Vintage reproduction clothing (Pin-up, burlesque & rockabilly) – The ultimate shopping list!

It’s not hard to see why so many curvaceous women turn to fashions from the 40s and 50s when it comes to making the most of their bodies. The era’s pin-up girls, ‘cheesecake’ models and Vargas girls all had waspish waists and sexy curves. Actresses had hourglass figures that their clothes could barely contain (think Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, Diana Dors) and all women wore girdles that sculpted their bodies to perfection and bullet bras that gave the appearance of a Joan Holloway-esque bosom on even a petite woman.

I know from reading comments and looking at search terms that many of us wish we could eschew badly-designed, poorly-fitting modern pieces for something more flattering from the past. But finding true vintage pieces from that era for a larger figure can be difficult. Most good pieces are expensive, and many come in very small sizes, especially on the waist.

So three cheers for the many great brands and retailers who’ve allowed us to get a bit of that old-fashioned glamour in modern sizing. Some of the labels below stock plus size, some don’t, but I’ve chosen to include them all for reference…

Big Girl’s Babe: Christina Hendricks

Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks may not be plus size, but with that gravity-defying bosom and handspan waist, she definitely embodies the kind of curvy girl we’d all love to be. With her Marilyn-esque proportions, she’s a poster girl for the curvaceous woman. Let’s face it, nobody pulls off a wiggle dress like Joan Holloway!