Lingerie Love - Ohhh Lulu!

Those of you who I've worked with or follow my blog will know all too well about my love of lingerie.  I couldn't tell you when it all started; my obsession with coveting beautifully made under garments; but it probably didn't help when I really got in to lingerie modelling.

There are so many design houses and brands of lingerie that it can be easy to fall into the mainstream retailers with their run of the mill bras when really if we want to appreciate the smaller things in life we should be heading in the direction of our independent designers.  These are the people who have this same passion as ours, possibly even more obsessed!  They are the ones who dedicate their time and precious energy into creating the best lingerie there is.

Take Ohhh Lulu, one of the most prettyful independent lingerie names there is on the interweb!  Based a hop and a skip over from my English land, Sarah of Ohhh Lulu squirrels away creating her delightful vintage inspired lingerie and loungewear in Ontario, Canada.  If you want beautiful and uniquely handcrafted personal smalls, you really must check out Ohhh Lulus range over on Etsy, where there's actually a sample sale on right now.

My current favourites are:  the Red and Blue Cherry Blossom bra and High Waisted Panties set and the Amethyst Floral Jersey and Velvet Ruffle Bloomers.  They are both so pretty and luxurious. <3

Red & Blue Cherry Blossom Bra and High Waisted Panties set

Amethyst Floral Jersey & Velvet Ruffle Bloomers

Becky x

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Lingerie and Religion

Today I read on LingerieInsight.com that a Victoria's Secret model, Kylie Bisutti, has decided not to model for the lingerie big name any more because of her religion.  She says that being a Christian it is not right for her to model lingerie when she has young girls looking up to her as inspiration.

As much as Kylie is entitled to her own beliefs and do as she wishes with her life, I can't help but feel profusely frustrated with where she's coming from.

I am a Christian myself but I am also a lingerie model.  I feel my religion is in no way conflicting with my choice to model, because lingerie is not a sin and I don't believe it right that any woman should feel she is doing wrong just by wearing it.  Lingerie is more often that not worn for the better of the woman.  Lingerie makes you feel great when you wear it.  Lingerie has a purpose!

God made women as we are, we have boobs, you can't argue with that.  Some people don't mind their bosoms flapping about their chest freely but I, like millions of women out there, like to keep ours under control.  For this you need a bra.  How and where do you buy a bra?  A shop on the high street, internet, mail order catalogue, all of which require stock from lingerie manufacturers to actually sell you a bra.  These suppliers need pictures to show off the bra to the best of it's ability, to get you to choose their bra over the next manufacturer.  Simple.  Someone has to be the woman that wears those bras whose pictures need to be taken of them to be put on the box.  How can anyone say that being one of these women is living in sin?

Aside from necessity, there's the self appreciation factor.  A bra that looks beautiful, is well made and constructed with love and with the loveliest of materials, makes you feel great when you wear it.  There is nothing wrong with appreciating this feeling, the sense of self loving, that gives you confidence.  What helps you love your body, which God gave you, is not a sin.

Then there's those 'naughty' lingerie pieces.  Are they really naughty?  Naughty is a word for wrong doing, acting with ill meaning. But if we're wearing them with our partners with whom we dedicate our lives and souls too, are we really doing wrong?  Is it wrong to enjoy our bodies and to nurture a close loving bond with our life partners?  No, I don't agree that that is a sin.

If we are being honest with ourselves, enjoying ourselves and feeling good all from the pleasure of lingerie, whether we be wearing it or looking at it, it can not be bad.  And being a model, a person who wears a piece of clothing to encourage you to buy the product can not be wrong.  Wearing something that is completely natural, a bra, can not be seen as wrong.

We are what we are on the inside, and this is not what's shared outside our relationships.  What we share with our partners is not just our bodies because what we truly are is inside us.  A model does nothing to share this exclusivity with viewers of a product catalogue.

Women are too often made to feel ashamed of our bodies in this world and it's time we realised this and put an end to it.  Lingerie is not a dirty word and it exists to make us learn to love what we have, whatever our size.

Like I said, I do have a Christian faith and hand on heart believe I am not doing anything myself that is wrong or contradictory to my beliefs.  Some people may say that modelling is not a job for Christians but I contest this.  I was made a woman, I'm proud of what I am and love what my body is, and believe above all that anything that is done with the best intentions and generates good feelings can only be good.

Long live the good lingerie model!

Oh, and I'll take Kylie's job at VS if there's no objections... ;-D


Becky x

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Essentials Magazine Photo Shoot

Yesterday I made the excitingly epic journey down to London for a photo shoot with Essentials magazine.

Essentials asked me if I would take part in a fashion shoot for the magazine after I'd emailed them telling them a bit about myself.  Apparently they're going to do a fashion feature for different body types and they chose me for the hour glass figure.  I was honoured to be asked and very keen to participate so delightedly I said I would.

Both Sean (fiance/photographer) and I booked our tickets to land in at Kings Cross station for noon.  Our train was slightly delayed coming into Darlington and I couldn't move quick enough when it arrived.  It was bitterly cold sitting on the platform even with all my layers and double scarves!

Me waiting for the train

Me on the train - make up free!

The journey wasn't too bad and the three hours passed by relatively quickly with the help of my Grazia mag.  We pulled into Kings Cross just about on time, jumped into a Hackney cab and quickly descended onto the studio in East London where the Essentials team were already conducting the days shoots.

There were four other girls there modelling for the day.  I first tried on a range of outfits that were set aside for me and had quick snaps taken so the fashion team could decide which to go for on me.  The day was slow moving while the assistants and photographer worked through the modelling girls and gradually through the day I had my nails painted, hair styled and make up applied.  It wasn't until around half past four that my time came and I was kitted out in my freshly steamed clothes.

My fabulous curlers!

My first outfit was a fuschia pink peplum dress which looked fantastic on the hanger but at an impossibly small size 8 sample was too small for me.  From what I saw coming off the camera I look stylishly-presentably-hot but what you won't see is my butt sticking out of the unzipped and pinned up back!  As I'm more used to lingerie shoots, I didn't give a hoot that my pants were on full display to the room which is a good attitude to adopt in the modelling industry.  You can't be too precious about modesty!

My first shooting

On the plus side my hair had been amazingly blowdried and back combed so it had oomph and sex appeal and I loved the floral shoes.  I don't remember who made them and now I wish I took a photo of them.

My second outfit I admit not falling in love with.  In all honesty, I would say the skirt, cami and jacket combo was on the frumpy side.  I'm going to be a thirty year old, not turning 50!  Hopefully the photos will look a lot better than my mind had me thinking.  My hair had been put up with a huge quiff-like bouffant and pinned to the side, so the whole look may be more modern in the finished image, but 'chav-like' was what came to me!  It was fun though.

My second look hair

The shoes were orange velveteen heels by Chockers.  They didn't really feel anything like the floral heels I wore in the first look and the tips looked indented and felt like they were poking my toes.  I won't be looking for them in the shops when they come out.

By the time my shoot was over it was almost time to leave so I grabbed a bottle of water and had a quick change into my own clothes before saying our quick goodbyes.  Essentials had called a taxi to take us back to the station where we literally ran with our tickets onto our platform 2 Darlington bound train.  Despite my worry that I wouldn't have time to shoot in the end, we'd made it in perfect time.  The train left London at seven on the dot and got back to Darlington by half nine.

It had been an eventful day, very productive but it was satisfying to return home.  A long shower and scrub up, relax in front of the tv with a bit of food then bed.  Sleep o'clock it was!

Becky

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