Plus size bikini confidence doesn’t begin with the right swimsuit. It begins with believing your life doesn’t have to wait. Long before body positivity became part of everyday conversation, Hilda embodied that message.
Decades after artist Duane Bryers introduced the beloved cartoon icon, one creator is bringing Hilda’s carefree spirit into today’s body confidence conversation through her “Becoming Hilda” photo series.
Julia Haynes, the creator behind @lovejuliadawn, never expected a few social media comments to inspire an entire summer project. But after repeatedly hearing that she reminded people of Hilda, the beloved plus-size pinup icon from the 1950s, she decided to step into Hilda’s world herself.
Between fields, flowers and curious chickens, Julia transforms her farm into the backdrop for recreating one of pop culture’s most beloved vintage pinup icons. Every recreation features a real chicken, blending vintage-inspired swimwear with the playful, carefree spirit that made Hilda an icon.
And yes, there is a real chicken in every photo.
“I kept getting comments on my social media of people comparing me to Hilda,” Julia shared. “Partly because I’m always with my chickens, people are like, ‘Oh, you’re just like Hilda, a chubby girl hanging out with her chickens.’”
The result is “Becoming Hilda,” a creative project where Julia recreates iconic Hilda illustrations by the late Duane Bryers on her farm while celebrating fashion, nature, confidence and the joy of taking up space.
For Julia, the project is more than recreating a vintage image. It is about embodying the energy that made Hilda so memorable.
“She’s so bold and confident and so comfortable in her skin,” Julia said. “I remember seeing her and being like, wow, that’s an option.”
Rediscovering the Original Plus Size Pinup Icon
Before Julia ever recreated a Hilda image, she had already been impacted by the character years earlier.
When she first encountered Hilda online, she saw something that felt rare: a woman with a larger body who was not hiding, apologizing or trying to become something else.
“I was like, you could be that content in your skin when you’re not the standard body size,” she shared.
At the time, Julia didn’t believe that confidence was something she could have.
“I was struggling so bad with my body image and fighting the skin that I was in so much,” she explained.
“I was like, maybe in another life.”
Years later, being compared to Hilda felt like a full-circle moment.
“Not only can I imagine myself stepping into her shoes now, but actually people are seeing that in me,” Julia said.
Originally created in the 1950s by artist Duane Bryers, Hilda became a beloved pinup figure because she represented something different from the traditional beauty standards of the era. She was curvy, playful and completely comfortable being herself.
Unlike many images of women that focused on perfection and posing, Hilda was simply living.
And that is exactly what Julia wanted to capture.
Becoming Hilda Through Fashion and Creativity
Julia’s summer project combines everything she loves: styling, creativity, nature and storytelling.
Living on a farm surrounded by chickens, she decided to create a series that allowed her to explore what it would feel like to step into Hilda’s carefree world.
“I have a bunch of chickens, I have a bunch of bikinis and let’s just do this for the heck of it,” she said.
While the final images feel whimsical and effortless, creating them requires a lot of preparation. Julia also lives with chronic illnesses, which means each photoshoot requires planning, pacing and adapting.
“A simple photo that would take someone else maybe 20 minutes takes me a week,” she shared.
But those challenges make the project even more meaningful.
“It feels even more sacred to me that I have so many obstacles to go through to create the art,” Julia said. “It just feels even more special to me because I worked so hard on it.”
For each recreation, Julia tries to think beyond the outfit and focus on Hilda’s spirit.
She even considered creating reusable flower accessories but decided that would not feel true to the character.
“I really think that Hilda is out foraging flowers, seeing what’s available to her in nature and being like, ‘That’s so pretty,’” she explained.
That mindset has become part of the project’s magic.
Finding Confidence in a Bikini at Any Size
One of the most powerful parts of Julia’s “Becoming Hilda” series is seeing her embrace swimwear without waiting for her body to change.
But confidence in a bikini was not always part of her story.
“There were times in my life where I would not go to the function if it meant that people were going to get in bathing suits,” she shared.
Even when she was younger and smaller, Julia still struggled with feeling comfortable in her body.
“I was a skinny mini in high school, and I would wear shorts and a one-piece while all my friends were wearing bikinis,” she said.
Her relationship with swimwear changed after COVID when she realized she no longer wanted to postpone her life.
“I came out of COVID the heaviest I’d ever been and I was like, how did I ever think I wasn’t hot?” Julia said.
That shift inspired her to start wearing bikinis and showing up for herself.
“I was like, yeah, I’m not going back to that. I’m just going to be me.”
Finding Swimwear That Moves With You
Now, when choosing swimwear for her Hilda recreations, Julia gravitates toward styles that evolve with her body instead of working against it.
“I love ones that can grow with you and are really adaptable,” she said.
Rather than focusing on restrictive silhouettes, Julia looks for adjustable straps, wrap-style bikini tops, reversible swimwear and designs that can be tied multiple ways. One of her favorite suits can be worn as a crisscross halter, tied into a bow, styled off the shoulder or even reversed for a completely different look.
She’s also building a collection of matching skirts and coordinating headpieces, details that echo Hilda’s playful styling while making each look feel intentional and uniquely her own.
For Julia, adaptable swimwear isn’t just about versatility. It’s about honoring the body you have today instead of waiting for a different one tomorrow.
“Buy the bikinis that are your current size,” she encouraged. “Not the hopeful size.”
Why Plus Size Joy Is a Form of Resistance
Since launching “Becoming Hilda,” Julia’s recreations have reached more than 175,000 people on Instagram and inspired others to create their own Hilda-inspired photos.
The response has shown her that people are searching for more representation rooted in happiness.
“The most meaningful responses to me are when people share their personal stories with Hilda,” she said.
Many people have shared memories of discovering Hilda years ago, while others are meeting the character for the first time through Julia’s series.
“It just shows me that we need more of Hilda,” she said.
For plus-size women, joy can be a powerful way to challenge the idea that their lives should begin only after changing their bodies.
“I just think that choosing joy in the moment, wherever you are, is so important and so beautiful,” Julia said.
Her biggest hope is that people stop waiting for the “right” body before allowing themselves to experience life.
“We don’t have to wait and hide away until our body is right to live,” she shared. “We can go and live.”
And that is exactly what Hilda has represented all along.
Not perfection. Not shrinking. Just joy.
Shop Julia’s Hilda-inspired swim looks and follow along with her “Becoming Hilda” series at @lovejuliadawn.
