It is via this French blog that I first discovered Hilda.
Hilda is a full-figure pin up girl, with joie de vivre and oodles of sex appeal. The Illustrator, Duane Bryers painted calendars featuring Hilda between 1956 and 1958. Some of the following images were scanned by Brian Clark (a really cool artist with a predilection for voluptuous girls) from original calendars where Hilda appeared.
The history behind the discovery of the calendars, how they were ‘snatched away from a fool’ during a garage sale, and the lyrical description of the “pleasingly plum read head” can be found here.
I adore the Americana/nostalgia feel of those pictures. The langor feels very French, and the colors are absolutely contemporary.
How about pasting an image of Hilda on your refrigerator? After a certain age, keeping the weight down becomes increasingly difficult, and getting upset about it a complete waste of a life. If you can’t beat them, join them. Or, as the French would say, embrassez vos rondeurs, embrace your curves.
Pass the brioche please!
I think it's wonderful to see that not everyone is enchanted by ultra thin waifs. When I see those poor anorexic girls, I just want to feed them a cookie.
Posted by: Gretchen | August 03, 2007 at 04:07 PM
Hello Corine , even when you are young it is hard to loose weight. I love Hilda . I have to find an illustration with her , so wonderful .
BIG is beautiful !!!
Thanks for your comment on my blog
Mélanie xx
Posted by: Mélanie | August 04, 2007 at 07:21 AM
Those are absolutely delightful.Love them!!
Posted by: Bronwyn | August 05, 2007 at 06:28 AM
Si Hilda était brune, on se ressemblerait pas mal ! en tout cas, grosse ou pas, elle a une super joie de vivre et c'est l'essentiel !
Posted by: TheYoupiTouch | August 05, 2007 at 08:35 AM
Hilda is not even really that big. She's just the average American woman. Now I'm tempted to go public with my own bikini photo from April vacation---Viva La Hilda!!!
Posted by: Katy Allgeyer aka fishgirl | June 21, 2009 at 10:50 AM
It's nice to see an image of a real woman enjoying life, even if Hilda is just a painting. How many women would have a better self image if this was the norm and how many men would know that what's currently portrayed by the media is just sick. GO HILDA!
Posted by: John | July 25, 2009 at 07:19 AM