Why do pin-up girls look so surprised all the time?  What the hell is happening off-camera that’s so damn shocking?  Most of the time they seem to be surprised that their dresses can catch on things and reveal more leg than they mean to.  “Oh, heavens!” they seem to say.  “However did the vacuum get caught on the hem of my pleated skirt, thereby showing off my garter straps!”  It seems to have been a problem that plagued the women of the 40’s, those poor dears.

SHOCKING

Some of them actually smiled, though, and were awfully pretty (if anatomically impossible).

once again, Halloween is the best

Luckily, capris, clam-diggers and pedal pushers came to the rescue.

...and were apparently important enough to make it onto the cover of LIFE magazine