Remember the vintage fashion show I got to the chance to model in (see here)? Well, an amazing opportunity sprung up from that rather amazing opportunity. One of the photographers that shot photos at the fashion show contacted me about possibly doing a photo shoot with him. Uhm yeah! The photographer, Rodney Boles, takes ridiculously gorgeous photos and I couldn't quite believe my luck that he would take his own time to work with me! We set up a day in December that had a warm weather forecast and I began the challenging task of what to wear, what to wear?!
I decided that I wanted to wear something I thought would be challenging to photograph. You know, that way I didn't have to figure out how to do it myself. Leave it to the professional ya know. I knew I wanted something interesting with either texture or color or both. No plain jane stuff. I decided on a blouse that I truly love but hadn't gotten the chance to wear. The color is a light bubblegum and it has the cutest scalloped edges and dots! Which means lots of interest. There is also silver metal ring buttons and a peplum skirt. I wanted it to be the star of the show so I paired it with a simple pencil skirt with hints of bluish teal and navy.
My hat is so fun right?! This was actually embellished by me to suit this look. The hat itself is a brown 1940s tilt with remnants of palest pink feathers along the front edge. The feathers were in quite rough shape and there were some missing on the top. I needed a way to disguise this so I decided to spruce up the hat! I took a vintage silver dress clip and some fun bobble like beaded sprays I had in my supply stash and made an attachment for the front. I LOVE it! I think it suits it perfectly and it is so much fun to wear as the little pieces move and sway a bit.
For accessories, I just took along my navy cord purse (seen here) and chose my 40s pinup shoes (seen here). I felt a little like a vintage cupcake (which I consider to be a good thing by the way), so just to add the cherry on top, I added adorable little round swirl shoe clips to play off the polka dots in my top.
As for jewelry, I kept it in the family. Because I knew I would really love the photos that came from this shoot, I wanted to memorialize some of my family treasures in it. The jewelry I selected are all pieces given to me from family. The bracelet, a 1950s gray shell, was given to me from my great-aunt when she passed away when I was a little girl. The ring, a 1960s turquoise, is my maternal grandmother's (as is part of my wedding ring). My necklace, a 1950s/60s pink enamel leaf choker, belonged to my paternal grandmother.
Rodney did a bang up job! The day I arrived for the photo shoot was foggy and raining. Yes, these photos were done in the rain folks! He is a mad genius and I was just thrilled with the photos. He captured such a lovely loneliness. We did the shoot near some old barns and it felt very much like a woman who was leaving a small town life behind for the big city. Like one last look at the farm before hopping a bus to an unknown new start.
Outfit Details
Blouse: 1940s pink & blue linen from Raleigh Vintage
Skirt: modern pencil (5 years ago) from Express
Hat: 1940s feathered tilt from Beggars & Choosers
Hat Embellishment: vintage silver with pink bubble spray made by me
Jewelry: family heirlooms of mine
Purse: 40s cord purse from local flea market
Shoes: 1940s ankle strap platforms from Ebay
Shoe Clips: 1950s flower like swirls form Beggars & Choosers
Photography by Rodney Boles
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