✯ Day 6 of Vintage 365 ✯
As someone who embraces every last curve on my 5'2" frame with a glowing passion, the decline of the hourglass shape in the media over the last few decades (especially from the heroin chic days of the 90s onwards) has troubled me for some time. While I truly believe beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, I think it's nothing short of absurd to eschew the natural form that many women's bodies follow and pretend like every gal should be a runway model waif.
Women have curves and those curves are beautiful, life-giving, and utterly fantastic. Vintage pin-up artists and actresses knew this fact well and flaunted their figures (or those of the women they illustrated) with great aplomb.
I adore such yesteryear images and gals, just as I'm more than a little crazy for this photograph (which I first spied on fotographie de mode) of Scarlett Johansson immerging from a glistening aqua pool (in what has to be one the most jaw-droppingly amazing bathing suits of all time!), that was captured by renowned fashion and celebrity photographer Craig McDean.
There is so much grace and allure, sophistication and chicness in this gorgeous image that struck me, the moment I saw it, as being very much like something I could have seen Marilyn Monroe posing for during her heyday.
Here’s to women like Scarlett who haven’t given in to insane pressures of Hollywood stardom and media scrutiny, but who present their curves to the world with pride and happiness – like many of us shapely vintage loving gals do, too.
***Please note, I could not actually track down the who made the bathing suit in this photo, but given its distinct old school styling, I took a leap of faith an assumed in the title of this post that the suit was vintage. If it’s not, then it's clearly still very much a vintage influenced piece. If anyone knows who made this gorgeous swimsuit, I would love to know!
