Bettie Page certainly defined the concept of a pinup in a way that had never been done before. To this day, she still has a cult following and there are Bettie look alikes still present in Hollywood (Dita von Teese has built her career off of the image of Bettie). It’s truly no surprise that she is the “Queen of Pinups.” She is one of the most iconic Playboy models and furthermore, Bettie paved a path forward for women’s empowerment in a way that was ahead of her time.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1923 as the second of six children and faced a life of great challenge at a young age, where her father was convicted of car theft, serving time in person and left Bettie to care for many of her siblings at a young age. Eventually, she was put into an orphanage with two of her sisters siblings for a year because her mother could no longer take care of all of the children while working two jobs. During her time in the orphanage, she dreamt with her sisters that they were Hollywood starlets.

During her teenage years, Bettie learned how to do makeup and to sew, which became an essential part of her pinup career, as she designed and created her pinup costumes much of the time. Bettie graduated high school top of her class and went on to college in hopes of becoming a teacher in Nashville. Her adventurous spirit led her otherwise… her path did not work out as a teacher and she moved to San Francisco to become a secretary and modeled on the side. She met a man who had a talent agency and he encouraged her to go to Hollywood.

She went for a screen test at 20th Century Fox which didn’t go as well as she would have hoped and she returned to San Francisco disappointed. She eventually returned to the south with her husband, Billy, who had returned from the war as a changed man. Their marriage crumbled and Bettie eventually moved to Miami to follow her dreams. She took a trip to Haiti for a few months which re-inspired her to pursue her career with a newfound zeal. She moved to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Bettie worked as secretary in New York for a couple of years and then in the Fall of 1950 she met a NYPD officer who offered to take her photos. That was officially the beginning of her pinup career, her photos started showing up on the covers of Harlem magazines. By 1955, she was a Playboy Playmate. Bettie was 32 years old when her career really took off.

Her career did falter though and not by her own doing. During a time of extreme sexual conservatism, she was called upon to testify in the Kefauver hearings for the US Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce where she was effectively intimidated and was urged to say one of the photographers she had posed for, Irving Klaw, was violating the law. This was untrue as there was no nudity in the photos that she had posed for and Bettie stood by that. The public pressure made Bettie buckle and she moved from New York City to Florida again. She stopped modeling and ignited an old flame in Florida and married Armond Walterson in 1958.

Bettie was almost 35 years old when she left modeling and left the public eye, wanting to focus on starting a family and settling down. Their marriage was sadly troubled as he was not as adventurous as she was and there was a large age gap, as he was much younger than her. They divorced in in 1963. During this marriage, Bettie converted to Christianity in 1959.

Bettie went on to spend many years attending Bible colleges and worked full time for the famous Rev. Billy Graham, leaving her fame as a pinup behind. She married Harry Lear in 1967 and their marriage also ended in divorce in 1972. There were significant custody problems with his ex-wife which sadly sabotaged their marriage in a circumstantial way.

By 1978, Bettie moved back to California to live with her brother Jimmy and around this time she was unfortunately diagnosed with mental illness and was held under state supervision for eight years. She would be released from that supervision in 1992 at the age of 69. Bettie only learned of her own icon status by 1992; she had been unaware of the fact that she had a large cult following until then. Bettie died at age of 85 of a heart attack. Bettie lives on by representing images of feminine allure and defying sexual oppression.

Often times, the spirit of hope is discarded. It’s seen as fragile in its nature and not enough for the masters of the future and it’s a sentiment rather than an act. Recently, Greta Thunberg referenced in one of her speeches on how hope will not be enough to change the outcomes of climate change. Surely, she is correct, but the power of hope is not to be discarded quickly. Hope is essential in prefacing an act to achieve an outcome.

Hope, in Greek mythology, is the last spirit in Pandora’s box. It’s Pandora’s gift of curiosity that is her downfall because she opens the box. It is debated to this day in philosophy if hope is actually the spirit of expectation. Regardless, the myth of Pandora’s box has persisted throughout history in a way that makes us consider the importance of hope. Given that this was the last spirit in her box, it is clear that Zeus did not seek to eradicate mankind by leaving Elpis (Hope) last in the box of horrors that Pandora opened out of her curiosity.

In my personal opinion, the psychology of hope is more than expectation, it’s a spirit which makes life more bearable as a gift for us all. An ancient symbol of hope is the anchor, which in its utility serves as a tool to weather storms and to prevent a ship from being swept away. The spirit of hope is grounding and with that in mind, the way Elpis has persisted throughout history is to stay. Hope is here for us, we must not rail against her, rather understand the spirit in which she helps us rise again.

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What is on my 2019 Holiday Gift Guide? This year, the pink and gold theme appealed to me and a number of quite feminine themes cropped up for the items that I curated here, some of these items are for everyday use and others are a bit more luxurious (the lovely dirndl from Krüger), though they are all within a relatively affordable price range! Make sure to share some rosiness with the special ones in your life. All items for purchase are linked below.

