November 22, 2022
“Hey. Will you dress like a Victorian maiden and model for me at this house?” *insert screenshots I took from Google of the Neill-Cochran House Museum in Austin, Texas here.* SEND.
I sent this spur of the moment text to one of my best friends at 02:28am Monday morning. It took her less than four hours to reply with a, “Lol fuck yeah. I feel like I’m going to look creepy, but I’m in.”
Creepy was far from the result.
I wanted to create something that paid homage to my love for the Victorian era and to my city. I scoured Austin the Wednesday before the photoshoot searching for something I couldn’t quite pinpoint on Pinterest or the internet. I knew Goodwill wouldn’t have what I was looking for so I skipped out on my usual go-to. My first stop shop was Stardust Vintage off Menchaca road and South Lamar. While their selection was decent, none of the items spoke to me for this [very] specific vision I had brewing inside my head. I was referred to Prototype Vintage Design on South Congress just a few minutes away. There, I was able to find the cream colored floor length 1970s Prairie-esque lace chest and tie behind dress you see in the photos above. It fit my XS model like a glove! “One outfit down,” I thought, “and one to go”.
Feathers Boutique Vintage was right next door. I explained to Ava, the sweetest employee at FBV, what I was looking for. Her first recommendation was this beautiful Edwardian white lace long sleeve gown captured below. The red lingerie intimates were provided by my model. “This is going to be so sick,” I giddily announced.
This was arguably one of the most unique and nontraditional boudoir sessions I’ve shot to date. Shelby, the unbelievably gorgeous model you see here (who has never been in front of a camera like this before BTW!), and I collaborated on three tips for women looking to have their first boudoir session done.
- Embrace your nervousness! You wouldn’t be feeling anything if you weren’t excited. Boudoir is freeing, empowering, and good for the soul. Let yourself enjoy this time and ravish in your divine femininity, baby.
- Get your hair and makeup professionally done. Nothing is more stressful than trying to figure out the day of whether you want to curl your hair or straighten it, whether you want an updo or something a little more flowy, or if you want a smoky eye or something a little more natural. Let the professionals handle it! They have the eye for this kind of stuff. Shelby and I struggled making these choices at 8am after a night out trying to get ready for this Victorian inspired photoshoot. Groggy and a bit frantic, we made her curly updo work with minimal face coverage. Take the guesswork out of the getting ready process by hiring a team of experts so you can put all your focus on preparing yourself mentally for how well this boudoir shoot is about to go.
- Boudoir isn’t just lingerie– it’s anything that makes you feel confident in your own skin. A big t-shirt and some socks will go a long way with the right photographer (AKA me). You can dress up or dress down so long as you’re happy and feel good in what you wear [or don’t wear].
