VBB 324 Body Positive Pin-Up Culture!

Intro [00:00:01]:

Virgin Beauty Podcast: Inspiring women to overcome social stereotypes and share unique life experiences without fear of being defiantly different,

your hosts, Christopher and Heather.

Let's talk, shall we?

Christopher [00:00:20]:

Contribution: philanthropy, giving back, paying it forward, and community building are all valued human traits and behaviors. But what if we could combine all these virtues with the allure and celebration of the female body? What a thought. Well, we just happen to have someone who has found a way to merge all of the above. We welcome the editor-in-chief of True North Pin-up magazine, Carrie Lugin, to Virgin Beauty. Bitch. Welcome, Carrie.

Keri Looijen [00:00:52]:

Thank you for having me.

Christopher [00:00:53]:

Oh, it's our pleasure to have you. Now, Carrie, we'll be getting into the magazine and all the amazing projects that you've initiated, but I'm blown away by how consistent you are and always wanting to make life better for others and building community. I wish everyone could be like that. But what drives you, like, what took your life in this direction, do you believe?

Keri Looijen [00:01:15]:

My first marriage. So, I was married for quite a while to a man who was not great, and he was abusive. When I left, I couldn't find any support and what I needed; it really started the fire to start driving me forward to helping others so they can find the support and empowerment that they need. And community. Community is huge.

Christopher [00:01:41]:

So that is what propelled you in this direction in your life.

Keri Looijen [00:01:45]:

When I first left, I had joined a pin-up contest, and this was, like, my first dive into it. It was 2017, and there was a pin-up contest in our small town during the car show. And I was like, oh, I have a cherry dress. I'm gonna join this. And he was like, absolutely not. He was really mad.

Keri Looijen [00:02:06]:

So he ended up leaving to go to the cars, and I threw on my cherry dress and my giant polka dot, red and white heels, and ran across town to join this pin-up contest. And it was the first time, I think, that I was ever surrounded by a group of women who were all there, and they all cheered each other on. It was inspiring to watch, but it wasn't something because we all have really good girlfriends who would cheer us on. But it was very small and little things, but to have a group, there were 20 of them, and they were the loudest cheerleaders for each other. And you could hear them prep each other before. You're gonna do great. Oh, you did so good. Like, look what you did.

Keri Looijen [00:02:47]:

It was fantastic. And so that was the little start to it. And the next year when I actually moved back to Calgary, we ended up talking to some of the women in the community and started going out four car shows a week. And I found a tribe of women who are incredible and the most supportive. I don't know what I would do without them now.

Heather [00:03:12]:

Wow, that is really something powerful because you saw something that was of specific interest to you and something that you were, you know, jazzed to be a part of, to have someone who, you know, is meant to, you know, love and support you. And of course, you know, know that's just not the reality for so many of us to say, no way, that's, that's not happening. That's not what you're doing. And you finding that fire within to say, well, screw that, I'm out.

Keri Looijen [00:03:46]:

Yeah, it was great. He took it as left field and I was like, oh, this has been building for so long. But when I left, there was no, I had two kids, and I hadn't been working full time, I needed support, and I couldn't. I didn't have any. So we initially looked at the women's shelters in Calgary and there was a three-month waiting list. And so I had two kids, nowhere to go.

Keri Looijen [00:04:10]:

Thankfully, my parents opened up their two bedrooms in their basements for the three of us and the dog, which we were really thankful for. And I don't think that any woman should be turned away from a shelter. When you need that support, you need it. So that's where I, that's where we keep driving towards supporting women's shelters.

Christopher [00:04:30]:

What is the name of the project that you've built?

Keri Looijen [00:04:36]:

So we started it as Rides for Relief. And it was my best friend and I who, to celebrate my one year free, my counselor at the time said, you should plan a party. I was like, oh, I plan parties. And I'm like, I'm spending a ton of money on food. And we have this big open house. Like, it's gonna be massive. I don't have the money for that. So instead, we hosted a car show and we called it Rides for Relief.

Keri Looijen [00:04:59]:

That was in 2018, and we ran until 2020 when we did an online Covid Pin-up contest where we raised over $10,000. And then now she's in Didsbury, and I'm in Drumheller. So we're, we're an hour away. It's really hard to make some of those big car shows work. So, I've revamped it into Heels and Hearts Initiative. And so far, in the last four months, we've raised $5,500 for the women's shelter here in Drumheller, which really struggled with some funding challenges last year.

Keri Looijen [00:05:33]:

So we're going to keep the momentum going. We're going to host a Miss Gracious pin-up contest at the Drumheller Car show here, where all the pin-ups go out and fundraise and then bring it all back. And we help support the women in the community.

