The Top 10 Vintage Pin up Posters

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The Top 10 Vintage Pin up Posters

When the world was in tatters during the Second World War, many unconventional methods were undertaken in order to boost the morale of soldiers fighting at the front. This contributed to the rise of pin-up girls - vintage models who were photographed in raunchy situations oozing with sex appeal. The golden age of pinup models is generally considered to be the 1940’s and the age of pinup art, pin up poses and style continued onto the next decade. In some cases, those pin up girl drawing, magazines and calendars were distributed among troops at the expense of the government. Even though the world famously knows mostly the 50s pin up girls, yet this style of pinup art is still at large in photography, art, fashion, merchandise and tattoos. Here are the top ten vintage pin up girls and artworks that ruled the hearts and minds of the people in the 50’s.

Jane Russell

Jane Russell’s nickname was ‘sweater girl’ as that was the garment most seen in her pin up poses. One of her most iconic posters features her lying down on a haystack with a pistol in her hand.

Elvgren Girls

Many commercial artists took to pin up art and pin up drawing at that time. Artist Gil Elvgren was one of the giants of pin up art, and his pinups were called ‘Elvgren girls’. In his art, Elvgren incorporated humor, personality and situations that featured an accidental wardrobe malfunction or two.

Bettie Page

Page was one of the most popular 50s pin up girls, rising to fame much later than the other pin up models. She was best known for her cheerful appearance instead of posed pouting, unlike other pin-up girls.

Betty Grable

Out of the pin up models of the list, the most iconic pin up art is based on Betty Grable. Her iconic picture in a white bathing suit and heels outlasted the war. She later became the top female box office draw and the most highly paid pin up model in America.

Ava Gardner

Ava Gardner, one of the most prominent 50s pin up girls was famously associated with MGM studios. Later in her career she turned into an iconic femme fatale. This legendary pinup model was famous for pin up poses in long black dresses and heels.

Bomber Girls

World War II lead to some quirky art forms such as ‘nose art’- a kind of pin up drawing of women on the fuselage of fighter planes and bombers. ‘Nose artists’ were inspired by popular men’s magazines, pin up art, actresses and pin-up girls. The models featured in these drawings were called ‘Bomber Girls’. These pictures were often considered wartime lucky charms.

Veronica Lake

The stunning pin-up model was also famous for her film noir work. This iconic pin-up girl was known for her mesmerizing blue eyes and blonde wavy hairstyle covering her right eye. In fact, her peekaboo hairstyle became a craze among women in the 1940s.

Zoe Mozert

Mozert was a female pin-up artist, who was in fact the pin up model of her own artworks. She would often pose in front of a mirror or use a camera to photograph herself before doing her pin up girl drawing. She was the artist and face of hundreds of calendars, novel covers, movie posters and ads in her career.

Vargas Girls

The pin up models of artist Alberto Vargas was called Vargas Girls. They were always painted in a mundane white background striking provocative pin up poses, unlike Elvgren’s detail-heavy backgrounds.

Rita Hayworth

The gorgeous and legendary pinup model is seen in a stunning photograph striking a pose in a black negligee. She did not remain limited to pin up poses, she also appeared in many USO shows and sold war bonds. A lesser known fact about this famous vintage pin up figure is that she was not naturally strawberry-blonde.