Women celebrate vintage glam, self-love and healthy body image with pin-up
Dale Mac Millan loves to mentor those new to pin-up and watch as their self-confidence grows. (ABC Mid North Coast: Wiriya Sati)
Pin-up pageants are a fixture at hot-rod car shows and rock'n'roll festivals across Australia, with models drawing fashion inspiration from the 1940s and 50s.
While pin-up was once about sending photos away to the soldiers during World War II, these days it's more about celebrating women of all ages, shapes and sizes with a love for vintage glam.
Kandi Floss says she wants to encourage other people to wear what they want. (Supplied: Kandi Floss)
For Kandi Floss, who prefers to be known only by her stage name, it was a transformative journey toward self-love and sharing her body positive message.
"It makes me feel very powerful and beautiful, it's like just putting on a suit of armour and it celebrates myself," she said.
"It's nice to be able to feel that from dressing a certain way."
This is what drives self-described pin-up "mum" Dale Mac Millan to be a mentor for those starting out on their journey.
"We call it a journey because once you start doing pin-up, you grow as a person as your confidence grows," Dale said.
"Spending the time on yourself to do pin-up brings that inner beauty forward that was hidden for a while."
After 10 years running Miss Retrofest, Dale Mac Millan was crowned Pin-up Matriarch by her community. (ABC Mid North Coast: Wirita Sati)
Celebrating bodies
Dale was recently crowned Pin-up Matriarch at her Miss Retrofest Pin-up Pageant in Port Macquarie, NSW, celebrating its 10th year running.
The 60-year-old is also the powerhouse behind Velvet-Rose's Pin-up Pageant online, attracting women from all parts of Australia in three divisions: West Coast, East Coast and Central.
Dale started the online pin-up competition during the pandemic and said it had seen steady growth over the past four years, with more newbies joining.
"You're starting to see more pin-up competitions happening and car shows happening again," she said.
Winners of the Miss Retrofest 2025 in its 10th year in Port Macquarie. (ABC Mid North Coast: Wiriya Sati)
Kandi Floss's first-time entry video from Central division for 2025 said:
At 38 I discovered a new chapter in my life … a blossoming of my inner confidence.
"It's just helped me to celebrate my body in a way that I didn't think was possible," Kandi said.
She was bullied for her weight through school in the 1990s, a time when models were very thin.
"Those years left deep scars: I carried shame, self-consciousness, and a belief that there was something fundamentally flawed about my body."
She later found out she had a condition called lipedema that causes painful accumulation of fatty tissue mainly affecting the legs, thighs and buttocks, and is worsened by hormonal changes during puberty, pregnancy and menopause.
Kandi Floss says: "Don't wait for tomorrow to shine. Be yourself." (Supplied: Kandi Floss)
At 16, she was diagnosed with severe endometriosis and told she wouldn't have children.
"So when I had three in three years, I felt very blessed," she said.
After the three pregnancies, Kandi said she did a lot of strength training and lost 30 kilograms.
"It should have made me feel confident and good, but it didn't — it had the reverse effect," she said.
"I had a lot of loose skin around the tummy area."
Just when she was booked in for a tummy tuck, she had her fourth and last child, "another miracle", and gained all that weight back "and then some more".
"I just hid in hoodies and jeans and avoided beaches and parks or anywhere that there would be beautiful women because it made me feel terrible."
She said one day she was looking at her daughters growing up and wanted them to be confident within themselves.
"One of my daughters basically said, 'Mum, am I pretty?'
"I needed to set a better example for my children.
"I'm going to fake my confidence until I make it. I'm going to do something about how I feel about myself and my outlook."
She decided to face her fears and do what she found most scary.
"I bought myself a bikini and a sarong, and I said to the family, 'Let's go to the beach.'"
Kandi Floss says one day she bravely said "yes" to a trip to the beach and spent the day there with her kids. (Supplied: Kandi Floss)
She said this was a turning point and she started saying "yes" to buying a dress she liked, to taking burlesque classes and entering a pin-up competition.
Being in a better place mentally, Kandi said she lost 74kg through diet and exercise, and now has over 50 modern pin-up outfits.
"I feel vibrant, elegant, and sometimes I look in the mirror and I just feel completely in love with myself."
Pin-up is for everyone
Stephanie Pursehouse, one of the entrants for the East Coast division, said age did not matter with pin-up.
Stephanie Pursehouse says she feels like herself again when she "dresses pin-up". (Supplied: Stephanie Pursehouse)
"It doesn't matter how old you are or how young you are. It doesn't matter what size you are, what you look like. We all embrace each other as sisters and that's really, really nice," Stephanie said.
"I was born in the 50s and Mum used to dress me in pin-up-type clothes.
"I like the fact that I can be myself again, which is lovely. And that's what pin-up gave to me."
Adele Jones entered Miss Retrofest one year and also joined the modelling troupe.
Adele Jones entered Miss Retrofest just for fun and won the title of Miss Pearl. (Supplied: Adele Jones)
"I wanted to go back to when I was young and my mum used to always dress in the lovely 50s clothes, the hat, the gloves and the bag. I thought, why not?" Adele said.
"I was very lucky to be crowned Miss Pearl, so it was a lot of fun.
"We've gone out to the nursing homes and given people time back for their memories.
"It's amazing when you come out with some of the hats and the women just go, 'I had that.'
"And the men will say, 'Oh my wife used to wear that.'"