I dress with a retro aesthetic most of the time - to work, when I go out, and frankly sometimes if I'm running errands. There's something about a victory roll and a swipe of red lipstick that makes me feel 100% more put together even if I'm running to the grocery for milk. Reading Dita Von Teese's book Your Beauty Mark only reinforced the importance of a vintage look in my life; she says, "I love glamour and artificial beauty," and I couldn't agree more. However, it isn't always easy to run around looking like a 1940s bomb girl...and I spend lots of time on YouTube and Instagram getting tips from other modern pinups. Here are just a few of the struggles we are still working to overcome, one bobby pin at a time:

Spending time patiently setting your hair in the perfect wet-set pattern, carefully teasing and brushing out, and hair-spraying, only to have the style completely ruined by humidity and wind.

Enjoying a brisk stroll in your fluffy petticoat and skirt on a windy day, only to encounter what can only be called a Marilyn moment.

Or even worse -- to encounter unwanted cat-callers on the same street.

When you wake up, trudge into the bathroom to get ready for work and do your makeup, only to have your eyeliner turn out more Amy Winehouse than Audrey Hepburn.

I love Amy, but not quite the look I was going for. When you can't for the life of you find a gold dress like the one William Travilla designed for Marilyn Monroe -- and it would be perfect for New Year's Eve. So, instead, you just daydream about it.

When people tell you that because you dress like it's the 1950s, you belong in that era or couldn't possibly be a feminist. Tell that to my inner Grace Kelly. "I'm basically a feminist. I believe women can do anything they decide to do."

So while it only takes me about five minutes or so to do my victory rolls, it's not always so easy to walk in those pinup shoes. Rather than resorting to sweatpants, I think I'll turn on a 1960s musical and try again tomorrow.