(just found this out from a librarian mailing list I'm on. There's some AMAZING photos! You can even see details like the models' "vintage manicures" with bare cuticles, and the reinforced soles of their stockings!)



"The Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) and the London College of Fashion announced a collaboration today that will see the photographic archives of three important cosmetics companies made accessible online for the first time.

The archives of Gala, Miner's and Crystal, three prominent cosmetics companies operating during and after the Second World War, are held at London College of Fashion and have been digitised and made freely accessible through the VADS website.

The archives are a valuable resource for the study of the history of cosmetics, advertising photography, fashion promotion and women in the Second World War.

During the War when silk was needed for parachutes and stockings disappeared from the shops, Miner's had particular success with its leg make-up, Miners Liquid Stockings, which many women used to paint their legs and even drew black lines down the back of their legs to simulate the seams. Gala of London was also the first company to introduce lip stick in a tube when they introduced their lipline in 1957.

Katherine Baird, Manager of Archives and Special Collections at the London College of Fashion said: "The history of cosmetics is a subject area poorly served by archives to date, and this archive is a valuable addition."

"The war and immediate aftermath, was an important period for the development of package design and also for the development of women's economic independence and consequently their image. The photographs in this collection provide a rich resource charting the development of designs and promotion of cosmetic products and images of women using them."

Leigh Garrett, Director of VADS, said "We are delighted to have worked with London College of Fashion to make these unique archives accessible to a wider learning community than ever before."

"Through our partnerships with university and museum collections across the UK, VADS has already made a wide range of visual arts image collections available online freely for educational use. This latest project will bring another valuable collection to wider recognition and use by scholars, researchers and students as well as members of the public."

The three cosmetics archives have been digitised by the London College of Fashion and made available online through the 'Enhancing VADS'
project, funded as part of the Enriching Digital Resources programme from JISC."

The collection is available at http://www.vads.ac.uk/collections/LCFGALA

Back to normal!

The people who I get the domain name "pinup-parade.com" from didn't send me their annual invoice and so for 24 hrs starting late Friday until I got it sorted out late on Saturday, the website disappeared, replaced by a holding page.

There were two holding pages that I saw. The first had links to retro clothing, which seems logical, but the second one, I think, has damaged the reputation of my endeavour. It was covered in links for all things "adult" related, which led to some customers worried that I had changed the nature of my site, and other customers thinking I'd done a runner.

Basically, the invoice error of the domain name people has meant that I have been seen as a pornographer and thief.

I am absolutely disgusted with the holding page that went up, and of course the fact that it only went up because of their error. I have complained to them and told them that this has had an adverse effect on people's confidence in me.

The whole thing is very upsetting and frustrating. It has jeapordised two years of work.

I can only ask that you believe me when I tell you that what you see is what you get - yes, I really am a provincial librarian, yes, I really do run Pin-Up Parade in my spare time, and no, I'm neither a perv parlour accountant nor a dishonest thief.

And there's some new stuff in stock...

The "Jackie" handbag by Bettie Page Clothing, available in light grey. Black sold out but back soon. £40.


The blue Yacht Top by Tarantula Clothing. This is a size 18, stretching to a accomodate up to a 54" bust. £30.


The Smoothie dress by Tarantula is now in stock in black and red as well as floral with a couple of green ginghams as well. These are £75 each and fabulous for summer!




Talking of summer, every girl needs an Escape blouse in their wardrobe. From Bettie Page Clothing, these stretch cotton sleeveless blouses are fabulous. £35.


The Purple Tart dress from Bettie Page Clothing is also now in stock. It's a beautiful deep purple colour, almost aubergine, with a glamorous flared hem and structured bust. £65.


Maternity dresses
Fabulous Cherry & Gingham cotton maternity dresses now in stock, handmade in the UK by Voodoo Kitten 13 Clothing. £65.


Black and leopard in stock soon. £65

New stuff in stock! And new things on the way....

On the Bags page, I have more Mirror bags in stock again in red and black, at £45.



The Jackie bags are on the way, available in black or grey, at £40.


Dresses:
Smoothie dress by Tarantula Clothing, £75.
Sizes XS to XL. This version is cream with a floral print, but I also have a green gingham version in sizes M & XL. I will also have the red and black versions in stock at the end of May/early June.


Violet dress by Bettie Page Clothing, £65.
Sizes M & XXL in stock only.


Captain dress, pencil skirt, in white, by Bettie Page Clothing, £70.
Sizes XS, L, XL & XXL in stock.


On the way
End of May/early June
Black & Red Smoothie dresses by Tarantula Clothing, £75.
Sizes S to XL.


Heidi dress by Bettie Page Clothing, £65.
Sizes XS to 3X.


Purple Rose dress by Bettie Page Clothing, £65.
Sizes XS to 3X.


Purple Tart dress by Bettie Page Clothing, £65.
Sizes XS to 3X.


Sadie blouse by Bettie Page Clothing, £35.
Sizes XS to 3X.


Escape blouse by Bettie Page Clothing, £35.
Sizes XS to 3X.


Early/mid June
Curves dress by Bettie Page Clothing, £70.
Sizes XS to 3X.


Please note: Orders can't be taken from Sunday 17th May. Ordering will be back to normal on the evening of Wednesday 20th May.

More gallery updates!

Gallery update from Kimberley


And three new girls join Pin-Up Parade:

Honey Wilde


Miss Edith


Sue-Ann Davis


And a photographer's gallery from Terence Mendoza

Change to returns policy (exchanges)

It still stands that if you buy something you're not happy with (whether fit, size or you just decide it's not "you") you can return it for a refund or an exchange. The difference is that from now on, you will need to pay for the postage of the replacement item.

So... let's say you buy dress X in a size S, and decide you'd rather have the M. You'll need to pay for postage costs for me sending the size M. This brings the Pin-Up Parade returns policy into line with most other online retailers. Since the pound fell against the dollar, it's been difficult keeping prices low, so the money saved in this way will be passed on to keep any price rises low.

The only time this won't apply with exchanges is if there's a manufacturing flaw with the item or I've made a mistake with your order! In which case, I'll also cover your cost of returning the item to me.

Gallery updates

I don't do Gallery updates very often... but when I do, I hope you'll agree that it's worth the wait!

First of all, we have a new girl at Pin-Up Parade, the fabulous Cherry La Flip, who is also our cover girl at the moment.


And I have updated Tara Mi Sioux's gallery with three new photos.


I'm working on updating MORE galleries and putting up MORE girls, so in the next week or so there'll be new girls Scarlet Fever (of "Faking It" fame) from Wales, Honey Wilde from England (via New Zealand), Miss Edith from Scotland and Sue-Anne Davis from Germany. Add to that a photographer gallery from Terence Mendoza, and a gallery update from Helen Highwater (me, in other words!). So, lots of look forward to! And there's even more than this which I'm arranging, but you'll just have to wait for that....

Pin-Up Parade Girls Need Your Help!
Meanwhile, over at www.bettiepagemovie.com there's a pin-up contest. Amongst the entrants, there's three Pin-Up Parade girls - me, Sweetness and Nicole A Lure (aka Nicole from The Hourglass). Please join the forum to vote for us. It would make us very happy! You just have to post a message saying "I vote for Helen Highwater" (or whichever other lovely lady flips your switch), and that's that. Simple! ;)