1. Sunny Gu’s paintings
2. An art deco style jewelry box with a butterfly from Amazon
3. Pearl hair accessories from SHEIN
4. A Krueger dirndl
5. Create & Cultivate’s 2020 planners and notebooks available at Target
6. Pink lucite retro style sunglasses available on Amazon
7. Smith’s Rosebud Salve
8. Michael Faudet’s new book, Cult of Two
9. The Rita Hayworth movie collection with introduction by Martin Scorcese
10. Besame Cosmetics Sleeping Beauty collection Briar Rose Blush Palette

There may not be a more American travel destination that Tybee Island, Georgia. The lesser known island is a classic all-American destination for travelers seeking the beaches of the Gulf Coast. The island is located right near Savannah and is well loved by Georgians. Georgia has a special place in my heart as it’s one of the handful of states in America that has a rich Austrian history, with Austrian culture still present. This island has a subtle charm to it, it does not have the glamour of Palm Beach, Florida, but it rivals its beauty.

Tybee has an interesting history. It was initially referred to as “Savannah Beach,” due to its close location to the city of Savannah but has since been referred back to its original name which references its Native American history – the Euchee tribe inhabited the island in years past and “Tybee” is the Euchee word for “salt.” The lighthouse on Tybee Island has been there since 1736! This is definitely one of America’s most historic lighthouses. During the late 19th century, residents of polluted cities would flock to the island as it has been considered a place to cure certain ailments such as asthma and certain allergies since there are clear saltwater breeze.

Sandra Bullock has a home on Tybee Island… you may just have an unexpected celebrity sighting or two. I think tourism in America is fascinating, there are so many places to see in such a large country that there are hidden gems such as the lovely Tybee Island to go find and enjoy!

“Why does the time have to change? Why do we have to change so drastically, too?  Time goes by to everybody.”

Anita Ekberg, most famous for her acting in the 1960 Italian film La Dolce Vita by Frederico Fellini is arguably one of the most underrated pinups of her time, living in the shadows of Marilyn Monroe’s fame, as did Jayne Mansfield. Anita and Jayne were actually friends. Anita described Marilyn Monroe as intelligent because “you need to be intelligent to know how to play dumb.” Anita was originally from Sweden, gaining attention and opportunity through winning the Miss Sweden competition, which brought her the opportunity to visit the United States to compete in the Miss Universe competition in 1951. Though she did not win Miss Universe, Anita won a film contract with Universal Studios Hollywood.

Universal Studios unfortunately dropped her after six months as she preferred to spend time horseback riding rather than pursuing large film roles. Her time in Hollywood was not without its challenges, though. She experienced harsh physical critique that was unfair as she was stunningly beautiful.

Anita famously described how Howard Huges suggested that she get plastic surgery to change her nose and also suggested that she change her name to be more like the ladies in Hollywood at the time and Anita refused, believing that either she will be famous for being herself or she will not be famous. During a time where pinups altered their natural looks (Jayne Mansfield dying her brunette locks to Marilyn style bottle blonde) and Rita Hayworth having significant changes done, from her name being changed (Margarita Cansino to Rita Hayworth) to dying her raven hair to red and having her hair line altered in a painful procedure.

In a time where beauty standards defined much of Hollywood’s starlets success, it was remarkable that Anita stayed so headstrong in being as natural as she could be. Both of Anita’s marriages were to actors and neither of those marriages lasted. She did not have a child and made a contradictory statements in interviews regarding if she would have wanted a child. Anita’s last years in Italy were unfortunate, in 2011, her home in Rome was robbed and badly burned in a fire while she was in the hospital for hip surgery. She ultimately applied for financial help from the Fellini Foundation and that foundation was not doing financially well, either. Anita was not well in her last years. Anita passed away on January 11, 2015 at the age of 83 from complications of prolonged illness. She is buried in Sweden.

The age in which Anita became a star was dominated by chauvinism and womanizing behaviors. Anita Ekberg manuevered Hollywood in her own way and became a legend in her own way.

“I have loved, cried, been mad with happiness. I have won and I have lost.”

I think the drugstore is a great place to find some of your essential beauty finds. There are so many drugstore beauty essentials that I rely on – for example, I almost never buy designer mascara (occasionally I will splurge on Clinique’s High Impact Extreme Volume mascara). I am almost always inclined to buy L’Oreal’s Voluminous lash or any Covergirl mascara. Mascara isn’t the only deal in the beauty department… Read on for what I save by going to the drugstore for! You can create quite a comprehensive beauty toolkit when you know what products work best from the drugstore.

The ocean is extremely powerful. It’s so powerful and has such incredible potential for food sustainability and yet it’s talked about so little in global discourse unless when brought into the conversation related to climate change (rightfully so). Yet, there are ways in which we can work to advocate for the ocean and this can be done more specifically at the policy level (Oceana is headquartered in Washington D.C. for a reason).

I think during times when we must fight for our rights on a deeply existential level, it almost goes without saying that working to protect nature, and with nature, the ocean, is fundamentally important in ensuring that we are able to live the most sustainable future possible.