Christopher [00:05:46]:

And the magazine, how did that fit in? How did that dovetail into what you're doing?

Keri Looijen [00:05:53]:

Oh, that was ADHD field ambition. I wanted to promote what we were doing with Rides for Relief. And there was no Canadian magazine. Everything was in the States. And while the state's publications are very beautiful, there's not a lot of content. It's a lot of pictures of really pretty women doing all of the beautiful posing and really great photography and incredible sets, but there's not a lot of meat to it. And I really wanted to have the meat and share stories and start building kind of a platform where we can all connect. So that was the drive.

Heather [00:06:31]:

That is so cool. There's something about pin-up style that feels so much more than just vintage fashion. It feels like it's about attitude. It's embracing curves and confidence with a little bit of rebellion. So with that kind of what you just said, saying that it's much more than snapping these amazing pictures. Can you share with our listeners? Like with the meat on the potatoes, the content that you're talking about, that you're really passionate about.

Keri Looijen [00:06:57]:

So Pin-Up is for every-body. It's not just for every person or just for the skinny women. It is for everybody in between. And the way that the dresses feel, you feel good, you feel empowered, you feel stronger in the dresses or even if you're in the jumpsuits, you feel really good about yourself because of the way that everything fits. It's meant to fit so many people. The meat and potatoes of the magazine is that I previously had them write a bio about who they were and why they came in a pin-up. And then in this last edition, which was our Queens and Crowns edition, where all of the Canadian pin-up queens from various different pin-up contests across the country got to submit. I asked them questions, and I took, I think it was about 15 questions, and I pulled out of them.

Keri Looijen [00:07:48]:

Like, how did it actually make you feel? What does it mean to win a crown? How would you use that to further your platform and increase your empowerment within your communities? Because it is coast to coast to coast. We had some really good quotes pulled out of it.

Christopher [00:08:04]:

Is there a, can you see a connecting tissue to these women?

Keri Looijen [00:08:09]:

I do. I find that the connecting tissue between all of us is we all had to look for that community. We are all craving community. We're natural community members, and we're a community society. But we've been very isolated within ourselves. In our homes, our suburbs and all the different places that we live, and just to bring each other together to have one thing in common. If it's just we really like to play dress up, then that's what it is. We like the victory rules. We like the nostalgia; personally, I feel women are incredible. Like, the hairdos take forever, but they're so incredible when you pull them off. And it's just that finding a community of the odd little ducks like yourself.

Heather [00:08:59]:

That is so cool. I feel that, you know, there are different outlets for women to feel this way. But, you know, some of the. Some of the messages are always contradicting for women. Some of them tell us to shrink ourselves or be effortlessly beautiful, but not too much. I feel like True North Pin-Up says, screw that. Take up space. Be loud. Be as glamorous as you want.

Heather [00:09:26]:

Take as long as you want with that hairstyle that you're gonna rock. Can you speak to some of that experience, of the transformation that women go through and what that does for them?

Keri Looijen [00:09:36]:

Yeah, absolutely. It is about living bold because we are told to shrink ourselves and dim our shine and be quieter and to do all of these things and showing up when you are dressed up, and you have petticoats on and you have sparkles and you have victory rolls and giant hair flowers and you have jewelry or anything. You will always show up overdressed to every event. And it's really not a bad thing. I actually had a conversation at the Drumheller Women in Business last week about being bold and building your confidence, and it is about taking those steps. And it's, you know, imposter syndrome. Everybody has it, but we move through that by taking steps forward instead of letting the imposter syndrome freeze us.

Keri Looijen [00:10:23]:

It's about being bold. I've gone grocery shopping in evening gowns. You know, it makes my kids a little embarrassed sometimes, but it's fine.

Christopher [00:10:31]:

I love that.

Heather [00:10:33]:

I love that so much.

Keri Looijen [00:10:35]:

Yeah, like, you know, 1940s Rita Hayworth, big high heels, long evening gown, and opera gloves, and you're in the produce section. It's fantastic.

Christopher [00:10:44]:

What does that feel like for you? Is that who you used to be? And has, how has it transitioned?

Keri Looijen [00:10:51]:

So, I was always the tomboy. I never learned to walk in high heels as a kid. I remember my brother's wedding, I was 15, and my sister and I were candlelighters. The night before the wedding, my grandmother had me walking laps in the hotel so I could figure out how to walk in high heels and didn't look like a trucker. I was like soccer cleats. I was flat shoes, I was runners, I was always running and climbing and moving. I think I learned how to walk in high heels when I was in my 30s and actually like stand up straight walking.

