Personal style and confidence

I wanted to talk about personal style and reactions of others. I am saddened to hear stories from a number of ladies - pinups and those who chose to dress in other styles - of rude or cruel reactions from others. I don't expect these sorts of reactions and I have never gotten them.

Quite often I will receive positive comments about some aspect of my attire as I go about my regular, daily activities - maybe my dress or hat or jewellery. Even in my local pub a lady rushed up to me asking where I got my handbag from as she wanted to get one just like it for her daughter.

The 'must have' handbag!

My style also makes me memorable! At a recent work related seminar the photographer snapped a picture of me and told me how she loved my style and remembered me from the previous year as my outfits were always lovely.

On the cover of a seminar brochure.

My work colleagues are also positive about my vintage/retro style. A couple of my insterstate colleagues have even saved newspaper clippings about vintage/retro stores and events I might be interested in.

Photographers are also keen to snap me and hubby when we are out on the town!

Here I am with my husband - notice how we got more than just a headshot!

Your style can be a great way for people to connect with you and begin a conversation. This happened recently at a travel writing course that I am attending. A lady who noticed my attire thought I might be interested in a photographer she knew of from New York - Ari Seth Cohen - who photographs 'stylish and creative older folks'. The following week she even brought in a copy of one of his books for me to look at! Now I am following his work and it is really inspirational.

So, if you think you will stand out by choosing to wear your own style - you will! Wear it with confidence and a smile and look for the positives and hopefully you will be lucky like me!

What are your experiences? I'd love to hear about them.

Friday Photo

Zeezee. Photo by Whiskey and Rye Photography

Motion capture.

Adventures with Makeup

Last week I was lucky enough to be able to attend three full days of workshops with Jos Brands for Kryolan Professional Makeup.
Jos has been creating and teaching makeup artistry for many years and he is such an inspiration as he is so passionate about makeup and sharing his knowledge. You can see some of his work on his website.

Day One

The first day was dedicated to bodypainting. This is something I have not done before but wanted to find out what was involved. I like to take an opportunity to learn something new, or at least try something out to see if I want to pursue it, as I recently discussed on my post about stretching.

First up, we saw a runway show demonstrating some of the different techniques and products available, then Jos gave us some demonstrations. In the afternoon we had a chance to play with the products on live models, which was a great opportunity to try out different techniques such as airbrushing and freehand painting. Kryolan have some amazing products including a new body paint which will not rub off onto fabric, so can be worn under clothes as you can see in the above picture of the model with the jacket.
This experience has inspired me to find out more about this artform as a creative medium, as the limits are really just your imagination!

Here I am with our model.

Day Two

The focus of day two was Avante Garde and Editorial makeup. Again we were treated to a runway show illustrating different techniques and products.

Jos did a demonstration of airbrush makeup and shared a lot of useful information on the theory behind the latest high definition makeup.

Again we had an opportunity to experiment with the products, and here is a pic of me and my lovely model.

Day Three

Day three was special effects makeup! The effects demonstrated on this day were amazing as you can see! So many different techniques and products are available to achieve theatrical and realistic looking wounds.

The highlight of the day was when I was a model for Jos for the demonstration of a blister. The effect was so real, even close up.

I wanted to try to create a bruise, and think it was not too bad for my first attempt!

With Halloween just around the corner, keep an eye out and you might spot some of these techniques in some upcoming photos! Do you have any suggestions for something you would like to see?

Friday photo

Happy Friday the 13th!

Book Review - Million Dollar Mermaid

I recently decided to start reading biographies of vintage Hollywood stars and first on my list was Esther Williams!
I'm sure most of you have heard of Esther Williams - "America's mermaid" - the competitive swimmer turned MGM movie star of the 40s and 50s. She passed away on 6th June this year at the age of 91.

This wonderful autobiography was filled with personal stories right from her childhood to her fourth marriage to Edward Bell.
Esther began competitive swimming as a teen and missed out on going to the 1940 Olympics as they were cancelled due to the outbreak of war. Her first big break came when she starred in the Aquacade alongside Johnny Weismuller who would chase her around the pool at the end of the show sans swimming trunks! After that she reluctantly signed with MGM, and the rest is history!
She shared lots of behind the scenes stories that told so much of how Hollywood operated  back then and of the stars that she worked and socialised with including Lucille Ball, Marlene Dietrich, Ricardo Montalban, Gene Kelly and Joan Crawford. My favourite chapters include how she met Clark Gable and how he was the first one to call her 'mermaid', and how she came back from having broken several vertabrae in a scene in Million Dollar Mermaid when she took a dive with a crown on her head.

It was really interesting to read how her childhood shaped her decisions as she looked back on her life with the benefit of hindsight.  Unfortunately, as happened to so many Hollywood starlets, one of her husbands spent all of her money on gambling, alcohol and bad business decisions and all her years of moviemaking amounted to was a BIG tax bill!

I had trouble putting this book down and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the heyday of Hollywood.

Friday Photo

Bringing some vintage style to the pole! Costume by Vintage Suits by Mary.