup style: 50’s fashion, rockabilly revival, retro dresses, pinup girls, 50’s Hollywood bombshells, and the seedy, sexy underside of it all. An FIT dropout – for photography, not fashion – Laura was in love with pinup girl style and retro fashion, but the only place one could find 50’s style, at that time, was the local thrift store. Even in Los Angeles, circa 1996 – the center of the emerging retro, rockabilly, and lounge subculture – rockabilly and retro gals were limited to vintage dresses, which while fantastic, couldn’t exactly be depended upon to fit right, wear well, or smell good. Laura’s close friend, Jeanette Iskat, was an avid collector of vintage dresses from the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s, making the rounds of her favorite – and often little known – thrift stores weekly to score the most amazing vintage dresses, many from well known designers of the day. Sadly, few of these vintage dresses fit Jeanette, who towers over mere mortals at an impressive 6 foot 3. Jeanette’s loss was Laura’s gain – Jeanette’s vintage clothing scores filled Laura’s closet and constituted nearly her entire wardrobe – fantastic retro swing dresses in satins, taffeta, and brocade. Rockabilly clothing – cropped capri pants, halter tops, and high-waisted pencil skirts. These vintage dresses still hang in Laura’s closet and continue to influence her retro fashion sensibility.
However, vintage clothing has its limitations. Stains, tears, and musty smells. Stitching and seams in fragile condition. The perfect retro dress – in someone else’s size. The retro and rockabilly scene was growing fast, and the vintage dress pickings in thrift and vintage clothing stores was getting thin. Something had to give, and it did. Laura, and a very small handful of other rockabilly gals, started designing. One of these girls, Melanie, started a retro clothing line called Dixiefried. Dixiefried’s style was purist and tailored – high waisted pencil skirts with vintage details, fitted bombshell dresses in retro fabrics. Alicia, Melanie’s assistant, left Dixiefried and founded Stop Staring Clothing, which carried on the purist retro vintage tradition after Dixiefried ceased to be.
Laura’s vision was different – she loved the sexy dresses worn by the Pinup Girls in Varga, Elvgren, and Petty illustrations, sexy, clingy, fantasy clothing that, in the 50’s, could never have translated to a real world garment: Pinup Girl Clothing. Pinup Girl Clothing was her vision, and Pinup Girl Clothing she would design.