Playing dress-up has never looked so glam.   Abby Gregory chats with Shoshana Portnoy, founder of Through the Looking Glass Photography Studio and the Dallas Pin Up boutique. Plus, we have details on a hot pre-Black Friday bash, taking place tonight!       Every women wants to feel beautiful, of course, but most of us have given up the dream of becoming a picture-perfect bombshell, capable of stopping all red-blooded men in their tracks. Right?   Well, what if that fantasy could become a reality – with plenty of dress-up fun and vintage shopping thrown into the mix?   Meet Shoshana Portnoy, founder of Through the Looking Glass, a photography studio designed to turn every girl into an American Pin Up. In her expert hands, women of all shapes and sizes model vintage-inspired looks that would make any modern-day fella swoon.   What’s more, Through the Looking Glass recently opened a new, luxe space in Deep Ellum, including the Dallas Pin Up boutique, filled with anything and everything needed to outfit your shoot. We chatted with Shoshana to get all the glamorous details.  

    DFW Style Daily: What inspired you to establish Through the Looking Glass?   Shoshana Portnoy: My father was an enormous burlesque fan, and I grew up immersed in the culture. Later, I became obsessed with all the major burlesque performers emerging at that time, like Dita Von Teese.   Following a photography internship with Rick Moore, a friend asked me to snap some images of her before her husband’s deployment. She wanted pictures that looked like they were from the side of a World War II-era plane. We created a shoot themed around images I’d found of my grandmother, taken for my grandfather before he was sent to WWII. After seeing her pictures, all her friends wanted to do the same thing for their significant others, and the first incarnation of my pin up studio was formed in Dallas’ Expo Park four years ago.     Your studio’s boutique offers lingerie and wardrobe pieces that already have Dallas girls obsessed. Where do you source your vintage finds?   I just found out that we’re the only women’s only collaborative boutique in Texas! I’m so proud to say that each of the labels I stock is created by a Texas-based, female designer, and most of the pieces are one-of-a-kind. I think people have gravitated toward the lines because many were only available online previously. It’s tough to buy well-fitting lingerie or vintage clothing without being able to experience it first.     So, what are your favorite items right this second?   I’m a huge fan of the classic bullet bra. It was and still is such a landmark of femininity. I also adore red lipstick. We stock our makeup products from a vintage-inspired line called Bésame, and they name their multitude of red shades after movie stars.  

    To arrange a vintage pin up shoot, contact Through the Looking Glass online, by phone at 214-741-4206, or visit 2928 Main Street in Deep Ellum. The store will host its Pre-Black Friday Bash this Thursday, November 17^th, beginngin at 7 p.m. Black attire is a must, and Dream Hats, Dallas Pin Up’s newest vendor, will show off current creations.     (Photo credits, from top: 1. Shoshana Portnoy/Through the Looking Glass, 2. Abby Gregory, 3. Abby Gregory)