"I love the challenge. I work out but I'm still a curvy girl."
She shrugs off negative comments about her size from social media trolls and said they just drive her to make the topic more positive within the community.
"One online troll suggested that because people are bigger, they must be lazy."
They went quiet and retreated into the dark corners of the internet after she challenged them to a cardio battle at the gym, she said.
"We shouldn't be focusing on our weight and size anyway, whether slim, curvy or somewhere in the middle, it's about being healthy."
The Miss Pin-up New Zealand 2015 hopeful, who started plus-size modelling four years ago, said her passion for vintage - classic clothes, style and fashion - was sparked on a fashion shoot, when she was modelling vintage and pin-up styles.
"This was the photo shoot that also started me on my journey to advocate for woman that no matter what size you are there is a style out there that can make you feel confident and show of your natural assets. For me - it's the vintage and pin-up styles.
"I have wanted to enter this contest for two years, however, I had to overcome self-doubt. I'm just stoked that I have entered and have had a chance to represent our fantastic region. Whangarei, I need your help. Say hello on my Miss Glamour LaRue Facebook page and tell the judges why you think I should be in the top 10.
"If I make the finals in Auckland, I'll be representing the curvy girls and Northland - I would love to represent my hometown but I need your help," she said.
Talia Stephens, Auckland, founder of The Very Vintage Day Out, told the Advocate that vintage styles had taken off in New Zealand recently.
She said the Miss Pin-up New Zealand pageant was seeking out women with the timeless elegance and poise from the 1940s to the early 1960s.
The final 10 will have to complete catwalk tasks, a talent section and a Q&A session, with the winner scooping the high profile title for the year, over $3500 of prizes and a year of vintage engagements. The Very Vintage Weekend on April 11 and 12 will feature stallholders, entertainment and of course, the pageant finals, judged by songstress Tami Neilson, as well as international pin up Ruby Rabbit and owner of Decadia Vintage and Creative Director of Glory Days magazine, Rose Jackson.
5 top pin-up tips
The Northern Advocate asked Miss Pin-up New Zealand 2014, Miss Victory Violet, for her top pin-up tips:
1. Embrace your shape and show off your curves.
2. Top your outfit off with your favourite red lippy and a colourful hair accessory.
3. When doing vintage hairstyles, don't be afraid to back comb your hair till you look like a cavewoman ... back combing is the best base to any vintage style.
4. Accessorise, accessorise, accessorise! - Belts, petticoats, jewellery and hair bows.
5. Most of all, don't be afraid to be yourself. Pin-up is all about expressing yourself and your style.
