A drop-dead gorgeous or scorchingly hot woman who looks like she could have stepped right out of a classic Hollywood film or a vintage pin-up. She can be classy, suggesting someone like Lauren Bacall or Audrey Hepburn or (the young!) Katherine Hepburn, or a sexbomb, like Bettie Page or Jayne Mansfield Pamela Green or Sophia Loren. Her vintage beauty and/or sexiness can be that of any period from the 1920s to the mid-60s. Hippie chicks do NOT count, nor do women whose looks, however attractive, suggest a 70s roller disco queen or an 80s music video.
Director Tim Burton's ex-girlfriend Lisa Marie (the actress, NOT Elvis's daughter) was a real retro babe when she played Vampira in ED WOOD. So was Jennifer Connelly back before she got too skinny. Anna Nicole Smith was almost a retro babe, back before she porked out and the media revealed what her intelligence and personality were like.
by Ian McDowell December 24, 2005
A professional or amateur model who typically poses in the style of a classic pin-up like Betty Grable, Bettie Page, Pamela Green, or Bunny Yeager. The style can be that of the 40s, 50s, or early to mid 60s.
With her Bettie Page bangs and specRACKular figure, she was the very model of a retro babe, and she put these assets to good use on her website.
by mcdolemite December 28, 2005