A Belmont single mum is competing in a “pinup pageant” to help children.
Charlii Parker will appear as alter-ego, Miss Starlett O’Hara, in the Cars for Kids Pinup Pageant, supporting the Royal Children Hospital’s Good Friday appeal.
Pageant promoters said Ms Parker had been a retro “pinup for most of her adult life”, wearing ’50s fashions to her office job and driving a 1954 Vauxhall Velox she called Lola.
“To me pinup is about being true to your own style,” Charlii said.
“I have a fondness for pussy bow shirts and secretary dresses. My personal style is a little Mad Men meets Sister-Wife.”
Charlii said her children – Jeremy, 23, Eliza, 18, and Briar, 12 – supported her rockabilly lifestyle.
“It’s not easy raising three kids by yourself but thankfully I got lucky with mine. They love that I’m a part of the rockabilly pinup scene and often attend events with me.
“My youngest, despite being more comfortable in jeans, is learning how to do winged eyeliner and recently took out the title of Best Dressed Junior at the Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival.”
Charlii has run several fund-raising activities to support her entry in the pageant, to be held in a Melbourne hotel the same day as the appeal for the hospital.
“I’m lucky my children have been reasonably healthy … but I have friends and family who have had lengthy stays (in hospital) and can only imagine how hard it is for families of young ones who need extensive care.
“I want to do what I can to support those families and their children.”
