Few holidays invite the opportunity to really glam it up like Valentine's Day. While the rose, lingerie and chocolate fest can often veer tacky, we're determined to keep it this side of tasteful. Taking style cues from retro pin-up models like Bettie Page and Betty Grable, our vintage foremothers knew a thing or two about sex appeal.
We partnered up with living-day pin-up model and burlesque performer Bettina May who helped us create a gorgeous throwback style for the big night. (Don't worry: Your name doesn't have to be a variation of Betty to get this look.)
While May looks like she just stepped out of the year 1955, she has her grandmother to thank for all her beauty wisdom. "I was very close to my Nanna, who shared all her vintage glamour secrets with me," she told us. "From setting hair in rollers to how to age gracefully, she is a real source of inspiration to me." May, who has been modeling and performing since 2003, is a photographer and consultant for vintage-inspired shoots. She also teaches pin-up makeover classes here in New York. The woman is the embodiment of retro glamour.
To further the romantic vibe of our shoot, we headed over to the The Dove Parlor, a charming, flatteringly-lit cocktail lounge in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. We also enlisted the help of our senior features editor Brie Dyas and a vintage-inspired wardrobe courtesy of Bettie Page Clothing. Behold: our Valentine's Day pin-up look.
Meanwhile, check out our Audrey Hepburn beauty transformation.
