The Duchess
Having been fascinated by fashion and costuming from a young age, Pam has enjoyed studying, creating, and wearing historical clothing dating back to 16th century styles up to the pin up girl styles of the 1940’s and 1950’s. During her college years she took to attending every car show she knew about, taking photographs of the beautiful classic cars. When she started going with friends to these car shows, she thought it would be fun to dress up in pin up styles and photograph with the cars.
Later came the air shows. Her father would always talk about commercial airplanes and vintage warbirds and by living near the Willow Run Airport in Michigan she would get to see them flying over her home every summer. When she started attending the Thunder Over Michigan air show she knew she had to step it up.
A few years and various car shows and air shows later, she and some of her friends got together and decided to establish themselves as a group. With the primary group being based in the Metro Detroit, Michigan area, the name Motor City Belles sounded most fitting. They made their official debut as the Motor City Belles during the 75th anniversary celebration for the city of Clawson, Michigan. Pam and the rest of the Belles look forward to future events!
Bella
Bella has begun her final year studying to become a veterinary technician. She never really outgrew her habit of playing dress up as a child, which led to her interest in costuming, particularly historical costuming. Having an interest in various historical fashion periods from the 16th century to the 1940’s only increased her interest in becoming one of the Belles to help showcase the styles of the vintage pinup.
Elle Raine
From a young age, Elle Raine has loved dabbling in historical fashions, even when it was just a sheet in a toy box. As an actress and dancer, putting on a piece of historical fashion means so much more than wearing clothes: it’s about traveling back in time and sharing a moment in history with the world. Whether it is bringing the world of 1490’s Florence, or 1860’s American Civil War, Elle Raine loves it all. Fashion speaks to the people, who they were, what they did, and how they loved, and it is her goal to share that with others. She enjoys wearing clothing in a 1940’s style in everyday life. It’s a strong, feminine, and take-no-prisoner fashion era, which is exactly what ladies are, right? Right!
Jillian
Jillian has been fascinated with the 1940’s ever since seeing pictures of her grandparents growing up in this era. Being a history buff, she likes to immerse herself in any of the time periods that she researches. Having extensively researched this time period, she recently joined the 3rd Infantry Division reenacting unit. Her nursing impression has given her a new found respect for the soldiers and women of the time.
Caiya
Caiya is a lifelong resident of Michigan, and was introduced to the world of costuming back in 1999 when she attended her first Renaissance festival. Having a small background in theatre, she quickly fell in love with the idea of creating a character not only through attire, but also through theatrics and interactions with others. Over the years, she has successfully created her own characters as a festival attendant and actress, including a wench, fairy, Scottish maiden, gypsy, noble woman, and even a belly dancer. Her fondness for costuming has only grown as her sewing skills have continued to improve, and in recent years, she has gravitated more towards the realm of cosplay. She has portrayed characters from various comic, movie, and literary works, such as the Winter Soldier, Phantom of the Opera, Cammy White, Sonya Blade, Lara Croft, her original Starfleet and Jedi characters, Garth Algar from Wayne’s World, and even Loki from the Marvel films.
Rose
Rose came to the Belles by way of the Duchess. She got her first taste of historical fashion while on cast at the Michigan Renaissance Festival in 2006. Since then, her costumes have spanned from Elizabethan grandeur to neo-Victorian class, and now she’s branching out into the glamorous world of the WWII pin-up.
When she doesn’t have her nose in a book, Rose can be found writing stories of her own or playing the violin. She’s also working to complete her master’s degree in Library & Information Science at Wayne State University.