Keri Looijen [00:11:24]:

It was never really one for me. And when I was married, I really, it was all struggle buns and yoga pants and, you know, big hoodies and I never felt good about myself.

Christopher [00:11:35]:

So all this time, this woman, this little girl, was in there waiting to burst out.

Keri Looijen [00:11:42]:

Yeah, I played dress up a bit as a kid, but it wasn't anything this big and this powerful that I would actually wear it out of the house. It was always like, you know, our neighborhood friends in the basement, we were always playing dress up and running plays. And as we did in the 80s and early 90s before we had technology, but it was, it's become so much more now, which is great.

Heather [00:12:08]:

Yeah. I feel like when people first hear pin-up, they think of those old World War II posters. But there's a lot more to it because it feels like pin-up started as playful kind of morale-boosting photos for a challenging time in history that celebrated curves. And then it got, I think, it feels like it got more tied into a rebellion. And women owning their sexuality and owning their bodies in a way that how they want to project them or display them. How would you feel that things have shifted from your standpoint of what pin-up started off as being and what you're experiencing of it now?

Keri Looijen [00:12:48]:

Oh yeah. Pin-up was definitely for the men back then. And any magazine that had photos of women, even in True North, we will have the Elvgren style imagery in the magazine, or we'll do cheesecake photos where it is like the feet in the air and on the back and the posing. Because every time you do that, you have to say prunes. It gives you the best mouth shake.

Heather [00:13:18]:

Nice. That is an insider tip. I love it.

Keri Looijen [00:13:24]:

And even when I started the magazine, my mom called it a smut magazine. She's like, I can't believe you're posting. You're making this like a smut magazine. I was like, Mom, most of my followers are women. Like, almost 90% of my following is women.

Keri Looijen [00:13:41]:

None of this had anything to do with men or the male gaze. This is what we do for us and what we do for each other. So we'll get together and there will be girls that will have the matching dresses, and we'll dress up together. And it's way less about the male gaze now. Like, we don't really do a whole lot for the male gaze and the narrow boxes.

Heather [00:14:07]:

Yeah. It feels like you and these women are owning your own image and projecting in the way that you want to into the world, sexual or otherwise.

Keri Looijen [00:14:17]:

Yeah, absolutely. A lot of the women I know through the community used to be punks. So crazy hair and the punk rockabilly and pin-up scene all kind of flow and end together. So it's really interesting because you can pull different aspects from different genres into what you're wearing. So it's not just petticoats and floof you know, sometimes it's crazy hair and more of the rockabilly style, which is a lot of fun.

Keri Looijen [00:14:49]:

So, yeah, it's just whatever feels good and feels right.

Christopher [00:14:53]:

What I find really amazing is that what you're doing it's not just isolated. There are pockets like this all over the globe. Do you get a chance to connect to other groups that are doing the same thing?

Keri Looijen [00:15:07]:

Yeah, we do across Canada. I'm very connected with Ontario. We're starting to branch out into Quebec, where I'm sponsoring one of their pin-up contests with prizing. We've had pin-ups from the East Coast which come out for it. There's also one in Las Vegas every year. They have Viva Las Vegas, which is a massive rockabilly weekend. And there's a huge car show and international pin-ups that compete in that contest. And it's almost a week that most people go down. I haven't been able to go down yet, but there's one day that I'll get down there. But a lot of the community go down there every year. And you make friends worldwide.

Keri Looijen [00:15:48]:

So, yeah, I reached out, and we had someone in Canada, in the Calgary area. She was from South Africa, and she ended up getting stuck here right at the beginning of COVID. She floated in our community a little bit. She was a dress designer, so she had a whole different aspect that she brought with her, which was interesting. She was able to finally go home after, I think, 10 or 11 months. But we have all the little pockets everywhere.

Christopher [00:16:18]:

So, okay, I'm sitting on the sofa at home, and I'm listening to this, and I'm intrigued. What do I do? How do I get involved in this?

Keri Looijen [00:16:27]:

Oh, you want to get involved. So we have events that we've run all year round. There are events in BC and Alberta. I'm doing one in Saskatchewan, there's one in Manitoba, Toronto, Quebec and there's a couple on the East Coast. So it is coast to coast. We haven't really touched some of the Territories, but it's pretty cold up there. So there are events everywhere, and there's a group of women. If you follow us on Instagram or Facebook, we tend to try and connect people. So if you're like, hey, I'm her,e and I am from, I don't know, Yorkton, Saskatchewan, we'll be like, hey, we have an event coming up.

