Retro Rewind 2014–We Can’t Do This Without Pinups!
Traditional hot rods and customs just aren’t complete without traditional pinups accompanying them either on the street, at the track or at a great indoor show like Retro Rewind which is happening in Dubuque, Iowa January 11 and 12, 2014.
Retro Rewind is another great show creation from the mind of John Wells who has found great success with his Midwest-bred Torquefest and Iron Invasion events. This first ever indoor event promises to not only bring out the best of traditional hot rod culture, but give both participants and spectators alike an incredible range of great entertainment.
A pinup contest will highlight Saturday’s event schedule and quite a number of young ladies, sporting only the best traditional style, have already committed to be part of the festivities. But, you might ask, where did pinups come from? Who came up with this crazy idea of hot rod babes dressing up the iron and leather of the custom car, truck and vintage bike crowd? Need we explain?
The term pinup girl was coined in the 1940s, but its beginnings were a whole lot earlier when female models symbolized the era in which they became famous and their pictures became sensational as posters for shows and calendars for walls. The word “pinup” came from the practice of pinning the pictures up on walls after being pulled from those calendars, books or magazines.
However it was the 1940’s and World War II that really saw pinup art explode into the phenomenon we know today. There wasn’t a G. I. who didn’t have a picture of his favorite movie star such as Rita Hayworth or Bettie Grable on his locker door or stuffed somewhere in his kitbag so that he could be reminded of home during the long hours spent away from his family and loved ones.
Add to that the girls so painstakingly painted on the side of military aircraft, in the hope that such nose art would bring luck on their numerous missions. It was easy to see that pinup art had found a footing in mainstream society.
During the late 50’s and early 60’s pinup art began to surface in the form of photography as well as traditional art. Magazines such as Playboy were published blending pinup style photography with well written lifestyle articles and the response was huge.
And with the resurgence of interest in all things hot rod, pinups just had to resurface into today’s honoring of a much simpler time when bebop and rock and roll were born and the youth culture really played a big role in fashion and style.
(Special thanks to RockItRoost.com for the pinup history info!)
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