Our oceans face major problems today and there is no one entity that truly oversees the mitigation of the harm that’s being done to it. The most important step in working towards ensuring there are policies made in favor of the longevity of the ocean’s health is education about the ocean and the problems it’s facing. These problems include pollution, offshore drilling, ocean acidification, and over fishing. While some of these issues have points of no return in the outcomes that are caused by these issues, there are opportunities for policies to be created to ensure that further erosion of the ocean’s health does not happen at the bare minimum.

In theory, if the ocean is restored, it could feed up to 1 billion people a healthy seafood meal per day. That does a lot for sustainability in the food supply chain to say the least. Working towards food sustainability may start with our oceans. That’s just one of the many, many reasons that we need to continue to fight for our oceans. We have been taking its health for granted and that’s not acceptable anymore. Our oceans deserve to be treated better and we will certainly see more detrimental consequences if we don’t act quickly.

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Today is the one year anniversary of Rosy BVM and I am so thankful for all who have helped to make this blog everything that it is today. I am especially grateful for the people who have supported and cheered me on to keep writing here and sharing out all that I think is rosy in the world, since rosiness is something we need to continue cultivating in challenging times.

For those who have allowed me the privilege of interviewing them, thank you, I have learned so much from each one of you and think all of you embody the “rosy life,” as you bring so much passion and goodness to all of the amazing work that you do. I am passionate about learning from the many different people who boldly choose to pursue their life’s dreams and work to make their dreams a reality.

You can find all of my Interviews under the Interviews tab or right here at rosybvm.com/interviews.

I began this website as an opportunity to share things that are on my mind and it quickly evolved into a place that could also serve to inspire those around me as well. To those who read Rosy BVM and follow this blog, thank you for reading all of these blog posts (over 100 posts now) and sharing your thoughts and feedback. It means so much to me.

To those who are joining me in living the rosy life, I am thrilled to have you join me. It’s solidarity that works towards making the world a better place and we need solidarity, collaboration, and rosiness more than ever. Join me into this second year of Rosy BVM.

xx Bianca

Confectionary goods across of Austria are incredible. Demel in Vienna is the signature confectionary bakery that illustrates Austria’s world class abilities in baking. As you can see above, the aesthetic is also very unique: large pieces of fruit adorn the cakes and the frosting is intentionally imperfect, as there is no need to make frosting on a cake perfect as I think the imperfections of the frosting make the cake appear more edible and enticing that way. Demel is a coffee house and bakery that has been in business for more than 200 years, having served the Imperial family of Austria in years past. Demel represents all of the delicious culture that Austria has to offer.

Demel is certainly a traditional cafe, and yet with all of its history, its continued presence and popularity stems from how the culture of the coffee house for socialization purposes, as well as their unparalleled baking which will always resonate with natives as well as tourists from all over the world. When you are in Vienna, you must try the infamous Sachertorte and during your trip to Demel, otherwise your trip would not be complete. Perhaps, you can try the Sachertote from Sacher Hotels and compare while you are at it. Comparisons never tasted so sweet.

Princess Aurora, better known as Sleeping Beauty, was Walt Disney’s last foray into the Princess genre. He first began with Snow White (1937), which he poured his life savings into, then releasing Cinderella in 1950, and then Sleeping Beauty, released in 1959. The Walt Disney Company would not explore the genre again until the release of The Little Mermaid in 1989, which surely ushered in a new era of Disney Princess with Princess Ariel. (A fun fact: the first appearance of mermaids in Disney animation was in Peter Pan!) The opening of Disneyland coincided with the release and marketing of the film Sleeping Beauty, which was an opportune moment to create a castle in honor of her, though Walt initially wanted the castle to be in honor of Snow White, his first Princess (who also happens to be in a deep sleep).

Princess Aurora, on the other hand, was widely criticized for being portrayed as one dimensional; she is sleeping for much of the film… but she does speak very little when she is not asleep, which prompted criticism. To this end, Disney was harshly criticized for making Aurora seem “flat” and too similar to Snow White, such as having close relationships with the woodland creatures, as did Snow White.

To me, criticizing Aurora is like criticizing women in a way and it’s not nice. Her character is raised in a matriarchal household, which is unlike almost every Disney film and it is worth noting since three single female fairies lovingly raise her in exile in the woods. The music in Sleeping Beauty is also noteworthy as it is adapted from Tchaikovsky’s ballet. Opera singer Mary Costa was allowed to voice Aurora as she was able to sustain a British accent for the duration of the film.

While Aurora is arguably the most harshly critiqued Disney Princess, she is likely the heart of the entire Disney brand. There is something more magical about Disneyland having its heart centered around a “sleeping beauty,” than if it were in honor of Snow White, whose tale is on the spookier side. I interpret Sleeping Beauty as a quiet and subtle reminder of our own mortality. She is also the most classical image of a Princess as there could be: Aurora resides in the countryside of Medieval England, where she wears pink, and has regal image about her.

It is no surprise to me that Besame Cosmetics recently released a limited edition Sleeping Beauty collection that is in collaboration with Disney. Gabriela Hernandez was given access to the Walt Disney Archives and color matched her cosmetics line to the exact colors used in the film. Princess Aurora is Walt’s last Princess that we can all appreciate in all of her classic beauty…