modeling

An unexpected, but exciting side gig!

One fine day, quite randomly I got an email from the lovely, stylish, and beautiful Ania B Through the grapevine she had caught wind of what was going on my little studio and sent an email my way.   The email had something in it about Nordstrom's YYC store, 100 Calgarians, street style, and would I like to be a part of it??  Ahhh, yes please!  A little later I got another email asking if I'd be interested in doing an even bigger project - this time a paid gig that could involve big photos in prominent places.  Again, floored, flattered and stunned, I said "Ahhh, YES!"

The Wardrobe Project. I had to pull myself out of bed on this day.  I had been struck by a bad flu but I managed to get myself dressed 6 times!  The things we do for fashion!

The Wardrobe Project. I had to pull myself out of bed on this day.  I had been struck by a bad flu but I managed to get myself dressed 6 times!  The things we do for fashion!

So....along came a stylist to my house to poke through my wardrobe to pick out a few outfits.  Six to be exact.  A little bit of this, a little bit of that.  What I didn't realize until then, is that this wasn't for the 100 street style photos, but for an ad campaign, and I would be 1 of 10??!! Whoa Nelly!

 

Then...the day of the shoot.  Orchestrated with precision and skill. 

The whole thing was quite a production.  I had no idea what was involved in shooting an ad campaign!  There were box-loads of clothes shipped from Seattle, racks and racks of clothing, schedules, tables of shoes, accessories, bags, etc.  I felt like a kid in a candy store! It all felt very glam.

 

A rack full of outfits just for me! Yay!

A rack full of outfits just for me! Yay!

lots of clothes, lots of looks.

lots of clothes, lots of looks.

omg this room was hellishly hot, and these poor folks had been in there for two days straight.  I think they were feeling a bit shell shocked.

omg this room was hellishly hot, and these poor folks had been in there for two days straight.  I think they were feeling a bit shell shocked.

the looks

the looks

that's me!

that's me!

Lo and behold, it was an awesome adventure.  I met some amazing people from Seattle, Texas and YYC many who were happy to tell their story of how they got to be where they are, each of them gracious, friendly, wonderful...and of course stylish!!  But the icing on the cake was the photographer Tommy Ton.  If you've ever seen really good street style photos, where the models look like, well, models - you've seen Tommy Ton's work.  (GQ, Style.com)

I've got to say, there is little that makes me feel as satisfied with the order of the universe as when someone who is a force of talent, skill, and fame, still manages to keep it real. That's Tommy Ton... a kinda shy, humble, nice guy without any airs.

It's called street styling :) getting fixed up right.

It's called street styling :) getting fixed up right.

My comfy shoes that I had permission to scuff up at will.  :) And no, I didn't get to keep the clothes. :)

My comfy shoes that I had permission to scuff up at will.  :) And no, I didn't get to keep the clothes. :)

Super fun, super unique, super memorable.  Thanks for the experience, Universe!