Since she was a child, Charlotte Reissis has loved dressing up, but she is taking her vintage style to new heights as a pinup girl.
The 37-year-old, originally from Darwin, lives in Capalaba and competes in pinup girl pageants.
She fell in love with vintage clothing as a teen while watching old movies with her grandfather.
"I have always been interested in 50s fashion, films and screen sirens but my passion for pinup started in my twenties while living in the UK and being involved in Burlesque," Ms Reissis said.
"While I wore pinup style clothing, it wasn't until 2016 that I became brave enough to give pageants a try."
Ms Reissis said dressing up helped her overcome bullying she faced.
"Having been frequently bullied as a teen I struggled with self-confidence and battles with mental health," she said.
"Unfortunately, those feelings followed me into adulthood.
"So, I made a conscious decision to challenge myself by doing things that pushed me outside of my comfort zone and made me confront the negative opinion I had of myself, this included travel, burlesque and pinup."
She created a stage persona, Valentina Volupte, and brings the character to life at events and competitions.
In 2016 she first competed in the Australia wide Miss Pinup Australia competition.
Ms Reissis has the added challenge of putting together her own vintage outfits for Valentina.
"Vintage outfits can cost hundreds of dollars; however, I enjoy the challenge of sourcing and creating these beautiful outfits for me to wear on stage and to events," she said.
"When piecing together an outfit for an event I generally work off how I feel at the time, where and what the event is and go from there.
"I love opening my wardrobe and revelling in the beauty contained within."
Ms Reissis said pinup pageants have not only helped her confidence but provided a creative outlet where she can express herself through Valentina.
"Being involved with these events has been incredibly empowering," she said.
"Additionally, it has provided a fun creative outlet for me, whether it is writing creative bio's, crafting props or putting together outfits - pageants allow you to do it all."
She hopes to take her pinup passion international and compete at the 2022 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend Queen of the Carshow Pageant at Las Vegas' Orleans Hotel & Casino in April.
The annual event sees thousands of enthusiasts from all over the world travelling to the US for the competition.
Valentina Volupte is this year's only Australian entrant.
Votes for the competition can be made at https://www.vivalasvegas.net/pin-up-contest.
Emily Lowe
Redland City Bulletin journalist covering community, politics, crime and human interest stories. Griffith University Alumni.
Redland City Bulletin journalist covering community, politics, crime and human interest stories. Griffith University Alumni.
