TGISF! (Thanks God It’s Sexy Friday!) is a weekly SexiDesign.com series recalling the week’s hottest links featuring sex in marketing and design from around the web…

This week I was simply in love with everything vintage, so here are some complimentary links from around the web…

Popular Posts This Week From SexiDesign

SD Investigates: The Allure of Pinups – a look at the sexy body language which helped to sell famous pinup magazines.

Time Machine: 40’s Pinup Magazine Covers – A unique collection of sexy pinup magazine covers from artist Peter Driben.

Resources From Posts

A roundup of this week’s resources from posts you may have missed!

• Pinup Artist Peter Driben – Wikipedia
• Peter Driben Covers – Flickr

Related Links From Around The Web

Links from around the web which are related to this week’s SexiDesign posts!

• Vintage Advertising and Illustration – Flickr
• Pinup Art Inspiration – Abduzeedo

SD Investigates: The Allure of Pinups

This week I’ve fallen in love with vintage artwork showcasing beautiful pinup women from the early 40′s and 50′s. In research of these sexilicious works, I began to wonder about what made so them attractive to loyal readers.

Here’s what I discovered…

Body Language

Poses and Position

Pinup poses are the epitome of sexy body language. They are famous for their arched backs, raised breastbones, and ever so sultry butt pooch. Feel a little tickled while studying these poses? Well it may be because many of these poses simulate common sex positions. Pinups are also often caught in compromising situations that reveal a glimmer of thighs or sexy under garments.

“Phantom Limbs”
One of the more interesting concepts I’ve come across is “phantom limbs.” Many artists place women in positions where only one arm or leg is showing. Though it may be influenced by perspective of the drawing, I think it has to deal with the overall silhouette of the pinup. Had the limb remained, the curviness of the pinup wouldn’t be as distinct.

Facial Expression

Images courtesy of Flickr
Whether its playful innocence or simulating sexual arousal, the expressions painted on these sinfully sexies hold the viewers attention. Pinups are often portrayed through their facial expressions as very fun, playful women, comfortable in their sexiness. Furrowing the eyebrows and showing the whites of the eyes communicates submissiveness to men. Pouty and parted lips make the knees of men buckle, while anything simulating oral sex can well…you figure it out haha..

Sexy Clothes
Pinups obviously wear revealing clothes, however, these clothes are painted to innocently reveal erotic areas as though by mistake or circumstance. Straps seductively fall off shoulders, showing a glimmer of breast, or dress skirts get caught, revealing lacey thigh high stockings.

Curvy Women

Famous for their sultry curves, pinups are often fleshy in the legs region, with full perky breasts. Portraying anything with “a little more flesh” could very well simulate the swelling of erogenous zones during arousal.

Proportion and Color

Proportion
Artists like Peter Driben, are famous for drawing emphasis to long legs in their work. If you notice, the legs are very voluminous, but the feet and hands are rather small in proportion. The popular hourglass figure derived from this era, with emphasis on broad shoulders, a tiny waist, and wide hips. Wide hips are associated with maturity and the ability to bear children.
Color
Peter Driben is famous for his bold vibrant colors used in his famous pinup works. These colors help to stimulate viewer with bright shades of red, yellow, and orange. Colors are very impacting on viewers, for instance, red can stimulate increased blood flow and increased blood flow is ALWAYS good..if you know what I mean, haha..

Fetishes

Pinups also play towards the common fetishes of many men. Though the women modeling may appear dainty and innocent, the reveal of their sexy lace black underwear sends the minds of men going. And their seating position doesn’t help either, often sitting with their legs up high, the viewer (who is at a lower perspective) is teased with the idea of getting a peek of the delicate details of the butt or vulva which are covered by material or the lower leg.

Resources

Titillated by these buxom vixens? Check out these resources for more on the history of pinups and be sure to subscribe!

• The History of Pinups
• Pin Up Girl – Wikipedia
• Peter Driben Pinup Art – Flickr
• The Definitive Book of Body Language

Time Machine is a SexiDesign.com blog series exploring the past, present, and future in sexy designs.

Today’s journey through the design continuum thing-a-ma-jig, is to a far more glamorous time, where the subtleties of being a woman drew the attention of loyal admirers rather than the more explicit nature of today.

The Magazine: Flirt, A Fresh Magazine

Flirt, was a Girlie magazine created in the late 1940′s by Robert Harrision. They consisted of photostories and beautifully painted cover art of seductive pinup models. Ensuring the mass appeal of the magazines, Harrison employed talented artists for the cover art for Flirt and other sister magazines.
Flirt separated itself from competitors by accommodating readers with pinup art reflecting common fetishes amongst men.

The Artist: Peter Driben

Peter Driben was the leading artist for all of Robert Harrison’s girlie magazines. He is most famous for his painting depicting American soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima, as well as his long run as a pinup artist. Working in acrylic paint, Driben’s signature cover art drew emphasis to women’s legs, while also working in a range of vibrant colors.

Sexy Details

Pinup art is sexy, yes, but more importantly it is incredibly detailed in anatomy and overall composition prior to the days of photo models. Artists understood the subtle, sexy, details which make up a woman’s body, from the dimples in her lower back, to the innocence of her expression.
Artists also often played with perspective, making the composition even sexier depending on the particular model’s position. In the appreciation of sexy art, take notice of fine details that may normally go unnoticed, but would be certainly missed without.

For instance: the way the light hits the curves of the model’s body, wrinkling of clothing material, overall body position (arching, pointing, etc), shine on material/shoes, and the genuineness of expression.

Additional Cover Images

Resources

• The Pinup Page – 40′s and 50′s Pinup Art
• Peter Driben – Wikipedia
• Flirt Magazine Covers – The Pinup Page
• Peter Driben Pinup Cover Art – Flickr (set)