Keri Looijen [00:17:04]:

There's most likely someone from Saskatchewan or two, and maybe you can meet up and just have a coffee, or go out and have a picnic, or start your own little event out there. And it's just, it's about finding that community. So, I'm running the World of Wheels pin-up contest next month in Calgary. And if anyone would like to register, we have registrations open till March 1st. If you're ready to take that step or just come out and watch one of the car shows and watch the pin-up contest, come have a conversation at the booth. There's a huge community of women that are, with open arms, super accepting. You'll see us, all shapes, all sizes. There's some very short ones, there's some very tall ones, and they probably all walk better in high heels than I do. We're still trying to figure it out.

Heather [00:17:56]:

I love that, that sense of community and really cheering each other on is just, it's a game changer. So that's, that's really beautiful. And I feel like from what you've said, you know, bringing that pin-up confidence into our daily lives when we're walking around, and you know you've gone through this transformation in your own life, what have you found in that experience? I know that community has meant a big deal to you. What other pieces have you pulled from the pin-up experience that you bring into your everyday life.

Keri Looijen [00:18:26]:

Into almost every day because I definitely don't get done up every day. I work in marketing. I'm usually behind a computer. Generally, though, it's a bold lip. At the very least, like, I'll put on red lipstick. Especially now because it is such a symbol of resistance. Like the women during World War II, when they were building bombs, were wearing red lipstick.

Keri Looijen [00:18:52]:

It's such a status symbol of resistance, or it's just. And so that bold red, you know, they never liked that World War II mustache man. But we wear it all the time, my head up and understanding who I am. And still, even still, if I'm in the grocery store with a struggle bun and yoga pants and a hoodie, I still take up space, and I hold my chin up and I stand up straight. It's not. I'm not hiding anymore.

Christopher [00:19:26]:

That is so incredibly powerful.

Keri Looijen [00:19:29]:

Yeah, it's really difficult. Like, if you even just sit up straight and put your shoulders back a little, it shifts how you feel because suddenly, there's more blood rushing into your heart. You can feel it. It's just different.

Heather [00:19:45]:

That's what I've heard from women who have gone down this path as well, is there's something about the posture that you get into when you're in the pin-up girl outfit and how you feel in that, you know, chin up, shoulders back, owning however you're wanting to present your body at that moment. And even the bright red lipstick as a bold expression of yourself. That feeling, that's something that they bring into every day without needing to be, you know feeling like you need to be done up all the time. But just how you're presenting from the inside out made a really big difference.

Keri Looijen [00:20:23]:

Yeah. It's the authenticity inside pulling that out. Yeah. It always feels good. And I generally have a vintage purse or something. I have a collection of purses, so I always, like, pull, like, a little piece in if it's my jewelry or if it's, like, just my purse and I'm carrying around something that is from the 70s, and it's wooden, and it's a little purse that has shag carpet in the bottom that nobody will ever see. But I know that there's 1960s shag carpet in it because it's hilarious.

Keri Looijen [00:20:58]:

Yeah. I usually get little girls that come up to me and go, are you a princess? I'm like, oh, but you can be. It's really cute. It's a lot of fun.

Heather [00:21:12]:

So cute. Yeah, I love that. Well, building off of that we love to ask our guests, especially with this huge transition that you've gone through in your personal life and the ways that you've seen that in so many other women's lives through pin-up. What does feminine mean to you?

Keri Looijen [00:21:34]:

That's a good question and the one that I struggled with the most because feminine means so many things, but it also means not just sitting in society's roles that they have, but finding out what it means inside and projecting that into your outer world. We're not the feminine that, you know, we're 1950s values and we should all be in the kitchen and we should, you know, dress up for when her husband comes home and, you know, put your face on and clean the house and raise the children. That's not what it's about. It is very much about owning who you are as a person, and being bold, and taking steps that aren't generally seen as the societal narrow-mindedness. We're taking big, bold steps in really killer shoes. We have sparkle and we bring it. And it's so much more than just being a woman. It's being bold in who you are.

Christopher [00:22:43]:

Now, yourself as a tomboy. Projecting out into your future. Is this the person you would have thought you would become?

Keri Looijen [00:22:54]:

Never. Not once. Not once. I, I did try and like play dress up a little bit in high school, and I kind of played with the goth idea, but then I would never color my hair, and I was too blonde, and I was, you know, it was all of those things. I never in a million years thought I would be comfortable in dresses and in high heels.

Christopher [00:23:16]:

So, what was your thought process as to what feminine meant to you then?

