By Peter Berton
YNOT – There was a time, long before Hustler and open-beaver shots, when porn was saucy and erotic — when pinups were as far as the envelope stretched.
TGirlPinups.com harkens back to the Golden Era with a twist: All the models are gorgeous transsexuals presented in vintage makeup, hairstyles and clothing.
Frankly, without the occasional explicit full-frontal shot, no one would know these girls were born with outdoor plumbing.
Shemale Club’s Isabelle owns the website.
YNOT.com: Where did you get the idea for TGirlPinups.com?
Isabelle: I’ve been a fan of retro and pinup-style photography ever since Scott — a photographer I know — shot Dita Von Teese. I loved her style and the retro look in general, and since then I’ve always admired such pictures.
As the owner of Shemale-Club.com, I loved the idea of our beautiful transsexual models being captured in this era of classy and sexy girls wearing beautiful makeup, clothing and hairstyles.
What is it about the vintage look that appeals to you?
I love that style in general: the clothes, the lingerie, the hair and accessories. They look classy and sexy at the same time, like in the old Hollywood movies.
I wanted to capture something of those old times, and role play is fun to shoot — and of course fun in the bedroom.
Who does your shoots?
I have an amazing team of talent including makeup artist Red and Danielle Foxx, a seasoned, award-winning performer with post-production skills who is involved with the project. Finally, I have Nick, a 30-year veteran of high-quality erotic images and video.
Red has a passion for the retro style makeup and hair and was excited to make it all come alive. Her makeup and hair-styling skills make the fantasy of transsexuals in a retro environment come to life.
Danielle Foxx had very creative ideas for various scenes and also did amazing retro styles. So she helped make it all come together and did amazing editing.
Nick is one of our partners and an award-winning photographer. He had a vision for great locations and set designs, including a very realistic retro diner set he created. It was amazing to watch it come alive over a very short period of time.
Is this groundbreaking work, in terms of T-girl erotica?
I think TGirl Pinups is groundbreaking in that viewers forget about the many aspects of a transsexual female’s beauty, other than having something extra between their thighs. I’m sure we aren’t the first company to portray a pinup or retro-style look with transsexuals over the years, but I bet we are the only one putting so much passion and effort into each and every production.
I do try to focus on the things I personally have a passion for. I love to photograph, and projects like TGirl Pinups are something I get a lot of inspiration from doing myself, as well.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the best photographers in the world over the past 15 years. Seeing some of their work with very passionate models has inspired me to make this vision come to life. For TGirl Pinups, there were several who inspired me, including Scott JX, Michael Peterson, Suze Randall and models like Dita [Von Teese]. Just the niche in general is quite inspiring to me.
How has the market responded?
As the owner and operator of Shemale Club for the past 13 years, I’ve had the luxury of compiling a lot of feedback from members. I have never seen a better response from members and fans as I have with TGirl Pinups. So much feedback in a very short time was almost overwhelming. And our affiliates went crazy for TGirl Pinups. Thanks to the affiliates, we have had great success with marketing.
We get tons of requests from people who love the art of pinup, plus refreshing and unique content. Although it is sometimes difficult to find the perfect model for the site, we will continue to keep our high standards of making the fantasy of a beautiful transsexual portrayed in a pinup, retro setting come true.
Most productions are shot in [Los Angeles], but I am traveling to Spain soon and will be hand-selecting European pinups to add to the site. Viewers can look forward to the fresh new look of the best European models in our industry.
Where do you hope to go next with the concept of shooting T-girl content? Can we expect a 1960s Playboy-style site, for instance?
The old Playboy style is a little predictable, but of course it’s beautiful. It’s never been done with T-girls, so we are excited to trend in that direction.
If one thing is certain, there is definitely a love for retro- and vintage-style shooting. Transsexual lovers have proven this to be fact. Consequently, we’ve been working on many new and fresh projects, and have a lot of big surprises that will be introduced soon.
