Interview With Lolita Haze

by Cary

While most of the current crop of Pinup Models and Burlesque Performers are influenced by Bettie Page, Lolita Haze draws inspiration from the classic Hollywood style of Marylin Monroe.

Classic pinup has become a huge phenomena lately, what about it first captured your interest?

I remember being knee high to a grasshopper and finding 2 deck of cards. One was a nudie cuties deck and the other one was a fetish deck. I remember always looking at the nudie cuties deck and liking the photos. It wasn't about the nudity... it was more about the pretty ladies posing and smiling and making silly faces. The fetish deck on the other hand, intrigued me because I didn't understand it and to this day I am quite terrified of ball gags. The fetish deck was more about curiosity, while the nudie cuties deck just made me smile. It was simple and they were pretty. The deck just was.

As I got older I found I was always a sexually expressive youngin' which is funny considering I didn't lose my virginity until I was with my now ex-husband. It was this sexually expressive nature along with my love of the 1940's and 1950's that drew me to the classic pinups. In high school I had a major love for Bettie Page. I thought she was the cat's pajamas!! But back then no one around my age really knew who she was. My love for Bettie has faded a bit since it seems like every gal out there wants to be Bettie Page. After high school I really started to get into vintage and pinups I found myself more attracted to the art of pinup and the movie star pinups -- less so to the models of the era.

Once I started performing Burlesque, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for me to play pinup without having to be a "model".

What I like most about the classic pinup is the innocent beauty of the figure. It was about the playful poses, silly story-lines, and physical appreciation. It wasn't about sex. Girls weren't posed like they were wanting you to pounce on them (like many girlie photos of today), it was a tease... "Here's I am", "I look good", "here's a little leg", "wouldn't you like to see more", "all you get to do is look".

What do you think about pinup becoming part of the mainstream culture?

Pinup becoming part of mainstream culture is a bit of a hit and miss for me. Part of me is excited... beauty like pinup should be shared with the world! On the other hand, most people this they can just whip it together and make it look retro pinup and they fail miserably. Unfortunately since the greater population doesn't know vintage pinup, they see these badly executed versions and think that is what pinup is.

What is it that excites you about pinup modeling?

I just want to clarify something first before I answer this question. I do not think of myself as a pinup model. A pinup, maybe, but not a model. The difference to me is Bettie Page and Marilyn Monroe. Bettie was primarily a model -- a pinup model. That was her job. She modeled to produce a product (the image). While I am aware that Marilyn started out as a model, once she became a movie star, her primary role was just that, a movie star, so from that point all her pinups became more about promotion than product. Promoting herself as a movie star or promoting the movie she was in.

Now with that said (and I hope it made sense), what excites me most about my pinups is creating sweet, pretty photos. A toned down version of the glamorous Burlesque photos I have done. I would like to start doing more of the silly storyline photos that were in the old girlie rags. It is also fun for me to create photos that promote my image as a performer.

Are there any other creative mediums you work in?

Burlesque is my passion of passions. I took a brief hiatus from Burlesque to work on another creative endeavor, but now it looks like I am getting back into the shimmy and shake of Burlesque. A bit sooner than I had hoped, but it makes me happy none-the-less.

I also started to work behind the camera. Taking photos of women in pinup and classic Hollywood glamor styles. I find this to be just as exciting as my own pinups -- if not more so, because I can see how happy they are when they receive their photos!

What are your favorite types of outfits to model in?

My favorite outfits to model in is vintage clothing for sure. Stockings, girdles, and bras. I would like to do more work with corsets. I am really up for anything fashion wise.

What are your least favorites?

I do not think I have a least favorite outfit. I know my Burlesque costumes can sometimes be a pain because there are so many layers, but in the end I find it all quite worth it when the final photos are produced.

What kind of music do you like?

When it comes to what kind of music I like, I will admit it, I like bubble gum pop. Yes, I am a big fan of the Spice Girls and Britney Spears, Hilary Duff, and I think I may even like Miley Cyrus. I know, Miley has me hanging my head in shame. Other than that I love the 80's. 80's music is probably the greatest for me as a genre. Whether it be new wave, hair bands, freestyle, pop, ballads, rock, the 80's hold a special place in my heart. I also love music from the 1930's and 1940's, swing in particular. I am more drawn to artists than genres though. Madonna, Chris Isaak, Gwen Stefani, Sophie B. Hawkins, and the Spice Girls are always in constant rotation on my cd player.

What do you like to do for fun?

For fun I love to swing dance. I have been east coast swinging for a few years and now I am starting to lindy. I absolutely love it! I also like to spend time with my closest girlfriends and check out a local rockabilly band. I am also notoriously lazy. A girlfriend of mine gave me the nickname La Floja because of how lazy I am, so spending time at home with my dogs watching my Judge shows keeps me content.

See more of Lolita Haze at:

http://www.myspace.com/lolitahaze

See more of Lolita Haze at:

http://www.myspace.com/lolitahaze