Keri Looijen [00:23:25]:

I think feminine meant more, it was what I looked like, and I would dress feminine. It was like the societal ideas of what feminine is, whereas it shifted so much more to this inner empowerment. So, yeah, I think tomboy me was like, no, there's no chance. No chance.

Christopher [00:23:46]:

Well, we're happy to have your perspective on that because feminine is the foundation of what Heather and I have built Virgin Beauty Bitch on and the perception that you had about what it should be and what it is you're living. That's the separation and that's the distinction we're attempting to make in having these conversations and asking that question. So, thank you for participating and being so absolutely, profoundly clear on that differentiation. Thank you so much for that.

Keri Looijen [00:24:21]:

You're very welcome. Thank you for having these conversations. I think when you find someone that starts having these conversations and you start hearing it, you'll resonate with these little pieces throughout every episode. That's when you go, no, and you start to reevaluate what it actually means. When we reevaluate what it means to ourselves, then we start talking about it in our groups and we start pushing that message out further that there is a definition, there is a differentiation, and how everybody defines it is different.

Heather [00:24:55]:

That is wonderful. So if folks want to, and I know you shared some ways that people can get involved, but if you could just do one final piece of information for where they can find you. How they can get in touch would be wonderful.

Keri Looijen [00:25:08]:

Absolutely. We have TrueNorthPinup.ca, which is our website, which has all of our events subscribed calendars. We have a shop launched there. You can buy all the magazines. I really recommend the latest edition, but if you want to give back to the Heels and Hearts initiative, we're selling hard copies of our previous edition from 2024, with partial proceeds going to the women's shelter here. We also have events, which you will find out about on the website or through our social media, on Facebook and Instagram. I'm also dabbling in TikTok. Not super consistent, but dabbling.

Keri Looijen [00:25:43]:

I am there, and it's all at True North Pin-Up.

Christopher [00:25:48]:

Fantastic. Carrie, this has been so much fun.

Keri Looijen [00:25:53]:

This is my very first podcast. I

Christopher [00:26:00]:

You're no longer a podcasting virgin.

Keri Looijen [00:26:03]:

No, no longer.

Heather [00:26:05]:

We were there for you on that one.

Christopher [00:26:13]:

Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I'm really glad you reached out to us because this has been so much fun to talk to you. Thank you so much.

Keri Looijen [00:26:22]:

It's such an honor.

Heather [00:26:24]:

Well, we look forward to attending your shows. I can't wait to get my copy of the latest calendar and give some proceeds to last year's calendar as well because I think that is a tremendous way to give back. And I totally agree with what you said previously that no person should be turned away from a shelter. And I know that they struggle to find enough funding. So that's a fantastic way to give back.

Keri Looijen [00:26:49]:

Yeah.

Christopher [00:26:50]:

So, if I wanted to have Heather done pin-up style, where could we send her?

Keri Looijen [00:26:56]:

So you're in Toronto, so not this weekend, but next weekend at Motorama. Ms. Susie will be there with Susie's Bombshell boutique. She is running the pin-up contest there. But she also has a shop in Port Dover, and she is incredible. So she'll be.

Heather [00:27:14]:

I'm in.

Keri Looijen [00:27:16]:

She'll film it.

Christopher [00:27:18]:

We'll do, we'll do a show in your full. In your full pin-up.

Keri Looijen [00:27:23]:

I reached out to Jan Arden on TikTok because she was trending, and I was like, Jan, you're playing a show in my hometown. Like, I think I should interview you for the magazine. And then her publicist reached out. They're like, what were you thinking? I was like, I want to dress her like a Pin-up girl. That's option one. Option two, we'll just do a Zoom call.

Heather [00:27:44]:

Right? If I have full creative expression, then we'll go in this direction. Let's go. Yeah.

Christopher [00:27:50]:

Fantastic.

Keri Looijen [00:27:51]:

Good for you.

Christopher [00:27:51]:

Good for you. I hope you get that.

Keri Looijen [00:27:53]:

You too. Fingers crossed.

Christopher [00:27:56]:

Kerry, thank you so much for spending this time with us. We wish you nothing, nothing but absolute success in the initiatives that you've started because they're all so from the heart. We love that.

Keri Looijen [00:28:09]:

Oh, thank you so much. Thank you.

Christopher [00:28:12]:

And you have been listening to...

Heather [00:28:13]:

The Virgin, the Beauty, and the Bitch.

Christopher [00:28:16]:

Find us, Like us, Share us. Bring your friends. Let's do some pin-up work together. To become a partner in the VBB community, we invite you to find us @VirginBeautyBitch.com. Like us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and share us with people who are defiantly different like you. Until next time, thanks for listening.