Sometimes you just have to close your eyes, take a deep breath and leap. That’s exactly what I did when I entered this years Pinup Doll Australia competition and wow what a journey it’s been so far. In this blog post, I will discuss my preparation so far, share some of my struggles and talk about my chosen charity.

If you have been following my Facebook and Instagram, you will know all about my Pinup Doll Australia adventure. Pinup Doll Australia is a national competition created by pinups for pinups. All entrants are looked at equally with no marks given for the perfect body or general beauty; one thing that really drew me to this competition is that they didn’t have a set of expectations for what a pinup should be. Pinup Doll Australia allows entrants to express their own idea of what a pinup is; this levels the playing field as each entrant has their own style and interpretation of the classic style. They are also openly supportive of the LGBT community and local charities.

As part of the competition, entrants are asked to choose and support a charity and raise money over a few months. I have chosen Endometriosis Australia as I have struggled with Endometriosis for most of my life. Although I have done lots of charity work, I haven’t started from scratch and worked generally on my own to raise funds for a cause. So far I have found it exciting, challenging and a great learning experience. Living with Endometriosis means that I struggle to live a normal life day to day. Somedays I can’t even sit up from the pain and other days Im fine. An invisible illness is the hardest, sometimes I can’t give up my bus seat to someone else as I know if I stand I’ll be ill and you get a few dirty looks from people wondering why I am not standing although I look able. I hope to write a post about my life with Endometriosis very soon.

If you would like to donate to my charity, please click the link here.

To help raise funds for my charity, I am hosting three major events; Miss MonMon’s Charity Cocktail night, Miss MonMon’s Laser Blaze night and Miss MonMon’s Ladies High Tea. Each of these events are designed to be different because not each Endometriosis sufferer is the same. The Cocktail night will have a relaxed and entertaining atmosphere with live music, burlesque performances and local talent, personalities and celebrities attending. The night gives a chance to relax, unwind and spend time together. The Laser Blaze event is more male centred as I found my Endometriosis also effects my partner. This event gives people a chance to let loose, have some fun and enjoy a sport. Not many pinup events are so active so its also something different for our partners to be dragged along to. Finally, the ladies high tea will be a small, intimate affair which creates a safe space to discuss gynaecological concerns, openly ask questions and gives me a chance to educate and entertain. I will also be testing my baking skills so no pressure.

Apart from events, I am also selling small enamel ‘cuterus’ pins for $8. If you would like to purchase one and are happy to organise a meet up, please donate $8 with a note on my online donation page. If you require shipping, please add an additional $4 to the donation to cover costs and message me your address on my Facebook page. Donation link here.

Pinup Doll Australia and all it’s finalists are so lucky to have the love and support from heaps of sponsors who so generously donate their time and prizes to all entrants and finalists from Pinup Doll Australia All Stars. At first I was a bit nervous about discussing companies I hadn’t interacted with as I never want to be the type of influencer that does shout out to companies and products they don’t agree to. I was so happy to find that every single company had amazing products, ethics and morals. For the past few months, I have been slowly promoting each sponsors on my Facebook focusing on products that I absolutely love, find really unique and quirky, and have even purchased myself. As I have been slowly planning my Pinup Doll Australia outfits, I have found heaps of great products from the sponsors and now I am really excited to participate and get out on stage and try my best at the competition.

I have also chosen a theme for my Pinup Doll Australia routines! I changed my theme a few times before I finally settled on my final idea. Although my theme isn’t the most original, I wanted to stay true to my pinup persona and pull out one of my personality traits. I originally thought about using iconic black and white films as my theme, then I moved onto Barbie as another theme before I settled on the one I have now. I don’t want to give anything away so you’ll just have to stay tuned to see what it is. Would you like a hint? Let’s just say I watched a certain Audrey Hepburn film and the idea hit me like a tonne of glitter.

As far as I know, I have five outfits planned head to toe; ‘pinup by day’, ‘pinup by night’, my charity discussion outfit, my talent outfit and my crowning outfit. All fit within different variants of my theme and I am so excited to be dressed to the nines, express my pinup self and have some fun on stage. I made sure that my outfits reflect my pinup personality, they are glamorous, a little bit fancy, lots of sparkle, accessories, floral and a good mix of true vintage and reproduction; Miss MonMon to a tea!

The best part of the competition has been the sense of community I feel from the other finalists. It feel pretty cliche to say that we all get a long and support each other but we do. I have spent many hours talking to the girls, brainstorming ideas, lots of googling and having a laugh and a freak out with them. By competing in Miss Weekend on Wheels, I was able to meet a few of the entrants so it’s great the be able to already know some of the girls. It’s not easy being the only entrant from Western Australia but Im also really proud to represent the Perth Pinup Community.

I feel like I could write about so many things on my Pinup Doll Australia journey so far but I don’t think anyone wants to read a novel. I plan to write a few more instalments of my journey so stay tuned for those coming up. I highly recommend you checking out the other amazing finalists and learning about each of these amazing women. If you would like to donate to my charity, it would be greatly appreciated and I thank you in advanced.  Please donate here.