Photoshoot: Lingerie brands I love

Back in January, I reviewed Karolina Laskowska’s bespoke lingerie service. At the end of the post I said that I had a photoshoot planned and now, finally, the time has come to tell you all about it and share some of the shots from that day. I enlisted the camera skills of the fantastic Paul Williams of Fragment Photography, and the multi-talented Allie Katz created my make-up looks. Rather stupidly, I figured I would do my hair myself but I couldn’t find my foam rollers the night before, so ended up simply sleeping with my hair in plaits and hoping for the best! It worked as a method for giving my hair added volume and texture but, unlike when I curl my hair, I wasn’t entirely sure how to style it on the day. More practice needed, I think. My nails were looking impressively long that week and so I varnished them with a couple of coats of Porchester Square polish from Nails Inc as I knew that’s a great neutral shade that would go with every outfit I was taking to the shoot.

When we arrived at the studio, Allie started work on my make up while Paul set up the lights. The first look we chose to shoot was my bespoke set from Karolina Laskowska. Allie went with a fantastic metallic smoky eye, which complimented both the gold highlights in the pretty kimono silk and the shiny hardware on the bra’s straps. We decided that a nude lipstick would work well, and then I unplaited my hair before adding the obligatory layer of Tresemme freeze hold hairspray to my fringe. We got some lovely smouldering shots of this set. A serious and ‘grown up’ look for some seriously grown up lingerie.

In a delightful contrast, the second outfit that I slipped into was a ridiculously cheerful ensemble of candy coloured cuteness. In a moment of pure genius, I snapped up Camilla Elphick’s donut shoes from the London College of Fashion pop-up shop last year as a gift to myself. I wasn’t sure when or where I’d wear them, but I knew I had to have them. When her gorgeous shoes are on sale in Selfridges, my rash decision will be described as wise! I had the idea for this shoot in the back of my mind and so, when I spotted a Tutti Rouge bra in the end of year sale which coordinated perfectly, I knew I was on my way to a fantastic photo. What better item to complete this outfit than a super cute pink eLai playsuit with a Peter Pan collar, designed and made by fellow LCF graduate Eva Lai?

Allie chose the fresh mint/turquoise shades from my clothing to inspire the eye make up, and I really wish I had asked Paul to take some close up shots of it as I utterly loved this look. It was bold, bright and fresh – perfect for SS14. I felt like a lingerie superhero in this ensemble! Any suggestions of suitable superhero names would be gratefully received.

The final set was again a different look entirely, and came from the lovely folk at Playful Promises. It’s a limited edition set which was designed by Eva Lai as her entry for their design competition in 2011, and was how I first came to hear about her. The gorgeous pale pink shade of the set matches my pointe shoes perfectly, so I had to include them! It’s great timing that I’m sharing this photo with you now actually, because I am just finishing off my second course of pointe classes with Irreverent Dance. I’m sure my lovely class mates would approve. Sadly, this wasn’t the best angle for my hastily created hairdo, but the shot does show off the lingerie rather well so it’s probably the best one in that regard. One day I’ll get around to doing a shoot where I show off my limited but exciting pointe skills in full.

Of course, a couple of hours in a photo studio didn’t allow us time to shoot every outfit and brand that I love, so there was no time to pair a black Playful Promises Lily bra with my Kiss Me Deadly bright pink longline girdle. No time for the red Freya Deco bra and Joanna’s Wardrobe cherry girdle combo. No time to show off my amazing Fräulein Annie Bye Bye Mein Herr set, my stunning What Katie Did gold label corset, or my Curvy Kate Starlet set… which goes so well with the Agent Provocateur heels I got for Christmas. I came up with the idea for this shoot as a way to share the lingerie brands I love. I really hope you check them all out and give them the attention they deserve.