Shot by Dana Brushette, makeup by Holly Kurmis
Back when I was a wee baby pinup model (not really that long ago in retrospect but it feels like it!) I really didn't shoot in lingerie much. Firstly, I was insecure about my body, especially my stomach and my thighs and I wasn't crazy about shooting in an outfit that would reveal those parts of me. Secondly, I just didn't have pretty lingerie to shoot in. I had one other nice set that I had already shot that had a matching garter that covered my stomach so that was a little easier to shoot in.
My boyfriend at the time introduced me to higher end lingerie and he took me to the shop where I got that first set with the garter and he bought me the set I'm wearing in these shots for my 20th birthday. I don't make a lot of money now as an undergrad student, but I'm making more than I did then so I couldn't splurge on a lot of pretty things to shoot in.
The pieces I'm wearing aren't a matching set, which normally drives me nuts. I'm such a set girl that it irks me to see mismatched pieces, but I'm happy with how the bra and brief look together. The bra is the Panache Andorra in red and the shop just didn't have the knicker in stock so we decided on this Simone Perele tanga instead. The robe is vintage from the 1920s, and I picked it up right before this shoot while I was looking for a red suspender belt to wear with this set.
The shoot was with one of my favourite pinup photographers, Dana Brushette, who came into Toronto for a few nights to shoot at the now no-longer-called Trump Tower. I hate Trump, but this was in 2014 and I didn't keep up with how terrible he was at the time, a while before he announced he was running for President. Anyway, the hotel was lovely and I'm happy to say that now that they took Trump's name off it. It was the perfect setting for my first boudoir shoot that I was nervous about.
I bought the robe partially because it is unique and beautiful and was priced low, but also because I wanted to cover my stomach. I'm happy I did this shoot with an all-woman team because I definitely wouldn't have been comfortable with a man around who wasn't my boyfriend. But still, it's hard not to feel like people are judging you when you're half-naked and thinking that they're looking at the spots you're insecure about and being disgusted. But Dana is such a professional that I ended up feeling totally comfortable, and I took off the robe!
I was so thrilled to get these photos back because they made me feel really good about myself and more confident in my skin than I had in a long time. Not to say that I didn't and still don't suffer from self-esteem issues, because I do, but it's something else to look at photos where you're all dolled up that make you feel beautiful. I've done a lot more shoots like this since and I've gotten more and more comfortable doing them, especially as I've gotten more lingerie! But I think doing a boudoir shoot is something everyone should do at some point, model or not. There's nothing like that feeling of looking at yourself looking babely and feeling good about yourself.
Would you ever do a boudoir shoot? Let me know in the comments!